Turntable to PC Hookup
Convert Vinyl LP to MP3 - analog to digital music
Record Music from a Vinyl Record to
Your Computer - LP to MP3/CD/storage
• PC
to stereo hookup
•
Cassette to PC
Climb onboard the way back machine to
the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s when
analog LP vinyl records were the media of choice for music in the home.
The Beatles, Rolling Stones and all the rock bands of the time started
out on vinyl records.
LP vinyl record from the 1960s The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour Album
The vinyl LP record played at 33 1/3 RPM on a turntable. Turntables are
still available today. You might find some vintage turntables on
EBay.com that still work or even at a local thrift shop or classified
ad online. Pioneer was one of the more dominant brands.
Some folks have kept their turntables over the years and are now
thinking about preserving those oldies but goodies on CD or digitizing
their songs for an iPod, iPhone or other portable digital music player.
Options to record vinyl to computer
To get the music from LP record to digital audio, you need to
think about which approach is best for you depending on what gear you
already have and what gear you may need to buy to get the job done.
There are several ways to go about the task.
1. You can buy a modern USB Turntable that connects to your
computer/laptop's USB port.
2. You can use a vintage turntable and a vintage amp/receiver with a
phono input and then connected to a PC sound card Line Input.
3. You can use a vintage turntable and a modern audio/video receiver
(many of which do not have a PHONO input) with a Phono Pre-Amp.
4. You can use a vintage turntable with an Audio adapter or phono pre-amp which has a
USB connector for PC or laptop or has RCA stereo audio outputs.
Most PCs have a soundcard built-in with a line in and line out but laptops may not, so you can use an
external soundcard device which has these inputs and outputs and connect to laptop with USB.
Yes, those old records can be sent over to your laptop or PC and kept
on disk and backed up for history. What do you need to do that?
You need some RCA audio cables, your computer, recording software, such
as Audacity,
and a component to connect the turntable to the computer.
This component can be either a vintage stereo amplifier, a stereo
receiver, a phono pre-amp box or a more modern audio/video receiver
with a PHONO input.
If you want to record to your laptop, you may also
need a USB audio adapter box because many laptops do not have a line-in
port. You could record using the mic input but you will not be pleased
with the results. USB audio adapters will take the RCA input and
connect to the laptop using a USB connector. Cost should be
around $40.
Things You'll Need
1) Your LP record albums,
2) a quality stereo turntable with a working cartridge,
3) a stereo phono preamp (unless you have a receiver with one),
4) a pair of RCA audio cables,
5) a computer (PC or Mac) with sufficient hard drive space,
6) a software application that can record audio directly to the hard
disk in the computer,
7) a hardware interface (soundcard),
8) a software application that can record digital audio files to the CD
burner/drive,
9) some blank digital media (CD-R).
Anyone who has bought a personal computer in the last five years
already has a soundcard and most likely has software to burn a CD. You
also most likely have enough free disk space to hold your recordings.
Blank CD-R discs are available at many stores or online. Basically the
things you may need to get are a turntable if you did not keep your old
one, software to capture the audio and save it on disk, audio cables to
connect the components and a phono pre-amp or stereo receiver with
phono input.
Some things
to consider and tips:
You might want to clean your records so they will sound their best for
the recording transfer process. Invest in a record cleaner such as the
Discwasher 1006.
If the turntable speed is not what it should be, try replacing the
drive belt if it is a belt-drive turntable. Consider buying a new
turntable.
If the turntable's phono cartridge is not up to par, it is best to
replace it with a new one to achieve the best results.
Make sure the cartridge is properly aligned and that the tone arm
counter-weight is set correctly for proper tracking on the vinyl
record.
With a turntable, the output can’t be plugged directly into
the line level input of another stereo device because the signal levels
are not strong enough. Most turntable cartridges put out a signal on
the order of just a couple of milliVolts (mV). The turntable also
can’t just be plugged directly into the mic inputs on a
recorder or computer, even though they are setup to handle a signal
with an amplitude of only a few milliVolts.
