Tech Manifesto

Many audiophiles claim that analog vinyl LPs sound better than digital CDs, since a digitized sound loses all of the sonic information between its sampling points. But this doesn’t change the fact that CDs last a lot longer, don’t deteriorate with repeated listenings, and can be played on a much wider range of devices than a vinyl record. Turning your records into CDs is a great idea, and it’s completely legal. Here’s how to perform the conversion from analog vinyl to digital data…

Hardware Requirements

Stereo RCA cable (2 RCA connectors and a mini-jack connector)

Stereo RCA cable (2 RCA connectors on each end)


Record Player

Audio/video receiver, with built-in pre-amp and Phono inputs


Sound card (with Line In jack)

Connecting a Turntable to Your Computer

The first step in recording music from a vinyl record is to connect a turntable to your computer.

1. Connect a ground wire from the ground connector on the receiver to the ground connector on the turntable, as shown in the following figure. This helps to reduce the humming or buzzing that might occur when you connect the turntable to the receiver.

2. Plug one end of one of the stereo RCA cables with the red-and-white, male RCA connectors into the red-and-white, female RCA jacks on the turntable, as shown in the following figure.
Figure showing RCA connectors plugged into Line Out RCA jacks on a turntable

3. Plug the other end of this RCA cable into the red-and-white, female RCA jacks labeled Phono on the receiver, as shown in the following figure.

4. Plug one end of the other RCA cable into the red-and-white, female RCA jacks labeled Tape (Rec Out) (or similar) on the receiver, as shown in the following figure.

5. Depending on whether you are using a Y-cable or stereo RCA cable, do one of the following:

If you are using a Y-cable that already has a mini-jack stereo connector on the other end of the cable, go to the next step.

If you are using a stereo RCA cable that has red-and-white, male RCA connectors on both ends of the cable, plug the end not already connected to the female RCA jacks on the receiver into the female red-and-white RCA jacks of a mini-jack stereo adapter, as shown in the following figure.

Plug the mini-jack stereo adapter into the female Line In jack on the sound card in your computer, as shown in the following figure.

6. On the front of your receiver, select Phono as the input, and then select Phono as the output. Depending on your receiver, these input and output selectors are often buttons or knobs located on the front of the receiver.

Play and Record

 

Once everything is connected, go into Volume Control and make sure “Line In” is un-muted and at a good level. If your stereo and record player is on, you should have the ability to play your records on the record player through the computer speakers. It essentially is going through the receiver converting it to maximize the levels to play and inputting that information to the computer.

 

Once you can play them, you can now download and save them as audio files to put on CDs. GoldWave is a good program for digital-audio editing in Windows. The program has real-time oscilloscopes, intelligent editing, and numerous effects (including echo, flange, distortion, mechanize, and reverse). An intuitive user interface makes GoldWave easy to learn and use. Thanks to Eliot Van Buskirk and Microsoft’s How-To for information and pictures. Enjoy the digital conversion!