Looks like the good TDK and Maxells average about 8 bucks a pop, man I remember 2-3 bucks max. The music industry has fkd itself.
Tell us about your stereo!
- Thread starter Hepcat
- Start date
Looks like the good TDK and Maxells average about 8 bucks a pop, man I remember 2-3 bucks max. The music industry has fkd itself.
gcczep
Ever Onward...
Taped...
It's a shame really taha. I vaguely remember the prices being that low too. $8 per tape is just absurd. What I always found enjoyable in recording to tape is setting the levels for both channels so that they are nice and perfect. I would record with no Dolby to preserve as much of the signal as possible and not have it muted to a certain degree.
My Nak has a subsonic filter which is for reducing the rumble when recording vinyl on to tape. Some listeners say they don't actually hear the difference with it but I would leave it on anyway.
Question for you fellows... Do you find that the analog sound of tape on playback not having the digital glare of CDs?
It's a shame really taha. I vaguely remember the prices being that low too. $8 per tape is just absurd. What I always found enjoyable in recording to tape is setting the levels for both channels so that they are nice and perfect. I would record with no Dolby to preserve as much of the signal as possible and not have it muted to a certain degree.
My Nak has a subsonic filter which is for reducing the rumble when recording vinyl on to tape. Some listeners say they don't actually hear the difference with it but I would leave it on anyway.
Question for you fellows... Do you find that the analog sound of tape on playback not having the digital glare of CDs?
I've had good and bad experiences on ebay...but it wouldn't surprise me if certain sellers didn't have some 'help' getting the prices jacked up.
I have some Deoxit for cleaning pots/switches etc., works really well.
Blank tapes were really cheap at the last, stores were marking them down less than 1/2 price to clear them out. That's when I bought my two bricks of Maxell "S" tape. If you weren't so far away George I'd give you some of my other tapes, even though they have been recorded on...but just once mind you and only played on good equipment too.
I'm going to do a test sometime next week, record one of the beautiful vinyl rips I have onto a cassette, then compare the sound to the CD. Certain old albums just have so much more life on vinyl than CD I do expect the tapes to show just that. Recording a CD to tape using the analog circuits works really well, I've had good results with it but I don't think you can duplicate the original feel of the mastertape once it's been transferred to digital, the coding system takes over at that point as you go from a physical signal to an optical one.(The difference with vinyl rips being they were done with turntables/cartridges and then cleaned up with software before being turned into code. That will leave a 'fingerprint' of the sound of the rig the guy used to make the rip. I've listened to quite a few now and they almost always sound better than the digital version.)
mrJim
Senior Member
not to dirty this up with some ugly digital conversation but ...
I am sure you must have cut the vinyl to digital then to CD right? then compared that to an original CD version of the album ?
I can share my experience there...... hehe
No I've never ripped a vinyl album to digital yet MrJim...I have acquired numerous rips of old OOP albums from some experts who...share them.
They have gear that is way above anything I have. However now that I have a decent external sound card, I could rip an album myself I just haven't had the time.
One vinyl rip that blew me away was BOC's Secret Treaties album, I bought the CD ages ago to replace my vinyl, and after listening to the professional rip done by PBthal I would never listen to the CD again. It was that much of a difference, since then I have bought a very nice vinyl copy again.
But tell me about your experiences with this subject.
mrJim
Senior Member
I have ripped vinyl to digital. and have gotten some pretty good results. Now let me say its not Vinyl results, but after some experimenting, using the right bit/sample rates and file format the CD I produced did IMO sounded better than a purchased cd of the same album.
ahemmm and yes I have both Vinyl and CD of the same Album. and I'm not ashamed to admit it
now I use absolutely no filters and not sound helpers at all. so I just face it and accept hearing things with Vinyl that I wouldn't hear on a normal cd.
No sound card, I use a Phono Preamp with an Analog-Digital converter and USB baby that's all just add some software. CD's are cut using a external full height Pioneer CD/DVD/BlueRay drive connected to a laptop. that pioneer is a great drive.
very nice results. But don't kid yourself though. the size of the digital files won't allow you to fit much on you ipod thingy. I am talking ripping a CD with the digital files.
Jim
ahemmm and yes I have both Vinyl and CD of the same Album. and I'm not ashamed to admit it
now I use absolutely no filters and not sound helpers at all. so I just face it and accept hearing things with Vinyl that I wouldn't hear on a normal cd.
No sound card, I use a Phono Preamp with an Analog-Digital converter and USB baby that's all just add some software. CD's are cut using a external full height Pioneer CD/DVD/BlueRay drive connected to a laptop. that pioneer is a great drive.
very nice results. But don't kid yourself though. the size of the digital files won't allow you to fit much on you ipod thingy. I am talking ripping a CD with the digital files.
