[ThePenkethPedan]

Saw an advert in a newspaper for a device that looks like a recordplayer but which will copy the record as it plays onto a CD disc which slots into the body of the machine. The price is around £200, saving, so it`s said, £100.
Any thoughts on this offer, does it stack up with any other methods of dubbing to CD, does anyone know of anybody who has used this type of equipment, please?

[mllfap]

I bought this.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Steepletone-...5674191&sr=8-8

You don't need a cd burner if you have a PC and splitting albums into the individual tracks is a pain on the one you mention and indeed on the one I link to.

But mine has a USB slot and a memory card slot .
You simply insert it then start the record and press RECORD.

Instead of stting there pressing a button to split into tracks I simply copy the whole side to the USB stick.
Then you can copy the content to the computer which allows you to then either transfer to IPOD or to a PS3 or other music storage device , or you can even copy it to cd if you want.

But the computer makes it easy to edit and split into tracks.

I use Wavepad Sound Editor.
You can download a trial version and once the trial has ended you get to keep a limited version that is free but it does all the things you need to do to for this task.

You load the file (the vinyl recording) onto the editor, split it into tracks , then you can name them etc.

I'm very unskilled when it comes to computers so I would only imagine a very old pensioner finding any difficulty with that method - although it might seem tricky you only need do it once to see how easy it is.

The one I link to also has a tape to tape copier and you can copy audio cassettes to USB too if you want.

I got mine from The Brilliant Gift Shop for about £120 .
Its always been cheaper than Amazon for the device but thats the only thing it is cheaper for.

I've seen the one you've mentioned and I think its over priced compared to mine

[mllfap]

TBGS don't seem to have the one I got anymore but here's one much cheaper that will still do vinyl to USB

http://www.thebrilliantgiftshop.co.u...#colour:,size:

Using the cd burner in your PC instead will save you money

[RobAnt]

If you have a computer and a HiFi system then spending on any other hardware is a complete waste of money.

Take a "line out", such as Aux Out or Tape Record from the amplifier and feed that to the "line in" (or Mic In on most laptops) on your computer.

Record the tracks using, say, Audacity in Windows Media Audio Lossless format. Then use Windows Media Player to write to a CD.

If your CD player can handle mp3s then even better, as you can then put many more tracks on a CD than normal - but for complete compatability, then WMA Lossless works better as the music isn't digitally compressed.

Those plastic "Ion" style devices are much lower quality than any half decent dedicated hifi record player. If you have a record player with a separate phono stage pre-amp, then you can even bypass the amplifier and feed that directly into the computer instead.

[Maxatoria]

unless its a rare vinyl its probably cheaper / better just to grab the cd version of it and it will probably only cost you a few £ and you dont need another item gathering dust for 364 days a year

[tomvoxx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxatoria

unless its a rare vinyl its probably cheaper / better just to grab the cd version of it and it will probably only cost you a few £ and you dont need another item gathering dust for 364 days a year

It isn't so much rare as unavailable. I have dozens of Scottish folk albums from the 60's and 70's which are unlikely to see CD release. They may not be rare or valuable but I appreciate them. Digitally transferring them to CD makes sense to me (as I suspect it does to the OP).

[mllfap]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobAnt

If you have a computer and a HiFi system then spending on any other hardware is a complete waste of money.

.

I think the point is that most of us ditched our record players years ago which is why these devices are so useful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxatoria

unless its a rare vinyl its probably cheaper / better just to grab the cd version

Why would anyone buy one of these devices along with vinyl if the music they wanted was already out on cd?

[ThePenkethPedan]

Good Lord,guys - I`m kinda lost with some of the suggestions. Mllfap -friend, I AM that `very old pensioner`!
I was thinking of copying my Country Music LPs, but I have well over 150, so maybe a judicious selection of individual tracks would be better than wholesale dubbing. Not sure how using a PC and burner would do the job - wouldn`t a record player have to be linked to it somehow. Or is the idea that the various songs etc are sourced online, u-tube etc. and downloaded onto CD that way. Sorry to appear so dim...thank you all anyway, I`ve noted the comments about the advertised machine and the alternative suggestions.

[RobAnt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThePenkethPedan

Not sure how using a PC and burner would do the job - wouldn`t a record player have to be linked to it somehow.

Yes, but that's easy enough if you already have a record player connected to an amplifier. Connect a Tape Out or Line Out from the amplifier to the Mic In or Line In on your computer. That's very easy - you just need a two plug (stereo) phono to 3.5mm stereo plug (a mini headphone plug).

