Connecting a record player to a computer

now, i’m sure there are ways of doing it…i just dont know what adapters would be needed. There’s a phono output that i have linked into speakers…any idea what more adapters would be needed to convert the it into a USB port so i can pump it through my computer sound system? … and then, is there a way i can convert the sound into a computer file and save it? (as with a conversion of cds to mp3 format…although this iwll be a bit more difficult, seeing as its not digital to beign with.) anyway, any idea how to do that?

Phonographs are different in that they don’t provide a standard line level output like other audio devices. The phono input in a stereo reciever provides power to the coils in the cartrige so it can generate a signal. Simplest way would be to plug the phono into a stereo reciever with phono inputs (a lot of modern AV recievers no longer have them) and plug the tape outputs of the reciever to analog inputs on a sound card.

Good news, your phonograph probably has RCA male phono jacks and your PCs sound card 1/8" minijacks. So you need a RCA female to 1/8" minijack “Y” adapter. Available at the usual place.

Bad news. Most phonographs do not produce line level output. There are devices to adjust the level to line level, but not that easy to find good ones. One solution is to plug your player into your stereo (if it has phonograph inputs) and then the line out of your stereo into your PC for recording.

(I actually own a player that produces line level outputs. Rare on an older player.)

For software, there are a number of wav capture programs. I recommend ones that come with CD-writer packages for novices. But fancier ones are available. You need to adjust levels, clean up noise, cut the side into songs, etc. Great patience is needed.

The easiest thing to do is connect your AMP to your computer, not your record player. Set the playback device to PHONO. Hook the computer to the TAPE RECORD line-level out pots on the amp. Start your digital soundwave-recording s/w. Cue the record. Save when done. Edit.

The Mac solution: Stereo RCA to stereo mini-adapter from RadioShack. Mini-adapter to iMic. The iMic is USB, so if your PeeCee has USB connections, the iMic might work for windows also. Check Griffin’s web site for info.

I’ve been doing it this way for some time now and have gotten excellent results. Also, any device that you can attach to your receiver/amp can be a source to record from as well. I’ve been able to rip from DVDs, video, laserdiscs, etc and you’d be hard-pressed to tell it’s not a pre-recorded CD>

      • I’d bet a phono cartridge signal isn’t enough for a line-in, it might work on the mic input though. …The headphone jack is somewhat better than the line out, as you can “add” bass and treble to your liking before the signal gets recorded on the computer.
        ~

No phongraph will have a headphone out, unless it has a built in amplifier. If it does, it almost certainly has a line level out.

If for some reason you MUST go directly from phonograph to computer, go into the microphone input. This will be a bit of a problem as the mike input is a mono source. You’ll need to get a Y-connector to feed both phono channels into one line, and an adatptor somewhere in the chain to go from RCA to miniplug.

Is your intent to archive your LPs to CD format? I did this a while back, and consulted the folks at Long & McQuade for the best method.

Instead of using my own old Sony belt drive turntable, I rented a Technics SL1200MK2 (direct drive DJ turntable). The platter on that table has a series of dots on the outside which are illuminated by a strobe light on the turntable deck. By manipulating the turntables pitch adjust (platter RPM) until the dots appear to be stationary, you get exactly 33 1/3 RPM. Older turntables, especially belt driven, will vary from this somewhat. You want to match the RPM exactly in order to accurately reproduce the original recording.

The output from the turntable was then run through a high quality preamplifier (again rented) to bring the phono RCA signal up to standard line level for input, and then to the PC.

I recorded the tracks using SoundForge - oversampling so that I could later apply noise reduction (to remove the cracks and hisses associated with the vinyl) or any other filtering, and then burn them to CD.

If this isn’t what you intend, and you want a permanent line connection from your turntable to your sound card, you can either purchase an appropriate preamp, or simply run the signal through a receiver with a phono input.

I have a question connected with this, I’d like to back up some of my tape cassettes onto my computer. I have a headphone jack on the stereo, but only a microphone jack on the sound card of the PC. Can I connect the two in this way and record onto the computer, and what software will I need?

I’d check the card out a little more closely, as I don’t think I’ve ever seen a card without a line input. But I could be wrong.

Yes, you can do this, but it’s going to sound relatively crappy. You will have a very low signal to noise ratio. If your card has a mike in, it almost certainly has the software available to use it. Start with the headphone level on the cassette deck at MINIMUM volume, and experiment until to find an aceptable level.

If you have to BUY software to do this, you’re better off buying a new sound card that has a line in. You’ll get a much better quality signal.

Does your stereo ALSO lack a line out? Are we talking boom box here?

Sorry to be a complete dork about this, I’m not all that technically minded!

The stereo is a 10 year old Sony mini hi fi system, it has a headphone socket on the front and on the back, sockets for the speaker cables to plug in, plus an additional two sockets labelled “phono”, one red, one yellow, which the manual says are for connecting a turntable system. That’s all.

The computer is a laptop, the only line in I can find is the microphone socket. It has 2 usb ports and 2 PC1 slots, would any of them be of any use?

      • You should not connect a mini mic input to a headphone source, the headphone source is way too high. You can connect a headphone-out of one thing to the line-in of another.
        ~

With your system, it is probably better, and safer, to go directly from the phonograph to the mike input. You will end up with a mono signal.

Option 1:
I’m guessing there are two female RCA plugs on the phonograph. So you want to get a cable (or combination cables and adaptors) that have two male RCAs on one end, and a male mono miniplug on the other.

You’ll should be able to record into at least a .wav type file using your operating system media controls.

Option 2 is running your phono into your stereo into your computer through headphones. It is possble to do this safetly if you have a working headphone volume control on the stereo (not on the headphone!). Start with the volume dialed down, and experiment by turning it up SLOWLY as you. This is likely to be not as good a signal.

The easiest thing to do, and best sounding probably, would be to get a stand alone phone amp, like this one. and then run the now line level signal into the sound card.

Nope, he can’t used a fixed output line out. The headphone jack would be better than that.