LP to MP3

[BeBop]

I've got a few (thousand) LPs, some of which I would like to convert to MP3 or similar digital fomat for storage/transport on a portable device.

I could:

record the LPs onto a computer hard drive, edit as necessary, convert to MP3, then download to portable device.

record the LPs to CD Audio-RW using component CD recorder (which I already have) then onto portable device. I have no desire to keep the music on CD-R; the RW format would allow me to more easily fix my missed track separator cues.

Other options/suggestions?

[Stefan Wood]

Well, the thing is, do you want the best sound? MP3 tracks will be compressed, and won't sound as good as a straight AIFF file, which is what you would get if you recorded your lps to your stereo component cd writer. I would record everything onto your cdrw discs and put them in your computer, and then do whatever converting process you like. A backup hard drive should be in order as well.

[Claude]

As it takes a lot of time to record and edit an LP, it would be better not to compress the resulting files but to keep them in the best quality and create audio CDs. If cost (and space) is an issue, you can also write the wav files onto data DVD-Rs, which hold up to ten 40 minute LPs for the price of less than one $.

From the audio CDs or the wav files on the DVDs, you can easily make mp3s whenever you need them, for your portable player, transferring to friends etc.

Edited January 3, 2005 by Claude

[Brandon Burke]

I have two different systems at home. Both of them are meant to simply allow for more *portable* listening so neither of them are audiophile by any standard.

The first is a stand-alone Phillips dual tray burner that I have hooked up to my main stereo system. It acts rather like a dual cassette player as I have it configured right now (tape monitor, etc). I literally record off of LP just as I would if the Phillips unit were a casette deck. Turntable is a Technics 1200, amp is an early solid state Yamaha. Like others have mentioned, recording this way means that either you edit "on the fly", do not edit at all, or edit later on down the line in some sort of software application. Another drawback is the fact that this Phillips unit is consumer grade and thus requires the use of "Music" CD-Rs, which are more expensive. On the other hand, if you don't have any software for this kind of work than this might be your most affrdable option.

My other set-up is a Technics 1200, routed through a Vestax mixer (which acts as a pre-amp here), and then finally into an eMac via the headphone jack. You'll need an RCA-to- stereo headphone jack converter in order to do this. Then I capture my incoming signal in Peak as an AIFF file. I stick with simple consumer CD resolution since I'm not archiving this stuff. I just want to be able to burn things off for buddies, make mix CDs, and play my LPs on my iPod. Someone else will have to chime in regarding hi-res capturing. I do that at work. Not at home.

As for the MP3 conversion, you can use any number of batch processors for this task. Some editing programs will do this as well. Since I have a Mac, I tend not to save files as MP3s since iTunes can read and play AIFF files with ease.