While I'm a cheap old git and won't pay for anything if I can do it for free, you can get plenty of software that'll analyse the recordings and split into tracks. Like I said earlier, I use a program called Audacity.

Windows Media Player can write CDs in the same format as commercial ones.

All of this does mean you need a record player already, of course. But if you already have one (no matter how old) you don't want to buy another one - especially one that'll churn up the groves on your precious record collection.

I have some records over 20 years old (many over 30) that still sound as fresh as the day I bought them. Loads of which I have copied to CD myself.

[2Bdecided]

cdwave makes the track splitting on PC very easy (automatic, if you want) - almost uniquely, it'll keep gapless track transitions (where the music is continuous from one track to another) gapless.

These cheap copiers are just that: cheap. Fine if you've always played your records on cheap record players, but a bit trashy if you used to use something decent in the past. Some are worse/better than others, ranging from quite good to truly atrocious!

The best way to do it is a decent deck, decent pre-amp, and decent sound card. Not cheap to buy from scratch, but there are bargains on eBay, and old decent, rather than top-notch, turntables can be quite cheap to buy and give far better results than 2011's all-plastic model! Always replace the stylus, and often the cartridge, on a second hand deck.

btw...
http://www.delback.co.uk/lp-cdr.htm

Cheers,
David.

[chrisjr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobAnt

Connect a Tape Out or Line Out from the amplifier to the Mic In or Line In on your computer. That's very easy - you just need a two plug (stereo) phono to 3.5mm stereo plug (a mini headphone plug).

Do NOT use the Mic In for two reasons.

1/ microphones output a tiny voltage that has to be amplified to get it up to the same level as the Line Out voltage from other devices, such as the Tape Out on the amplifier.

2/ It is probably mono.

So you are very likely to overload the mic in on the PC by feeding it a line level source. Which will just lead to distortion and you may end up only recording one channel.

The only exception to this rule are combo mic/line sockets which can be software switched to suit either a mic or line level source. In which case always choose line level.

[mllfap]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThePenkethPedan

Good Lord,guys - I`m kinda lost with some of the suggestions. Mllfap -friend, I AM that `very old pensioner`!
I was thinking of copying my Country Music LPs, but I have well over 150, so maybe a judicious selection of individual tracks would be better than wholesale dubbing. Not sure how using a PC and burner would do the job - wouldn`t a record player have to be linked to it somehow. Or is the idea that the various songs etc are sourced online, u-tube etc. and downloaded onto CD that way. Sorry to appear so dim...thank you all anyway, I`ve noted the comments about the advertised machine and the alternative suggestions.

With a memory stick/USB you could literally record every one of your 150 albums onto the stick then go through them all selecting the ones you want on a cd - but that would require a PC again.

The device I linked to was cheaper than the one you were thinking of but if you don't want to mess about with a PC then the one you originally said about is the one to go for as it does what you want without complications.

Using the PC just makes it easier to tidy the recording up.
You'll need to check how the one you linked to separates tracks.
Before I got mine I had a friend do some on his PC and to have a 25 minute vinyl side with 8 tracks as just one track gets very annoying very quickly.
Perhaps the one you linked to is clever enough to recognise moments of silence and split tracks automatically.
If its not it might be like mine where you have to sit there and when it reaches the end of a track you press a button on the remote to tell it to start a new track - which is why I use the PC.

As I said - putting the music onto a USB stick or memory card means its transferrable to your Ipod or other devices.

If doing this sort of thing on a PC is really too alien then your original device would be the one to go for.

I just wonder how many cd's will be wasted with false starts , or not being there at the end of each side to stop the recording , if the record skips - or any other problems.

If the device accepts CDRW then no problem as you can simply erase and start again but I would check this sort of thing out before spending £200

[ThePenkethPedan]

I admire all your technical expertise and advice - my sincere thanks.

[mllfap]

Let us know what you decide and how you get on with whatever you buy

[pocatello]

Cheap turntables of such types might have low quality cartridges and the rest, meaning garbage in..garbage out. Being that lp dubbing is 1x, best not waste that amount of time doing it wrong.

[Glawster2002]

I've got one of these... Terratec Phono PreAmp Studio USB which works really well.

I connect the Tape output on my Hi-fi amp to the phono inputs on the PreAmp and then it is a USB connection from the PreAmp to my laptop.

The package also includes Sound Rescue, this software removes pops, crackle, rumble, and hiss and, because I find it easier to record a whole album side, it can also be used to split the one large file in to the individual tracks.

The link is to the version I have, the current version is here.

[g jones]

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers...uys3_19125.htmAldi are selling a USB turntable for £34.99 from Sunday .

