Vinyl ripping + audio interface advice

[FrankTravis]

Hi everyone,
this is Frank from Italy, I’m new on this wonderful forum; had a chance to read some interesting and very useful info and various experiences on my topic - digitalize my relatively small vinyl collection - about 150 pcs - , but since I’ve found a lot of devices to focus on, maybe I would need a further advice in order to choose the right device.
Djing has always been an hobby for me, but just recently I’ve decided to “go digital”, both to save some space at home, and even for practicality/convenience of the digital format, even because today you can easily find everything (or almost )in digital format. I’ve sold all my dj equipment except for my 2x Nagaoka MP110 (which could be nicely useful again, as they are in excellent condition, :-D for my purpose).
So I would need a TT + preamp + USB ADC.
I was sticking to the CD quality of the result - 16bit- 44.1 SF - just because these are the specs of the most common and sold lossless files on the web via the most digital outlets.
But then I’ve read about declicking a file/song and that maybe a larger sample frequency/bit depth will help in the case I was to process the file.
And then I found out that I needed also a discrete audio interface for my pc, and so I discovered some devices what will serve the purpose of doing almost everything (Arturia Audiofuse rev. 2), but at what sacrifice?

So I’m like at a crossroad:

Firstly I was about to choose the simplest solution, a TT with usb output + Audacity, and I was choosing between a Pro-Ject Debut RecordMaster II, the Audio Technica AT-LP120XUSB, Thorens TD 202 - or even the HIRES options Sony PS-HX500 or the sadly discontinued Pro-ject debut Carbon DC HIRES.
But I’ve read somewhere that discrete preamps would have been better choice.

So I entered the world of the ADCs :
Korg DS-DAC-10R
Pro-Ject Phono Box DS2 USB
Thorens MM008 ADC
Art USB Phono Plus (16bit)
Pro-ject Record Box E (16bit)
NAD pp4
Furutech ADL GT40
Rega Fono Mini

And then I discovered the Audiofuse from Arturia, that I’ve actually discovered some years ago, that I discovered has a good phono preamps and adc that will do the job. But I think there are a lot of devices with these features, maybe you could help.

So basically, I would like to have an advice for my config., or as saying, which could be the best configuration between these 3 options, and within a category, which are the better devices to use.

The three configurations:

1) TT w/USB output

2) TT + preamp/adc w/USB output

3) TT + audio interface w/phono preamp + adc+usb output

Thank you in advance for sharing your experience and knowledge

Francesco

 

[BDWoody]

My suggestion...

Your turntable of choice.

Parks audio puffin or waxwing. Both have quite decent de-click/magic settings baked in you can toggle, both analog and digital output, as well as a ton of very handy features.

If your computer has a spdif input, you can go straight in, or if the analog input is tolerable you can use that, then record with your choice of software.

 

[FrankTravis]

My suggestion...

Your turntable of choice.

Parks audio puffin or waxwing. Both have quite decent de-click/magic settings baked in you can toggle, both analog and digital output, as well as a ton of very handy features.

If your computer has a spdif input, you can go straight in, or if the analog input is tolerable you can use that, then record with your choice of software.

Hi,
thank you so much for the advice, I don’t have digital inputs on my pc, so maybe a UR23 is needed.
All I want is to avoid various interferences for my recordings, do you think I just need these two (waxwing+ur23) + audacity (e.g.)?
Maybe 24 bit/96kHz (max) is better, or is it not needed?
What is your advice upon a turntable?
Within € 500/700 budget (max € 1000 - last turntable of my life , but maybe a super expensive TT it is not needed for my purpose, IDK… ).
I wanted to avoid direct drive for vibration matters, and pick a belt drive, maybe a pro-ject one, or some TT I can install my MP110, but with a good speed stability control, what is your advice?

 

[SKBubba]

Take a look at Vinyl Studio software. It will dramatically reduce the time and effort involved.

 

[BDWoody]

Hi,
thank you so much for the advice, I don’t have digital inputs on my pc, so maybe a UR23 is needed.
All I want is to avoid various interferences for my recordings, do you think I just need these two (waxwing+ur23) + audacity (e.g.)?
Maybe 24 bit/96kHz (max) is better, or is it not needed?
What is your advice upon a turntable?
Within € 500/700 budget (max € 1000 - last turntable of my life , but maybe a super expensive TT it is not needed for my purpose, IDK… ).
I wanted to avoid direct drive for vibration matters, and pick a belt drive, maybe a pro-ject one, or some TT I can install my MP110, but with a good speed stability control, what is your advice?

I'm more of a direct drive guy, but especially with turntables it's really about whatever makes you happy to play with.

