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Thread: USB Turntable

  1. #1
    Vinyl Fundamentalist Forums Moderator poppachubby's Avatar
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    USB Turntable

    Hey Everyone, I am getting a USB turntable this week. NIB at half price locally. It's the Audio Technica AT-LP2D. Looks pretty wild with a built in pre-amp so it can be plugged into virtually anything for listening. Of course it has the software for digital conversion which I want for some rares I have. Check it out and if anyone has any opinions or info, let 'er rip.... http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/tu...153/index.html

  2. #2
    Retro Modernist 02audionoob's Avatar
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    A regular phono preamp could be plugged into a sound card to accomplish the same thing but with your choice of better turntables.

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    Vinyl Fundamentalist Forums Moderator poppachubby's Avatar
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    OK noob, I know I will need RCA to mini but what about my sound card? Is a line-in enough or would I need a special card with software? Please, you've got my ear...but did you check out the USB player, you have to admit, it's pretty cool. I actually have an old Pioneer LXI ready to go, it just needs a belt.

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    Retro Modernist 02audionoob's Avatar
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    You can get your software for free by downloading Audacity off the internet.

    Now for hardware...Audacity can record from a line-in jack, which of course would require an RCA to mini adapter. But better is a USB sound card, which would not require a mini adapter. See one here:

    http://www.soundblaster.com/products...&product=10702

    I got one on a auction for maybe $30...can't remember for sure. I use it to record from a phono preamp to a netbook (extra-small laptop).

    Now the phono preamp is the critical part. It's what will get the turntable's signal up to line level so the sound card card use it. Here's an example:

    http://www.needledoctor.com/Needle-D...2&category=401

  5. #5
    Vinyl Fundamentalist Forums Moderator poppachubby's Avatar
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    Thanks noob! My father in law has a Denon pre, but it's the real basic type, do you suppose that would be enough? I think I'll try it before buying anything, I 'll post the specs afetr I pick it up today. The only other question I have is will the Audacity provide a player for my desktop, or is it just a conversion program. I use VLC for my digital media. BTW, I'm pumped!! I'm sure all kinds of cats have this set up but I've never bothered to investigate...thanks again noob, you rule these fools!!

  6. #6
    Vinyl Fundamentalist Forums Moderator poppachubby's Avatar
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    ...man that Sound Blaster looks good!!

  7. #7
    Retro Modernist 02audionoob's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by poppachubby
    Thanks noob! My father in law has a Denon pre, but it's the real basic type, do you suppose that would be enough? I think I'll try it before buying anything, I 'll post the specs afetr I pick it up today. The only other question I have is will the Audacity provide a player for my desktop, or is it just a conversion program. I use VLC for my digital media. BTW, I'm pumped!! I'm sure all kinds of cats have this set up but I've never bothered to investigate...thanks again noob, you rule these fools!!
    If you want to use a regular full-featured pre rather than a phono pre, just make sure it has a phono section and a tape input/output. Then your SoundBlaster would attach to the pre like a tape deck...one pair in and one pair out. You hook up the turntable to the pre and you're recording to the computer like a tape...or playing from the computer to the pre.

    You'll defintely want to keep using your usual player software. Audacity is for real-time recording or for changing file format, but not a full-featured player.

  8. #8
    Vinyl Fundamentalist Forums Moderator poppachubby's Avatar
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    noob, please check this link, I have PM'd you as well...http://london.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAd?AdI...81mK2iqO6qOUA*


    is this what I need?

  9. #9
    Retro Modernist 02audionoob's Avatar
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    I like those things, but I don't know if it's going to be exactly what you need. That console piece fits in a drive bay on your computer and connects to that sound card shown behind it. You would need to have a spare drive bay. It would be a nice setup if your computer has space for it.

    As for using it to record from vinyl, there are "aux in" inputs, so you could run a phono preamp into those and record with Audacity. If you try that Denon pre, you could put the turntable on the phono input and run the main or tap output of the Denon to the "aux in" on the SoundBlaster.

    By the way...that SoundBlaster is sort of high-fidelity. It should make good recordings. Pair that with a good phono preamp and you should have some really nice digital files.

  10. #10
    Vinyl Fundamentalist Forums Moderator poppachubby's Avatar
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    OK. I am now the proud owner of a Creative Labs 24 bit Audigy Platnum Soundcard. I also picked up a Plexwriter CD-R and burner. I will now install. Goodbye.