The reason is that when LP vinyl records are recorded, they have a
special equalization curve called the RIAA EQ curve, applied to the
signal. (The RIAA is the Record Industry Association of America.) This
special EQ curve is used to limit low frequencies and highlite high
frequencies. Then when the LP disk is played back, the opposite EQ
curve is applied to flatten the signal out again (i.e., highlite the
low frequencies and reduce the high frequencies). This special EQ
resides in the phono preamplifier. Many receivers and amps do not have
a phono preamp built in. Most vintage stereo amps and receivers from
the 1960s and 1970s do have a pre-amp built-in. In 2010 you are able to
find many more current audio/video receivers with a PHONO input
available. If you have one of these receivers, you do not need a phono
pre-amp, you can just use the receiver.
# Allows use of turntables with magnetic cartridges, with computers
sound card input
# Boosts low level turntable signal to line level
# RCA type female input and output connections
# Great when transferring LPs to digital media
# Frequency response: 30Hz~20KHz
# Input level: 6mV
# Output level: 500mV
# SN ratio: >60dB
# Requires 117VAC, 60Hz
# Separately available cable (#24-6270) converts output connection to
3.5mm male plug for connection to computer
www.bswusa.com
Generally, most turntables come with their own set of stereo cables,
and you will connect these to the phono preamp inputs. If there is a
ground wire coming from the turntable, connect it to the ground screw
on the phono preamp (if there is one) or connect it under a chassis
screw on the phono preamp.
The sound card you have in your computer dictates what type of cable
you need to go from the phone preamp outputs to the sound card input
jack(s). Look at the sound card audio input jack(s). It may be a stereo
3.5mm jack or it may be a pair of RCA jacks. Buy a set of cables that
will allow you to connect from the phono preamp RCA output jacks to the
input jack(s) on the sound card. Make sure you use the Line In jack on
the sound card, not the Mic In jack.
The computer you use can be a PC or Mac.
TIP: Every stereo minute of uncompressed digital audio (WAV file
format) requires 10MB, so 1 hour of digital audio will take up 600MB on
your hard disk drive.
The software application you use is a matter of choice and must be
compatible with the computer platform (PC or Mac) you have. If you
bought a custom sound card for your computer, they usually come bundled
with some sort of sound recording program that will allow you to record
external audio from the Line In jacks and digitize it to your hard
drive. If you don’t have a sound recording application on
your computer, you can get one from the Internet.
Hook up all the connections, fire up the computer, launch the sound
recording software application, put on an album and monitor it with
your computer speakers. If you are getting hum, make sure that all the
grounds are connected and that all the audio cables are seated properly
in their jacks.
If the recording software you are using also has an editor associated
with it, you can record the whole album side and then split the tracks
up into separate audio files later with the editor. This is quite a bit
less tedious than recording one album track at a time and then creating
a digital audio file of just that one track, however it can be done
this way.
Continue recording until you have converted the whole analog album into
one or more digital audio files. Once you have converted your album
tracks into WAV (on a PC) or AIFF (on a Mac) uncompressed digital audio
files, then you can burn an audio CD-R and/or you can convert those
uncompressed audio files to the MP3 compressed audio format.
To burn an audio CD-R, you will need a CD-R or CD/RW drive in your
computer and the software that came bundled with it to perform the
actual creation of the audio CD-R. Note that this CD Burning software
is not the same as the Sound Recording software you initially used to
record the analog audio into your computer.
- (1) "Y"
stereo adapter cable with a pair of RCA-style channel connectors (one
is usually red, the other white) at one end, and a single line-in,
1/8-inch (3.5 millimeter) mini-connector at the other. This is also
called a 3.5mm Stereo to RCA Dual Audio Cable. It can be purchased at
Walmart for about $5. The 3.5mm "mini" end plugs into the computer's
sound card Line-IN jack (usually blue) and the other end, the two RCA
connectors, plug into the stereo
jacks on the stereo receiver or
phono-preamp box.
