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GIVE ’EM A Concluding our Turntable Review – this month we look at some of the software you’ll need to clean up that old vinyl and save precious memories to CD. I n digitising your old LP record audio tracks you don’t and won’t get very far without some processing software. Even a humble freeware application (and there are countless examples of those available to download) can make a phenomenal difference: remove the clicks from a vintage LP and you think you’ve solved one of life’s eternal mysteries. This is by no means an exhaustive list – Google “recording LPs” and you’ll get more than a million hits – but the software here is either packages we’ve used and liked or has been recommended by those “in the know.” We would have liked to include more but some software suppliers don’t know when an offer of free publicity jumps up and slaps them in the face . . . Windows Software: Express RIP This lets you extract digital audio tracks directly from audio CDs to either WAV or MP3 files on your hard drive. A free application, it’s offered “in the hope you will like it so much you will consider purchasing Express Rip Plus which offers additional features for the audio professional like more file formats and automation tools.” www.nch.com.au/software Wavepad An easy-to-use recorder – and it’s also free. It can record, edit and save your music. www.nch.com.au/ wavepad/masters.html Wave Corrector The program will automatically listen to your LP and break it up into individual WAV files for you. You can then do whatever you like with the tracks: resample them, clean them up with other signal processing programs or even make a backup copy of your vinyl or cassettes onto a CD. The latest release even allows you to compress to formats such as MP3 onthe-fly while recording. £6.00. www.ripvinyl.com This is a really neat tool which records and does a quick and thorough job of removing the crackles, hiss etc. You can download the demo to test it, but you’re limited to two minutes of music. Wave Corrector can rejuvenate your old analog recordings before transferring them to CD; it de-clicks vinyl; dehisses tape; reconstructs the original audio wave from measurements of the phase and frequency content; has a range of filters, track editor. £28. www.wavecor.co.uk/ DePopper LP Ripper 7.1.1 RIP Vinyl Removes crackles and pops caused by scratches and wear on vinyl. $US10. www.droidinfo.com/software/depopper/ WAV2MP3 Converts between WAV and MP3 formats. Free. wav2mp3lame.sourceforge.net/ 12  S 12  Silicon ilicon C Chip hip Makes the task of converting vinyl LPs, tapes and cassettes to MP3 files or CDs much easier. Record each side of the LP as a single WAV file on your computer. LP Ripper automatically splits the file into separate WAV files for each track. It can also use an MP3, WMA or similar encoder to produce a separate compressed file for each track. You can listen to previews of tracks and visually trim the start and finish. $US34.95. www.surfpack.com/software/vinyl/ siliconchip.com.au SPIN! Part 2 by BARRIE SMITH Because exchange rates vary so much, any prices quoted have been left in their original currency (eg, $US or £, etc) as quoted on the respective websites. To convert to $AU (or $NZ) with an up-to-the-minute exchange rate, log onto a currency conversion site such as www.xe.com Nero 6 Ultra Edition A suite of applications, also includes two audio-editing applications. With some components you can trim graphical WAV files, apply effects, normalise volume and the like, then splice together audio files, listen to effects, EQ and volume changes in real time and non-destructively. Nero Mix, is an MP3 player/ ripper/burner. $107 downloaded version; $153 boxed version. www.zdnet.com.au; www.nero.com Spin It Again Spin It Again records any vinyl LP or cassette to CD. Not only will it make the whole recording and track dividing process much easier but it will also dramatically clean recordings by getting rid of click and pop noises on records or by removing hiss and hum off old cassette tapes. $US34.95. www.acoustica.com/spinitagain/ Easy Hi-Q Recorder Version 2.0 Record any sound in real-time, directly to MP3, (CBR or VBR), WMA 9, (Windows Media Audio 9), WAV or OGG Vorbis. At the high-end you can record to above CD quality 48kHz stereo and at the low-end record all the way down to 8kHz mono. A very wide range of MP3 bit-rates, also for WMA, from 5 to 320Kbps. Also use it as a universal audio or video sound file converter. $US29.95. www.roemersoftware.com/ LP Recorder LP Recorder records vinyl to CD-standard WAV files for subsequent conversion to MP3 files or stored on CD. Special features suited to recording vinyl to WAV files include: automatically adjusts optimum recording levels to avoid distortion, auto start and auto stop for easy operation. $US34.95. www.surfpack.com/software/vinyl/ siliconchip.com.au Polderbits Sound Recorder and Editor Create CDs from vinyl; removes clicks, pops and crackle; reduces noise from tape recordings; employs equaliser to enhance overall sound quality; converts files from MP3 to WAV and vice versa; split recordings into multiple tracks. $USS36.50. www.polderbits.com Sound Forge Audio Studio Quite an act! This is an easy-to-use home version of Sound Forge professional software — “the industry standard for audio editing and mastering on the PC platform.” You can import analog audio, ready for further treatment. You enjoy pro-level control over audio editing, EQ, volume, and effects processing; mix audio tracks, balance sound levels, and create