Sony phx500 digital turntable USB output

[dtaylo1066]

I have a Sony PHX500 Turntable that I use to play my old records from the 70s, 80s and 90s. It has a built in phone preamp so I can connect to my Emotiva DAC via its analog RCA inputs, which of course most DACs do not have. It also possesses a quality ADC with output via USB. The USB output of course cannot be connected directly to a DAC, only a PC, and used with Sony software or that of another company to record vinyl to one's PC.

I plan on buying a new DAC or streamer in the near future, most of which do not have analog input.

My question: What device would I need to process the digital USB signal coming out from the Sony and then input it into a USB or SPDIF input of a DAC?

 

[staticV3]

What device would I need to process the digital USB signal coming out from the Sony and then input it into a USB or SPDIF input of a DAC?

A computer.

 

[dtaylo1066]

I was wondering if any type of digital interface would work. I guess not.

I don't know what kind of digital signal is coming out of the turntable.

 

[Nutul]

I don't know what kind of digital signal is coming out of the turntable.

That is exactly the point.
You could try with a PC, to understand what the TT spits out of it (although I think it will be digitized audio). Being it a Sony, though, I'd be careful, as they are known to always reinvent something... they could, for instance, encrypt or scramble the digitized audio, rendering its decoding possible with their software only... no joke.

Another way is of course that of using a digital audio interface, connect it to your PC via USB, and plug the RCA outs of the TT to it; this way you can digitize its audio, by means of a DAW, for sure, at the quality the audio interface will allow for.

 

[DVDdoug]

USB from to/from a "device" usually needs to connect to something with a driver (a computer).

...I don't know that much about streamers, but people do make streamers out of a Raspberry Pi, and that's a single-board computer.

I don't know what kind of digital signal is coming out of the turntable.

Virtually all of these things are Class Compliant so they work with the drivers supplied with Windows, OS-X, and Linux. I don't know the sample rate or bit depth. You'll have to research that, but I'm sure it's at least "CD quality" Generally, the drivers take care of any conversions so you can record at "high resolution" and the software won't tell you it's being up-sampled.

Of course, you can digitize the records and then you don't need to play the analog. You won't further-damage the record, and to some extent you can clean-up the "snap", "crackle", and "pop" and maybe EQ for better sound, etc.

 

[Vincent Kars]

what kind of digital signal is coming out of the turntable.

As is has a USB, the output is USB audio, what else could it be?
Plug it into your PC, run a program like Audacity to record its output.

USB Recording - Audacity Manual

manual.audacityteam.org

 

[dtaylo1066]

As is has a USB, the output is USB audio, what else could it be?
Plug it into your PC, run a program like Audacity to record its output.

USB Recording - Audacity Manual

manual.audacityteam.org

Yes, I have the recording software from Sony on my P.C. so I do not need Audacity. The TT literature indicates it can record from Redbook, to Hi-Res, to even DSD. But I was wondering about a possible way to bypass my computer via some digital interface and plug it into a DAC or streamer via USB or SPDIF, but I guess one needs the "Model Exclusive Windows ASIO driver."

Clearly my digital knowledge is a bit lacking.

My computer is in a different room than my audio set up, and I don't have a laptop, and dragging the TT up to my office and recording albums seems a pain in the ass.

Maybe I'll just by a cheap laptop, or I guess I could run the analog out into a Puffin.

Thanks.

 

[staticV3]

Yes, I have the recording software from Sony on my P.C. so I do not need Audacity. The TT literature indicates it can record from Redbook, to Hi-Res, to even DSD. But I was wondering about a possible way to bypass my computer via some digital interface and plug it into a DAC or streamer via USB or SPDIF, but I guess one needs the "Model Exclusive Windows ASIO driver."

Clearly my digital knowledge is a bit lacking.

My computer is in a different room than my audio set up, and I don't have a laptop, and dragging the TT up to my office and recording albums seems a pain in the ass.

Maybe I'll just by a cheap laptop, or I guess I could run the analog out into a Puffin.

Thanks.

View attachment 349659

As long as the Sony is USB Audio Class compliant, you could put a Raspberry Pi between it and the DAC to act as a USB transceiver.

Though it wouldn't be plug-and-play as you'd have to setup the Pi manually.

 

[stubaggs]

I don't know what your budget is & this may be overkill, but perhaps worth talking to Schiit to see if this Urd will do what you are looking for.

 

[staticV3]

I don't know what your budget is & this may be overkill, but perhaps worth talking to Schiit to see if this Urd will do what you are looking for.

From what I can tell, the Urd's USB inputs are for connecting USB host devices, whereas OP's turntable is a USB accessory.

