Analog Realtime Transfer: MD>PC

[javertim]

(This post may belong in "Live Recording" or "Net MD," but it also seemed an equal candidate for this forum. Feel free to move it, of course.)

I have a lot of old SP recordings that I would like to transfer to my computer, but I don't have the kind of cash right now to get a deck with digital-out and a sound card with digital-in (although I may wait, depending on suggestions). Would it be worth it to track down an older unit with a Line-Out for analog transfers (via Xitel's InPort -- Love it), or is the headphones jack going to give me the same level of performance? Wouldn't a Line-Out jack give me a cleaner signal?

Thanks! :-)

Edited August 17, 2005 by javertim

[greenmachine]

Try the most simple solution first, use the headphone out of one of your portables at full volume, no EQ, connected to the soundcard's line-in. Take a listen if you're satisfied. If not, consider to save your money for a deck with digital out before spending money for a deck with analog out only. In any case, don't erase your discs until you have digital copies.

[tmsnyder]

(This post may belong in "Live Recording" or "Net MD," but it also seemed an equal candidate for this forum.  Feel free to move it, of course.)

I have a lot of old SP recordings that I would like to transfer to my computer, but I don't have the kind of cash right now to get a deck with digital-out and a sound card with digital-in (although I may wait, depending on suggestions).  Would it be worth it to track down an older unit with a Line-Out for analog transfers (via Xitel's InPort -- Love it), or is the headphones jack going to give me the same level of performance?  Wouldn't a Line-Out jack give me a cleaner signal?

Thanks! :-)

←

If it were me, I'd skip the analog transfering and just go digital. It'll save a lot of time re-doing your transfers later on.

I started out doing my transfers with a new sony MDS JE480 deck going line in to a new creative audigy sound card which was supposed to be a pretty decent one at ~$200. What a waste of money and time.

Now I go dig-out from my md deck, to dig-in on my creative nomad jukebox3 (I know, this is supposed to be an MD web site!)

You could pick up a md deck (JE510 is one) from ebay with dig out for ~$150. Maybe someone could suggest a good way to record the digital audio. Probably there's a cheap soundcard out there with dig-in even if you have to figure out how to make the connection to the board itself.

[leonyuhanov]

Do as greenmachine sugested, i have been doing this for years!

1-put your MD up all the way, BUT turn off EQ

2-plug it into the line in of your PC/MAC and start recording with the INPUT voloume all the way down!

3-adjust it till the level is good

4-then record all you like!

i usualy reencode the wavs to 360vbr if they are live gigs, wavs are too big unless your doing pro stuff.

Leon

[gvgiri]

I have reached an end point in my search of this holy grail - "the mothod of transferring tapes/vinyl's to CDs / MDs". The steps are

(a) Download Audacity Freeware into your PC

( Get familiar with using it

© Purchase IMIC Analogue to Digital Converter with USB connection, by Griffin Technology

(d) Connect the Tape source to the Stereo Minijack input of IMIC (read the user guide thoroughly)

(e) Play the souce tape

(f) Start recording with Audacity Software

(g) experiment a bit with teh recording levels, ppreferences (an important one iis to Set input Preference in Audacity as USB port)

(h) You are ready for teh big one - which is to now play the tape, record into your PC withh Audacity,

(i) Edit recorded signil with Audacity

(j) Burn into your CD (re-recordable is the one I use)

(k) Play the Cd on your CD player adn transfer into MD with teh optical connection

This is guaranteed to be the cleanest transfer you can make. When I experimented by using an analogue out from my CD player instead of Tape, adn played the burned CD adn the original adn gave blind tests, it was as goood as could be.

No PC sound card can do as good a job as the 48kHz 24 Bit Griffin IMIC. It is indeed the holy Grail adn costs just 35 USD...!

[greenmachine]

The end point for copying from MD though would not be to have a good analogue, but a bit-perfect digital copy. I used a MDS-JE500 with optical out connected to a Creative Nomad Jukebox 3 with optical input to get my older SP recordings transferred before i got into HiMD. Nevertheless still haven't erased the discs yet though.

[Christopher]

If it were me, I'd skip the analog transfering and just go digital.  It'll save a lot of time re-doing your transfers later on. 

←

He can't, if you re-read his first post he specifically mentions that this isn't an option for him at the moment.

[gvgiri]

let me have another crack at this. THe IMIC is a 24 bit 48kHz Analoguee to Digital Converter with a Analogue Line in and a USB out straight into your computer. I downloaded Audacity adn can record straightaway into my hard disk. The reproduction is as good as can be. Thereafter it is easy to edit the music adn burn the Cd. The IMIC costs just $35. Life has changed for me...!

[FlameGrilled]

Unless there is some 'quirk' involved in the setup that makes the diff between line and phone out analogue use irrelevent to the OP, i'd suggest keeping it pretty much on the level and go line-out to line-in (aka line-out at MD -> line-in to PC/Mac) if you can't work a digtal transfer.

The prev reply, mentioning an analog input/oversampled DA output setup, sounds interesting as an alternative - like using a Terratec PhonoPreAmp Studio USB kit (with input set to 'line') - the essential diff is the Terratec is 16-bit not 24-bit.

Alternatively, for a PC anyway, a cheap way to add optical i/o and also coaxial i/o (poss SP/DIF too, can't be sure on that bit), is a Trust 514DX card to use as a cheap way to add the digital ports (no interest, of course, if your source deck lacks digital output).

As far as line vs phones out goes...

If the source device has a proper line-out, it'll be a fixed impedence/fixed level output such as line-equipped devices usually use for connection to amps etc. It's typically 'cleaner' in the sense that line-out does not (on proper implements) carry any 'colour' added to the audio that is likely out of the phones socket.

Remember, not all 'line out' sockets are true line-outs (dunno about MD other units, but from what i've seen.. the line-out's on my D-NE1 and D-NE20 and MZ-MH1 seem to be as geniune a line-out as say the line-out on my Arcam CD unit - that's simply perception based, not actuially did a proper test yet)..

A good sign, of a bad line-out (or not 'proper' line-out) is a line-out that has it's output vary if you touch the playback vol as you would for the phones out. If it's carrying the DSP/Eq you inadvertently forget to disable, then it's not really a good line-out.

In a line setup, you'd only in-line EQ as a matter of choice.. when there is a reason, not have it there enforced because of a design restriction

However, if stuck with a phones out, the earlier (in previous replies) advice is pretty sound a route to go for for phones out to line-in on a soudcard etc. Just ensure you aint running the phones out to distortion, and not overcooking the input to the line-in, else you'll get compression and other nasties set in

If you can go, in the analog domain, with line setup.. it's in your interest