Best Card to Copy LP's to CD?

[Godhead7]

I am looking for a new sound card. The main thing it would be used for would be games, but I have about 600 albums that I would like to copy from record to CD. Does anyone know which is the best card to do that with. I had been looking at an Audigy because it seems that it would be easier to plug the turntable into the front jacks, but am open to any card that would help.

If no sound card is easier then another, which Audigy would give me the best sound for the dollar. I am only running 4.1 sound and don't plan on upgrading any time soon.

Here are my specs:
P4 2.5 (sound drivers built into mother board)
512 RAM
40G HD
120G External HD
NEC DVD ROM
Sony DRU 500 DVD Burner

Soylent Green is PEOPLE!!!!

 

[phsstpok]

Godhead7,

I don't have an answer, sorry, but I do have a follow-up question for the forum.

I have one friend who is recording his lp collection. He's just using the Intel onboard sound which he finds is adequate but he's just making CD's to play in his car.

One thing he does find essential is his impulse noise reduction unit (dBX brand I think <b>[EDIT - just remembered, SAE brand not dBX]</b>), to get rid of ticks and pops.

I have another friend that wants to do the same thing but doesn't own the impulse noise gadget. This friend wants to archive his music. I don't know if he needs/wants a better sound card or not [so I'm interested in the answers you get]. He's far from being an audiophile but he probably wants to record with decent quality.

Here's my question:

Is there anything that will do the impulse noise reduction at the PC end? a software based filter?



<b>56K, slow and steady does not win the race on internet!</b><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phsstpok on 10/02/03 12:19 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[siranthony]

Anything that would reduce pops or noise will probably effect the overall sound quality. The best thing is to get your record clean before you record it. A few minor pops don't bother me. Thats just the price you pay for better sound. You can get rid of them if you want to invest in an expensive record cleaner. If you want good sound I would use at least an audigy2. I use an Maudio omni studio which is a home studio type solution. It works very well. Very nice sound. This is also a good program for recording records <A HREF="http://www.tucows.com/preview/194683.html" target="_new">http://www.tucows.com/preview/194683.html</A> Takes some of the headaches out of recording.

P4 2.4c @ 3.0 ASUS P4P800 dx Geil Golden Dragon PC4000 2.5,3,3,6 250FSB 1:1 Radeon 9800 non-pro 2 Maxtor 60gig 7200rpm 8mb cach in raid 0 SB Audigy 2 Antec True 480

 

[r2k]

I suggest cleaning the records and using a good turntable and a decent phono stage and forgetting about things like Creative's pops/cracks cleanup process because as someone else said they affect the overall quality and the processing will be done at 16-bit/48KHz. The general advice to do LP to CD is recording at 24-bit/96KHz, then processing the resulting wave files in a good editing program to clean up the pops, cracks, etc (instead of using procedures like Audigy/2/ZS's audio cleanup) and only then converting to 16-bit/44.1 KHz (native CD resolution). The extra headroom in 24-bit recording helps minimizing the quantization errors and the resulting artifacts and reductions in quality during the editing process. And some say recording at 96KHz sampling rate makes for a better sound because of the supposedly extra headroom the LP has over CD (which is a controversial topic). Anyway, you should start with a 24-bit card. I remember guru3d.com had an article comparing the Terratec DMX-6Fire to Audigy2 in various regards and they said Audigy2 was just a tiny bit better quality-wise in recording from LPs. So I guess Audigy2 ZS can be a decent start. There are several other 24-bit cards at that price range too. But if you game a lot the Audigy2 ZS can be a best of both worlds solution.

 

[phsstpok]

I guess it depends on the quality of your audio gear. I've told my two friends many times that they should invest in a record cleaner. I've never had an LP collection but even I know this. One friend just blows the dust off the records the other (the pseudo-audiophile) uses one of those ridiculous static brushes that really just pushes the dust around the grooves (LOL - I think his records sound worse after he uses the brush).

The impulse noise reduction unit works very well. It's does a good job removing the ticks & pops (which I find extremely distracting) without greatly affecting the music. It just looks for extremely high rates of attack and masks the impulse or kills amplitude (I forget which). IIRC the reaction time is adjustable but it's really short, milliseconds.

As for sound cards, I've never seen (haven't tried very hard) good testing on the recording quality of common sound cards. I've seen testing on playback but not recording. I've often wondered if the better cards for playback are necessarily the best for recording.

Anyway, I don't think the friend that hasn't started recording yet will buy any new gear, which means no record cleaner. However, he is talking about a new computer and since his SB Live didn't bother him (he has the crackly sound issue) he'll likely get an Audigy 2 with the new system.

I have a question.

Even with record cleaning, some ticks and pops are unavoidable. How objectionable are they when the sound are recorded digitally on a PC? Does the noise get masked somewhat? [<- edited for clarity].

Thanks for the help and the link.

<b>56K, slow and steady does not win the race on internet!</b><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phsstpok on 10/04/03 07:50 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[siranthony]

On weather records sound better than cd's being a contravercaial issue. I don't think it's that contrvercial. The people who are big record audiophiles will say records always sound better. They may be right but these guys spend rediculious amounts of money on thier sound equipment. Anywhere from $700 to $25000 for a turntable. Not to mention the tube amplifiers and cables and so on. These guys could have $50000 or more invested in thier hobby. I think these guys are a little nuts. I read reviews and found the Music Hall MMF-5 was a very good sounding turn table for around 4 to 5 hundred. In my experience resords have the best sound if you are listening to older music. I am into late 70's to current rock and some jazz and soul. I find that older records from say late 80's and earlier always sound alot better on record. When you buy the CD version the original sound just doesn't come through. I have gotten new CD's and compared them to the record. Yes you can still get new records. The difference is alot harder to tell with the new stuff. But that could be for several reasons. One is the new stuff is probably mastered digitally then transfered to record. That would nullify the records better bandwidth. Two is CD's are EQ'ed alot differently than records were. They emphisize the bandwith that the CD does have. I have noticed that cd's have much punchier bass and they sound more precise but a little harsher. Records have a fuller, wider sound and a more pleasant sounding high end. So I think it's more of what your sound preference is. I listen to new stuff on CD and old stuff on record.

P4 2.4c @ 3.0 ASUS P4P800 dx Geil Golden Dragon PC4000 2.5,3,3,6 250FSB 1:1 Radeon 9800 non-pro 403core 335mem 2 Maxtor 60gig 7200rpm 8mb cach in raid 0 SB Audigy 2 Antec True 480

 

[phsstpok]

..forgetting about things like Creative's pops/cracks cleanup process

I missed that clause. So my question is answered. There is at least one piece of software that filters ticks and pops.

Maybe there is some better software available if Creative's isn't up to the task.

<b>56K, slow and steady does not win the race on internet!</b>

 

[the_Prisoner]

I think CDs are limited to 20-20,000Hz. Lps arent. So LPs have better range. On Jazz and classical, you can hear the difference. For Rock, since it is so compressed it dosent matter. If I can find it, their is a great site telling how LPs and CDs were recorded because of the difference in the media.

Like some else said, mkae sure you have a decent phono amp and you can buy a great 1960's era Thoren turntable on ebay for about 150-200 dollars.

Also Goldwave makes a great audio software package. Free trial use, 40 dollars to buy.

the Prisoner

I'm not a number, I'm a free man!