Phono Preamp


Make Life Easier - use a USB Phono Preamp

If you have a turntable already and would like to connect it directly to your PC or Mac, then a you will need a phono preamp to 'match' the signal level and impedance of the output of your turntable to your computer sound card input. But there is an easier way....

To make life easier you could use a USB Phono Preamp. Using a USB Preamp is more convenient than a standard analogue preamp, and has several advantages over a USB turntable. Apart from how easy a USB phono preamp makes the job of transferring LP and Cassette to your PC, an external USB preamp integrates it's own sound card within the preamp which is designed to cope with the demanding task associated with large audio files and restoring audio. Many budget computers will be using 'on board' sound, which is part of the motherboard and wouldn't necessarily be up to the job of trouble free audio restoration and editing.
There are a few USB phono preamps on the market but the iVinyl model from Terratec includes Audio Restoration Software by Algorithmix called SoundRescue (windows) and Roxio Spin Doctor for the Mac. Both of which are quality products, and run in real time, removing clicks, pops and various other unwanted noises, so you are restoring as you record. I have first hand experience of Algorithmix products as I use their professional plugin's with WaveLab and am very impressed with their results so I can recommend their products with confidence. I have also used the demo version of Sound Laundry, their cheaper multimedia software which is also a very effective product.


Here is how Terratec describe their phono preamp including my comments in italics! High-quality Phono Preamp for perfect (perfect? Well pretty darn good anyway) recordings. Record your old audio recordings to your PC without quality loss. The Phono PreAmp is equipped with an input for your turntable with moving magnet cartridge (most are) and with a port for tape decks or other audio sources (ideal for transferring your Cassette Tapes). Adjustable levels (very useful), shielded housing, not to mention carefully selected components and a first-class signal-to-noise ratio together guarantee the perfect recording. The phono PreAmp requires no drivers, no sound card (good news if you have a budget PC) No power supply (supply provided via the USB connection). Connect it to your computer's USB port and start recording. Connect and go....
Here's the Techie Bit......
Features: For moving magnet (Moving Magnet) cartridges and high-output moving coil (Moving Coil) systems or audio devices with line level (e.g. tape decks) not suited for standard Moving Coil systems USB power supplied Supported sample rates: 32kHz / 44.1 kHz / 48 kHz / 96 kHz Input sensitivity 6mV (min) / 1 kHz (max) Input capacity adjustable in three stages (100 pF, 250 pF and 430 pF) Filter function with high-precision RIAA equalization (20 Hz-20 kHz / ± 0.3 dB) Harmonic distortion < 0.007 % (5 mV) Signal-to-noise ratio > 86 dB (A) EMC-conforming shielded housing Signal and peak LED

Bundled software for PC Algorithmix Sound Rescue (Windows) Roxio CD Spin Doctor (Mac) System Requirements 1 available USB 2.0 interface 10 MB of temporary free hard disk space for every 1 minute of audio to be recorded Moving Magnet (MM) or Moving Coil (MC) cartridge with high output level (min 2-3mV) Windows 800 MHz Intel or AMD CPU or comparable Centrino certified Notebook Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4, Windows XP with Service Pack 2 Mac Macintosh computer with Intel or PowerPC processor (G4 or faster) Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later QuickTime 7 and higher Package Contents: Phono PreAmp iVinyl Cich/RCA cable, USB connecting cable, Quick Set Up Guide Driver/Software, CD Registration card Service card.

Coloured CD's

Cassette

All in One Software to transfer & restore your recordings both from Cassette Tape or LP Vinyl
Spin It Again from Acoustica.
You can get more information about Spin It Again here
You can Download a Free Trial of Spin It Again Here

Professional LP to CD and Tape to CD Transfers by SoundAbout.net

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