- OR -
(1) A regular stereo hook-up cable with RCA connectors at both ends and
(2) a 3.5mm mini-connector adapter.
or
(1) A regular stereo hook-up cable with RCA connectors at both ends and
(1) RCA-to-USB audio interface (converter). With this setup you connect
the RCA cable to the converter, which has a USB plug to connect to your
computer's USB port.
or
(1) double-ended 3.5mm stereo cable; (also available at most
electronics stores)
- A PC with
a sound card that has a line-in jack. Almost all computers have this
device, except for some laptop computers that do not have a line-in
jack. In this case, you may need to use the USB interface. If your PC
or laptop does not have a line-in, you may also be able to use the
microphone-in port. Just make sure that the volume setting is not too
high: start with the lowest setting and raise it little by little until
you are able to record a low-volume sound.
- Sound
recording software such as Audacity.
- A
turntable with:
(1) audio RCA output (line-out)
You can connect using various components depending on which way you
want to hookup. If you have a stereo amplifier or stereo receiver or an
audio/video receiver with a PHONO input, then you do not need a
Phono-Preamp. If you have none of these components, then you will need
a Phono-Preamp.
You also need some cables to connect up components and
you also need some software to record on the computer. There are also
today some other options such as a USB turntable which connects to the
computer with a USB hookup. These devices are available for around
$150. One newer turntable has a built-in iPod port so you can go from
vinyl to iPod.
To connect a component type (unamplified) turntable, WITHOUT A
RECEIVER, to your PC sound card, you will need a separate phono preamp
. There are two reasons for this:
1. Low output - Turntable Phono cartridges put out a much weaker signal
- 6 millivolts or so - than the other standard components of a stereo
system do, which typically put out 300 to 500 milli-volts or more. A
sound card line-in is simply not matched for the low output of phono
cartridges. That is why you have special phono only inputs on your
receiver.
2. Equalization - this is the process of weakening (compressing) the
low frequencies and strengthing (stretching) the higher frequencies.
This is how vinyl records are recorded and what makes it possible to
squeeze the wide range of sound within the narrow grooves of a record.
If that signal were to be played back directly, you would have a
totally unnatural sound - screechy highs and no bass. To be played back
correctly, the sound has to be restored to it's normal state during
playback - the reverse of equalization has to occur - and that is the
purpose of a phono pre-amp which fixes the problem by boosting the weak
signal and "flattening" the frequency response.
You can buy a simple phono preamp for 30 to 50 dollars.
See www.phonopreamps.com
DJPRE II: Phono Preamp
ART DJ PRE II for $49
Phono Preamp with RIAA EQ in a Rugged Metal Case.
The ART DJPRE II solves the three basic problems common to vinyl
records:
* 1. It is physically impossible to press them with ridges that end up
allowing low frequencies to come out at the same reproduction level as
mid and high frequencies. Bass compensation is therefore needed during
playback.
* 2. Records produce a certain amount of hiss, which is covered up in
post-production by boosting the gain of the high frequencies before
pressing. Counter-EQing during playback compensates for this.
* 3. Magnetic cartridges produce a weak signal, which must be boosted
to match the rest of the amplification, and this too is done during
playback.
The DJ PRE II is a high quality Phono preamp designed for your home and
studio. It acts as an interface between your turntable and your audio
recording
system. The analog input capacitance can be switched between 100pf and
200pf to optimize your phono cartridge response. A switchable low cut
filter
removes turntable rumble while leaving the audio pristine. The front
gain trim
control and signal/clip LED allow you to optimize the preamps gain for
a wide
range of input sources. The built-in low noise Phono preamp circuitry
is highly
accurate and precisely conforms to the RIAA standard. The Line Output
jacks
are low impedance and can work with any sound card. Housed in an all
aluminum black anodized case, the DJ PRE II can be powered
by a wide variety of external supplies. If you need to amplify and EQ
your vinyl
records to interface with your audio workstation, sound card, or main
monitor
system, the DJ PRE II gives you flawless audio reproduction in a rugged
and
reliable package. Has left and right RCA audio inputs and left and
right RCA audio outputs.
