[MoontaMacman]

I have a colection of old LPs I want to transfer to CD before the last of my turntables expires - mainly a few that have never been re-released on CD -- the only info in the iMac manual is "Audio Line in port - connect your iMac to a line level microphone or other audio equipment" -- not exactly overloaded with information :-)
I have also done a search here but cannot find the info I seek.

I am using a 20" iMac - 768 Mb RAM - OS 10.3.2

1) exactly what sort of plug is required - RCA mini stereo?
2) if I plug in from my stereo power amplifier is there any danger of overloading -- the microphone bit suggests high sensitivity-- I think?
3) can Sound Studio be used to input music ? Just curious-- I will end up in iTunes for the final transfer to MP3 or Audio -- the decision will be based on the quality I can obtain from the LPs
Last time I tried this I used "Disk Doctor" - part of Toast on my old Blueberry iMac - any tricks or traps to be aware of?


any tips from other users appreciated.- alternative software or methods?

thanks for reading

Ron

[Dex13]

I've done this before w/ sound studio before.
1) Yeah just use a RCA to 1/8" and plug it into your mac and then record through it w/ Sound Studio.
Only Difference was I was recording audio from my N64.
2) Your receiver has RCA out?
3) Just Record the Music and then drag the saved file to itunes.

[CreepDogg]

I'm not really an expert, but if I were doing phono, I would probably use the phono preamp in my receiver. Connect the turntable to the receiver as normal, and then use a tape monitor out or some other RCA output from the receiver into the iMac sound input. As long as you adjust the levels appropriately, this should not be a problem.

I would do this because the signal output from turntables is much lower than from other components (CD players, cassettes, etc.). Most receivers have a built-in phono preamp to bring the signal up before sending it through the main amplifier, and I would generally think this would provide better results than plugging straight into the iMac and cranking up the input levels. Good luck.

[hab]

This topic is dicussed routinely in the "Digital Video & Audio" subforum with lots of tips both hardware and software. Do a search there for a lot of great tips.

[MoontaMacman]

Thanks for the help CreepDogg and Dex 13

- I had never used the Sound Studio before - love it - why doesn't Apple promote these things better?
it is a brilliant ( read simple) piece of software- I just plugged the cable in and downloaded -I did one track at a time first then tried a whole side at a time later cutting and pasting into separate files for each track - brilliantly simple -had not read any manuals or help lines at all - my sort of software.

The ability to drop out run ins at the start of records and silences at the end etc make life much more stress free- I got called away while recording and accidentally had about ten minutes of silence - no big deal just click and edit it out- very nice

This morning I went on line and read how to remove clicks and pops -- not 100% successful - it leaves a silence so needs to be used carefully but it is simple enough to do - must be if I can do it.

Hab - I did do a search in that other forum but as is so often the case unless you ask the right question or use the right words oyu do not get the answers you want in life- obviously I used the worng keywords - I will give it another look though to see what else comes up in the way of tips - thanks

love these mac things

Ron