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Sweet Vinyl Sugarcube - I Want It!!!

At the NY Audio Show this past weekend, I got to see and hear the demo of the Sweet Vinyl Sugarcube.  This PC-based stand alone unit is amazing.  Here is what it does:


1.  De-clicks vinyl - and does so completely transparently, and is user-adjustable (more or less filtering of clicks and pops). 

2.  Digitizes vinyl - MP3 through 24/192 resolution.

3.  Locates metadata for LPs being played/digitized, including cover art

4.  Inserts track divisions based on the metadata (wow!).

5.  Compensates for non-RIAA recordings

6.  Plug in apps will do even more, like reducing groove noise.

It inserts in a line-level loop or between your phono preamp and preamp.  It has digital (S/PDIF and USB) outputs as well as analog outputs.


Projected retail is $2500, and they plan a kickstarter campaign soon.


If you spend time digitizing vinyl, this thing is nothing short of a miracle.  I want one so badly I can taste it.


(I am not associated with Sweet Vinyl in any way.)

bondmanp
bondmanp OP
1,465 posts
 

thaluza - That could be the case.  The update took place last night, but I did not get a chance to see what it was updating.  I will keep you posted.  I opted to receive my SC-2 early (first shipment), since the hardware is finalized, and all the other stuff is dowloadable software updates.

lewm:  If I were evaluating the the digitizing quality of the SC-2 as compared to the Marantz CD recorder, you'd be correct.  But I think it's a safe bet that SC-2, which has been designed as a high-end audio component, will be an improvement over the Marantz, which is a pro-sumer CD recorder that is over 10 years old.  Also, the SC-2 digitizes up to 24/192, whereas the Marantz is Red Book only.  I also can easily digitize something on the SC-2 that I previously digitized on the Marantz, load them onto my server, and compare the results.  I may try that at some point, but I am racing against death to complete the digitization of my LPs (in the 12th year of this process, currently), so I mainly want to continnue moving forward with my as-yet undigitized LPs.  

bondmanp OP
1,465 posts
 
thaluza - from an email I received from Dan Eakins at Sweetvinyl:

In the app:  


.      In the Advanced section on the SC-2 you can also: (top right of app - pull down menu)

a.      Change your display – show artist and song info

b.      View Album recognition

c.      Record


So, pretty much everything except track splitting, recording level control (promised) and record L-R balance adjustment (also promised).


lewm
6,770 posts
 
Bondman, Your response speaks to my question but does not answer it.  I agree that the SC2 ought to blow away the Marantz for recording purposes, which is precisely why I asked why you were of a mind to record on both simultaneously, using a Y-adapter.  Also, be careful doing that.  The SC2 will "look back" to both the Marantz input and the signal source output and see their impedances in parallel.  That can sometimes cause frequency response anomalies, depending upon the values of the two impedances "seen" by the SC2 input.

I hope you have a lot of LPs and therefore a long life ahead.
bondmanp OP
1,465 posts
 

lewm - Oh, sorry. I misunderstood your question.  I don't expect to record on both devices simultaneously, but I want to keep the option in case I decide I need a CD-R of whatever I am recording.  Also, I do not yet know how the recording function on the Sugarcube will work when recording sources other than LPs.  For example, I have numerous singles to digitize, as well as material on DVD, BD, and some soundtrack music I have on my DVR.


Good point about the impedance issues.  I could use the Y cables instead to split the output of the SC-2 in order to feed the Marantz and my preamp's tape loop input.  Perhaps that would prevent that potential impedance mismatch, and still offer the ability to record a CD-R.  Although, would that have the potential to mess up the signal being fed to the Marantz and the preamp?  Ugh.

bondmanp OP
1,465 posts
 
Okay, so I have not had much time to actually use my SC-2.  As a beta tester, I expected a few glitches, and there are some.  So far, the SC-2 has gotten stuck during updates and required a restart two times.  Sweetvinyl says this typically happens around 5% of the time.  The pairing of the SC-2 with my Android phone is a little tricky.  I thought I had it done, but the app is telling me to re-pair the phone with the SC-2.  Sweetvinyl says I should go through the pairing process whenever prompted by the app.  Because of this, I have not yet explored the advanced menu, but hope to do so soon.  The unit is designed to stay powered on (power switch on the rear).  So far, it has never gotten more than slightly warmer than room temperature to the touch, and that is with a plastic sheet covering my equipment rack.  Sweetvinyl can actually monitor the internal operating temperature of any SC-2 connected to the web.  That's cool, so to speak. 
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