[ThePenkethPedan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by g jones

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers...uys3_19125.htmAldi are selling a USB turntable for £34.99 from Sunday .

Seems remarkably cheap if it produces acceptable dubbings: any thoughts on that aspect - I`m not over-fussy about the quality as long as it is at least close to the sound on the vinyl. Thanks for the info,GJ.

[RobAnt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

Do NOT use the Mic In for two reasons.

1/ microphones output a tiny voltage that has to be amplified to get it up to the same level as the Line Out voltage from other devices, such as the Tape Out on the amplifier.

2/ It is probably mono.

So you are very likely to overload the mic in on the PC by feeding it a line level source. Which will just lead to distortion and you may end up only recording one channel.

The only exception to this rule are combo mic/line sockets which can be software switched to suit either a mic or line level source. In which case always choose line level.

Which is, and I beg you to show me otherwise, always the case.

If the output volume on the line level can be altered (unusual though it may be - but you could use a headphone output, which is), then 50% of full volume is sufficient to reduce the chance of clipping and distortion. If 50% is still too high, then reduce it by a further 10%. I have NEVER damaged a soundcard by doing this and I've had PCs since the 90's.

[RobAnt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThePenkethPedan

Seems remarkably cheap if it produces acceptable dubbings: any thoughts on that aspect - I`m not over-fussy about the quality as long as it is at least close to the sound on the vinyl. Thanks for the info,GJ.

I would avoid that like "The Clap". It WILL seriously reduce the life of your LPs.

If you like the idea of a USB input, then I would recommend, if you want a single box solution The Pro-Ject Essential III USB [click]. This is a proper, good quality HiFi turntable which will work well in your HiFi setup and when connected to your computer. It comes with a quality moving magnet cartridge/stylus, and if you follow the setup up instructions (very easy) you'll get years and years of good service out of it.

That is for the entry level turntable. The Pro-Ject Debut III USB is a lot better, but costs a few quid more.

[mllfap]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobAnt

I would avoid that like "The Clap". It WILL seriously reduce the life of your LPs.

.

With just one spin? I doubt it.

I'd definitely get one if I hadn't bought the unit mentioned earlier in the thread.
The idea is to play the vinyl once and put it to USB then either put the vinyl back in the loft or flog it.

Certainly not interested in messing about with styluses and turntables as part of my regular listening experience

[RobAnt]

But then, Milfap, you're not the OP looking for a solution to a problem. I'm simply offering a different view which is a much better quality and offers the best of both worlds - destroy while playing, or preserve while playing. And yes, you can permanently damage records by playing them with high weight ceramic stylii on a cheap plastic tonearm and barely de-coupled plastic platter on a plastic plinth.

You can't flog damaged records, unless you turn them into cheap wall decorations or novelty clocks.

[pocatello]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThePenkethPedan

Seems remarkably cheap if it produces acceptable dubbings: any thoughts on that aspect - I`m not over-fussy about the quality as long as it is at least close to the sound on the vinyl. Thanks for the info,GJ.

Its not "close".

[mllfap]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobAnt

But then, Milfap, you're not the OP looking for a solution to a problem. I'm simply offering a different view which is a much better quality and offers the best of both worlds - destroy while playing, or preserve while playing. And yes, you can permanently damage records by playing them with high weight ceramic stylii on a cheap plastic tonearm and barely de-coupled plastic platter on a plastic plinth.

You can't flog damaged records, unless you turn them into cheap wall decorations or novelty clocks.

I doubt that a single play on any unit would do anything wrong.
If it did they would not be able to sell it.

[ThePenkethPedan]

Recent posts noted with increased bafflement. Coincidentally, have just opened my June copy of Saga magazine (yeah, yeah,I know...) and there is a full page given over to the subject, headed " Give them a whirl..Don`t leave your records gathering dust, invest in a new turntable that will not only play your old LPs but digitise them too"
It goes on to list " Four of the best modern record players", which are Ion Profile USB Turntable, £69-99, Project Essential £129-95, Ion LP2CD USB Turntable £359-99 and Denon DP-A100 £2,250.. It describes each with an accompanying photo. Regarding the Ion LP2CD model, included in the description is " has the added feature of recording CDs directly from the record without the need for a PC. ". Available at the price quoted from Currys.
This is the most similar to the one I saw advertised fro around £200, I think.
I`m having second thoughts about bothering at all - it would take me ages to work through my collection, and in view of all the cautionary comments and differences of opinion expressed on this thread, I`ll probably stick to the vinyl....