USB Turntables

[wgb113]

The contenders are:

1. Music Hall USB-1
2. Audio Technica AT-LP240-USB
3. Pro-Ject Essential USB

Now, before you lot chime in with "none of the above, get a vintage deck and outboard USB pre" (I can appreciate that advice but it doesn't fit MY situation/setup at this time) I need something with the convience of ripping the handful of Record Store Day releases I have along with the occasional LP that I pick up because it's only released on vinyl. CD is still my preferred format (I know...the HORROR!!!) and as stuff gets released in HiRes I'll pick that up before I would that same release on 180g, 45 speed virgin vinyl.

So, with all of that said, if you HAD to pick one of the above tables for transferring those handful of recordings over to bits and bytes on a HDD which would you pick?

Obviously I know that none of them are great in terms of sound quality but for me the music is much more important than that.

Associated Equipment:
iMac running latest version of iTunes
Dynaudio BM5A MKII active speakers
Benchmark DAC1 USB
Behringer DEQ2496
DIY acoustic treatments

Bill

[majick47]

If your selective about what music you listen to then you should be selective about what you play your records on and how it sounds so you can enjoy listening to the music. USB is a very poor choice.

[wgb113]

As I said it's more about the performance for me than it is about the sound quality. I get enjoyment out of hearing MP3s on stock Apple earbuds played on my iPhone because I love music.

That's not to say I don't appreciate good sound, I do, it's just that the majority of the music I listen to (rock) is poorly recorded and mastered so the sound quality isn't that great to begin with.

USB is the simplest way of getting those handful of vinyl albums I do have into the digital realm to enjoy (as both AIFF and MP3 files) along with the 10's of 1000's of other songs on my music server.

Bill

[cafe latte]

As I said it's more about the performance for me than it is about the sound quality. I get enjoyment out of hearing MP3s on stock Apple earbuds played on my iPhone because I love music.

That's not to say I don't appreciate good sound, I do, it's just that the majority of the music I listen to (rock) is poorly recorded and mastered so the sound quality isn't that great to begin with.

USB is the simplest way of getting those handful of vinyl albums I do have into the digital realm to enjoy (as both AIFF and MP3 files) along with the 10's of 1000's of other songs on my music server.

Bill

Buying any of the above and you will get nothing even close to how it should sound even with earbuds. If you are not bothered about sound quality why not just buy the things you want on MP3 in the first place with the money you were going to waste on the USB deck?
I cant understand why a normal turntable with a cheap outboard usb pre is such a problem?
Regards
CL

[Alec124c41]

About those earbuds: I hop you are not using the plastic socks on them.

Cheers,
Alec

[smeg68]

Makes me laugh when people go on about USB pre's. Every damn PC in the world has a line in on it's sound card and can record the signal from any good phono stage directly without involving USB at all. Download Audacity for free, buy a decent 2nd hand turntable and regular decent phono stage and you're set. USB pish be damned.

[wgb113]

Makes me laugh when people go on about USB pre's. Every damn PC in the world has a line in on it's sound card and can record the signal from any good phono stage directly without involving USB at all. Download Audacity for free, buy a decent 2nd hand turntable and regular decent phono stage and you're set. USB pish be damned.

smeg,

Does Audacity have an RIAA curve that you can activate? I assumed a USB deck would be the only way around that? I'm trying to keep the system simple.

Bill

[wgb113]

Buying any of the above and you will get nothing even close to how it should sound even with earbuds. If you are not bothered about sound quality why not just buy the things you want on MP3 in the first place with the money you were going to waste on the USB deck?
I cant understand why a normal turntable with a cheap outboard usb pre is such a problem?
Regards
CL

Hey CL,

I would buy this stuff on CD or HiRes download but it's not available in either format, most Record Store Day stuff isn't. Trust me, I'd rather sync money into more music than more equipment any day!

My dedicated listening room is a home office so it still houses a desk for occasional work at the computer. It's small and space is limited so I'd like to keep the system as simple as possible.

