It also has a slot that allows recording to SD memory cards. Ion Audio’s $149 Profile Flash also records to a USB thumb drive, and adds the capability to record at 128 and 160 kpbs as well as 192. (I still had to break the recordings into separate tunes and add the album/artist/song info-but more on that later.) With almost no effort, I finally had Cosmic Chicken in a digital format. I repeated the process with Side Two, and in no more time than the record took to play I had an MP3 file for each side of the record. When Side One finished, I hit the record button again to stop. I didn’t even have to set the recording level. I put Cosmic Chicken on the turntable, hit the start button, and then hit record as soon as the needle dropped. I recently got a chance to try the DP-200USB, and was thrilled to find how easy the vinyl-to-digital process becomes when you’re recording straight to a USB drive. From there you can transfer them to your computer. Plug in the thumb drive, hit record, and whatever you’re playing on the turntable will be recorded as 192 kbps MP3 files on the USB drive. The $249 Denon DP-200USB, for example, has a front port that accepts a USB thumb drive. Some of the latest USB turntables eliminate the need for a computer hookup. This arrangement removes all the hookup hassle, and it’ll almost certainly give you better sound quality than you’d get using the cheap analog-to-digital converters built into most laptops. The phono preamp and analog-to-digital conversion circuitry is built right into the turntable. With most USB turntables, you simply connect a USB cable from the turntable to your computer, then run special software designed for copying vinyl records. Sometimes vinyl is the only way to do that. Also, when producing CD releases of older material, engineers sometimes alter the EQ or otherwise impose the sonic preferences of today on the art of yesterday. Many CDs made in the 1980s and early 1990s from earlier analog tapes sound strident, because digital audio technology was in its infancy at the time and mastering engineers were still learning their way around the new equipment. However, for many jazz fans, CDs on which the music has been re-mastered and remixed carry less sonic appeal than the original vinyl issues. I don’t mean to imply that a digital copy of a vinyl record will sound better than a CD of the exact same recording. And even a modest collection of jazz records probably includes several titles that, like Cosmic Chicken, never saw release in a digital format.Īn oft-overlooked reason to copy vinyl is for the sound quality. Obviously, you don’t want to pay for CDs or MP3s of music you already own on vinyl. That product, created by Ion Audio, spawned a small industry that seeks to make copying records onto your computer or iPod easier than ever before.īefore we get into the specifics about these new products, I’d like to explain why I think it’s essential for jazz fans to add vinyl copying to their technical repertoire. The first debuted about two years ago: a record player with a USB output that connects directly to your computer, with no phono preamp or USB audio interface required. Luckily for vinyl enthusiasts, a whole new crop of products has recently emerged to tackle this problem. And if your vinyl collection numbers in the thousands, forget it. Software such as Golden Records and Vinyl to MP3 has been created to simplify the process, but it’s still cumbersome enough to discourage most vinyl fans from copying more than a few cherished favorites to digital. Then you have to type all the artist/album/song information into iTunes or whatever digital music software you’re using. Then you have to chop the recording into separate tunes. Then there’s the task of setting the recording levels. The signal chain for this seemingly straightforward process includes not only the turntable and the computer, but also a phono preamp and probably a USB audio interface, and lots of cables, too. In theory, the solution is simple: Copy the music from the vinyl record to my computer, make MP3 files of all the songs, and transfer them to my iPod. More specifically, what I want to do is listen to Cosmic Chicken-a great DeJohnette side from 1975 that has never been released on CD-while I’m out riding my bike on the path around my local park.
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