Is it possible to wire a stereo to a hard drive? I want to play my LPs and 45's on the turn table yet burn them onto CD. Any ideas? I'm technically inept. :D

You can't wire the stereo to a hard drive, but you can plug it in to an audio card in your computer. ;)

First I need to know what you have so I can know what you need to buy.

Do you have a sound card on your computer?
If so, does it have audio inputs (called LINE IN)?
If so, you'll need one of these (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=274-369) from Radio Shack.

If you don't have a sound card, or if it doesn't have audio inputs then you'll need to buy and install one. Look for one that can duplex. That means it can record and playback at the same time. Ask for a duplexing sound card.

Do you have a stereo receiver with an output called AUDIO OUT or TAPE OUT?
Does this receiver have a PHONO IN?

Do you have some audio cables with RCA jacks (kind of like these (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=42-3502))?
You'll need two pairs.

Got all that?

Originally posted by Photographer
Is it possible to wire a stereo to a hard drive? I want to play my LPs and 45's on the turn table yet burn them onto CD. Any ideas? I'm technically inept. :D

Like Bill said, there are a LOT of different things you need to do this. He touched on a few, but here are a few more...

You can't just feed the raw turntable cartridge output to the Line In on the computer sound card. The turntable puts out a lot lower signal than the Line In is expecting, so the turntable signal needs to be amplified first.

And it needs to be equalized - the record is cut using the RIAA Equalization Curve to boost the treble and cut the bass before the recording lathe cuts the record groove, so they can get it to fit on the record. If you try listening without a pre-amp and reversing the equalization, it will sound thin and hissy, with no dynamic range and practically no bass at all.

A stereo system with a Phono In and Line Out connections will handle the amplification and equalization chores - if you don't have one you need a standalone "phono pre-amp".

There are a few newer turntables I've seen that come with the phono EQ/pre-amp built in - but very few.

When saving the recordings in your computer, use the highest resolution settings you have to make your master recordings, CD-quality 16-bit 44.1Khz Stereo at least.

They will take up a lot of space on the hard drive or your archival CD-R's - but while you can always "throw out bits" by compressing your master .wav file down to a smaller MP3 file for your portable player device, you can never add the finer details back in later. Once they're compressed out, they're gone.

You can digitize and convert "The Mona Lisa" to a Paint By Numbers version that looks fine from a distance easily enough, but going backwards is impossible.

:fez: --<< Bruce >>--

And then you'll need software to capture the audio signal as WAV (uncompressed), and convert (encode) it to MP3. There are large numbers of packages which can do either and some can do both. Check Download.com (http://www.download.com/) for a list.

Now, the details...

Assuming you've got all of the above equipment, here's how you hook things up:

1. Use a set of stereo audio cables (RCA) to plug in the record player into the PHONO IN jacks on the receiver.

2. Use another set of stereo audio cables (RCA) to connect the receiver to the sound card. The cables will go from the TAPE OUT or AUDIO OUT jacks on the receiver into the Y-adapter from Radio Shack (linked above) into the LINE IN jack on your sound card.

3. Set the receiver to the PHONO input.

Here's a simple diagram (http://home.comcast.net/~wcatherall/setup/phono.gif).

If you want to record audio from other sources, like DVDs (are you reading this Gemini Cricket? ;) ) you won't need the receiver to act as a middleman. Just plug the analog stereo audio outputs on the DVD player directly into the LINE IN on the sound card using an RCA cable and a Y-adapter.

When plugging everything in be sure to keep RIGHT hooked up to RIGHT and LEFT hooked up to LEFT.

4. Test everything. You should be able to play a record and hear it over your computer speakers. If you don't here it, open up the audio mixer on your computer (should be a speaker icon located by the clock in Windows, but may vary depending on your sound card) and make sure the LINE input isn't muted.

If you have a microphone you may want to mute it or unplug it to avoid feedback.

5. Once you have verified that your sound card is able to capture audio then download some software (http://download.com.com/3120-20-0.html?qt=record+wav&tg=dl-2001) and follow the directions in the software to record the audio. Also, follow Bruce's advice for recording at the highest bit-rate possible.

I recommend downloading and trying a variety of software. See which one you like the best.

Actually, not to promote Microsoft or anything...

But if your running XP, pick up a copy of Plus! Digital Media Edition. It has a cool tool called "Plus! Analog Recorder"

Pros:
Cleans up any bad scratches, and does a good job.
Reconigines when there's a gap between songs, and will cut up the file into the songs, so you don't have to do it manually.

Cons:
Only does it in WMA format.

:D

Originally posted by MonorailMan
Cons:
Only does it in WMA format.

:D

So use the included audio converter in that same PLUS! pack to convert it to a different file type :geek:

Scrathing head

Ok fellas, here's what I've found

Computer: compaq, windows '98, think it has an internal sound card


stereo: panasonic has CO and FM ANT
is it too old to have the right connections?

Originally posted by Photographer
Scrathing head

Ok fellas, here's what I've found

Computer: compaq, windows '98, think it has an internal sound card.
Stereo: panasonic has CO and FM ANT. Is it too old to have the right connections?

More dertails needed - if you tell us everything, we can walk you through it easily.

Computer - Compaq is OK they have good online support. So what's the model number? (Example: Compaq Presario 5005CL) It will be on a sticker on the back or side of the case. If you still have the sale sticker on the side, it will mention the major components...

We need to figure out if the sound card (seperate card in the add-on slots, or the sound card built into the motherboard, which would be over by the keyboard and printer jacks on the back of the computer) has a "Line In" jack, and if it's the standard stereo mini-plug.

If you have a card with three or four 1/8" jack holes, and one jack is for your speakers, that might be them. If you only see pictograms next to the jacks, or just color-coded jack rings, tell us the colors.

Stereo: Same thing, it's a Panasonic - Model Number? Does it have a "Phono" selection on the front panel and a set of "Phono In" jacks on the back? A set of "Line Out or "Tape Out" jacks?

Turntable make and model, and same for the cartridge if you can read it. (Magnifying glass and good lighting needed - and don't force it past it's normal travel.)

And when was the last time you bought a new stylus (needle) for the turntable? You can destroy perfectly good records with a trashed needle, and you can't tell without a microscope - and some of the stylus mounting arms have foam or rubber dampers that deteriorate with age.

It's a bit of a search to find new ones <coughRadio Shackcough> , but if you bought the turntable used, there's no way to tell how good the stylus is. And if you've let the kids play their "Sing Along" albums on that turntable for years, change it!


:fez: --<< Bruce >>--

What kids? LOL I don't even have a husband yet, let alone kids.

I'll check out the stereo and computer tonight when I get home. Thanks for all your help guys. :)