I am going to be building a new box this summer. I am looking to be able to play some games, though FPSs rarely entertain me for long. The reason I am musing here is that a mjor hobby is vintage audio. I am looking to build a computer that I will use to record vinyl in full 24 bit/192kHz stereo. Since records are fragile and deteriorate with each play, I want to create digital copies while preserving the most fidelity possible and be able to listen to them as often as I like. So in the end id like to record to DVD-A.
You all here might not care about that side of the project, but since a good stylus picks up amazingly small details, any vibration or noise can appear in the recording. So, I have put together what I think will be a nice computer capable of high power gaming as well as running nearly silently (or completely silently if necessary).
Case: Antec P180
PSU: Seasonic S12 500W
CPU: Conroe E6600
HSF: Scythe SCNJ-1000P Ninja
Motherboard: Unknown Nforce 590i or Intel 965
RAM: OCZ 2GB Kit DDR2-800 Enhanced Latency Gold Edition
GPU: Gigabyte GeForce 7600 GT 256MB Silent-Pipe II
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar WD3200KS 320GB
Sound: ESI Juli@
Optical: NEC ND-3550A
Im confident about the case, but has anyone installed a Seaonic S12 in it or another upside-down case like it? Does the cooling fan still work effectively in the enclosed space?
4 120mm cooling fans should provide enough airflow to run the Ninja without a fan and keep the video card cool and I can turn off some of the fans for recording if necessary.
I am not confident about my DVD-R choice. Does anyone know of a good DVD burner (that can burn DVD-A) that is quiet?
Also, I believe the WD hard drive is quite quiet and I dont have much choice for using a one platter Samsung or something like that because each side of a record will be several GB.
Any suggestions will be helpful.
Quiet Vinyl Recording Computer
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NeilBlanchard
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Greetings & welcome to SPCR,
If the computer is isolated from the turntable, then you should be fine -- the smoothness of the HD is really the only thing that could tranlate into vibrations for the LP playback -- and remember that the music coming out of the speakers, especially the bass, would be far more of a challenge!
I too, have a bunch of vinyl that I want to transcribe to digital, and I'm more concerned with the cleanliness of the LP (I have a VPI 16.5 record vacuum), and the playback (Linn Axis with Dynavector), and the preamp and it's all important RIAA equalization (I have an awesome Audible Illusions Modulus 2c!). GIGO is the motto that has been proven to me over and over again when it comes to music playback.
I just started using a free recording program called Audacity, and it claims to be capable of 96kHz/24bit -- which is much better than the Sound Forge/Screenblaster that I previously used.
How are you planning on burning the DVD-A disks?
If the computer is isolated from the turntable, then you should be fine -- the smoothness of the HD is really the only thing that could tranlate into vibrations for the LP playback -- and remember that the music coming out of the speakers, especially the bass, would be far more of a challenge!
I too, have a bunch of vinyl that I want to transcribe to digital, and I'm more concerned with the cleanliness of the LP (I have a VPI 16.5 record vacuum), and the playback (Linn Axis with Dynavector), and the preamp and it's all important RIAA equalization (I have an awesome Audible Illusions Modulus 2c!). GIGO is the motto that has been proven to me over and over again when it comes to music playback.
I just started using a free recording program called Audacity, and it claims to be capable of 96kHz/24bit -- which is much better than the Sound Forge/Screenblaster that I previously used.
How are you planning on burning the DVD-A disks?
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antistrange
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I use Audacity now, though not at 24 bit. I hope to master and burn DVD-A with DiscWelder, though I do need a drive capable of such action (red book even?).
I am aware that vibration is the big deal during recording itself, but during editing id like quiet and most computers are certainly not. Such emphasis on quiet is overkill, but what audiophile doesnt believe in some degree of overkill?
You may cringe at the first thought of this suggestion, but you would be surprised how well a simple hand wash with dishwashing soap (moisturizer, scent, dye, everything free) can clean a disc. Just be nice to the label and dry it without leaving any dust bits. Doesnt leave a perfect disc, but it will take the thick layer of gunk off a dusty new find. I cant afford sealed MFSL masters so I have used this method many times; I was skeptical when our audio guru mentioned it but it makes sense considering the purpose of dishsoap.
I am aware that vibration is the big deal during recording itself, but during editing id like quiet and most computers are certainly not. Such emphasis on quiet is overkill, but what audiophile doesnt believe in some degree of overkill?
You may cringe at the first thought of this suggestion, but you would be surprised how well a simple hand wash with dishwashing soap (moisturizer, scent, dye, everything free) can clean a disc. Just be nice to the label and dry it without leaving any dust bits. Doesnt leave a perfect disc, but it will take the thick layer of gunk off a dusty new find. I cant afford sealed MFSL masters so I have used this method many times; I was skeptical when our audio guru mentioned it but it makes sense considering the purpose of dishsoap.
