Bringing vinyl to the digital age

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2007-09-27 06:02pm

The Pro-Ject Debut USB brings the joys of 12" vinyl discs to you computer. Finally, a respected audio company has stepped up to the plate and introduced an easy to use turntable that plugs right into the USB port of your computer. You can now enjoy your parents' music collection on your computer, as well as transfering it to your iPod or other portable music player. The past meets the present.

Braedley · Post by **Braedley** » 2007-09-27 06:50pm

Definitely a minimalist design, but looks fairly high quality. Unfortunately, my parents don't have all that much vinyl that I like, and the stuff I do like, I already have mp3s of.

Faabio · Post by **Faabio** » 2007-09-27 07:49pm

Thanks for bringing this up. Definetly something my sister might want as she listens to vinyls that our parents have. Might even be some songs that I want out of those records to my comp.

Macunaima · Post by **Macunaima** » 2007-09-27 08:40pm

Indeed a great tip. I've already ordered one, as my mom has tons of old vinyl records that she wants to easily convert to digital, including lots of rare records of old local folk music which is close to impossible to find in CD or other digital media.

YT300000 · Post by **YT300000** » 2007-09-27 10:07pm

IIRC, aren't there also laser turntables which don't damage the records?

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2007-09-27 10:36pm

YT300000 wrote:IIRC, aren't there also laser turntables which don't damage the records?

The force exerted by the needle is so small that it should not cause inelastic deformation of the vinyl. I think the biggest problem is the human placement of the needle, which tends to involve much more force than the needle's own resistance to movement during play. In any case, it's certainly enough to read in the data once. I figure you would use such a device to rip the LPs to HD rather than just using it as a player forever.

Qwerty 42 · Post by **Qwerty 42** » 2007-09-28 01:02am

aerius wrote:The Pro-Ject Debut USB brings the joys of 12" vinyl discs to you computer. Finally, a respected audio company has stepped up to the plate and introduced an easy to use turntable that plugs right into the USB port of your computer. You can now enjoy your parents' music collection on your computer, as well as transfering it to your iPod or other portable music player. The past meets the present.

COOL. I have a vinyl Robert Plant single that I couldn't figure out what to do with. Good stuff.

Glocksman · Post by **Glocksman** » 2007-09-28 02:19am

If it's ever offered in the US cheaply, I ought to consider buying it, as I make money on the side duping cassette tapes from my old Yamaha KX-1200U to CD's for people who either don't have a computer or don't want to be bothered with doing it themselves.

Braedley · Post by **Braedley** » 2007-09-28 10:29am

YT300000 wrote:IIRC, aren't there also laser turntables which don't damage the records?

The point of using lasers is to reduce the noise, not to prevent damage to the vinyl. They're damn expensive though, because they need at least 3 lasers, and most have 5.

Straha · Post by **Straha** » 2007-09-28 12:20pm

Braedley wrote:
YT300000 wrote:IIRC, aren't there also laser turntables which don't damage the records?
The point of using lasers is to reduce the noise, not to prevent damage to the vinyl. They're damn expensive though, because they need at least 3 lasers, and most have 5.

See, the sad thing is they could get a lot more business if they brought their price down and changed their selling strategy slightly. As someone who is around vinyl constantly I can tell you the biggest bitch and a half about it is buying new needles when your old ones wear down. And if you're trying to get quality needles those can go for roughly a hundred bucks a pop. If you have multiple turn tables and need to replace them regularly that can run to thousands of dollars in the not too long term. If laser turntables were more affordable (say... cheaper than a thousand dollars) I bet they could make massive amounts of revenue simply selling them to radio stations, not to mention those serious vinyl enthusiasts out there.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2007-09-28 03:58pm

Braedley wrote:Definitely a minimalist design, but looks fairly high quality. Unfortunately, my parents don't have all that much vinyl that I like, and the stuff I do like, I already have mp3s of.

It is. Pro-Ject makes consistently good turntables all the way from the entry level to the flagship record spinner. The RPM 10 is pretty darn cool, but I can't justify one, yet.

YT300000 wrote:IIRC, aren't there also laser turntables which don't damage the records?

Yes, but as I recall they cost something like $10k. It's not a real issue though, most record wear & damage is caused by dirt & grit getting ground into the record and getting dragged along the grooves by the needle. Keep the records clean and they'll last for ages, I have records which I've played hundreds of times and they still sound great.

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2007-09-28 04:00pm

I'll be showing my dad that. Only 200 quid? And he has quite large number of albums.... He'll be having fun

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2007-09-28 04:06pm

I'd definitely recommend storing the files in a lossless format such as FLAC, and as always, clean the living heck out of the records before doing the transfer.

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2007-09-28 04:08pm

aerius wrote:I'd definitely recommend storing the files in a lossless format such as FLAC, and as always, clean the living heck out of the records before doing the transfer.

Yeah, they've been in their sleeves in a box for about twenty years. A bit of cleaning will certainly be required.

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Bringing vinyl to the digital age

Bringing vinyl to the digital age

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