[MarcusL]

Hello everyone.

I'll be ordering a 60gig Ipod soon due to it's huge storage capacity and lineout capability which I think would be quite nice partnered with a portable amp.

I was wondering what would be the best way to put my vinyl tracks to the Ipod. I would definitely use ALAC that's why I chose 60 gig. I'd do my best to preserve the SQ of the files as much as possible.

Should I just directly record to the computer or would it be better to use another medium. Would HiMD do a better job?

Experiences? Thoughts?

 

[mark.s]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarcusL Should I just directly record to the computer or would it be better to use another medium. Would HiMD do a better job?

Depends on your soundcard. If it has a decent line in, then you should just connect the RIAA to it, record to WAV and convert the files to ALAC. Search download.com for vinyl-ripping programs.

If you have a big collection it's going to be timeconsuming though...

 

[allenf]

WRT my own experiences:
I use my old Nomad Jukebox 3 40GB to record the vinyl as a 44.1K wav, splitting the tracks apart during the recording process.
I then use Audiograbber/LAME to convert to a 320K CBR mp3.
I then use MP3Gain to peak the level out at 92dB.
"Normalising" a worn vinyl disc sounds horrible - a lot of noise pumping with any warp-generated LF cycling - which is why MP3Gain works so well.
I don't use any noise reduction.
I will then tag the file with Tag&Rename (adding Vinyl to the comments tag field) and transfer it over to my iPod 60GB.
This sounds a bit long-winded, but keeps everything neat and tidy.

I don't know whether the sonic benefits of ALAC will highlight the deficiencies of a cheapo souncard..?

 

[MarcusL]

Interesting! Yup, I have a cheap soundcard and instead of working on that, buying another gadget sounds better. I can work on better upgardes for my computer later.

So Nomad Jukebox 3 has a good line-in for analog sources, eh? 44.1k WAV sounds ok. But I also saw around that HiMD's can record uncompressed PCM. Is this right?

 

[Embio]

PCM is WAV

 

[MarcusL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Embio PCM is WAV

yup, but pardon my NOOBility. do the figures 44.1K mean uncompressed?

So I guess its between owning a HiMD portable vs. Nomad Jukebox 3. I'll be getting a Pod so shouldn't I just grab the HiMD so I'll have another different beast to play with?

 

[allenf]

More or less - standard red-book CD audio sampling rate.
The NJB3 also does 48K wav, but I haven't tried it yet.
I use the Nomad 'cos I already owned it when I got the iPod

Note that the NJB3 will also record/encode direct to mp3 up to 320K CBR. tho' my own preference is to use the LAME encoder on the wav file afterwards.

Also note that <the level meter is a bit small> using something like MP3Gain post-recording means that getting the rec level spot-on isn't so critical...using my ttable/cart/phono preamp I would only worry about setting the recording levels at +3dB for 12" 45, +4dB for 7" 45 and +5dB for 12" 33 album - with my setup this won't clip the input and MP3Gain will sort it out afterwards.

Good luck!