custom fades. Save in popular formats including MP3, WAV, and WMA. Burn your own CDs, export to an MP3 player. $US69.95 www.sonymediasoftware.com/Products Sound Forge 8 Upper level, highly capable pro version of Sound Forge Audio Studio. $US299.96. www.sonymediasoftware.com/Products CEDAR Available as a range of AudioSuite plug-ins, the CEDAR Tools suite comprises seven advanced processes allowing users to eliminate a wide range of audio degradations from an even wider range of audio materials. The applications offer high-resolution processing. Worth a visit to the site to see how the pros do it! www.cedar-audio.com/ JJune une 2007  13 2007  13 Laser Turntable Mac Software: Amadeus II This is a disc-based sound editor and processor, with visual waveform editing, live recording, sampling, analysis, sound repair/ denoising tools, a parametric equaliser designed for restoring old vinyl recording, and other features. $US30 for Mac OS 9, OSX 10.2 through 10.4. www.hairersoft.com/amadeus.html The Analogue Ripper 2.0 This makes it possible to record to a Mac from cassettes, reelto-reel, VHS and other analog sources. It records direct to disc, includes features for breaking audio into tracks. $US29.95 for Mac OS X. www.hotwork.org/TAR/MainTAR.htmlGraphing This seems like an idea that has missed its time! The ELP Laser Turntable plays vinyl records with no direct contact with the records grooves. So, no contact – no wear! Instead of a needle, the laser stylus reads record grooves using light. It replays the sound in analog form, just as a conventional stylus would, with no digitisation of the audio signal. Starting list price: $US15,000. www.elpj.com Australian distributor: Ron Brain, Crudon, Victoria. ronbrain<at>labyrinth.net.au Peak LE Converts vinyl and tapes to CD. Change duration without affecting pitch, add mixes, cross fades. $US129. Mac OS 10.2x or later; Mac Universal. www.bias-inc.com Coaster 1.1.3 Oversees the recording process and has controls similar to a tape deck. Get your sound levels right, hit the record button and you’re off. Coaster can even sense silence between tracks and split automatically into separate sound files, allowing you to record a whole LP without having to be around. Freeware. www.visualclick.de/download/coaster.sit Roxio Spin Doctor 2 ADS Instant Music! A family of useful applications is marketed by Roxio. CD Spin Doctor 2, bundled with Instant Music (reviewed in this coverage) can be used to digitise analog audio from vinyl or tapes; you can define tracks, reduce noise and enhance sound quality with included filters. It can be bought as part of the Roxio Toast suite: $139. Bought separately: $US39.99. www.macmall.com.au/mall/customer/ www.roxio.com/enu/products/spindoctor  Record Your Old LPs and Cassettes to CD, MP3 or your iPod  Save music as MP3, WAV, WMA and AAC (iPod) audio formats  Burn professional quality CDs* Capture from any audio source: cassette, turntable, TV,  radio, DVD Mac Users can use Instant Music with Garage Band or  Sound Studio 2.1 Includes Nero Suite for PC Users. PC and Mac Models available. an Austirbaultior Distr RRP $134.95 02 9975 2900 www.conexus.com.au 14  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au siliconchip.com.au Manual Windows/Mac/Linux Software: The It’s often said about computer software that the better it ClickRepair A very useful, Australian-created application that is cross platform — Macintosh/Windows/Linux. It finds and repairs clicks and crackle in audio files obtained by capturing vinyl and 78 RPM records to digital CD format. It is not a filter; it searches the file sample-by-sample, and only changes those identified as being suspect. It is possible to operate automatically, or to intervene manually. Favoured detection and repair settings may be named and saved. $US25. www.maths.anu.edu.au/~briand/sound/ Audacity Audacity is an easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Mac, Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. You can use Audacity to record live audio, convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs; edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, and WAV sound files; cut copy, splice, and mix sounds together; change the speed or pitch of a recording. Freeware. audacity.sourceforge.net On page 18, I take a closer look at one of the best pieces of hardware/software I’ve found for copying an LP to PC and ultimately to CD – ADS Instant Music. It’s an ideal choice if your PC lack a decent sound card and it suits Windows/Mac/Linux environments too! siliconchip.com.au is the less need you’ll have to read the manual. This also applies, in some degree, to audio gear but you will frequently find that possession of the manual goes a long way to understanding the functions of a tape recorder or the niceties of a turntable, such niceties as adjusting the weight of the tone arm. After hooking up the Dual 1010 turntable my generous friend had passed on to me I was delighted to find that the manual for it was available as a free download from Vinyl Engine (www.vinylengine.com) The manual used in the PDF file was not scanned at an optimum resolution — but it was usable! Vinyl Engine also carry manuals for tone arms made by EMI, Garrard, Goldring, Acoustic Research, Sony and many others. Some other sites that can help with owner and service manuals: www.stereomanuals.com/index.htm have copies of manuals for TEAC, TASCAM, Technics — and that’s just the ‘T’ listing! www.markglinsky.com/ManualManor.html is operated by Mark Glinsky under the banner of Manual Manor. Mark has manuals for all sorts of