If your sound system already has a working turntable, you're in luck. All you'll need -- in addition to your PC, of course -- is a cable with two RCA plugs at one end and a mini 1/8-inch stereo plug at the other. Simply connect the RCA plugs to the tape-out jacks on your preamplifier or receiver and the other end to the line-in jack on your PC's sound card.
If you long ago tossed that ancient relic with the built-in turntable, you'll need to buy a standalone turntable, along with a phono preamplifier. Though some LP turntables have built-in preamps, ours didn't, so we bought GLI Pro's GLX-2800 2-Channel Stereo Mixer, a fancy name for a black box that supports three inputs: one for a microphone and two more for either turntable or tape-deck signals. In case you're wondering about the turntable, it was a Panasonic Technics SP-10 MKII direct-drive introduced about 25 years ago. It weighs close to 27 kg (thanks to an obsidian base for vibration reduction) and cost about $2,000. Used ones in good shape go for $1,500 and up. (You guessed it: The author is a serious audiophile.)
Tip: There's an advantage to having a free-standing phono preamp. If your sound system isn't near your PC, you can run a long cable between the preamp and the PC and deputise a friend as turntable operator while you attend to the PC.
 | ||
|
||
| ||
Step 1: Getting started
Like this article? Click below to send it to your mobile for free!
schmee
08/06/2005 09:11 PM
hhmm, in recent years there have been a number of turntables available marketed specifically & purely for this purpose, made to hook straight up to your pc &, I assume, with bundled software. Funnily enough, this being cnet & all, I thought this article was going to be product review & comparison of some of these items. That would be info that's not readily available & would be really useful.
Report offensive content
schmee
08/06/2005 09:18 PM
a s sume, a-s-sume, a.s.sume good grief, shocking, lame, inept, stupid censoring software on this site, unfknblvbl LOL, you can tell it's an american parent company. parents don't have an option, they have a duty & a need to run content filtering software, don't inflict his crud on the rest of us.
Report offensive content
jmallet
30/09/2005 05:36 PM
I Have turned some of my LP's to 32 Bit CD Music using Software "Goldwave". The Music comes from my HiFi Amplifier and connects to my Sound Card in my computer, I setup Goldwave to accept the music which starts to come in. Afterwards I save this to my harddrive and later burn to my CDs.
Report offensive content