Jim
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^^The only thing the pros do when they are ripping vinyl is to remove pops/clicks that are obvious on the analyzer, I really can't tell when I listen to a rip that it's been 'touched up' at all.
But I'm no expert, as I said I've never tried it. If I do it now I will rip the vinyl to 24-96 not 16-44, although that means burning a DVD instead of a CD.
I don't listen to MP3's either, all my music is at least CD quality on the digital side.
Tell me Jim have you ever listened to a 24-96 vinyl rip? Some real purists don't stop there but go right to 24-192 Blu Ray standards...they feel to capture the complete spectrum from an analog source that is the minimum requirement. I'm not that hard core a nice 16-44 is good enough for me.
But I'm no expert, as I said I've never tried it. If I do it now I will rip the vinyl to 24-96 not 16-44, although that means burning a DVD instead of a CD.
I don't listen to MP3's either, all my music is at least CD quality on the digital side.
Tell me Jim have you ever listened to a 24-96 vinyl rip? Some real purists don't stop there but go right to 24-192 Blu Ray standards...they feel to capture the complete spectrum from an analog source that is the minimum requirement. I'm not that hard core a nice 16-44 is good enough for me.
mrJim
Senior Member
I capture at 24-192 and rip Audio CD. I haven't had a chance to experiment with the higher rates to other formats. based on what I have personally experienced so far, I am betting they are right and there is more in there. I do want to test the other formats, but at the moment I have no time to play
the thing about it is this, its only as good as the lowest rate in your setup, and in my experience you need to make an effort to eliminate bottlenecks. And you brain can help you think you hear great things
for example the rate is only going to be 24-192 if... your interface can sample that rate, the software can handle that rate and is set to sample that rate and the file format and media is able to store that rate. you can set it to 24-192 all you want but if everything doesn't align to 24-192 your not getting it.
File formats were a sort of interesting eye opener for me, I personally have seen the best results with uncompressed WAV format highest quality. Now codecs have a lot to do with the results here but I am pretty sure all pc sounds start out from a wav data structure so I am sure that helps. but the file format topic is a whole nother post.
Lord then there is play back. I would think those purists are going to have an audiophile player or at least a DAC connected to the BlueRay player.
The bottom line is you can capture that Vinyl and get it to rock
the thing about it is this, its only as good as the lowest rate in your setup, and in my experience you need to make an effort to eliminate bottlenecks. And you brain can help you think you hear great things
for example the rate is only going to be 24-192 if... your interface can sample that rate, the software can handle that rate and is set to sample that rate and the file format and media is able to store that rate. you can set it to 24-192 all you want but if everything doesn't align to 24-192 your not getting it.
File formats were a sort of interesting eye opener for me, I personally have seen the best results with uncompressed WAV format highest quality. Now codecs have a lot to do with the results here but I am pretty sure all pc sounds start out from a wav data structure so I am sure that helps. but the file format topic is a whole nother post.
Lord then there is play back. I would think those purists are going to have an audiophile player or at least a DAC connected to the BlueRay player.
The bottom line is you can capture that Vinyl and get it to rock
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mrJim
Senior Member
I know but I suck at picking touching them out.
Ya know the one other thing I did do was I capture an old old cassette I have of a band I used to see in the early 90's, through that same *** device. I purchased that tape out the back their van one night after a show. The CD I cut from it was pretty damn good.
but my bar may be a little low on that since I had been protect that cassette for about 15 years and was die'ing to get it to something I could listen to regularly.
^^Indeed I've looked at various 'how to' videos when it comes to editing the obvious noises from the album but as yet have never gotten around to trying it.
It does make sense though, if you are going to rip at 24-192 then you have to maintain that all the way through and burn a Blu Ray when you're done. Me...when I do try this I'm going to record onto a cassette instead of a BR or DVD. I do think because the experts doing this are using HQ all the way through their ripping procedure there will be a noticeable improvement over a CD sound wise.
I've got a few pre-recorded cassettes, but the problem with them is the bandwith on regular tape is less than the premium tape I use so even when you transfer them you are locked in and can't improve that part of it.
It does make sense though, if you are going to rip at 24-192 then you have to maintain that all the way through and burn a Blu Ray when you're done. Me...when I do try this I'm going to record onto a cassette instead of a BR or DVD. I do think because the experts doing this are using HQ all the way through their ripping procedure there will be a noticeable improvement over a CD sound wise.
I've got a few pre-recorded cassettes, but the problem with them is the bandwith on regular tape is less than the premium tape I use so even when you transfer them you are locked in and can't improve that part of it.