APPLIED RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY
Email: support@artproaudio.com • www.artproaudio.com
Once your turntable is connected to the preamp's input jacks, you can
connect it to your sound card from the OUT jacks like you would another
unamplified component, such as a tape deck (using the Y-adapter cable
with rca plugs on one end and a stereo mini plug on the other). You can
also use it on an amp that doesn't have phono inputs.
Diagram PC to Stereo Receiver to Turntable
STEREO RECEIVER rear panel showing RCA audio jacks with PHONO input for
Turntable
Diagram - Turntable to Laptop using Audio Adapter with USB |
The audio input connection on your computer:
The audio input connection on a desktop computer is typically a 1/8"
mini-jack on the back panel, labeled Line-In, usually marked with a
light blue color, close to where the speakers are connected to a
similar type of jack (usually marked with a green color). The Line-In
connection is sometimes marked with the symbol Line-In symbol where the
arrow points inwards, which is not to be confused with the speaker
output marked with the symbol Speaker symbol where the arrow points
outwards.
To record from the connected audio equipment, you typically select the
sound source named Line-In in the Sound Recorder:
Sound source selection
* Laptop or notebook computers
Laptop
Many laptops do not have a LINE IN jack. The solution for this is to
get an external sound card.
See this link for more information
on external
sound card for laptop. These
boxes have all the jacks you need.
Cost is around $30 or so. Amazon.com should have them.
Most laptop or notebook computers only have one 1/8" mini-jack input
connection, marked Mic or Microphone, usually marked with a red/pink
color, close to where a headphone can be connected to a similar type of
jack (usually marked with a green color).
To record from the connected audio equipment, you typically select the
sound source named Mic or Microphone in the Sound Recorder:
Sound source selection
If your laptop or notebook (or its docking station) has a blue colored
Line-In connection as well, then it is preferable to connect the audio
equipment to that connection. In that case you typically select the
sound source named Line-In in the Sound Recorder software.
The plug that goes into the input connection of the computer, has to be
a stereo 1/8" mini-plug, similar to the one for the computer speakers:
Stereo plug
Note that the stereo mini-plug has two black plastic rings at the tip
and this is not to be confused with a mono plug that has only one black
plastic ring at the tip:
Mono plug
Using a mono plug to connect the audio equipment to the computer,
typically results in sound coming in on the left channel only.
The audio output connection on the audio equipment
What the audio output connection type on the audio equipment is,
depends on the kind and model.
It is usually marked Play-Out, Line-Out, Audio-Out or something in
similar wording (Out being the keyword here):
* RCA connectors
This type of connector is most times found on modern audio equipment,
like on this JVC cassette deck:
* Mini-jack connectors This type of connector is most times found on
portable players.
Connecting a traditional turntable (vinyl record player)
To record from vinyl records, you will need a (pre-)amplifier connected
in between the turntable and the computer. The signal strength of the
turntable output is too weak to be connected to the computer directly
and besides that, the pre-amplifier applies so called RIAA correction
on the signal.
If your home audio set does not have a pre-amplifier built-in, or if it
has no Rec-Out, Line-Out or Audio-Out output, then you can buy a
separate turntable pre-amplifier.
Your home audio set will have a pre-amp built-in, if it has a Phono
input connection to connect the turntable to and a Rec-Out output
connection to connect to the computer.
Turntable
The Rec-Out connection on the amplifier must be connected to the
computer. This is the same connection that is usually connected to a
cassette or tape recorder to record on tape the traditional way.
It is especially important to select the right type of cartridge
(pick-up element) that is installed on the turntable, with the phono
selector switch on the amplifier. Consult the manual of the turntable
for the right type, for example MM (Moving Magnet) or MC (Moving Coil).
Selecting the wrong one will influence the sound quality and the Click
and Crackle filters in the Sound Editor may not be able to filter
clicks or scratches in recordings.
Do not forget to also connect the ground-wire from the turntable to the
amplifier. This eliminates hum, picked up by the sensitive pick-up
element on the turntable.
What
if I only have headphones or speaker outputs?
