Bottlehead Forum
Other Gear => Digital => Topic started by: Daikini on March 19, 2014, 06:13:10 PM
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I would like to be able to digitize a line-level analog signal (like the output of my Seduction) for the purpose of making some of my vinyl portable/share-able.
Ideally I would like to go to USB on the output.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to a device that will do this reasonably well, at a reasonable price point?
Thanks!
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I would like to be able to digitize a line-level analog signal (like the output of my Seduction) for the purpose of making some of my vinyl portable/share-able. . . .
Nice idea but that is an ADC not a DAC. A totally different animal.
The Bottlehead DAC is beyond prototype. John has produced the first production board. So the design is nearly set in stone today.
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Yes, I understand that an ADC is totally different from a DAC.
What I am asking is, among ADC's currently commercially available, can anyone recommend one that takes RCA line level input, has USB output, and gets along with Bottlehead gear in terms of output/input impedance?
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Maybe pick up an EMU 0404USB? I have used one to digitize tape recordings to 192/24 and it seems to do a decent job. You just need RCA to 1/4" phone plug adapters.
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Crap ! ! ! I thought this was the Bottlehead DAC thread, my mistake. I'm just getting old.
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No problem, Grainger.
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You might like to take a look at the HRT LineStreamer
http://highresolutiontechnologies.com/linestreamer-plus
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I ended up going with the LineStreamer. No moving parts, no software to install, no power supply, etc. Just RCA to USB.
It didn't get along with my computer at first, but once I got the newest version of the firmware loaded, it worked just fine. The folks at HRT were very helpful with this.
So now I'm happily ripping vinyl...
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Where did you connect it to your system? Directly to your turntable? Output from preamp?
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I connected it to the output of the Seduction.
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Hi David,
Any reports on how well the LineStreamer is working sound-wise? I've been interested in this since HRT first announced it quite some time ago.
Thanks,
Jim
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It sounds really good to me. However, it's the only audio-to-digital converter I've used, so I really have no basis for comparison.
Because there is no level control on either the Seduction or the Linestreamer, and the Linestreamer defeats the level control of the software mixer, I have no control over the level of the recording until it's already recorded and I can normalize it in software (I'm using Audacity). No record yet has come anywhere close to clipping, which is good, but that means I could put more signal in than I am. I would have thought that this would present noise floor issues, because I'm bringing up the noise with the signal when I normalize everything, but it hasn't been a noticeable problem. This is a testament to the low noise of both the Seduction and the Linestreamer.
I mostly us it to make CDs to play in the car, which does not have a very nice sound system, but I am very happy with the quality anyway. The recordings have the great dynamic range of vinyl and a warm tubey sound.
The one thing I've been disappointed with is that the firmware does not get along with Mac Mavericks OS. Not a big deal for me, since I was planning to make my old PC laptop a dedicated audio device anyway, but if you have a new Mac it might be a problem.
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I believe a way to get round the line level is to record to a pocket digital stereo recorder such as a Tascam with which the line level input can be adjusted, once saved on the recorders memory the file can be transferred to pc. I am positive I have read this somewhere. My other half has one she uses for choir rehearsals listening with headphones to the rehearsals I was quiet surprised at the SQ it was pretty good for a pocket device.
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Well, I do have a Mac mini in my audio rack, so no go for now.
And to tell the truth, at least at this point I don't have very many albums that I don't have as rips or downloads.
-- Jim
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I second the E-Mu 0404, but I have also read a lot of positive reviews about Ross Martin ADAC gear http://rossmartinaudio.com/index_files/Page318.htm (http://rossmartinaudio.com/index_files/Page318.htm)
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After some ripping and listening, I decided that the Linestreamer wasn't making the best of the signal coming from my Seduction- the bass was pretty thin. In hindsight, this should not have been a surprise, as the linestreamer has a 5K input impedance.
So I thought about getting some sort of buffer to match things up. But then it occurred to me that I already have resistors on hand, why not change the input impedance?
This is the kind of dumb thinking that often gets me into trouble. I had to remove the existing surface mount resistors and solder in the replacements across the tabs of the circuit board mounted RCA jacks. I had never played with surface mount stuff before, so visions of ruining an expensive board were dancing in my head. I managed to get it done without destroying anything, but it was a little scary.
The result is quite pleasing. With 51K input resistors in the linestreamer, the bass is much better, and the recording level is higher, but doesn't go into clipping. I think I was lucky, this could have gone wrong so many ways.
So I suppose the moral of the story is that the Linestreamer is not a good out-of-the-box match for the Seduction, but it can sound good if you can do something to get the impedance into a range the Seduction can deal with.
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The real question is why the input impedance was set so low to begin with...
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Yeah, it's odd. I'm totally ignorant when it comes to digital gear, but could there be some reason internal to the A-to-D converter for setting it low?
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Most ADC chips have lower distortion when driven by a low impedance. Most AD boxes will put a buffer in front of the ADC chip in order to do this. I don't know if the one you have does that or not, you should be able to tell if there is an op-amp in the path from input to ADC chip.
If it is not buffered they might have put the low value resistor there to sort of give the ADC chip a low impedance to ground.
John S.
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It does have an op-amp first thing in the signal path.
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I am using an M-audio sound card which has RCA inputs and running my tt through a small preamp and into my pc. The seduction output level was too low to register on my recording software (Spin It Again). I've digitized ~500 lps so far.
We can compare files as an interesting experiment. I'll send you say Led Zeppelin I've recorded, and you send me your recording of the same song / album, and we can compare the relative sound qualities. Of course there a lot of other variables like tt, cartridge, bit rate etc. But it would be fun to try.
Let me know. Anyone else out there want to compare?
Aural Robert.
... I've got Mercury poisoning ...
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That sounds fun. I think the hard part will be finding records we have in common. My collection is mostly what I could find at thrift stores and garage sales, so it's pretty random.
Here are a few that I have that lots of folks might have:
The Cars, self titled
Jackson Brown, Running on Empty
Bruce Springsteen, Born in the USA
Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms
If none of those are matches, name a few of yours, maybe I'll have them.
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If you have mostly Thrift Store finds, surely you have both of Peter Frampton's hits and some Herb Alpert.
There are just albums that you always find at Thrift Stores. I should start a thread in Music.
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I avoid Herb Alpert, for no apparent reason. But I do enjoy the Baja Marimba Band. Go figure!
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I have a Baja Marimba Band collection from when they were new. Notice, just about every cover has a guy, with his back to the photographer, relieving himself.
Check it out!
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I'm looking for a decent ADC for vinyl rips. Is the E-MU 0404 out of production? What's a good ADC in that price range that also does 24/192?
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Maybe pick up an EMU 0404USB? I have used one to digitize tape recordings to 192/24 and it seems to do a decent job. You just need RCA to 1/4" phone plug adapters.
Doc, just to confirm: I would send the L/R RCA from my phono pre to the EMU? I'm looking at pictures of it and don't see where I would input these (1/4" or otherwise).
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Use RCA to 1/4" phone plug adapters on your phono preamp output cables. They go in the Mic/Hi-Z/Line inputs. Those are combination XLR/1/4" phone jacks.
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Use RCA to 1/4" phone plug adapters on your phono preamp output cables. They go in the Mic/Hi-Z/Line inputs. Those are combination XLR/1/4" phone jacks.
Thanks, Doc, that makes sense now!