Many people would like to record their favorite old LPs to their computers
and make audio CDs from these recordings.
This involves recording the LP to the computer's hard drive, using software
to de-noise and de-click the audio and then transferring the results to a
CD-Recordable disc that can be played by a standard CD player.
Users often try to take the analog audio signal from their stereo receiver's
Tape Monitor outputs and feed this to the Line Input on their soundcard.
This should work fine as long as the soundcard's inputs are set up properly.
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To record an LP to your hard drive, follow these steps:
1) Obtain a cable: 1/8" stereo miniplug that splits off into stereo RCA male
plugs:
(available in the Accessories section on our Web site)
2) Connect the Tape Monitor outputs of your stereo receiver, integrated
amplifier or phonograph preamplifier to the stereo Line In
on your soundcard.
3) Place your LP on the turntable and set your stereo's input selector
to PHONO.
4) On the computer, open AudioStation 32. In the upper left corner of
the Audio Mixer module, click on the Mixer Control Select icon.
5) Select the Recording Control from the popup menu.
6) Click on the Line In button to select it. The Line In button should now
be lit bright blue.
Keep AudioStation 32 open, in case you need to adjust the volume
of the soundcard's Line Input.
7) Now open AudioView by clicking on the Launch Editor button in
the lower right hand corner of the AS32 File Player.
This will open AudioView.
8) In the menu bar in AudioView, click on File, then New.
9) This will open the Sound Selection dialog. Do not accept the default
audio file format; choose CD Quality from the Name: drop down list.
This is actually stereo 16-bit 44.1kHz sampling rate audio format,
which is the required format for CD Audio discs.
10) Now get ready to record. Cue up the LP record and click the big, red
Record button in AudioView. The Record and Pause buttons will flash
on and off, indicating that you are in Record/Pause mode. Record/Pause
mode allows you to monitor the level at the Line Input.
11) Play a selection from the LP and watch the LED-style level meters in
AudioView 32. It is a good idea to start with a piece that has a loud
portion. This will allow you to set the levels so that no part of
the recording will overload.
The fourth red level indicator to the far right in the AudioView 32 level
meters is the "0.0" mark. Digital recordings cannot go over "0.0" or
you will get overload distortion ("0.0" indicates "full scale").
If the audio level indicators stay lit at the end of the scale for too
long, your recording will probably come out distorted. On the other hand,
you want to see the yellow LED's light up often, so that your recording
doesn't come out too faint.
Adjust the Line Input level fader in the AudioStation 32 Audio Mixer until
you find a good compromise setting that keeps the yellow indicators lit
most of the time, but doesn't let the loudest peaks go all the way to the
red end of the scale.
12) When you've found a good level, stop the record and cue it up to
the beginning. Now press the Record button again in AudioView 32.
You should see the Record button glow bright red, and the counter tick off
the recorded time. Start the record playing and the meters should move
in time with the music.
It is recommended that you record each song or section of a longer piece
on the record as a separate Wave file. It's much easier to edit a
6 minute piece of music than it is to edit an entire 25 minute album side.
13) Stop the recording by clicking the Stop button in AudioView 32, or by
pressing the space bar on your computer keyboard. You should now see
the recording displayed as a waveform in AudioView 32.
Save the recording to your hard drive by clicking File | Save in
the menu bar, or by pressing Ctrl + S on your computer keyboard.
Make sure you save the file with the Formats: set to PCM and the
Attributes: set to 44,100 Hz, 16 Bit, Stereo as shown in the
illustration above.
14) You can edit the Wave file to your liking in AudioView 32. Once you have
a Wave file for each selection on your LP you can open them up in your CD
mastering software and 'burn' your audio CD.
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NOTE:
Since the Tape Monitor outputs of a typical receiver are often inadequately
buffered and amplified, the soundcard's Line In may not "see" a hot enough
signal to make a good recording. In such cases, you will get too much hiss
and/or hum, with the music coming through only faintly.
A solution for this is to connect the phonograph a stand alone phonograph
preamplifier, like those available from various 'high end', high-fidelity
audio equipment manufacturers. Shure Bros. (http://www.shure.com) makes one
for about $150, and Rolls also makes one (http://www.rolls.com).