Bill

[wgb113]

About those earbuds: I hop you are not using the plastic socks on them.

Cheers,
Alec

Hey Alec,

I only use the stock earbuds to listen to Howard Stern in the morning to be honest. What I was getting at is that I'd rather listen to music that way than not hear a recording/performance at all.

Normal cans are:

AKG K701
Sennheiser HD600
Grade SR-60
AKG K271 MKII
Audio Technica A700X
Etymotic MC-3 with Custom-Fit earmolds.

Bill

[cafe latte]

Buying any of the above and you will get nothing even close to how it should sound even with earbuds. If you are not bothered about sound quality why not just buy the things you want on MP3 in the first place with the money you were going to waste on the USB deck?
I cant understand why a normal turntable with a cheap outboard usb pre is such a problem?
Regards
CL

Hey CL,

I would buy this stuff on CD or HiRes download but it's not available in either format, most Record Store Day stuff isn't. Trust me, I'd rather sync money into more music than more equipment any day!

My dedicated listening room is a home office so it still houses a desk for occasional work at the computer. It's small and space is limited so I'd like to keep the system as simple as possible.

Bill

Hi Bill,
Others who know more about connecting to a computer can advise better, but if you can buy a used reasonable turntable and easily connect it to your computer instead of a usb turntable then do it as the differences will be huge. You will need at least a cheap phono (turntable) preamp which on the budget end is just a small black box and a few dollars. The onboard one on the Audio Technica one for example is HORRIBLE (not heard the others so cant comment but the reviews are not good) so for the sake of a small extra cheap box get yourself a half decent turntable and a cheap phono preamp and some are very cheap.
Regards
CL

[KentT]

Remember, once you get a really fine turntable. You won't be listening to hardly any other medium. And expose yourself to many years of musical enjoyment. Worth spending a little bit more money and doing it the right way. I thought I'd mainly transfer vinyl. Once I got myself a better turntable, tonearm, and cartridge, all of my collection sounded so much better I mainly play vinyl at home anymore. I do transfer my collection for playback when travelling.

[smeg68]

Makes me laugh when people go on about USB pre's. Every damn PC in the world has a line in on it's sound card and can record the signal from any good phono stage directly without involving USB at all. Download Audacity for free, buy a decent 2nd hand turntable and regular decent phono stage and you're set. USB pish be damned.

smeg,

Does Audacity have an RIAA curve that you can activate? I assumed a USB deck would be the only way around that? I'm trying to keep the system simple.

Bill

I doubt it, but you won't need it anyway as you'll be taking the output from a phonostage not direct from the turntable. There is commercial software available that will model RIAA correction and amplify a MM cart via the MIC input, but you have to pay for this.

[KentT]

Many laptops do not have line in. Unless you buy an audio interface. And also, Audacity is my least favorite editing software. RIAA is best done in hardware.

[raphaelmabo]

The iMac has a line-in. It is a three-in-one contact: line-in, mic-in (for headsets) and optical digital in.
No need for an USB-turntable. You could get a turntable with a built-in phono pre-amplifier, but without the USB, and connect to the line-in in your iMac and use the GarageBand software that came with your computer to record the LP's and transfer them to iTunes and from there to iPod and the like. You only need the correct cable. rca-phono pair in one end, and a mini T plug in the other end (for the iMac line in), you can get them at an Apple retailer.

If you want to buy new there's plenty of options.. Pro-Ject, Dual, Thorens, Denon - all have decent entry level turntables and some are also offered with built-in phono pre-amp. If you want the easiest thing, just plug-in and go and pressing play, here's the Denon.. It's a good sounding automatic for little money and decent quality of components (remember it is a budget entry level turntable so it is not world class).
http://www.lpgear.com/product/DENDP0300F.html

Or you could buy a 2nd hand turntable for similar money but with higher sound quality, something from the likes of Thorens for example that has offered many options during the years, and a separate phono pre-amp. Usually a nice 2nd hand turntable only needs a new belt, a new cartridge and some adjustments to go up and spinning.