  11. #11
    Vinyl Fundamentalist Forums Moderator poppachubby's Avatar
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    OK, I'm all set up!! Let me say this thing is awesome! I have patched in an old Pioneer LXI turntable, nothing fancy but wow...the options on this are amazing. Right now I'm just playing around with the listening function and dialing in a good sound.

    Big ups to noob for hookin me up...BTW noob, final cost for everything was $48. 30 for the card and 18 for a new belt vs. the $70 I was ready to spend on the Audio Technica product. The card is actually an entry level, professional unit which can retail between 300-400. The guy I bought it from said he had no takers, he had started at $100 and finally dwindled down to 30. I looked on Ebay and the same piece can be purchased, used, for minimum 100 plus shipping.

    http://us.creative.com/products/prod...ct=10722&nav=1

    If anyone has any questions fire away...
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  12. #12
    Phila combat zone JoeE SP9's Avatar
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    I have a Sound Blaster X-Fi Pro. It makes recording anything very easy. It has its own phono pre-amp. It has several line level inputs. It also records and plays back up to 24 bits at 96Khz and everything lower. I don't know the cost as it was a gift. The built in DAC sounds pretty good.
    It is currently being used as my music server with Songbird as the software. Songbird is open source software from the Linux people. I've tried all the "free" ones and Songbird is the best IMO.
    ARC SP9 MKIII, VPI HW19, Rega RB300
    Marcof PPA1, Shure, Sumiko, Ortofon carts, Yamaha DVD-S1800
    Behringer UCA222, Emotiva XDA-2, HiFimeDIY
    Accuphase T101, Teac V-7010, Nak ZX-7. LX-5, Behringer DSP1124P
    Front: Magnepan 1.7, DBX 223SX, 2 modified Dynaco MK3's, 2, 12" DIY TL subs (Pass El-Pipe-O) 2 bridged Crown XLS-402
    Rear/HT: Emotiva UMC200, Acoustat Model 1/SPW-1, Behringer CX2310, 2 Adcom GFA-545

  13. #13
    Phila combat zone JoeE SP9's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by poppachubby
    OK, I'm all set up!! Let me say this thing is awesome! I have patched in an old Pioneer LXI turntable, nothing fancy but wow...the options on this are amazing. Right now I'm just playing around with the listening function and dialing in a good sound.

    Big ups to noob for hookin me up...BTW noob, final cost for everything was $48. 30 for the card and 18 for a new belt vs. the $70 I was ready to spend on the Audio Technica product. The card is actually an entry level, professional unit which can retail between 300-400. The guy I bought it from said he had no takers, he had started at $100 and finally dwindled down to 30. I looked on Ebay and the same piece can be purchased, used, for minimum 100 plus shipping.

    http://us.creative.com/products/prod...ct=10722&nav=1


    If anyone has any questions fire away...
    You got a good deal. If your SB card came with Creative's Media Source software the mixer sounds better in audio creation mode. Many SB cards default to automatic internal re-sampling. Auto re-sampling is not good for serious audio playback. Turn on bit-matched playback from settings in the mixer panel to defeat it.

    I use an old Russound TMS-3 tape monitor box. It's connected to the tape monitor jacks on my preamp. It has switching for up to 3 decks. My X-Fi Pro is connected to one set of it's tape in and out jacks. It gives me seamless access to signals to and from my audio system or computer. All and any outputs or inputs from both can be played through my audio system. BTW my living room TV is also connected to my system and therefore to my music server PC. The ATI display card in the music server has composite, S-Video and HDMI in and out. The display is connected to the system through my Lexicon MC8 Surround Processor.

    I've been using Creative cards since the Original Sound Blaster was introduced. My two other desktop PC's have SB Live cards in both. They are primarily gaming machines. One has has a Thrustmaster Throttle/Weapons control, rudder pedals and Joystick. The other has a Saitek X-45 joystick and X-45 Throttle/Rudder/Weapons control. They both have 21" NEC Syncmaster displays.

    Sometimes my brother brings one of his PC's over. He, I and a mutual friend have some serious head to head gaming via my in house network. Other times I'm restricted to only 2 participants. The PC that is my music server can also be used but it's handicapped by not having a joystick or throttle.
    ARC SP9 MKIII, VPI HW19, Rega RB300
    Marcof PPA1, Shure, Sumiko, Ortofon carts, Yamaha DVD-S1800
    Behringer UCA222, Emotiva XDA-2, HiFimeDIY
    Accuphase T101, Teac V-7010, Nak ZX-7. LX-5, Behringer DSP1124P
    Front: Magnepan 1.7, DBX 223SX, 2 modified Dynaco MK3's, 2, 12" DIY TL subs (Pass El-Pipe-O) 2 bridged Crown XLS-402
    Rear/HT: Emotiva UMC200, Acoustat Model 1/SPW-1, Behringer CX2310, 2 Adcom GFA-545

  14. #14
    Vinyl Fundamentalist Forums Moderator poppachubby's Avatar
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    Wow Joe, thanks for the info. I'm glad you responded, this card has thrown my whole world upside down. I am having to rethink my whole setup and decide how I'm going to integrate. It's ok though, right now I am slowly learning the many features of this amazing tool.