I'm glad to be proven wrong though. Also, yeesh that thing's $1.3K

 

[dtaylo1066]

From what I can tell, the Urd's USB inputs are for connecting USB host devices, whereas OP's turntable is a USB accessory.

I'm glad to be proven wrong though. Also, yeesh that thing's $1.3K

Yeah, no 1.3K for Urd for me.

I wonder if Topping D10s would work, as along with being a USB DAC and can serve as a digital interface with USB in and SPDIF out and I think has Windows drivers.

 

[DWPress]

Have you determined if the TT outputs a readable PCM file format?

Keep the Emotiva DAC to use as a bridge device and get a better DAC for the rest of the signal chain? Seems like the WIM or other recent streamer/DAC had analog inputs. No need to go analog>USB digital>back to analog for just listening purposes.

 

[JSmith]

It has a built in phone preamp so I can connect to my Emotiva DAC

The TT is already sending out analog via RCA. Why have the TT ADC convert to digital, then the DAC converting again to analog?

It would be easier surely to just run the RCA out straight to an integrated amp, pre-amp and power amp or power amp with volume control.

Sony PHX500 Turntable

This rips records to PCM or DSD format to a PC only using the bundled software and uses a USB-B 2.0 out connection.


JSmith

 

[staticV3]

I wonder if Topping D10s would work, as along with being a USB DAC and can serve as a digital interface with USB in and SPDIF out and I think has Windows drivers.

You cannot plug the D10s into your Sony turntable. There has to be a computer between.

 

[dtaylo1066]

Yes, trying to avoid multiple conversions.

The Wiim has an analog input, which may be the ticket. I wish more DACs and Streamers had analog inputs.

 

[Nutul]

Yes, trying to avoid multiple conversions.

The Wiim has an analog input, which may be the ticket. I wish more DACs and Streamers had analog inputs.

A streamer could have an analog input to help you integrate your analog devices in your source for music; while a DAC, as its name implies, is not required, nor expected to have analog inputs, as they are none of its jobs...

 

[dtaylo1066]

A streamer could have an analog input to help you integrate your analog devices in your source for music; while a DAC, as its name implies, is not required, nor expected to have analog inputs, as they are none of its jobs...

Several DACs conveniently include analog inputs and when utilized as a preamp with variable output pass the analog signal through to the amplifier. My current Emotiva Stealth DAC is one of these, as is the new Emotiva DAC. It is very convenient if one has a TT or tape deck. And the Emotiva is an analog pass through preamp function and does not involve ADC.

A few streamers have analog in, such as the low cost WIIM, but many do not. I like the FIIO R7 and hope it gets reviewed here on ASR, but it does not have analog in.

My current main amplifiers are DIY Hypex based and only accept balanced XLR inputs, so that poses a problem for use with a WIIM streamer as they only have analog RCA out. Of course I can get an RCA to XLR converter or cables but that only adds more connections and/or devices.

It's a testament to the fact we are now in a digital world, despite a vinyl resurgence.

My current streaming is done via a DIY set up with Asus Tinkerboard running Volumio software. The Tinkerboard USB out is run into my Emotiva DAC which, as indicated, has an analog input and Muses volume control.

My Sony TT digital out is really meant for digitizing and recording vinyl to a PC, as the USB out is is on any TT. In the long run, if I get an all in one streamer device with only digital inputs, I guess I could get a Puffin to convert the TT analog output to SPIDIF. Or just rip my albums to digital and store on the NAS. My wife in particular likes to play old LPs, and likes the process to be simple.

I appreciate all the feedback given.

 

[Nutul]

Several DACs conveniently include analog inputs and when utilized as a preamp with variable output pass the analog signal through to the amplifier.

As you say, that' s because they act as pre-amps, which is not what a DAC - strictly speaking - is. All in all you are right, though; especially the streamers... they are more pre-amps with a streaming capability. Ah, and a DAC, of course.

 

[dtaylo1066]

I purchased my TT a couple years ago for practical reasons as I had several large boxes of great albums in my basement unused for decades after having gone digital long ago. I am not a devoted or staunch vinyl defender as many are these days, I dropped $500 on a TT to access a large library of albums, many of which my non-audiophile wife enjoys playing.

I may just have to buy or DIY a preamp to enable a proper analog and digital integration, rather than rely on a DAC or streamer for analog in.

 

[staticV3]

My current main amplifiers are DIY Hypex based and only accept balanced XLR inputs, so that poses a problem for use with a WIIM streamer as they only have analog RCA out.

Differential XLR input are fully compatible with single-ended RCA outputs.

Of course I can get an RCA to XLR converter or cables but that only adds more connections and/or devices.

An RCA->XLR cable will add neither connections nor devices, compared to an XLR->XLR cable.