[seeseerider]

Hi all,


Sorry if this question has been asked, if so, feel free to point me in the direction of the post and thanks to any and all for the assistance with my questions:


I am looking at purchasing my first turntable and would like the convenience of listening to records and converting records to MP3 on my MacBook using Audacity. I do not want a USB turntable for sound quality reasons.


1.) My receiver is the Yamaha RX-V3800 which has a Phono input. My receiver also has MD/Tape Out - does anyone know if the MD/Tape Out will output all sources such as the Phono or only output a source that is plugged into the MD/Tape input?


2.) I am looking at purchasing an RCA to USB converter (non-amplified adapter) to run out of the receiver to my MacBook if the MD/Tape Out outputs all sources - my receiver also has audio Pre Outs, would the Pre Out accomplish this task if the MD/Tape Out does not?


3.) Also, if the MD/Tape Out or Pre Out will work for this application, is anyone aware of possible issues with playback on the MacBook? I ask this as I understood that RCA to USB then would have the USB port powering a line source in - would the Out-Puting from the receiver be powered by the receiver and create an issue if the MacBook USB port wants to power the signal coming into it?


Sorry for the long questions and hope I was clearly able to illustrate them effectively. Thanks again for any help as it is much appreciated.

 

[ap1]

Your receiver's output will work. You need to buy one of USB audio interfaces. I suggest to look at EMU or M-Audio brands. Go to web site like musiciansfriend.com or store like Guitar Center to look for them. I recommend to use 24/96 mode for recording, even if you downsample it later to 16/48. It will give you a little more dynamic headroom, and reduce processing errors. Most recording interfaces require external power, so they won't load USB. But you better run laptop on battery while recording to reduce noise.

 

[mcnarus]

How old is your Macbook? Recent vintages (going back several years at least) have audio inputs, so you wouldn't need an external USB device, just a y-cable from the receiver to the Mac.


Either Tape Out or Pre Out will work. Usually, Tape Out is the better choice, as it's line level and not affected by the volume control. You can control recording levels via the Mac.


Your Q. 3 makes no sense to me, I'm afraid.

 

[seeseerider]

Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated.


I checked my MacBook and it accepts line-level stereo signals up to 24-bit stereo 44.1-192kHz sampling rate. The MacBook also accepts optical in with a optical to mini adapter accepting up to 24-bit stereo and 44.1-96kHz sampling rate.


My receiver has an optical out, would it be better to output the turntable to MacBook using an optical to mini adapter or does it not matter due to the turntable being analog - therefor, should I just output from the receiver via RCA to miniplug adapter to MacBook?


Thanks again everyone.

 

[mcnarus]

I'd go with an optical connection if you have one. All that means is that you're doing the A-to-D conversion in the receiver, rather than in the computer. Either would probably be OK, but you avoid concerns about computer noise affecting the incoming analog signal.