Some audio sets like boom boxes don't have audio output connectors
other than for headphones or speakers.
The signal strength of these outputs is most times higher than desired
for the input on your computer and their signal strengths depend on the
volume control setting for that output.
Special care is therefore required to connect such outputs to your
computer.
Before you connect the headphones or speaker output to the computer,
make sure to set the volume control on the audio equipment at zero
first!
* Headphones output connection
If your audio set has a headphones output connector, then it is
preferred to use that one as opposed to the speaker connections. You
will have to experiment with the volume control level for the
headphones connection, to see which level results in the best recording
quality. The headphones volume control on the player, in combination
with the recording volume control in the Sound Recorder, determine the
end-result.
As a rule of thumb the recording level peak meters in the Sound
Recorder should hover in the yellow zone near the top, during the
loudest fragments. To achieve this, set the volume control in the Sound
Recorder window at approximately 75% of the full scale. Then playback
something loud and slowly increase the volume control of the headphones
output, until the recording level peak meters reach the yellow zone.
Setting the headphones output volume too high will result in distorted
sound, no matter how low you set the volume control in the Sound
Recorder window.
RCA Stereo To 3.5mm Stereo Mini-Jack Adapter.
If you're planning to record your LPs onto Recordable CDs on your
computer, this is the adapter you need. Many other adapters are for a
1/8 in. mini-jack, which is .013 inches too small. A 1/8 in. jack will
fit, but the electrical contact will not be solid, and it will jiggle
and likely fall out. This is a true 3.5 mm mini-jack, the correct size
for your computer sound card. To record an LP onto a computer will
require a phono-stage circuit with RIAA equalization. Going directly
from the cartridge to the soundcard will not produce a correct signal.
Step by step to
record vinyl records to Computer:
1. Make sure all cable connections are completed, including turntable
to stereo pre-amp or stereo receiver and then to computer's sound card
line input.
2. Start up recording software on computer and select new/blank file to
accept sound data.
3. Start RECORDING process on computer. Usually hit record "button" on
graphics interface.
4. Play record on turntable. (Select songs you want as you go along or
just entire record).
5. Adjust volume as needed.
6. Stop recording on computer by pressing STOP "button" in software
program.
7. SAVE as MP3 or WAV file to disk.
If you need to edit the music file, open file, edit, save, close file.
Play back music with appropriate software such as Windows Media Player.
To burn a CD of your music or transfer to an iPod, follow instructions
for the iPod synch up process and/or use CD burning software on your
computer.
Burn
a CD in Windows Media Player
You can easily create your own customized CDs using Windows Media
Player.
Click the Burn tab, click the arrow below the Burn tab, and then click
the type of CD you want to burn (audio or data).
Insert a blank CD-R or CD-RW disc into the CD burner. Or, insert a
CD-RW disc that has files on it, and erase the contents of the disc by
right-clicking the drive in the Navigation pane and then clicking Erase
disc. (Erasing is required before you can burn to the disc again.)
If you have multiple CD burners and the burner you want to use is not
the one selected, choose the one you want to use by clicking the Next
Drive link in the List pane above the playlist.
Note that you can only burn CDs to one CD burner at a time.
To add albums or files from your Player library, drag them from the
Details pane to the List pane to create a list of files to burn.
If you need to clear the List pane before beginning to build your burn
list, click the Clear List pane button.
For audio CDs, the Player typically calculates how many minutes and
seconds of empty space remain on the disc after each song is added to
the burn list. However, occasionally the Player may not be able to
detect the duration of songs in advance, which means it may not be able
to accurately calculate how many songs can fit on a CD. If this occurs,
playing the songs on the burn list first may help the Player to
determine the correct duration of the songs.
To add a file that is on your computer but not in your library,
right-click the file and then click Add to Burn List, or drag the file
to the List pane.
If you have selected more files than can fit on one CD, the Player can
burn all of the files to multiple CDs. Or you can try switching to
burning the files to a data CD to fit more files on the CD (but note
that many CD players cannot play music burned to a data CD). If you
only want to burn one CD in this session, remove files from the list
until they all fit on one CD. To do so, right-click the file you want
to remove, and then click Remove from List. Note that removing files
from the burn list will not delete the affected files from the library.
