iMic or something better, to digitize vinyl ?
JGE
I want an A/D to digitize vinyl (I have a good turntable and phono pre-
amp)
in a Mac G4. iMic is the easy choice, but I'm wondering if it's worth
paying
a little more for something like the Cakewalk UA-1G:
http://the-gadgeteer.com/2009/07/08/cakewalk-ua-1g-usb-audio-interface-review/
... or am I paying for extra functionality I don't want or need, and
the iMic will do
just as well for my task ? Or should I consider something else, not
wanting to
go over $100 ?
Thanks, John
Mike Cleaver
> I want an A/D to digitize vinyl (I have a good turntable and phono pre-
> amp)
> in a Mac G4. iMic is the easy choice, but I'm wondering if it's worth
> paying
> a little more for something like the Cakewalk UA-1G:
>
>
> ... or am I paying for extra functionality I don't want or need, and
> the iMic will do
> just as well for my task ? Or should I consider something else, not
> wanting to
> go over $100 ?
>
> Thanks, John
If you have a phono preamp, does it have digital or analogue outputs?
If it's analogue, all you need is an adapter cord to go from the
preamp outs to the line in on your Mac.
Then use the audio program to record.
That's it.
You probably just need rca left and right out to 1/8" stereo input to
the Mac.
If it's digital, just the proper cord should do the trick.
Mike Rivers
> I want an A/D to digitize vinyl (I have a good turntable and phono pre-
> amp)
> in a Mac G4. iMic is the easy choice, but I'm wondering if it's worth
> paying
> a little more for something like the Cakewalk UA-1G:
There are hundreds of audio interfaces. I suppose that one is as good as
any if you're not sufficiently committed to the project ot spend several
hundred
dollars.
I have a Behringer UCA-202 ($30) around the shop for general purpose
I/O which would work just fine for your job. There are some advantages
to recording
24-bit and 96 kHz sample rate (which the Cakewalk interface will do and the
Behringer won't) but only if you're going to spend some time de-noising,
de-clicking
and generally sprucing up your recordings. If you're going to make them
into CDs
you'll need 16-bit 44.1 kHz files, and if you're just going to pack
thousands of them
into MP3 format to listen to on your computer, you can use any old piece
of junk.
I try to avoid buying things that have an "i" prefix just on general
principles.
JGE
Thanks for the responses, Mikes.
Not all Mac's have a built-in A/D for an audio input. I think it's
mainly the newer laptops.
I want CD quality, not MP3. The Cakewalk specs sampling rate
and word-width sufficient for CD, while the iMic specifies nothing.
I guess I'm answering my own question ...
Arny Krueger
news:69066c86-5468-4b4a...@9g2000yqa.googlegroups.com
> I want an A/D to digitize vinyl (I have a good turntable
> and phono pre- amp)
> in a Mac G4. iMic is the easy choice, but I'm wondering
> if it's worth paying
> a little more for something like the Cakewalk UA-1G:
> http://the-gadgeteer.com/2009/07/08/cakewalk-ua-1g-usb-audio-interface-review/
IME the record side of the iMic is really pretty shabby.
> ... or am I paying for extra functionality I don't want
> or need, and the iMic will do
> just as well for my task ? Or should I consider
> something else, not wanting to
> go over $100 ?
I'll second Mike's recommendation of the Behringer UCA 202. It is almost CD
quality, and more than enough to digitize LPs without audible degradation.
Any noise or distortion you hear will be from the digitized file will be
from the LP and the phono preamp, not the UCA 202.
Here's some test results:
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:+0.09, -0.09
Noise level, dB (A): -89.0
Dynamic range, dB (A): 87.0
THD, %: 0.063
IMD, %: 0.044
Stereo crosstalk, dB: 90.1
IMD at 10 kHz, %: 0.042
Scott Dorsey
The converters in the iMic are pretty awful.... the Cakewalk is nothing
to write home about but it's a reasonable entry-level box. M-Audio makes
something in a similar price and quality range.
If you're spent a couple thousand bucks on a good turntable and preamp,
though, do you really want to cheap out on bargain basement converters
like this? On the other hand, the money you save on converters you can
spend for a better record cleaning system....
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
JGE
> "JGE" <j...@cs.unc.edu> wrote in message
>
> news:69066c86-5468-4b4a...@9g2000yqa.googlegroups.com
>
> > I want an A/D to digitize vinyl (I have a good turntable
> > and phono pre- amp)
> > in a Mac G4. iMic is the easy choice, but I'm wondering
> > if it's worth paying
> > a little more for something like the Cakewalk UA-1G:
>
> IME the record side of the iMic is really pretty shabby.
>
> > ... or am I paying for extra functionality I don't want
> > or need, and the iMic will do
> > just as well for my task ? Or should I consider
> > something else, not wanting to
> > go over $100 ?
>
> I'll second Mike's recommendation of the Behringer UCA 202. It is almost CD
> quality, and more than enough to digitize LPs without audible degradation.
