1) What format — MP3 or something else

2) What bit rate for recording – 128 Kilobytes per second (KPS) or something higher for better quality

Format:  For high quality audio recordings created and used by an individual, there is really only one answer on the format question.  Immediately, change whatever default setting you use to record or purchase your files to a MP3 format.  Formats are comparable to spoken languages — and just like languages, some are widely spoken and others leave their users isolated from the world.  (For those old enough to remember Betamax, nuff said).   The most interchangable format is MP3.  IPods and other digital players all can play files that use the MP3 format, but other formats will force you to give up on some technology pathways.  In addition, the digital rights management is simpler with the MP3 format.  So when ripping a CD, converting vinyl to digital, or downloading songs, make sure that the format is MP3.  Anything else and you give up significant flexibility.  If you are interested, the Wikipedia has a nice article comparing the formats http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_audio_codecs

Bit Rate:  The quality of the recording is significantly affected by the sampling rate.  At low rates, the recordings sound blurry with poor fidelity, voicing, and dynamics.  In other words, if you want everything to sound like it was recorded live at an arena by friend on their cellphone, use a low sampling rate.  The sampling rate for MP3s range from 128 kilobytes per second up to 320 kilobytes per second.  128 is the entry level — adequate if you were only going to listen to recordings while exercising or in a noisy environment like a car.  However, if you want to preserve the quality of sound available on the original, much higher sampling rates are necessary.  How high depends on the quality of the equipment you are going to use to listen to your music and personal preference.  I find that the quality improvements are obvious from 128 to 192; slightly more difficult to perceive between 192 and 256; and harder to discern beyond 256.  On the other hand, with the hard drives constantly increasing in size, the benefit of small files is small.  So, when recording, I now use 320 KPS which is the highest resolution available in MP3s.

It is hard to get rid of vinyl with the memories tied up in a collection.  But, getting them out for a listen is rare — and likely to go the way of 78s, reel-to-reel, and cassettes.

Here is a solution.  You will need:

• Turntable and Cartridge
• Phono preamplifier
• Software

Turntable: Any turntable will work — better turntables will work better.  I have an old Philips 312, but spending lots for a new turntable used once as I played my collection through its last hurrah seemed excessive.  On the other hand, a new cartridge seemed in my price range.  (The cartridge is the boxy thing at the end of the tone arm.  It holds the needle and converts the needle’s motion into an electrical signal.)  You can get a replacement cartridge in any price range at The Needle Doctor

Phono Preamp: Computer sound cards are not designed with records in mind.  Their inputs for microphones can’t pick up the faint signal that comes from the turntable cartridge.   To get the signal loud enough, the turntable must be plugged into a “phono preamplifier”.  The phono preamplifier increases the signal sufficiently to be plugged into the microphone or line-in input in any soundcard.

Prices have no upper limit on phone preamps nor on any audio equipment.  The Pro-ject Phone Box gave results that pleased me, costs $129, and is also available at The Needle Doctor This amplifier works for both typical moving magnet and high-end moving coil cartridges.  However, if you are the type that invested the $$$ in a moving coil cartridge, you probably want a better preamp.  Look through the selection and settle on one that fits your needs.  You can also buy better and worse soundcards for your computer.  I use a nice card from Soundblaster.

Software: The soundcard converts the signal into digital but in a format not used by IPods.   To save hard disk space, IPods and other portable devices use MP3 and other compact digital recording formats.  Translating the recording between the soundcard format and the IPod format takes some software.   In addition, the software chops up the recorded music into individual songs, allows the names of the song/album/artist to be added (alas, by typing it in — brute force), and can filter out pops and crackles.  I use Polderbits which costs $37.

After creating the MP3 files, the last stage is to import them into your media library using whatever software you use for your music (I-Tunes, Windows Media Player, etc)  Album art can be added at this stage.  If you are picky about your tags, you can use BeaTunes to clean up mistakes and add additional information.

Total time for each record varies.  Obviously each record needs to be played, but that step doesn’t take a lot of attention, care, and feeding.  However, chopping up the recording into songs and adding titles can be time consuming.  If the records is a made up of traditional 3 minute songs with silence in between, chopping up the record into individual songs can be done automatically by Polderbits.  But live albums, and those without silence between songs (such as Pink Floyd),  force you to browse through the file and insert the breaks manually.  Fortunately Polderbits has both visual and aural tools to assist the process.  All told — on average each album takes about 10 to 15 minutes of attention and effort (in addition to playing time).

I was very surprised by the quality of the result and how much fun it was to have my college years aurally available again.  Good luck.

from video.google.com posted with vodpod