I'm truly not an expert in TTs, but for new I'd go with probably Technics SL-whatever fits my budget. I've gotten lucky with a few used turntables, and the older Technics linear tracking tables with the T4P cartridge comes about as close to plug and play as you can get. They were also very good turntables. SL-5, SL-7 especially can be found for a decent price. The SL-10 or SL-15 are both going for a fair bit more than most want to spend if they don't know exactly what they are buying.

My daily driver is a Kenwood KP880Dii with a VM540 cartridge, and I don't feel like I need to upgrade anything. I have an SL-10 in the office that is also just a really good, easy table.

 

[BDWoody]

Maybe 24 bit/96kHz (max) is better, or is it not needed?
What is your advice upon a turntable?

I forgot to respond to this part.

High sample rates aren't really needed, you are right, but I can always convert to whatever file format I like after it has been recorded. On my puffin, I can toggle between 24/48 and 24/96 (I choose 24/48). I don't know if the Waxwing allows you to set it to output 16/44 as you'd prefer, but I don't mind the slightly bigger file size and 24/48 should play on almost anything.

 

[JP]

If you're going to de-click in post then 96kHz can help some of the implementations operate a bit better. 24 bit as you won't need to obsess about optimizing recording level. 16/44 is fine for the final product, as are higher rates if that floats your boat.

 

[5-pot-fan]

I have been using a Furutech ADLGT40a connected to my turntable at one end and a PC running Audacity at the other to digitise my vinyl over the last 3 winters. The results have been acceptable to my ears.
The GT40a also acts as the DAC for playing digital files out to my preamp.
The previous model GT40 got poor ratings here on ASR so I would not recommend it other than it can sometimes be obtained cheaply now and as implied if it contains a phono preamp + DAC + ADC and may be a way of Initially spending more on your speakers, which I think many here would say should be your priority.

 

[DVDdoug]

but just recently I’ve decided to “go digital”,

Don't you already have a turntable and preamp? Or a mixer or receiver with a phono preamp?

And if you happen to have a desktop/tower computer with a regular soundcard, the line-input is often adequate and you might not need an audio interface. If there's an issue with your soundcard it's usually noise. (Most laptops only have mono mic-in and headphone-out.)

was sticking to the CD quality of the result - 16bit- 44.1 SF -

"CD quality" is obviously better than analog vinyl, but if your hardware supports higher resolution (almost) the only downside is bigger files.

But then I’ve read about declicking a file/song and that maybe a larger sample frequency/bit depth will help in the case I was to process the file.

I'm not sure if that's really true. I've had Wave Repair ($30 USD) for a long time. It doesn't support high-resolution (that's why I said "almost"). It offers several repair methods and it can do a audibly perfect job on most (but not all) clicks & pops. It's manual, so it only "touches" the audio where you identify a defect, but the downside of that is that often takes me most of a weekend to fix-up an album. That's too long for 150 albums, depending on thdir condition. I also have Wave Corrector (FREE) which is fully-automatic, but I don't have as much experience with it.

but maybe a super expensive TT it is not needed for my purpose

I've never heard a defect or difference from a turntable except for rumble from a super-cheap turntable/record player with a plastic platter. The cartridge can make a difference (frequency response) and the preamp might have audible noise. But the frequency balance on records varies (especially on older records) and it can be tweaked with EQ. And the surface noise on records is usually worse than preamp noise.

 

[FrankTravis]

Don't you already have a turntable and preamp? Or a mixer or receiver with a phono preamp?

No, I’ve sold them some time ago, actually. Gotta buy a new TT.

And if you happen to have a desktop/tower computer with a regular soundcard, the line-input is often adequate and you might not need an audio interface. If there's an issue with your soundcard it's usually noise. (Most laptops only have mono mic-in and headphone-out.)

That’s my current pc config:
Shuttle SH370R8
Intel i7-9700k
Windows 11 Pro
1st HDD - samsung NVME 970 pro 512 GB
Silverstone SST-TP02 nvme diss.
2nd HDD - samsung SATA 860 pro 512 GB
Crucial 32GB kit DDR4 2666 mHZ dual rank
Shuttle WLN-M wifi module

So no discrete sound card, that’s why I was asking if maybe a discrete sound card/audio interface was needed, but probably not. I post some images of the back:

"CD quality" is obviously better than analog vinyl, but if your hardware supports higher resolution (almost) the only downside is bigger files.


I'm not sure if that's really true. I've had Wave Repair ($30 USD) for a long time. It doesn't support high-resolution (that's why I said "almost"). It offers several repair methods and it can do a audibly perfect job on most (but not all) clicks & pops. It's manual, so it only "touches" the audio where you identify a defect, but the downside of that is that often takes me most of a weekend to fix-up an album. That's too long for 150 albums, depending on thdir condition. I also have Wave Corrector (FREE) which is fully-automatic, but I don't have as much experience with it.

