Which sound card for upload?

[thadpe]

I'm a total newbie to uploading, and think I've finally figured out what I need to upload my old MDs to my PC, but am stuck on the sound card selection.

I have an ancient Sharp MD-MS722 that I recorded a lot of mixes on (analog input) and want to create WAVs + mp3s from them. I want to upload digitally to maintain sound quality.

I've figured out that I need a deck with an optical out -- old Sonys seem to be available on ebay for under $100. And I know I need a sound card with optical input. I've found some old references on the forums to these cards:

Chaintech AV-710

Terratec Aureon 5.1 (pci + usb)

Turtle Beach Montego DDL 7.1

Is there an inexpensive card that'll do a good job of this?

I don't really need the surround sound, etc., but I am picky about keeping the incoming sound as high quality as possible. And I'd prefer a usb card if that's feasible, so I can use my laptop.

Also:

1. Do I need anything else besides my normal recording software that I use for analog input?

I've used Feurio in the past but it seems like people are using other things these days.

2. This will sound stupid, but what cable do I need -- toslink, mini-toslink?

The only optical plug I have laid eyes on is the one on my MS722, which looks like a mini-toslink(??), so excuse the ignorance!

Thanks for any suggestions!

[sfbp]

Very quickly:

- Sony w/opti out, yes.

- Terratec PCI, yes, not expensive (Turtle beach, no way I sent the Montego back). Don't have experience of the USB version. However you are going to need USB (and all of the bandwidth) for SonicStage at some point, using a dongle-type optical input may turn out to be annoying in the end. The only problem you have is that Terratec is hard to find here in N.Am.

- Toslink is the square plug from back of deck, and into my soundcard. Minitoslink is only for the INPUT to md (or conceivably Apple notebook). If you need mini-to-mini or mini-to-toslink, you can buy the right cable on ebay without too much difficulty. Toslink at both ends can be found locally most likely.

- Software you need something that can capture the sound card's digital input. Waverec is free and german-menued, but it works fine.

- For editing, I use CoolEdit which was bought by Adobe and became Adobe Audition. There are lots of others. If you have an editor that works for you, that's fine.

Good luck, and welcome to MDCF!

[bobt]

The other simpler oprion is an RH1 or M200, they will let you digitally upload with a lot less hassle

Bob

[sfbp]

The other simpler oprion is an RH1 or M200, they will let you digitally upload with a lot less hassle

Bob

You're right Bob. I was meaning to add that to my post. Of course anything which is :prohibited: eg something downloaded onto MD, won't work with that route, whereas it *will* work with the optical.

[thadpe]

Thanks a lot guys. Appreciate the input, as I couldn't find an up to date faq on this.

- So it seems that any sound card with optical in would do? I'll check ratings/prices on amazon then. I read some comments to stay away from audigy. But most people are concerned about the digital output rather than input so it's hard to gauge from those.

- SonicStage: Sorry, I'm not really clear on what I will use this software for if I'm using Waverec for recording and an editor for editing. I'm not really concerned about maintaining track cuts and titling, if that's part of it. Is it to control the MD player from the pc so I don't have to press play + record manually?

- I did read about the RH1 / M200, but I don't know anyone with such a thing and am not ready to drop the coin just to do the transfer. Someone recommended posting a request to ask an owner to do it for you -- seems like a lot to ask but I'm willing to try. Which forum would I do that in?

[sfbp]

It's not so much about the "quality" of the digital in/out but more about the functionality. For example the Terratec has a nice little check box that allows you to ignore SCMS (at least I think that's what it does, I've never had a hassle with MD output into that card).

Sonic Stage is quite useful for titling before you upload.

[thadpe]

It's not so much about the "quality" of the digital in/out but more about the functionality. For example the Terratec has a nice little check box that allows you to ignore SCMS (at least I think that's what it does, I've never had a hassle with MD output into that card).

Sonic Stage is quite useful for titling before you upload.

Found the Terratec Aureon Fun on ebay for $12, so I'll grab that!

[sfbp]

Dat's (pardon the pun) de one. 5.1 PCI?

[thadpe]

Yep, looks it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=270408221417

[sfbp]

Holy cow! I paid that many POUNDS for mine. And thought that it was cheap. I recommend ANYONE here to grab one at that price!!!!

FYI the toslink-to-mini looks like this

toslink-to-toslink looks like this

The adapter cable is optical at both ends, just happens to fit in the specially designed linein/optical sockets which also accept electrical input from a normal stereo 1/8" jack plug.

[Giant_Rick]

Any hint for a soundcard that support 24 bit and 96 kHz recordings? Thanks

[sfbp]

Doesn't their 7.1 card do that?

http://www.terratec.net/en/products/Aureon_7.1_PCI_2252.html

I had trouble finding it on their website, so you may have to look in stockists. They have a list of dealers in the different European countries.

[Giant_Rick]

Doesn't their 7.1 card do that?

http://www.terratec.net/en/products/Aureon_7.1_PCI_2252.html

I had trouble finding it on their website, so you may have to look in stockists. They have a list of dealers in the different European countries.

It says ''8/16bit recording & playback at up to 48kHz (mono/stereo)'', so I assume it doesn't support 24 bit playback

The Onkyo soundcard is AWESOME, but seems pricy..

I'm on fire with Onkyo stuff, I'm thinkin' of buying an amplifier and a good radio receiver.. yum!

[sfbp]

It says ''8/16bit recording & playback at up to 48kHz (mono/stereo)'', so I assume it doesn't support 24 bit playback

Well if you look closer, you see it says SP/DIF I/O at 96kHz. Isn't that what counts? If you have optically connected devices at that bit rate, they will work correctly.

The "up to 48Khz" presumably applies to A->D, but you are planning to use the PCM-D10 or some other recording device to do the high resolution stuff. If you aren't, I doubt if any in-the-PC sound card will be good enough anyway; there are probably too many sources of noise, yes?

And for playback do you have devices that reproduce the higher rate, that you want to connect to the card?

What you want is compatibility, surely.

[Giant_Rick]

Well if you look closer, you see it says SP/DIF I/O at 96kHz. Isn't that what counts? If you have optically connected devices at that bit rate, they will work correctly.

The "up to 48Khz" presumably applies to A->D, but you are planning to use the PCM-D10 or some other recording device to do the high resolution stuff. If you aren't, I doubt if any in-the-PC sound card will be good enough anyway; there are probably too many sources of noise, yes?

And for playback do you have devices that reproduce the higher rate, that you want to connect to the card?

What you want is compatibility, surely.

I have some DVD-Audio and I just wanna listen to them.. and no, I don't have any device that works at that high rates; the only two things in my house with a digital out are the DVB and my lovely Sony MZ NH900

A very nice soundcard I've seen is the Audiophile 24/96 that supports those high rates; it's also an interesting thing as I can record the guitar (I play it) straight to the PC and it gets pretty nice.

The bad side is this is like 100 €.