Hello everyone: I am a newbie to this site and to digital audio. I need help to get me a good setup so that I can 1) play well off an ipod or my laptop (MacBook Pro). I also want to transfer my cassette tapes to digital so that I can get rid of my cassette tapes.
My setup:
1) a very sweet analog Arcam alpha 7r integrated amplifier
http://www.gaia-technology.com/sites/arcam/alpha/amps/ampalpha7r.html
2) a JVC cd player. Plays out fine. I understand the difference between the AIFF files on an audio cd vs. MP3. That's not the problem.
3) a Pioneer tape deck. Has headphone port on front side.
4) Radio Shack bookshelf speakers. Don't laugh. They actually sound great.
I'm not a total audiophile, but this system really does sound good. I live in a small apartment, so I don't need power.
The problem: I have a standard cheap cable with left and right RCA plugs into my amp on one end and a mini plug to go into either my ipod or MacBookPro on the other end. When I play out of either the ipod or the laptop, the sound is about 1/3 the volume of what I get when I play a cd, or tape or vinyl. It also sounds flat, even with AIFF or AAC uncompressed files. I'm using itunes of course on the laptop.
To play out digital: What kind of cable(s) or what do I need to play out of my digital devices for good clear sound, to sound like my analog devices? I know this has been covered at length, but it is all overwhelming. Ditto for this site, so if someone could just give me their recommendation, I would be grateful. Do I need another pre-amp to my Arcam integrated amp to boost the volume? Why does the sound quality sound like cra* in addition to my having to crank up the volume threefold when I play out of my computer or ipod?
To record analog to digital: I have a stack of cassette tapes that I would like to digitize into audio files to play out of an ipod or laptop and then get rid of all my tapes. I need the space. I know this too has been covered at length. But I get amateur advice, like just sticking the same cheap cable into my laptop and then using Garage Band to record the audio. Now, I certainly like the simplicity of that, but I KNOW that that setup will sound awful. So I welcome your advice on this one too.
While we're at it, I've also got plenty of vinyl that I would not mind as audio files too. I've got the standard Technics dj turntable, SL-1200M3D.
That's it. PLEASE HELP!!