Finish off with a rinse of distilled water to eliminate any deposits when it evaporates. This especially if you have hard water.antistrange wrote: You may cringe at the first thought of this suggestion, but you would be surprised how well a simple hand wash with dishwashing soap (moisturizer, scent, dye, everything free) can clean a disc. Just be nice to the label and dry it without leaving any dust bits. Doesnt leave a perfect disc, but it will take the thick layer of gunk off a dusty new find.
Ray
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~El~Jefe~
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wow this is an undertaking.
a very good and fun one, but definitely one. I personally would have the computer REALLY far away from the turntable, brand new needle, etc etc all that. i am always hesitant about analog recordings through a computer. the interference/pops/clicks/hisses/hums of a computer are hard to stop. a vinyl is such a perfect sound medium to me, its hard to get that to fly on a computer the way it should.
yes dvd-audio is the way to go for this.
the deterioration is small after the first play if you have a great needle/head and a balanced arm. like really small. analog is the best
cd really suck.
a very good and fun one, but definitely one. I personally would have the computer REALLY far away from the turntable, brand new needle, etc etc all that. i am always hesitant about analog recordings through a computer. the interference/pops/clicks/hisses/hums of a computer are hard to stop. a vinyl is such a perfect sound medium to me, its hard to get that to fly on a computer the way it should.
yes dvd-audio is the way to go for this.
the deterioration is small after the first play if you have a great needle/head and a balanced arm. like really small. analog is the best
cd really suck.
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NeilBlanchard
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antistrange
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I havent seen that setting in my version. Is it an effect preference? Given its standard usage I would have to say it is the precision with which it is performing calculations. In general more precision is probably better as long as your computer has the horsepower to do it (it should). If it doesnt, you might start dropping frames.
I've never used Audacity, so it could be something different, but I believe it's the output bit depth you're talking about here, right?NeilBlanchard wrote:Hello,
In Audacity, what is the "32bit float" setting?
Maybe this will clear things up.
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NeilBlanchard
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fastturtle
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In Audacity:
The 32bit float is the quality of the sample. Basically it samples using a 32bit format instead of the standard 24bit digital format.
The next thing to keep in mind is your output format. In order to create CD Audio, you have to stick with the 16bit PCM format, otherwise the disk will not be recognized as an Audio CD. The only other option I'm aware of is to the Industry Standard of 24bit. This will then be down sampled by the burning software to create the necessary 16bit CDA format that's used in all CD Players. Understand that most Digital Masters are Recorded using 24 bits while the discs are encoded using 16 bits for playback.
antistrange: Based on my experience using Audcacity with a meager XP1800, I doubt you'll have any trouble recording with your setup. The only additional advice I'll give you is ensure your recording level is kept below 0.5 as it's easier to normalize the sound. Otherwise you risk introducing distortion. If you have a high quality setup, I'd experiment with a record that's unimportant or a dupe and get the settings correct and sometimes that could mean reducing the line in level to 0.25 for your maximum.
The 32bit float is the quality of the sample. Basically it samples using a 32bit format instead of the standard 24bit digital format.
The next thing to keep in mind is your output format. In order to create CD Audio, you have to stick with the 16bit PCM format, otherwise the disk will not be recognized as an Audio CD. The only other option I'm aware of is to the Industry Standard of 24bit. This will then be down sampled by the burning software to create the necessary 16bit CDA format that's used in all CD Players. Understand that most Digital Masters are Recorded using 24 bits while the discs are encoded using 16 bits for playback.
antistrange: Based on my experience using Audcacity with a meager XP1800, I doubt you'll have any trouble recording with your setup. The only additional advice I'll give you is ensure your recording level is kept below 0.5 as it's easier to normalize the sound. Otherwise you risk introducing distortion. If you have a high quality setup, I'd experiment with a record that's unimportant or a dupe and get the settings correct and sometimes that could mean reducing the line in level to 0.25 for your maximum.
...and don't forget to connect the ground cable to your computer or you'll get terrible ac hum (like I did).
I'd agree with the inference above that the source signal is most important, and to avoid clipping the signal... digital disstortion can be quite abrassive particuarly on the higher frequencies. I'm guessing the quality of the analog to digital converters on your soundcard would be another factor in preserving your collection at it's highest fidelity.
...i'm really not sure about the stylus picking up sound/vibration from the PC, living in a basement with heavy traffic going past it would be hard to tell!
I'd agree with the inference above that the source signal is most important, and to avoid clipping the signal... digital disstortion can be quite abrassive particuarly on the higher frequencies. I'm guessing the quality of the analog to digital converters on your soundcard would be another factor in preserving your collection at it's highest fidelity.
...i'm really not sure about the stylus picking up sound/vibration from the PC, living in a basement with heavy traffic going past it would be hard to tell!
I have the same writer... I can't see it affecting your recordings noise-wise unless you were burning a disc and recording audio at the same time, which is a rare thing (infact in the 10 years I've been DJing and recording mixes via my turntables to my PC I don't think I've done it once).
The only time it makes noise is whilst accessing a disc or recording at high speed, other than that its as quiet as a whistle.
The only time it makes noise is whilst accessing a disc or recording at high speed, other than that its as quiet as a whistle.