Vinyl Rip to flac?

[chukwe]

Has anyone done a vinyl rip to Flac and compared it to CD rip to Flac?

Which one sounds better?

 

[krmathis]

FLAC is lossless, so I don't understand where it comes into the question...

So you basically want to know if an audio stream recorded to a computer from a vinyl source sound worse/better than an audio stream ripped from a CD, right?

I say thats very gear related, since it depends on the turntable, pickup, RIAA, input section on your computer, and software used to record the stream.

 

[tot]

It is also the mastering differences between the CD and the LP in question.

For example The White Stripes Icky Thump in vinyl sounds wonderful whereas the CD is compressed unsuitable for human consumption. Rip the vinyl instead of the CD.

 

[ingwe]

Before you do this, make certain your vinyl rig sounds good (acceptable)to your ear. Are cartridge overhang, vtf, vta, etc. properly set? Are you using decent interconnects running in and out of your phono stage?

Don't use auto-level, set it manually. Take your time doing this. Preserve the dynamic range.

You probably already know this, but I'm just trying to increase my post count!

 

[mirumu]

If your player and sound card are up to the task it might be worth ripping at higher bit depths and sampling rates. This would preserve as much of the analog signal you could get and will give you more resolution for any post processing you might want to do leaving downsampling (if necessary) as your last step. This will of course use more disc space.

I have a few vinyl rips at 24-bit 96KHz that sound really great. I have nothing that can be compared to CD though since either I don't have the album on CD or the mastering is significantly different.

 

[Dublo7]

I'm a total and complete noob when it comes to vinyl, but how would you rip vinyl exactly? Do you just play it and have it recorded to your PC?

 

[beemer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dublo7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm a total and complete noob when it comes to vinyl, but how would you rip vinyl exactly? Do you just play it and have it recorded to your PC?

Yup, you have to let every vinyl play all the way through.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dublo7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm a total and complete noob when it comes to vinyl, but how would you rip vinyl exactly? Do you just play it and have it recorded to your PC?

Yes, you play the record as normal.
Then use an application to record the stream from your computers input connectors.

 

[stevenkelby]

An application such as Audacity.

 

[ILikeMusic]

A vinyl rip can never match the S/N ratio, dynamic range, or frequency response of a CD... an LP just isn't capable of that. But as mentioned it is possible for the mix of an LP to be superior to that of a CD release, and in that way it could be preferable. My suggestion would be to listen to them both if possible and then decide if the LP is superior in any way. Given the limitations of the vinyl medium it's not often that an LP really sounds better than CD, but it is possible if they f..ked up/compressed the CD release badly enough.

 

[RubenNYC]

I have some albums on vinyl that I never got around to re-buying on CD. Any suggestions for decent sound cards for ripping? Or at least what specs I should be looking for as I shop for one? Do any sound cards have an RIAA Phono input?

 

[mirumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILikeMusic /img/forum/go_quote.gif A vinyl rip can never match the S/N ratio, dynamic range, or frequency response of a CD... an LP just isn't capable of that. But as mentioned it is possible for the mix of an LP to be superior to that of a CD release, and in that way it could be preferable. My suggestion would be to listen to them both if possible and then decide if the LP is superior in any way. Given the limitations of the vinyl medium it's not often that an LP really sounds better than CD, but it is possible if they f..ked up/compressed the CD release badly enough.

I think what you're saying is largely true but vinyl to me at least still tends to have a subtlety and smoothness that seems to be hard to replicate in 16-bit 44.1Khz digital. SACD is in my opinion better able to replicate this aspect of vinyl than CD. That's largely why I suggested investigating higher bit depths and sampling rates in any earlier post. But yes, the vast majority of differences will probably come down purely to the mastering.