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General discussion

LP records to CDs - how to connect the phonograph to the pc

by ellenash Sep 7, 2004 1:38AM PDT

I inherited an old stereo and many LPs. I'd like to make CDs from them and then get rid of all the LPs. They take up so much room!

I was told that I need to get cables that go from the stereo (2 speaker out spots) into a single "Y" connector to the microphone connection in the pc. Is this correct? If so, do I need a special kind of cable?

Would I be able to play the record while it's recording onto the CD? If so, how?

The pc has an internal CD drive that plays CDs but does not burn them. I also have an external CR burner (HP CD writer - 8200 series.) That drive is networked and works from the laptop and the desktop. The internal CD player can't make the CDs.

Would the cable from the stereo still go into the PC? As I understand it, the stereo plays to the pc, the pc records the info onto the hard drive. the hard drive info is copied by the burner to the CD. I'm hoping it's sort of like when I copy my digital pictures onto the pc's hard drive and then put them all on a cd. Am I right?

Is there anything else I should know about this?

Thanks in advance.

Discussion is locked

10 Posts
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Re: LP records to CDs - how to connect the phonograph to the
by Art Sep 7, 2004 3:09AM PDT

First..when you say old, I hope you don't mean noisy because very noisy record are defficult to get rid of.
Second..You do not want to connect to the mic input because most mic input are mono (not stereo). You want to hook it up to the "line-in" jack with a stereo mini-plug (check the size).
Third..you will most likely not able to listen while recording (but you should be able to listen to the music with you hi-fi or with an earphone (incoming music and not the recorded music).
Four..I would highly reccommend a program call "audio cleaning lab 2005", sell for about $40. There are also some free program/s; maybe you can do some search on it. Good luck and have fun.

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Re: LP records to CDs - how to connect the phonograph to the
by acelovesjack Sep 9, 2004 5:57PM PDT

ps You can listen to the lp while you are recording if everything is hooked up correctly. You'll need to listen so that you can stop the recording when each side of the lp is over. It is time consuming but rewarding. If done right the sound from analog lps beats anything on cd. Have fun.

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Re: LP records to CDs - how to connect the phonograph to the
by domashka Oct 5, 2004 9:23PM PDT

I am having much the same problem. However I find that by connecting my phonograph at the "speakers out" and plugging into "Line In" at the computer, my recording program (Audacity)recieves no signal. I recieve a signal if I plug into "Microphone", however this is only Mono, and not much good as half the signal is lost. I don't understand the difference between the signals, ie "Speakers out" and "Line out" is it a mattter of amplitued? Is there some way I can overcome this problem.

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Re: LP records to CDs - how to connect the phonograph to the
by Art Oct 6, 2004 4:44PM PDT

I don't know anything about audacity so I can't comment on it at all. But as far as speaker out and line out goes; Beside the impedance difference (in this case, it may not make any difference here), the output of the "line out is more or less constant whereas the speaker out is adjustable with the volume control on the output device (amplifier/receiver). For line-in line-out setup, I assume you are using the proper stereo plug and cable/s.

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Re: LP records to CDs - how to connect the phonograph to the
by bent Oct 8, 2004 6:08AM PDT

I don't know if you resolved your problem yet, but I think you'll likely have to run your turntable through an amplifier's phono section and out of the Tape outs (or preamp outputs, or headphone outs) before you run it into your PC. Turntables have a very low output, which is why they require either a separate phono preamp or a built-in one in your amplifier to work in a sound system.

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Re: LP records to CDs - how to connect the phonograph to the
by bill56 Oct 30, 2004 9:40AM PDT

check out xitel hi-fi link.

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Re: LP records to CDs - how to connect the phonograph to the
by billl Nov 7, 2004 4:57AM PST
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LP records to CDs - how to connect the phonograph to the pc
by staceland Sep 25, 2008 1:32PM PDT

You will have to run your pc through a receiver. You will need a y-adapter to connect the audio (two rca jacks, left and right) to the receiver's input (I use the aux input) and the single pin side to your pc sound card (line out). Set the receiver to the aux input or whichever input you used and play your record. You will hear it playing through the receiver speakers via your pc line out. Because it is actually feeding through your pc sound card you can use whatever software you want to capture the music to a file. I use audacity. It gives you a choice of file formats such as .mp3 or .wma

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What about USB Turntables?
by Dan Filice Sep 26, 2008 9:22AM PDT

Has anyone tried a USB turntable for this process? I've always been facinated with them and just wondered if they worked.

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YOUR PC OR A/V/R NEEDS OLD FASHIONED PHONO INPUTS...........
by Riverledge Sep 26, 2008 2:23PM PDT

UNLESS SOMETHING NEW HAS COME ALONG.........

SOMETHING TO AMP THE TURNTABLE........

Best wishes,

RIVERLEDGE.

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