CraigN Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 I plan to record some of my LP collection from Simaudio phono preamp to Benchmark ADC to MacBook Pro using Apple Lossless. Does anyone have suggestions for the best software to use for recording and for minimizing LP surface noise on digital copies? Thanks. Link to comment
The Computer Audiophile Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 Hi Craig - Sonic Studio is working on some really neat stuff in this area. I'm not sure if it's totally ready yet, but I know they were automating the process as much as possible. I know of a few others but I have no direct experience with them so I can't really recommend them. I don't want to lead you down the wrong path. I'm sure others will jump in here with some good stuff. Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
ronfint Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 Some very sophisticated software for click and hiss reduction. There's a free trial period. It's far superior to everything else that I tried. Link to comment
silverlight Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 http://www.channld.com/pure-vinyl.html See the stereophile article (link on page) for a review, which provides some interesting background / context. Not suggesting the software, just that it got a good review. Link to comment
Enco Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Hello, I tried a number of alternatives, Bias LE (down samples files from 24/96 to 16/44 when you import to iTunes), plus it has bugs when recording LP's, which may or may not be resolved with the full version (good money after bad?). I settled on Sound Studio, it's simple to use, isn't flakey and it's inexpensive. Plus it offers a fully working trial version unlike the others. Link to comment
DavidL Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I started out recording using Peak LE, and went on to buy the full version largely because of its excellent performance on sample rate conversion (I record at 24/192 for archive, and produce down-sampled versions at 24/96 and 16/44.1). I looked at various pieces of software that have scratch removal / repair capability (including Pure Vinyl) but found there were many occasions when my clicks defeated the software, so now I use the waveform edit facility in Peak Pro which can cope with anything. OK it is time consuming but the results are worth the effort. David ALAC iTunes library on Synology DS412+ running MinimServer with Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 tablet running BubbleUPnP for control > Hi-Fi 1: Airport Extreme bridge > Netgear switch > TP-Link optical isolation > dCS Network Bridge AND PS Audio PerfectWave Transport > PS Audio DirectStream DAC with Bridge Mk.II > Primare A60 > Harbeth SHL5plus Anniversary Edition . Hi-Fi 2: Sonore Rendu > Chord Hugo DAC/preamp > LFD integrated > Harbeth P3ESRs and > Sennheiser HD800 Link to comment
ajvare Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 I've been using Peak LE without complaint for a number of LPs. I record 96/24 AIFF and import it into iTunes without conversion (storage is so cheap now). If you bounce songs individually (instead of as a playlist) you can do it at 96/24 instead of being forced to use 96/16 when you do it as an iTunes playlist. A bit more work but I use it as the time to put the titles on each song so it isn't too much extra effort. I talked to Peak and they acknowledged it was a bug but not sure when they will address it. Link to comment
John Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Audacity is free and easy to use. I've never felt the need to look for anything else. I also prefer to edit the waveform myself to take out major clicks and pops. It's really not so much trouble. Link to comment
same same but different Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 http://www.audiofile-engineering.com/waveeditor/ they also use the best downsampling mechanism iZotope. see detailed software comparison here: http://src.infinitewave.ca/ I must say I never heard such a transparent and natural sound, so much close to LP original, even being down-sampled to CD from original hi-res... read manual carefully, it required some time. make sure to do MBIT dither first, then re-sample with the best quality. they offer full working free trial for 2 weeks. enjoy! Link to comment
jonmarsh Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 As a registered owner of both, bought for somewhat different purposes, I can recommend either, with the caveat that if you want to do RIAA in the digital domain then Pure Vinyl is your tool; if not, based on price and the included iZotrope SRC and dithering, I'd recommend Wave Editor. ESPECIALLY if you want to make CD sample rate compatible output, go with WE. In both cases I'd recommend staying with 24/176.4 though. WE is a very useful program, use it for capture of high sample rate digital from a modified SACD player, and I'm frankly looking forward to the eventual release this year (hopefully) of Twilight (also from Audiofile Engineering). Link to comment
same same but different Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 I prefer interface and functionality of WE. Pure Vinyl seems has much to improve... Especially in its interface. Compare WE's and PV's web-sites.... here starts the huge huge difference, which share the same dramatic difference of the products :-) Link to comment
software41 Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 Great post! Thanks for the information application hosting Link to comment
jp11801 Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 I really like wave editor and to record and edit it is the better of the programs I have used. Bias LE was not as clean sounding but did seem to add a nice presence on rock LP transfers. In the end, after you establish a workflow, WE is the best sonic to dollars program out there. Just a tip to those that use WE if you are recording whole LPs in a single record session. You can use the threshold feature in processor to divide tracks. I wanted so much to like the Pure Vinyl program but could not get past the unforgivably bad interface. Link to comment
software41 Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 Nice job, it’s a great post. The info is good to know! risk management analysis Link to comment
same same but different Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 jp11801: thank you for the tracks dividing info!!! I just wanted to find out something that will cut the whole side into the tracks... Link to comment
jp11801 Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 you can produce pretty stunning results and create something that almost sounds like it was not created from an LP but with the awesome mastering some of these LPs have. I record into WE then edit out all space leading up to the first note of each song, then insert 3 seconds of silence then fade the end of each track into the silence (I really like the cubic slow fade for this). I then use the analyze tool to see how much headroom I have and add gain to about .5db of the highest peak (providing it was not a tick or pop). After everything is done I then SRC to 96 or 44 from 192 then dither if I am burning a cd. Peak LE also does a good job of slicing tracks but was more expensive and did not sound as good to me. Link to comment
same same but different Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 Do you do SCR first, then dither? I thought dither should go first, or it is relevant only for bits conversion? I found very useful tool called regions. This allow to export tracks from the regions selected, just one by one from the solid single file. This is so useful! Link to comment
jp11801 Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 yes SRC first then dither this is called out in the WE workflow in the manual under mastering. Rather than export I copy and paste because export appears to make you use flac, alac ogg.. and did not offer an AIFF option. So I create regions then highlight>copy>command n (creates new fie}> paste> save as to a folder named for the LP. Then I import to the itunes library using the add feature in itunes. I then have to highlight all songs in the folder in itunes and add artist, lp name, gear used for the drop in comments, then go back and number the tracks. Sounds like a pita but I've got the process to about 45 minutes to record then maybe an hour to edit and get them into itunes. The results are very nice. Link to comment
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