iMic and Final Vinyl

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philip schöneberg - 14 May 2006 12:11 GMT

hi there!

i just wanted to ask how final vinyl accomplishes recording of vinyl records
from a direct-connected turntable without a preamp. i know that final vinyl
uses the riaa eq when recording from a turntable, but how does it or the
imic amplify the input? and why is there nothing for windows that can do the
same?

thanks in advance,
philip.

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Malcolm - 14 May 2006 13:23 GMT

> hi there!
>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> thanks in advance,
> philip.

The iMic has a switch that switches the input from line-level to
mic-level. Mic-level enables a pre-amp that has enough gain for a
phono cartridge. The software handles the RIAA equalization. Because
the software has to boost the low frequencies so much for the RIAA
curve, you may get better signal to noise by using an external phono
pre-amp, setting the iMic to Line level, and not doing the equalization
in software. Listen to the result with good headphones to see if you
need to do this.

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philip schöneberg - 14 May 2006 15:04 GMT

> The iMic has a switch that switches the input from line-level to
> mic-level. Mic-level enables a pre-amp that has enough gain for a phono
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> the iMic to Line level, and not doing the equalization in software.
> Listen to the result with good headphones to see if you need to do this.

ok so youre saying that a hardware eq is probably generally better than a
software one?

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Malcolm - 14 May 2006 16:14 GMT

>> The iMic has a switch that switches the input from line-level to
>> mic-level. Mic-level enables a pre-amp that has enough gain for a
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> ok so youre saying that a hardware eq is probably generally better than
> a software one?

There is a theoretical advantage to the hardware equalization. With
the software equalization, the computer has to multiply the lower
frequency signals by up to 100 times. This means any distortion
caused by step-size non-uniformities in the A to D converter get
emphasized. Another consideration is the input impedance of the
pre-amp. Phono cartridges are designed to give the correct frequency
response when connected to a standard impedance (47 KOhms for a moving
magnet cartridge) pre-amp input. I have not been able to find the
specs for the iMic input impedance. If you have a moving coil phono
cartridge you definitely want to use a pre-amp designed for that type
of cartridge.

I have read some people are satisfied with the software equalization, some not.

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David C. - 14 May 2006 17:36 GMT

> There is a theoretical advantage to the hardware equalization. With
> the software equalization, the computer has to multiply the lower
> frequency signals by up to 100 times. This means any distortion
> caused by step-size non-uniformities in the A to D converter get
> emphasized.

It should be noted that these errors can be minimized by using higher
bit-depths and sampling rates.

For example, if you digitize at 24-bit/96KHz, perform all your edits on
that, and then downsample it to 16-bit/44KHz, you'll get much better
quality than digitizing at 16/44 and editing that.

I don't know what the iMic is capable of, however, so the above
paragraph may be moot.

-- David

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Mac Forum / General / Hardware / May 2006

iMic and Final Vinyl