I've got a recommendation of a NuForce UDAC 2 from a good friend, but that appears to be the exact opposite of what I need, which is an analog-to=digital converter, not a digital-to-analog converter, which didn't make sense to me.
I read the mentioned thread, and up pops the ASUS Xonar card. I've seen very favorable reviews of it before. Is there any particular model I should steer towards? |
I've seen direct to CD TTs before, and I tend to steer clear of them. Maybe it's just me, but the TT/cartridge combo in those appear (at least) to be of dubious quality. My TT is not great, but it's possibly better than those. I'm not sure...
Would an ASUS Xonar DG be a good way to go, temporarily. I'm not interested in Gaming, or X.1 surround. I'm after good 2-channel audio. |
The PC may change, but the music won't, so I am very concerned about the quality of the sound card.
The integrated sound card makes noise even when there is no music going through it! It has to be turned up, but it is there. The headphone amp is particularly dreadful.
If I could yank the thing out, I'd make it better by running it over with my car. Anything would be an improvement. |
WAV is always good. FLAC's not bad either. My LP's are all in good shape. I even have a VPI 16.5 to keep them that way (and a good stylus cleaner, too!). |
Mp3 is nothing more than the name given to a compression algorithm. Songs off of an LP, in their native format, are WAV files. WAV files take up 10-20X the space of MP3 files, so they are difficult to email, take up huge tracts of space on hard drives, etc. The biggest thing, though, is that your average Joe just wants tunes, for background music, or whatever. Quality has no impact. For audiophiles, an uncompressed format is best. There is just more there, there. That's why many of us cling to our turntables, in the face of everything CD. |
Well, I received an nice care package in the mail from fellow Audiogon list member Ghasely. It was pair of CDs made on the Korg using DSD. The sample rate was set for my current sound card, which is a paltry 16/44.1. The CDs still sound great. Better still, it's music I like, but don't already own. Perfect sound forever? I don't think so, but it does sound way better than I would have imagined, and any limitation is on my end.
To sum up, I would be more than happy using a Korg unit. It's definitely something I oould not only live with owning, bt be proud of, too. |
After reading all the flames getting slung about, let me clarify my original post. I do have a lot of vinyl (~5,000 LPs), and somehow, I'd like to put them in a digital format so they're easier to ______. I love my vinyl, my TT rig isn't the best, but it damn near kills me to go digital - I'm an analog kind of guy. I'll retain vinyl of my favorites, but most will get converted.
I realize that the PC is full of nasties, but it's great for storage. I just need to find a good way of going from vinyl to digital, while introducing the fewest amount of digital nastiness. |
Believe me, I have thought about how long this will take me. I dread it. The only upside that I see is listening to ton of good vinyl that I haven't heard in a while.
Right now, all of my LPs are sitting in custom-made shelves. The last time I moved, I had 29 boxes of LPs that were moved with me. What a pain. All that said, I would rather listen to a record than anything else. There is no comparison.
The technology seems to keep evolving, so I certainly don't want to jump on the digital bandwagon, only to find that I can't listen to my music anymore. Computers are going from PCI to PCI-E, MP3 has evolved into M4A, etc. It goes on, and on.
It took years to build a good stereo, and more years (a lifetime) to collect all those records. I certainly don't want to part with them lightly. |
I'm hoping to only archive the LPs I don't already have digitally, all the bootlegs, rare gems, etc. Otherwise I'd be well North of 60 before I'm done. |
I definitely prefer vinyl, I just hate having to move the entire collection when we move into a different house. I've moved the whole analog empire twice now. I'm sure there will be more to follow. |
