I have just purchased a turntable that is called Vibe. It plugs into a USB Port and that powers the entire unit. It came with a small disc that had Vibe USB Turntable - Model: VS-2002-SPK and Audacity. The version of Audacity was not up-to-date, but I have since updated to the latest of Audacity. My question, if I record records using the system that I have purchased which appears to me as rather than being cheap, but seems to work for what it was designed to do (Only paid about $42.00 for the Software Disc and the Unit).
I have a Dual 704 Turntable which in its day was one of the best. If I could record off of the Dual 704, would the sound quality be much different from recording off of the cheap turntable? I’m not an audio perfectionist, so unless it’s really going to be something doing it with the 704, I probably won’t. If I do utilize the 704, I’m going to have to get some type of pre-amplifier, because I sold the one that I had.
No big deal, but is there anything else I need to know to utilize Audacity in my 704 Turntable and how would I go about hooking into my computer?
You can usually do a much better job with a classic turntable than you can with the one-off USB turntable. The USB turntable is intended to be used once and put in the trash. So usually not a quality piece of hardware.
However, you do need a preamp with your other turntable. That and USB conversion can be done with a Behringer UFO-202.
It can be argued that you can plug your turntable into the Phono-In of your entertainment system and use its “Tape-Out” to connect to your computer. That computer connection is where it falls apart. Most Windows laptops can’t be used and most desktop Windows machines have noisy Line-In connections.
All this is, of course, assuming your Dual hasn’t been used to death and it’s still working.
Do you have any 78s? Do you have the special 78 needle? 78s have a different size groove than other records and crossing the needles by accident will increase the noise and distortion.
I agree. I’d go with the Dual. But, it really depends on if you want to spend more money on the preamp/interface, how many records you have to digitize, and what kind of quality you want or expect.
Before I go too far… The first thing I always recommend is to buy the CD (or MP3) if it’s available!
You’ll need to make sure the belt is in good shape, because you don’t want speed variations. All of the Duals were belt-drive, right?
And, there is a chance that your stylus is worn or that the elastomers in your stylus assembly have “dried out”. So, you might want to consider replacing your cartridge. (A cartridge is often about the same price as a replacement stylus.)
Shure’s best cartridge is currently selling for about $80 USD, and personally I wouldn’t spend any more than that. If your Dual turntable is working OK, I wouldn’t consider upgrading that either. With analog, there is a relationship between price & sound quality. But, you as approach the limits of what you can get from analog, you can spend a LOT more money and you’ll always end-up with worse sound* than you get with a $50 CD player. (The record itself is usually the weakest link.)
Even in “bad shape”, I’d trust the Dual more than the new-cheap unit (as long as the speed is constant).
Your choice of recording software is NOT critical and “better” software won’t improve the sound. All the software has to do is “grab” the digital audio data and send it to your hard drive in the correct format.
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On a slightly different topic…
Audacity has a Click Removal effect, and [u]this page[/u] lists several specialized applications for removing vinyl “snap”, “crackle”, and “pop” (as well as tons of other information about digitizing vinyl). I use a program called [u]Wave Repair[/u] ($30 UD) developed by the author of the above website. In the manual mode, it does and amazing job on most vinyl defects and it only “touches” the audio where you identify a defect. But, it usually takes me a full-weekend to clean-up an LP transfer. (There are better programs if you want to do it automatically.)
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Some audiophiles prefer the sound of vinyl. That’s a matter of taste, and to them vinyl is better. But technically (in terms of noise, distortion, and frequency response), analog is inferior to digital.
I have thei ART DJ preamp (which is effectively bundled in the Phono Plus) which I feed to a USB soundcard (Edirol UA-1EX) - but I would have bought the combined ART unit if it had ben available when I was buying.
I started out with a USB TT (ION iTT-USB) but soon junked in favour of using my existing Technics deck with SME arm - thereby getting MUCH better results.