For an audio CD, it is possible that the last song will not fit even if
the total time exactly matches the CD length, because the Player
inserts two seconds between songs when burning.
In the list, drag files up or down to arrange them in the order you
want them to appear on the CD. If you have chosen to burn more than one
CD at once, make sure that the files will be burned to the CD you want.
Click Start Burn.
If you are burning multiple CDs, insert a blank CD when the first one
has finished burning, and then click Start Burn. Repeat this step until
you have finished burning all of the CDs.
As the CD is burned, you can check its progress in the burn list.
Burning a CD will take some time.
It is recommended that you do not try to perform any other actions on
the computer while burning a CD. For example, playback and recording
may be affected if you try to play music from the library while burning
a CD.
Installing
recording and editing software on your computer.
The standard sound recorder application that comes with most PCs is not
the best way to record an LP to your hard drive. There are, however, a
variety of programs that record audio, ranging from freeware to very
expensive professional editing software. Some of these obviously work
better than others, and some have more features, but in general you
want a program that writes files directly to the hard drive and that
enables you to do some minor editing of the recorded files.
One example
that works fairly well is AUDACITY which you can
download here -
AUDACITY DOWNLOAD
AUDACITY can be used free. Audacity® is free, open source
software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS
X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.
How to use Audacity Software
Wavepad
is another example of software for recording and editing.
Larger image
AUDACITY screen shot - The "buttons" to control recording and playback
are on top. PLAY is the green arrow to the right, then RECORD, then
PAUSE, the blue double bar, then STOP, the gold square.
Saving the file you created with your recording software:
Audio files can be created in the native PC sound file type: WAV format
or MP3, a compressed format. You can play it with almost any audio
software like Windows Media Player. WAV files are about 10 times larger
than the same song in MP3 format. Your sound recording software may be
able to select which file format to save the recording in or you may
need to get additional software. You can also get conversion software
for copying from WAV to MP3.
Click "Record" and once you are finished hit "Stop".
If using Audacity go to the "File" menu and select "Export to MP3".
If using Garageband go to the "File" menu and select "Save As". The default file type is AAC.
• Apple Store for Garage Band
For anyone with a large vinyl collection and money, try
• PURE VINYL
- Do not hook up
your computer sound card to a speaker output on your stereo receiver.
The signal from a speaker output is likely too powerful, and it could
cause serious damage to the sound card.
- Power down
either the computer and/or the audio source before the final
connection. The intial surge can damage circuits with some combinations
of sound card and audio source. Sound cards are especially sensitive to
this damage.
USB Turntable for vinyl to computer recording
The Stir it Up turntable is simple in form and rich in materials with natural bamboo details and a built-in pre-amp to sync with your speakers. Headphone jack in the front. Replaceable cartridge. USB jack in rear panel for analog to PC recording.
See also:
• How
to hookup stereo
• PC
to Stereo hookup - how to play computer thru sound system
• Audio
cassette to computer hookup - how to record audio cassettes to PC
• PC
stereo hookup
|
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to hook up a Plasma or LCD HDTV
• How
to hook up a Cable TV box
• Cable
TV - Cable Box Setup
• How
to Install a HD Cable Box
• Surround
Sound over HDMI
• Surround
Sound - How to Hookup
• HDTV
Antennas and Reviews
• See
over 100 hookup diagrams
• Bluray
Players, internet-enabled, Netflix movie streaming
• Cable
Types, audio/video for TV, explanation
• Hookup
diagrams, TV, VCR, DVD, Digital cable box
• DVD
Players reviews and Guide
• VHS
to DVD copy VCR tape to DVD disc
• ROKU
digital video player Setup Guide
|
• See
over 100 Hookup Diagrams
• TV
input select
• Timer
Record Radio Shows on a VCR
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hookup to TV, DVD
• Audio
Video Connections
• Hookup
Diagrams
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