[Kenny6007]

i've been itching to buy some equipment and i was originally going to upgrade (buy standalone DAC) but realized i don't even have a turntable anymore and would really love to rip some of my vinyl as i have a ton of records laying around, and it's always crossed my mind to rip them.  i really have no clue in the whole proccess of ripping vinyl or even where to start so i'd love some help and direction.
 
curently my computer setup is.......
 
Computer > Cambridge Audio 840c > Apache
 
compuer is conneced to the 840c via coax cable .... i was going upgrade the 840c for a belcanto3 or perfectwave dac but that's a different thread, i figure the 840c's been great to me so far and i should get an analog setup again.
 
obviously i would need a turntable and a phono ..... i've also read that i'd need a soundcard? i currently just use my onboard sound card, so what would be the most important link in the chain besides the tt and how important would it be?  can someone give me a little diagram to follow?
 

 

[Roseval]

[size=medium]Playback is playing a digital audio file so you need a DAC to convert it to analogue.[/size]
[size=medium]Ripping your vinyl is the opposite, you have an analogue input and this must be converted to digital so you need a AD, a Analogue to Digital converter.[/size]
[size=medium]If your soundcard has a line input, you have one already.[/size]
[size=medium]Maybe this link is a nice starter on the subject: [/size][size=medium]http://www.knowzy.com/Computers/Audio/Digitize_Your_LPs/USB_Record_Player_Turntable_Comparison.htm[/size]

 

[Stoin]

Other than just plugging the output of your phono stage into the line-in of your sound card/motherboard audio (just an RCA to mini-jack cable will do this)  there are 3 more ways I can think of:
 
Get a turntable with built in USB. Pro-ject make one of these just avoid really cheap nasty ones you might see in gadget shops. This is simple and easy and if you get a resonable TT it shouldn't sound too bad.
 
Get a TT and a preamp that offers USB output. The NAD PP3 does this. I think Pro-ject make one and probably a few others do too. This gives you a bit more flexibility in choice of components and maybe better sound quality (if you choose wisely).
 
Get a TT, preamp and an ADC (analogue to digital converter) which you'll hook up to your computer with coax, optical, or maybe USB if the ADC has it.. This is the most complicated, expensive and space consuming way of doing it. It also has the potential to sound miles better than the others. You could hire a very good ADC from a pro-audio shop and keep the cost down.
 
 
Pages 3 and

of this thread have some comments on ripping vinyl using ADCs and USB TTs:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/503363/wwyd-turntable-or-dac
 
There are probably a few other threads on this topic which might be worth checking.

 

[Stoin]

Obviously you'll need to sort out the software side of things. Something like Audacity should help. It'll let you record (as WAV) and split the record into tracks. It's also free which is nice. Then you can convert to FLAC either using a plug-in for Audacity or using Foobar or anything else you like to convert with.

 

[Meliboeus]

As for the ADC stace of the audio chain, i'd go for an emu 1212m if you have a full size pc, it has reference quality converters without spending a great deal of money, Its analog input is a pure line-in with no mic preamp in the signal path.
 
If you have to go external there's the 0404 Usb which is higly recommended as well, i've done some vinyl rips with it and sounds pretty good, plus has direct headphone monitoring and hardware controlled playback and recording levels, could also act as a standalone DAC if you need it.
 
For the turntable, you could look at the project lineup for something cheap, or get an used technics sl-1200 which is sturdy and offers some upgrade paths. Cartridge and preamp choiche is higly dependant on your budget.
 
 
 
Personally, i'd avoid turntables with built-in phono and usb unless you are willing to spend as little as possible.