Ok, thanks

I've never heard a defect or difference from a turntable except for rumble from a super-cheap turntable/record player with a plastic platter. The cartridge can make a difference (frequency response) and the preamp might have audible noise. But the frequency balance on records varies (especially on older records) and it can be tweaked with EQ. And the surface noise on records is usually worse than preamp noise.

What is your advice? I was thinking about a model from Pro-ject

 

[FrankTravis]

I have been using a Furutech ADLGT40a connected to my turntable at one end and a PC running Audacity at the other to digitise my vinyl over the last 3 winters. The results have been acceptable to my ears.
The GT40a also acts as the DAC for playing digital files out to my preamp.
The previous model GT40 got poor ratings here on ASR so I would not recommend it other than it can sometimes be obtained cheaply now and as implied if it contains a phono preamp + DAC + ADC and may be a way of Initially spending more on your speakers, which I think many here would say should be your priority.

Does it support ws 11?
Maybe we have no rating compared to the older model?

 

[DVDdoug]

Blue on your computer is line-in. Try it with a CD player or your phone or whatever you have handy (headphone-out works to line-in). Especially check for noise during silence or quiet parts.

What is your advice? I was thinking about a model from Pro-ject

I don't have a recommendation. I've got an old Technics direct drive (not the expensive DJ model) and I've never had any trouble with it, so that's made me a fan of direct drive (although I'm not a fan if vinyl ). It's only used these days for occasionally digitizing a record, so most of the years have been light use but belts & drive wheels can deteriorate when not in use.

If I were buying a turntable, I'd seriously consider the AT-LP120XUSB It's direct drive and comes ready-to-play with a cartridge, built-in and USB.

 

[FrankTravis]

If you're going to de-click in post then 96kHz can help some of the implementations operate a bit better. 24 bit as you won't need to obsess about optimizing recording level. 16/44 is fine for the final product, as are higher rates if that floats your boat.

Got it ;-)

What is the advantage of the Waxwing over, for example, a Pro-ject Phono box ds2 usb (discontinued actually, but still available somewhere), which still has digital/optical+usb outputs?

 

[MaxwellsEq]

Got it ;-)

What is the advantage of the Waxwing over, for example, a Pro-ject Phono box ds2 usb (discontinued actually, but still available somewhere), which still has digital/optical+usb outputs?

Have.a look at what the Waxwing can do. It's an amazing toolbox of flexible and almost infinitely adjustable settings.

 

[FrankTravis]

Blue on your computer is line-in. Try it with a CD player or your phone or whatever you have handy (headphone-out works to line-in). Especially check for noise during silence or quiet parts.


I don't have a recommendation. I've got an old Technics direct drive (not the expensive DJ model) and I've never had any trouble with it, so that's made me a fan of direct drive (although I'm not a fan if vinyl ). It's only used these days for occasionally digitizing a record, so most of the years have been light use but belts & drive wheels can deteriorate when not in use.

If I were buying a turntable, I'd seriously consider the AT-LP120XUSB It's direct drive and comes ready-to-play with a cartridge, built-in and USB.

I’ve seriously considered to buy this model, as it is ready to use, but some think this is not good for quality rips, for some reasons. Somehow I can understand this.

 

[JP]

Got it ;-)

What is the advantage of the Waxwing over, for example, a Pro-ject Phono box ds2 usb (discontinued actually, but still available somewhere), which still has digital/optical+usb outputs?

Tough one as I'm not aware of any performance data for the Waxwing, though its predecessor was competent and there are a ton of features. The ADC on the Pro-ject is surprisingly poor. It may not matter with vinyl, but it's bothersome all the same.

Were I to have to choose one, I'd go with the Waxwing.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

The Waxwing is a newer version of the Puffin, which @amirm reviewed Thread 'Parks Audio Puffin Review (Phono Stage)' https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/parks-audio-puffin-review-phono-stage.19795/

 

[DVDdoug]

but some think this is not good for quality rips, for some reasons.

I'd want to know, specifically, what they are complaining about. There was a website (now gone) that rated & reviewed turntables for digitizing and they liked it. The original version had low digital output but there were no problems after amplifying (after digitizing). I don't think that's still the case. I think the level is higher now. Too-high output is more of a problem because if you clip the ADC (built-into the turntable) the damage is permanent.

And IMO - After some point, it's foolish to chase-after quality with vinyl. ...I was foolishly doing that back in the vinyl days, even through I knew the records were the "real problem" (because there were a few "great-sounding" records).

 

[FrankTravis]

Have.a look at what the Waxwing can do. It's an amazing toolbox of flexible and almost infinitely adjustable settings.

I’ve read something very interesting about its flexibility, I’m gonna go in depth..

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

For noise reduction I'd suggest DCart software. It sells for well under $100 and was originally developed by two audio geeks to de-noise cylinders for the Edison Audio museum. It's very easy to use and produces great results. They have an active, very civilized, forum where the founders participate regularly. I used it on all my vinyl.