An Equipment Setup for Digitizing Vinyl

Last Updated: 03/18/2025

Introduction

I have hundreds of vinyl records, many of which are somewhat obscure. Adding a turntable and revisiting those albums seemed like a good idea. However, many of those albums are not in great shape, and playing on a turntable is not always convenient. It seems better to capture the contents of these records digitally, clean them up if possible, and replay them more conveniently without risking further degradation of the vinyl.

If one already owns a turntable and computer, adding an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a phono preamp, and recording software to capture and process audio from vinyl records is all that is needed. This series of pages documents the chosen equipment and software and includes a detailed guide to the setup and software configuration, a detailed description of the process, and tools for digitizing vinyl records.

Before describing the details of the digital capture process, it is interesting to discuss whether the effort to convert records to digital formats like MP3 or FLAC is worthwhile. (I have mixed feelings.) The initial digitization of a record requires minimal effort, but the cleanup process can be time-consuming, especially if the source material has noise or scratches. Additionally, many records that some may assume are obscure may have CD or online digital options for relatively low cost. If that's the case, it raises the question: Is the 60 minutes (likely more) spent digitizing and fixing a recording worth more than simply purchasing the CD or digital version?

If the answer to the above question is yes, then this and the following pages describe the process I used to capture some of my record collection in detail. Unlike some other tutorials, I tried to document all of the details of the process and steps. Perhaps this write-up contains more detail than necessary, but I hope it provides a good reference in the future.

Connections between a turntable, phono preamp and computer.

Figure 1. Example Setup to Digitize Vinyl Records.

Equipment Setup

Figure 1 illustrates the equipment setup I selected and connected. The two most significant components are a turntable for playing records and a computer (either a Windows PC or Mac) equipped with a USB port for capturing digitized music. I chose a Windows PC since I had one available.

The choice of turntable can affect what additional equipment is necessary to digitize a record, as the signal output from the player determines this. Nowadays, turntables typically offer three main output capabilities.

Direct output from a stylus: This is the most straightforward turntable configuration, featuring no preamplifiers or other electronics to process the stylus output. To connect this type of turntable to a PC, one needs to provide an external phonograph preamp (which performs the RIAA equalization) and an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) to convert the signal to USB.
Integrated phonograph preamp: This type of turntable includes an integrated RIAA preamp and usually offers an option to bypass it—the phonograph preamp outputs line-level signals. Only the USB ADC is needed to connect to a computer.
Integrated USB Port: Finally, some turntables combine the phonograph preamp and the USB ADC. This type can be connected directly to a computer.

In my case, I started with an older legacy turntable that lacked a preamp, and a couple of years later, I purchased a newer turntable with a phono preamp. Consequently, when I initially set up my system, I needed to buy a reasonably priced phono preamp with a USB port.

My solution is a relatively cost-effective (~$100) but odd-looking ART USB Phono Plus. This box is very flexible. As shown in Figure 1, it can input both line-level and phonograph-level signals (See the switch highlighted by the yellow circle). It can output digital audio in several formats, including S/PDIF, Optical, and, most importantly, USB. Further, the preamp performed very well in reviews that measured this box's performance.

The connection of this equipment is straightforward. The turntable connects to the phono preamp through an RCA analog coax cable. Then, the preamp connects to the computer via a standard USB cable (with Type A to Type B connectors). The phono preamp's output is connected to an AVR to play a record without digitizing it. Alternatively, I could have connected one of the other digital outputs to the receiver, but it was decided to keep the connection to the AVR analog inputs.

With the hardware setup complete, the next step is to choose the capture software and configure the PC appropriately.

Next: Software Setup