Recording vinyl onto my B2

[Robert Cole]

I include myself in the cluster of people that are of a certain age, and as such, I have a lot of LP's and singles.

The B2 was sold as a jukebox, that has the facility of recording the aforementioned, in addition to CD's. However, there are no; idiot's guides or visual aids to viewed or read. When I've tapped such pertinent questions onto the forum platform, I'm directed to roundabout & general chat on the subject, but sadly, no detailed guide

Please provide; what equipment I need, other than my B2, and a detailed process if you can.

And if Mr B. or one of his helpers is out there reading my two penneth, can you explain why such instructions are not on your webpage already?

Kindest, but slightly frustrated regards

Robert

[John Lang Wilson]

See here https://www.brennan.co.uk/itemcontent.php/content/B2Recording

I don't think your comments are fair, there is a lot of information on the web site, of which the link I have given is a tiny part. 

[PMB]

Hi Robert,

Did you find the page that John suggested useful?

Others on the Forum say they find it better to record Vinyl to their computers using software such as 'Audacity' which then allows them to create separate tracks, add track titles and compress to FLAC/MP3 before transferring to the B2.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Russell...@hotmail.com]

Hi Robert - I am not too sure how detailed you need but this information below is copied from a much earlier reply by Clan who is a member of this forum and I think it gives some useful insight in how to go forward with the task and it's worth looking at the link: Cheers Russ

Do you play your turntable through your Hi Fi amplifier ?  This will have the turntable pre amplifer built in and you connect the B2 to the tape recorder or dvd recorder  output of the amplifier , then as you play the record it will be output to the Brennan B2 to record .

A better way is digital and use your laptop or PC to record  from the turntable which is what I do . I bought the Soundblaster X-Fi HD  which has a port to connect the turntable to including the earth terminal ..  this then converts the music to digital and passes it down the USB lead to the Computer for you to save , It comes with software which cleans up the recording if you wish and will also split an LP recording into separate track files if the gaps are long enough . they are then saved as high quality wav files ready for the B2 . The result you get is excellent . The soundblaster can  do other things too ..

https://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/sound-cards/creative-sound-blaster-x-fi-hd-913944/review

[Daniel Taylor]

Robert,

Converting analog LPs and singles to digital files is not for those who might be considered technically timid.  By that, I mean there is a learning curve involved.  There are different ways to go about it.  It's not something that can be boiled down into a few simple steps.

The process for any one individual will depend on what equipment he already has and how well he knows how to connect it up and use it, or whether there is something he needs to purchase.  It will depend on what level of quality he will be happy with and whether he has equipment that will provide that.  It's also helpful to know what a phono preamp is and whether he already has one in the chain of electronics he will be using.  Will he be happy with the clicks, pops and surface noise that usually comes with vinyl playback, or will he want to be able to remove that, and does he know how.

I could go on.  But hopefully you begin to understand the difficulty in putting all this down into a detailed process.  The value of such a process would depend on the knowledge level of each reader.  It would be either too simplistic for some, or too technically difficult for others.  Each person must climb the learning curve that works for him.

Personally, I would never be happy with the results that that B2 can provide.  But I suspect that there are those who would be okay with it.  For them, the instructions given at the above link (provided by John) should be clear.  If you need further help, post your specific questions in the forum, and I'm sure several people will be glad to try and help.

[Jim Ericson]

I've had good luck recording album tracks and/or sides into the B2 directly from my hi-fi.  With a little practice I can now start an album and use the record and play/stop buttons on the B2 remote to start and stop through each track or just record whole sides pretty easily. No other cleanup is needed. I listen to my turntable at home but record some of my favorites and rarities so I can take my records on trips and vacations. 

I very purposely use my hi-fi's phono preamp and tape monitor loop (both set to RIAA specs) to make recordings on the B2. Any vinyl fan should be aware that the components to spend the most money on first are the transducers at the ends of the chain that convert mechanically generated sound to electricity and vice versa (the stylus/cartridge and the speakers). But every component is important, and in the case of vinyl, the phono preamp is particularly critical when reproducing and recording sound. I chose my NAD preamp particularly for its phono preamp and it complements my vintage Stanton cart and its Japanese Shibata stylus very well.  I can also toggle back and forth between the tape monitor and phono outputs on my preamp to A/B the sound quality. 

To each his/her own, but with sound quality foremost, I wouldn't substitute a computer interface for my analog gear. 

Cheers and happy recording to all! -Jim

[PMB]

Hi Jim,

Thank you for the feedback.

Paul

Brennan Support.