Transferring vinyl to cdr on a Pioneer PDR-99

[Stephenhero]

I just wanted to let everyone know I have been transferring vinyl to cdr on a Pioneer PDR-99 and I could not be happier. I am using a 1980s Technics turntable with a Shure v15 cartridge and going through the phono stage on my Nakamichi 410 preamp to a Pioneer PDR-99. The A/Ds on the Pioneer are first rate and I actually prefer the transfers of the vinyl on cdr to the actual vinyl. The process seems to tighten everything up and its surprisingly a bit smoother than the vinyl direct. These sound better than mass marketed cds so much so that i can deal with an occasional pop. I am making a master cdr copy of the lp to store away and then i have copies from the computer of the cdr to play in the car and on the stereo. I spent a long time experimenting with cd to cd transfers on the computer to get the best sound. I use an older compaq dvd-rom ('98) to read the cdrs in real time (more like half speed) and then have a newer Pioneer dvd-r ('07) that i burn my copies on. I actually auditioned several burner combinations and even computer cpus, power supplies, etc to get the best data transfers. The older dvd-roms do a better job reading. The newer dvd-rs do a better job writing to cdr. Anyway, my point is that vinyl is definitely the best source material for audio. It took me several years to come back to vinyl. I am not good at taking care of lps (only because I am clumsy) so transferring the vinyl to cd and then selling the vinyl is working out well for me. I may end up retiring my Rotel RDD-980 and Counterpoint DA-10 (well, not really). I DO like the Pioneer PDR-99 DACS. But you get the point. Anyone else have a similar experience?

[JXBJXB]

Anyone else have a similar experience?

Well, not quite as organized as you about it but yes. :)

I'm pretty fastidious with my vinyl, and of course this being tapeheads if I want to listen to one of my LPs without actually pulling out the LP and going through the entire process I carefully dub it to cassette...just like I did back in high school in the 80's.

Also my cars all have decent cassette decks.

But...I travel a lot and I want to listen to some of my vinyl on my iPod. I have a Sony WM6-DC but traveling with that thing is a bit of a pain in the butt. My process is Heybrook TT-2/Black Widow/Shure V15-JICO SAS->Acurus P10 phono preamp->Denon DMD-1000 minidisc recorder. With the MD recorder, which has very good D/A, I can edit the recording to put in the proper track marks and trim any lead-in/lead-out dead air. I then dub it digitally over coax to a Pioneer PDR-509, which gives me a CD. I then feed it into iTunes (and nine times out of ten, CDDB works and I get the track names automatically, which never ceases to amaze me).

Sure, I'm introducing MD's ATRAC but to be quite honest the higher-end ATRAC and the higher end MD recorders were pretty good, and I'm going to be compressing the audio when it goes to the iPod anyway.

The sound quality from this process, for me, leaves nothing to be desired.

[perry]

Actually, I also have a PDR-99 (2 actually, though one will only work started from cold for 2 discs. After that, it doesn't recognise CD types about 7 out of 8 times. I'll figure out what's wrong one of these days, but the other one is perfect, so I have time) and do the same thing through my Mac C33 pre, not just vinyl, but also for pre-recorded tapes that are my only copy of the album, from a Dragon, to make copies that my wife wants to listen to in the house. She's so fed up with my tape addiction, I think she refuses to use tape on principal. It's an awesome recorder and player, though the volume level of the CD is always noticeably lower than commercial CDs, even if I let the peak led hit a few times during a recording. It's a bit annoying in a carousel player when switching between discs. Have you noticed the same? I use the Gold MAMA music CDs..which ones do you use?

I use the PDR-99 to play CDs that I record to tape to smooth some of the digital harshness I find sometimes.

[Stephenhero]

i think they skewed the meter slightly for the consumer who is used to recording in the red. i have not tested that theory but the recordings i make are lower in level and i try not to let it peak in the red.