> Any noise or distortion you hear will be from the digitized file will be
> from the LP and the phono preamp, not the UCA 202.
>
> Here's some test results:
>
> Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB:+0.09, -0.09
> Noise level, dB (A): -89.0
> Dynamic range, dB (A): 87.0
> THD, %: 0.063
> IMD, %: 0.044
> Stereo crosstalk, dB: 90.1
> IMD at 10 kHz, %: 0.042
Sounds like this UCA 202 might be the way to go. Thanks for the
rec.
Searching, they seem to have a UFO 202 product as well. With
identical
specs, I imagine it has the same A/D and D/A, but it also has a phono
input,
which apparently can be switched on and off (phono vs. line-level
inputs).
Maybe silly to get, since I have a phono preamp, likely of higher
quality.
THey make a song-and-dance about the "masive software bundle" with
the UFO 202, but I imagine I can download what I need if I get UCA
202.
There's also a UCA222, but it looks like it just has stuff I don't
need for
my purposes, like low latency, but likely no better A/D quality.
Ty Ford
(in article <hg2vbg$njc$1...@news.eternal-september.org>):
>
> I have a Behringer UCA-202 ($30) around the shop for general purpose
> I/O which would work just fine for your job. There are some advantages
> to recording
> 24-bit and 96 kHz sample rate (which the Cakewalk interface will do and the
> Behringer won't) but only if you're going to spend some time de-noising,
> de-clicking
> and generally sprucing up your recordings. If you're going to make them
> into CDs
> you'll need 16-bit 44.1 kHz files, and if you're just going to pack
> thousands of them
> into MP3 format to listen to on your computer, you can use any old piece
> of junk.
>
> I try to avoid buying things that have an "i" prefix just on general
> principles.
ION's TAPE2PC cassette deck has RCA jacks on the back to which you can
connect a turntable preamp.
http://www.ionaudio.com/tape2pc
Regards,
Ty Ford
--Audio Equipment Reviews Audio Production Services
Acting and Voiceover Demos http://www.tyford.com
Guitar player?:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWaPRHMGhGA
Adrian Tuddenham
> Thanks for the responses, Mikes.
>
> Not all Mac's have a built-in A/D for an audio input. I think it's
> mainly the newer laptops.
Many of the beige Mac boxes had it built-in; the 7600 and the G3 being
the best of the bunch. Under OS 8.6 you can run Coaster for direct high
quality stereo recording and there is a free version of Peak for
editing. (The audio hardware and software is completely screwed-up in
the colourful OS 9x G3 & G4 computers, so you would have to use
third-party devices with those)
> I want CD quality, not MP3. The Cakewalk specs sampling rate
> and word-width sufficient for CD, while the iMic specifies nothing.
> I guess I'm answering my own question ...
The iMac is just about tolerable for line input and totally useless for
mic input. See:
http://www.poppyrecords.co.uk/other/imic/imicmods.htm
--
~ Adrian Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk
JGE
I have purchased the Behringer UFO 202. Slightly cheaper
than the iMic ($29.99 with free shipping from B&H) and sounds
like I can't do better without spending well over $100. We'll see.
Thanks everyone.
JGE
> I have purchased the Behringer UFO 202. Slightly cheaper
> like I can't do better without spending well over $100. We'll see.
> Thanks everyone.
Duh, I mean the UCA 202. (I guess this forum won't let you edit a post
you already made).
Misifus
It's Usenet. You send it and it's forever. :)
-Raf
--
Misifus-
Rafael Seibert
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafiii
home: http://www.rafandsioux.com
nebulax
> I want an A/D to digitize vinyl (I have a good turntable and phono pre-
> amp)
> in a Mac G4. iMic is the easy choice, but I'm wondering if it's worth
> paying
> a little more for something like the Cakewalk UA-1G:
>
>
> ... or am I paying for extra functionality I don't want or need, and
> the iMic will do
> just as well for my task ? Or should I consider something else, not
> wanting to
> go over $100 ?
>
> Thanks, John
A little out of your price limits, but Pro-Ject has a phono preamp
with a built in USB output for $199. I haven't seen a review of that
particular model, but Pro-Ject's preamps usually are usually
considered some of the best bang-for-the-buck units on the market.
Pro-Ject Phono Box USB Phono Preamp
http://www.needledoctor.com/Pro-Ject-Phono-Box-USB-Phono-Preamp?sc=2&category=401
-Neb
Adrian Tuddenham
> Duh, I mean the UCA 202. (I guess this forum won't let you edit a post
> you already made).
There is a replacement facility if you post with MacSOUP. I don't know
how other newsreaders react to a replacement post, they might still
display the original.
Adrian Tuddenham
> Duh, I mean the UCA 202. (I guess this forum won't let you edit a post
> you already made).
There is a replacement facility if you post with MacSOUP. I don't know
how other newsreaders react to a replacement post, they might still
display the original.
This is the demonstration replacement version