-
-
-
A summary of what Myst explained and a different version.
https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/iphone/iphone-locked-3614824/
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Thanks a bunch PKCano. With over 13K replies and a lot of help, do you every sleep? I really appreciate your knowledge and all the fine folks that detail things on AskWoody.com
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
Thanks Nathan. I wonder if it would work with Linux Mint without a lot of fiddling around?
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
-
-
Kathy,
You keep asking and “hinting” at what can be done to make the sound better. For your computer “As Is”, just go for it and start listening or digitizing. Then listen and see what you think. You’re going to be the critic. For listening, you have several Windows OS based sound settings that you can check out. For digitizing or recording to HD, use the format(s) of your choice, compare and see if you can hear the difference.
Personally, I never use a computer for listening to music only, because it’s a pretty big waste of electricity (and wear and tear). There are much better ways to do that……of course then we’re back to MP3’s. Darn me.
Image: My 900 Watt CD Player (Just kidding)
-
After reviewing the thread, I am questioning the wisdom of digitizing a huge collection of vinyl, tape, and CD audio at all. The first barrier is the sheer amount of time it will take to copy the CDs to a four-tetra bite hard drive.
True. This is why I always recommend only digitizing the ones that are personal mixes, family memories or unavailable for purchase. Buy all the others. Unless of course, you are a vinyl junkie and desire the vinyl sound.
I thought the copying part would be easy and straightforward. However, I have quickly learned that the difficulty in making the transition was in the labeling the tracks of each CD. Composer, work, and/or track. Each track on a CD was frequently labeled simply 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. No label with respect to composer and/or artist.
It’s very time consuming if you want to use the attributes of MP3 to sort your music. Seems like you have to have some sort of “sorting” numbering system when you have loads of stuff, otherwise how do you find it ?
Then there was the recommendation to insert the CD and rip the music to the hard drive using FLAC the free lossless audio codec. If I am correct, with FLAC I would have to play each CD to accomplish the recording/transition – literally hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of work. There goes the simple copy the CD to the hard drive and relabel.
It’s really a 1 to 1 process for analog source material. If you have a 45 minute per side cassette tape, then you digitize for 45 minutes per side. If it’s a commercial CD that you bought, then it’s just a few minutes to “rip” that CD to a format (Flac or MP3).
For vinyl, a recommendation was to use RCA male jack from the back of our ancient KLH Model 20 to a 3.5mm male stereo male plug for line into the computer using Audacity for digitization. But then there was a recognition of the huge amount of time that would be consumed in playing both sides of each long-playing recording while the computer quietly listened and digitized the sound.
Same as above: 1:1 time for analog sources.
And then there is the question as to whether the electricity flowing from the output of the KLH Model 20 was compatible input on the computer or would the electrical flow burn up the internals of the computer?
No, it should work and if not you can get an attenuation patch cord. I doubt you’d need that at all since most internal computer audio has a wide range of input levels. Plus Line Level has been pretty standard for years.
Then the question of RIAA equalization came up. A quick look at the Wikipedia article on RIAA convinced me that I was out of my element on this recommendation. As a result, I will see if the equalization will be done by the computer.
Slim chance. RIAA equalization emphasizes parts of the sound frequency response. Essentially, an LP or vinyl record is encoded for ease of manufacture and then a preamp with the RIAA rolloff decodes for proper sound frequency response. That’s why you can’t just amplify the audio to get the proper level. You also need the RIAA electronics. Those two are build into a phone preamp, and it’s what you have in your KLH as part of the amplifier. You can however, buy a phono preamp separately and use to achieve the same thing. Note: Don’t confuse a phono preamp (that has the RIAA) with normal Mic inputs.
Then there is the issue of using the KLH Model 20 to feed the computer at all or purchase a new turntable with built in DAC and USB output. One suggestion was an Audio-Technica Silver Direct-Drive Turntable at a cost of about $250. A great idea, but for $250 I can purchase a huge amount of streaming audio that can digitized and saved directly to the hard drive.
Now you’re thinking. But what about the stuff you can’t get or purchase?
And there was the question of whether a sound card would improve audio quality output. For the Boomboxes a ound card was not an issue. But for playback directly through external speakers that is another matter. The computer I am planning to use is a HP ENVY Desktop – 795-0050, a machine that is capable of playing demanding video game. We will see how it sounds before making a decision on upgrading to a sound card.
For hissy tapes and scratchy vinyl does it matter? Think about your critical listening ability, the type of music or audio and the environment. Rock and Roll in a car is much less demanding than Classical with headphones. Ask yourself: What is the purpose of converting these? Is it for future generations or my own use?
Having walked through the garden of computer sound, I will have to take some time to reflect on the cost-benefit of digitizing an extensive collection of CDs and vinyl. Or would the time be better spent simply sitting back and listening to the music coming from my ancient but still very functional stereo system and CD players. Or perhaps investing in new equipment.
When you figure it out, you can help me digitize about 200 8mm “digital 8” tapes, about 100 personal cassettes.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
As for CD’s, if they are commercially made, then you use your computer’s optical drive and the appropriate software to rip the music (redbook format) CD and convert to MP3 or Flac.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
I was hoping to avoid purchasing a new turntable.
I have a vintage KLH Model 20 system that was purchased in 1968.
It has been well cared for, still works, and sounds great, and we still have the original cartons, bill of sale, and manuals.
The manuals are less than detailed but include cursory descriptions of the outputs including:
- “Auxiliary Inputs: phone jacks for stereo or mono sources, second single jack for mono source.”
- “Tape Recording Outputs: Permit recording from records, FM, or external music source.”
- “Headphone Output: Accommodates standard stereo headphone plug.”
- “Speaker Outputs: Standard jacks for simple and positive connection of speaker cables.”
Any chance that I can use the Model 20 to feed audio into a modern Windows 10 computer?
Poor to Good quality: Run the appropriate audio cables from the “Tape Recording Outputs” on the KLH to the line level input(s) on your computer sound card.
Good quality: Run the appropriate cables from the “Tape Recording Outputs” on the KLH to an external audio interface as I linked above in my previous post. Then from that device hook to your computer using the appropriate USB cable.
If you seriously want archival quality, then purchase a turntable and use an outboard audio interface. If you have well used scratchy records, home mix cassette tapes then don’t purchase anything and use the KLH and your existing computer setup. In that case, you’re saving memories, not archive quality.
Your cassette deck will hook into the KLH auxiliary inputs.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
What is the best approach for digitizing the vinyl and tape recordings?
I’ve got a bit of experience in this area.
Hardware upgrade: Use an outboard USB based audio interface like this:
https://focusrite.com/en/usb-audio-interface/scarlett/scarlett-2i2
Software: Either use the supplied software, which may be overkill or use Audacity.
Sound Quality: Digitize media to mp3@192kbs or greater. MP3 formats give the best compatibility across different media players. For everyday listening I use 192. For archive I use 320kbs. Don’t digitize using the joint stereo option, instead use stereo. For pure archive only FLAC is the highest quality. However, is debatable if a person can hear the difference between a high bitrate MP3 vs FLAC and it depends on the type of music, the source and the listening environment. Always have a backup of your music or files
2 users thanked author for this post.
Author