audio equipment, from recorders to equalisers to turntables and more. Ortofon’s Arkiv magnetic cartridge If you have an old turntable and cartridge, there is serious doubt whether it will be capable of doing a good job in tracking typical high-quality vinyl discs. The problem is that the stylus itself may be worn, which means that it will damage the record’s grooves if you continue to play it. Worse still, its suspension may have lost flexibility and its compliance, the ability to track the record groove, will have been seriously degraded. The result will be that it will distort on heavily recorded passages and may even jump out of the groove, causing further damage. The solution is to purchase a new stylus assembly, if one is available. Better still, you could consider Ortofon’s new Arkiv magnetic cartridge. Released this month, it has been specifically tailored for vinyl to digital transcription. The Arkiv has an elliptical stylus and a frequency response of 20-20,000Hz. The cartridge output is quite high 6mV/cm/sec which means that most preamplifiers will have more than adequate gain, allowing for improved signal-to-noise ratio when you dub disks to CD. The Arkiv is available in both Concorde full mount, for bayonet type tone-arms, (RRP $159.50) and the OM half-inch mount for fixed headshell tone-arms (RRP $98.40). For more information contact Matthew Hunter at Speakerbits – telephone (03) 9647 7000. Website: www. speakerbits.com; email mh<at>speakerbits.com June 2007  15 Cassette Decks Many of us have managed to acquire mountains of compact cassettes, often in parallel to our purchase of LPs. If your experience is similar to this writer’s, few of these are of sufficient quality to copy to CD. Not only is the quality in general down, compared to LPs, many of them have served duty in poorly maintained car players and suffered damage. You may however, have some personally recorded tapes of value: those made at a wedding ceremony, baby’s first words, some amateur singing etc. Whilst not of a high quality level the data on them is irreplaceable and worthy of preservation on CD. Few single box cassette players have a line out facility. So if you’ve already turfed the family cassette player, you’re up for a new one or a used model. Some of the manufacturers who still market cassette players that can output line level audio to an amp are listed below. They are: Denon, Marantz, Panasonic, Pioneer, Sony. Golden Ears If you want to head into headphone territory there is an abundance of good quality brands out there. Among them are Altec, Grado, Sennheiser, Sony. Prices run from just over $100 and up into the thousands. It’s probably best to avoid the wireless and infra red types; both tend to limit full range reproduction. Good fitting ‘cans’ are important. A good place to start is www.buyquick.com.au as well, of course, eBay (if you know what you’re looking for!). “MERLIN” Safe External Switchmode Power Supply Practical and Versatile Mini Broadcast Audio Mixer Broadcast Quality with Operational Features and Technical Performance identical to full sized Radio Station Mixing Panels Permanent Installation is not required, the “Merlin” is as easy as a Stereo System to “Set Up”,all connections via Plugs and Sockets The “Merlin” originally designed for Media Training use in High Schools and Colleges is a remarkably versatile Audio Mixer Applications: Media Training - Basic Audio Production - News Room Mixer - Outside Broadcasts - Radio Program Pre Recording On-Air Mixer in small Radio Stations - “Disco Mixer” The “Merlin” is an Affordable Professional Audio Product Buy one for your School, College, Community Radio Station, Ethnic Radio Broadcast Association or for yourself For Details and Price, please contact us at ELAN Phone 08 9277 3500 AUDIO Fax 08 9478 2266 2 Steel Court. South Guildford email sales<at>elan.com.au www.elan.com.au Western Australia 6055 16  Silicon Chip Vintage Speeds Rek-O-Kut distributor Decibel HiFi is adamant that when you play 78RPM discs “at their correct pitch, you will never be able to tolerate previous 78 turntables.” One of their models can also handle vertical cut discs, as made by the Edison and Pathé companies. At the time, early 78RPM discs varied from 62 to 94RPM. The Rek-O-Kut turntables can cope with this variation and offer continuously variable speeds in their range. Further, using a strobe, it is possible to set any of twelve speeds from 68.5 to 90RPM. Contact Details Denon, NAD: Audio Products ..............1300 134 400 www.audioproducts.com.au help<at>audioproducts.com.au Dual: AudioPhile......................03 9489 4864 www.audiophile.com.au info<at>audiophile.com.au Goldring: Duratone Imports...........02 6282 1333 www.duratone.com.au sales<at>duratone.com.au Moth, Rek-O-Kut: Decibel Hi-Fi..................07 3272 7660 www.decibelhifi.com.au enquiry<at>decibelhifi.com.au Optimus: Dick Smith Electronics...1300 366 64 www.dse.com.au Pioneer: Pioneer Australia...........1800 988 268 www.pioneer.com.au/product service<at>pioneer.com.au Rega: Synergy Audio Visual.....03 9416 4161 www.synergy-audio.com info<at>synergyaudio.com Panasonic: Panasonic Australia.......132 600 www.panasonic.com.au Pro-Ject: International Dynamics Australasia 03 9429 0822 www.internationaldynamics.com.au mail<at>internationaldynamics.com.au Sony: Sony Australia ...............1300 720 071 www.sony.com.au Stanton: Jands..............................02 9582 0909 www.jands.com.au info<at>jands.com.au Thorens: Hi Fi Junction ................02 9389 4000 www.hifijunction.com.au hifi<at>fl.net.au siliconchip.com.au