Digitalizing LP

[greymalkin]

you could always use a laser turntable instead http://www.elpj.com/

I'm going to have to put this in the "not attainable" category (at least for me) :P

Starting list price: $15,000 US


I have seen this laser record player before..and It does bring up some questions...speculating on how the laser reads the record, surely there must be some A/D conversion going on here? Which brings us back to the other point raised, If it is sampling the information read at a high enough bitdepth/sample rate it really wouldn't even be distinguishable from straight analog (other than the noticeable lack of clicks/pops/hiss :P ). Kind of blending the best of both worlds.

[SingSing]

From www.elpj.com

True Analog Playback : The laser beam travels to the wall of the groove and back. The reflection angle is transferred to the audio signal, meaning that the LT maintains analog sound through the entire process, without any digitization.

[jsmithepa]

I started doing this, then stopped. The new "digitized" version was always lacking something. If I want to play this album alot and make it portable, I usually can find a CD of it somewhere. The LP, I play it as it, with my turntable when the mood suits me.

[Dr_Layne]

Don't forget the A/D convertors in most sound cards leave a lot to be desired. Most are not designed for quality audio recording. They are designed for gaming and 5.1 sound with small computer speakers. If you want quality sound, I'd recommend an M-audio sound card.

[greymalkin]

From www.elpj.com

True Analog Playback : The laser beam travels to the wall of the groove and back. The reflection angle is transferred to the audio signal, meaning that the LT maintains analog sound through the entire process, without any digitization.

nice. now if they could just reduce the price by at least a factor of 10 (or 100 and I'd buy it :P ).
I shouldn't have assumed it had to digitize the information. I did take a digi. circuits and telecommunications class but emptied that information out of my brain once I got the grade.

[TheFamilyMan]

The new "digitized" version was always lacking something. If I want to play this album alot and make it portable, I usually can find a CD of it somewhere. The LP, I play it as it, with my turntable when the mood suits me.

I concur. Some of my digitized projects were acts of love and preservation for deteriorating recordings that are no longer available or are not worth the cost of replacing. Others were for convience of use (i.e. my wife and kids). But none of them beats floating that needle down into the groove if it's still in near-mint condition. For the preserved stuff, I admit it's lost 'something' but the restoration (removed rustle, hiss, clicks, pops) makes up for it IMO.

Edit:
Here is a commerical CD that was mastered from a vinyl LP. Sonically it's a true work of art which reveals how excellent vinyl can sound when digitally mastered properly. http://www.amazon.com/Voodoo-Robert-Drasnin/dp/B0000059YI/sr=8-3/qid=1158018221/ref=sr...e=UTF8&s=music