Some good quality mic/line mixers have the proper circuits for playing LP
records built in. The Spirit Folio Notepad is a nice, small microphone mixer
that includes RIAA phonograph preamplifiers; it is available at many musical
instrument stores. Many D.J. mixers also come with RIAA phono preamps. These
are available from musical instrument stores, or from electronics stores like
Radio Shack.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
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Q:
How can the Tape Monitor output of my stereo receiver be "inadequate" for
sending a good level to my soundcard's Line In?
A:
The Tape Monitor outputs in a typical stereo receiver are not amplified in
any way; they simply pass the audio straight from the phonograph preamplifier
through to the Tape Monitor output jacks, with no additional help from any
amplifier circuits.
The phono preamp output circuits found in most stereo receivers are only
designed to work well when connected to the stereo receiver's internal inputs
or the inputs of a cassette deck. They were never designed to drive more
difficult loads like the line input on a soundcard.
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Q:
What is so "difficult" about a PC soundcard's inputs?
A:
Many people must use long (6 feet or longer) audio cables to connect from
their stereo setup to their computer. It takes extra *current* to drive the
long interconnect cables between the stereo's Tape Monitor outputs and the
soundcard's Line Input, so a phono preamp's outputs may "load down" while
trying to drive the signal all the way to the sound card). This will result in
a very weak signal that lacks highs and lows. The extra boost provided by a
standalone phono preamp or mic mixer will fix this problem.
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Q:
Why does this work better with a mixer?
A:
An audio mixer has buffer amps at its outputs that are *designed* to drive
difficult loads, like a rack of PA amps and electronic crossovers located 15
feet away from the mixing position, for instance. Compared to this, the Line
In on your soundcard is a piece o' cake to drive!
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Q:
Why do phonograph records need an RIAA preamplifier in the first place?
A:
The grooves of an LP record need to be made extremely small in order to hold
all the audio information. At the same time, larger grooves are needed to
reproduce low frequencies. If the grooves are made too large, the needle will
leap out of the grooves on the record surface. To hold the entire audio
spectrum within small grooves, the bass frequencies are intentionally turned
down during the making of the master disk. The LP record is a copy of this
master disk.
When the LP is played back on the listener's record player, an RIAA phono
preamp adds a specifically tailored low frequency boost and high frequency
cut, called the "RIAA equalization characteristic". This results in a "flat"
frequency response during playback ("flat response" means "no artificial boost
or cut of any audible frequencies").
Here is an illustration of the RIAA Frequency Response characteristic. Notice
how the bass frequencies are boosted, the midrange frequencies are left alone,
and the treble frequencies are attenuated. This is exactly the opposite of
what the frequency response is coming directly from the phonograph cartridge.
The end result is flat response, the same as what was on the original master
tape from which the LPs were cut.
Low Frequency Rolloff = 16Hz
| ____ Low Frequency Breakpoint
| / \ = 59Hz (Gain= 29 dB)
+20| / \
G | / \
+10| \ Mid Frequency Breakpoint
A | \ = 590Hz (Gain= 20 dB)
dB| \_____________
I | \
-10| Hi Freq Breakpoint \
N | = 2122Hz
-20| \
+---+-------+--------+---------+--------
10Hz 100Hz 1kHz 10kHz Freq-->
If you connect your record player directly to the Line In of your soundcard,
you will get a faint, "honky", "thin" sound. Please use a properly designed
RIAA preamp for best results.
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Q:
How do I hook up my record player (and receiver) into a mixer and then
to my soundcard?
A:
LP Record Player RCA plug outputs ---> Stereo Receiver Phono Inputs
---> Stereo Receiver Tape Monitor Out ---> Mixer Line Input
---> Mixer Main Output ---> Soundcard Line In.
Or....
LP Record Player outputs ---> Mixer Phono Inputs (if present) --->
Mixer Main Output ---> Soundcard Line In.
Or for a stand-alone phono preamp...
LP Record Player outputs ---> Phono Preamp Inputs --->
Phono Preamp Outputs ---> Soundcard Line In.
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