    One question I have for you is about fire wire. I have connected the card with fire wire to my Plexwriter. The drive for the card has a fire wire jack. Can you summarize the possibilities of this for me. I am aware of the virtues of fire wire so no need to go there. However, am I able to purchase a fire wire cord that can connect to my portable for lightning fast uploads? I would appreciate your thoughts on this.

    Infact, if you're willing, I will probably have several questions as I go through the stages of this thing. The real problem for me is that I am married with 2 young children, 2 month old and 3 year old. Time is an issue, I already screwed myself the first night I had it hooked up by staying up almost half the night, re-visiting some old vinyl. I am in disbelief as to how good everything sounds. Another quick question, are there any virtues to going 5.1 directly from the card? Aside from movie watching that is...
    sorry Joe this is long winded...Chubbs

    PS. you DEFINITELY get a head bang brutha!!
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    Retro Modernist 02audionoob's Avatar
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    Chubbs...what portable is it that you want to connect via firewire? I've always thought it a little funny that there are firewire connections on my SoundBlaster devices, but I started taking advantage of that extra transfer speed before the days of USB 2.0.

  16. #16
    Vinyl Fundamentalist Forums Moderator poppachubby's Avatar
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    Well.... all I have is an MPIO MP3 player, it's nothing fancy, but it fits my needs nicely..... http://www.mympio.com/index.php?page=49

    What can you tell me about fire wire noob? Can I just go out and buy a fire wire cord that will plug into a portable? Will I need after-market adaptors? I like the idea of stupid fast upload speed...

  17. #17
    Retro Modernist 02audionoob's Avatar
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    Firewire is a standard that is comparable in performance to USB 2.0 but seemed to get out to the market sooner. They're incompatible with each other, I think even to the point where there is no real adapter. There are some hubs that have both, but that wouldn't seem to help. I've seen one rather expensive adapter, but I don't know how it works...or if it works.

    The big thing with firewire to my understanding has been the way it works with digital camcorders. The file transfer speed was nice before USB 2.0 was available, but besides that there are functions with camcorders that just don't work without firewire.

    I used to have a very small Compaq computer that didn't have a spare drive bay or a full-size optical drive. Since firewire devices can be daisy-chained, I hooked up two external hard drives, a flash memory reader and a CD burner to the SoundBlaster installed in the Compaq. So then my tiny Compaq looked nice on the desk, but under the desk was all this extra capacity.
    Last edited by 02audionoob; 09-04-2009 at 02:45 PM.

  18. #18
    Phila combat zone JoeE SP9's Avatar
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    poppachubby;
    I don't have any practical knowledge from working with fire wire. I don't use it. My PC's are networked using Gigabit speed NIC's and switches. All my burners (CD/DVD) are IDE or SCSI and all my HDD's are SATA. I have two 500 Gb USB 2.0 external HDD's for backup only.

    I use the SB card for 2 channel music only. My Lexicon does all my multichannel processing. The only time I use multichannel sound is for TV and movies. That's the only time the Lexicon gets used. I guess I'm just an old fashioned guy.
    ARC SP9 MKIII, VPI HW19, Rega RB300
    Marcof PPA1, Shure, Sumiko, Ortofon carts, Yamaha DVD-S1800
    Behringer UCA222, Emotiva XDA-2, HiFimeDIY
    Accuphase T101, Teac V-7010, Nak ZX-7. LX-5, Behringer DSP1124P
    Front: Magnepan 1.7, DBX 223SX, 2 modified Dynaco MK3's, 2, 12" DIY TL subs (Pass El-Pipe-O) 2 bridged Crown XLS-402
    Rear/HT: Emotiva UMC200, Acoustat Model 1/SPW-1, Behringer CX2310, 2 Adcom GFA-545

  19. #19
    Vinyl Fundamentalist Forums Moderator poppachubby's Avatar
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    Thanks anyways guys, guess the fire wire jack will just sit idle...

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