Convert vinyl and cassettes using old equipment

[simonthesaint]

I want to convert some of my old LP's and cassette tapes. For this I intend to borrow my mothers old Hitachi HRD-MD28 FM Receiver with matching Hitachi HT-MD28 turntable. I also have access to a 1987 Fisher FM Stereo/Audio tape deck for converting audio cassettes.

I know that there are several options for these kind of projects, e.g the terratec Ivinyl device or the NAD PP-series preamps. But which options offers the most extensive editing capabilities and the best end-result? I'm on a fairly tight budget so any decent solutions below £100 or possibly up to £150 would be interesting, especially if it allows converting audio cassettes as well.

My concern is that my old Hitachi system (which now belongs to my mother) will let me down in terms of audio quality when converting, considering that the only visible outlet from the turntable is a flat and white connector (forgive me for my lack of technical knowledge) intended for the Hitachi Receiver only which would prevent me from connecting the turntable directly to any other preamp or suchlike and since this Hitachi system is rather outdated.

So the bottom line is that I would like as much bang for the buck while having the possibility to enhance the output in terms of audio quality as much as possible.

 

[Andrew Everard]

All the affordable analogue to computer input devices come with some kind of editing software, which isn't device-specific. But you can always use them with other editing software, either paid for or shareware - for example, have a look at Audacity, which is free.

And bear in mind that while the likes of the USB phono stages are designed for use with turntables, you may need a different device for line sources such as the cassette deck.

 

[Tonya]

If you have lots of cassettes to convert, you may want to consider borrowing/buying a Philips DCC recorder.
You can pick up one of these babies up on ebay or similar for around £50 or so.
The neat thing about them is that when you are playing those old treasured cassettes from yesteryear, most DCC players have a coaxial digital audio out which I find manages to extract every detail of the original recording.
I've been using one for years.

 

[Anonymous]

The NAD PP 3 has line as well as RIAA input.

If you've got an amp with RIAA input, your best bet will be an inexpensive USB "soundcard", like M-Audio Transit.

As AE says, there's lots of free or inexpensive software. Just don't trust automated functions...

To be honest, after digitizing a few gems from my vinyl collection, I prefer to buy the albums from iTunes. The cost is low if working hours mean something to you, and sound quality will be better; at least unless you've got audiophile LPs in mint condition and a very expensive turntable and cartridge.

 

[Anonymous]

not sure where you live, but some shops sell new cd's for as little as £3 (the one I frequent in Cambridge is called Fopp Records ... and they have a fairly good selection of older music)

I personally would not be looking at converting from old cassette tapes ... that's just my opinion

 

[Anonymous]

dim_span:I personally would not be looking at converting from old cassette tapes ... that's just my opinion

Hey, don't you know there's a growing 'compact cassettes have better sound' community among audiophiles who've tired from the inconvenience of vinyl?

 

[John Duncan]

Or get a premium subscription to Spotify, which will give you better quality, generally. Depends how you want to listen to the music (ie on the move etc)...

 

[Anonymous]

Fahnsen:

dim_span:I personally would not be looking at converting from old cassette tapes ... that's just my opinion

Hey, don't you know there's a growing 'compact cassettes have better sound' community among audiophiles who've tired from the inconvenience of vinyl?

well, not sure what cassetes the 'audiophiles' are using ... I have loads of old ones as I still use my old sony walkman almost daily ...

after constant use and age, I find some tend to 'stretch' a little ... I would still prefer paying a few quid for a brand new cd

suppose it boils down to preference ...

I also agree with the spotify suggestion

 

[Anonymous]

This is quite a cheap thing to try out. I have done quite a few LP's with good results myself and it only cost the price of an interconnect.

You first need to establish if you have a line out on your Hitachi. (it might be called tape out or something similar) You then need to get an interconnect that will connect this to the line in (microphone) on your PC sound card.

Get some free software as Andrew suggested Audigy or similar (take some time to find one you like and can cope with). Set it up so it see's the line in as source on your PC.

Play the LP and fiddle about with the volume controls and software to get the recording level right so there is no clipping. Then Record LP as a WAV file. Depending on the free software you will be able to pause this recording to change sides and split this up into tracks but it's better to apply any editing (scratch and hiss removal for example) before you split the file. You'll now end up with a WAV of each track and these can be placed in a folder and burnt to CD using WMP or the free software. Because they are WAV's you can get a pretty good reproduction of the original sound. Note that the files are quite big (up to 600MB) so do delete stuff as you go along. (Tip WMP will usually find the album info if you put the tracks in the right order with the right titles (filemanes) and name the folder exactly the same as the album. If not you can force a search.)

There are site where you can find old album cover art on the Web Try Googling CD covers for example. I've been able to find most stuff to make suitable jewel case inserts and even to print the CD's to look like the original vinyl complete with label in the middle!

One thing I will say - if the album you start with is well used don't attempt to over edit it to remove the scratch noises or you lose too much of the original. If you apply a light touch you should end up with a nice reporduction of your original LP. compressed to MP3 it'll sound fine alongside anything else on your ipod.