"Flat" album capture with Digital RIAA

[Skip Pack]

I would like to try this process in Vinyl Studio, and wanted to see if the following would work:

Connect the turntable output (cartridge level -- MM) to a USB interface mic inputs (Focustrite Scarlet or Steinberg UR22 MkII)
and then use VS to capture the digital output. Subsequently process using the VS RIAA filter.

I understand that I would need to upgrade to VS Pro, and am willing to do so if you think those interfaces will produce a flat digital image of appropriate amplitude.

Thanks for your help,

Skip

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

Hi,

It's not ideal, because the electrical loading on the cartridge is not correct, but it probably works OK.  I would recommend experimenting with the trial version (5 album limit) before purchasing:

https://www.alpinesoft.co.uk/VinylStudio/download.aspx

[Steve Crook]

I looked into this and struggled to find any satisfactory solution short of a purchase of a phono stage that either has RIAA that can be switched off (rare & expensive) or a phono stage that just doesn't do it (rare). I came to the conclusion that there was little point. Modern phono stages are quiet and also have incredibly accurate RIAA implementations so there's probably little to be gained from a flat recording.

There's more likely to be colour added to the music through the character of the arm, cartridge and the gain parts of the phono stage in general than from the specific implementation of the RIAA curve. My current tube based phono pre sounds really nice, and I'd prefer to record that than a flat phono pre I liked less. But it's very much a personal thing.

A microphone preamp is one option, but you'll have to be careful with the loading (both capacitance and resistance) if you're after a flat recording, and getting enough gain to feed into a line level ADC can be challenging.

That said, if you want a DIY or semi DIY version I've read very good reports about this: https://ka-electronics.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=98

There's a MC version available too...

Or there's this: https://phonostage.co.uk/graham-slee-accession-mm-high-end-phono-preamp at a mere

[James Downey]

I looked into this and struggled to find any satisfactory solution short of a purchase of a phono stage that either has RIAA that can be switched off (rare & expensive) or a phono stage that just doesn't do it (rare). I came to the conclusion that there was little point. Modern phono stages are quiet and also have incredibly accurate RIAA implementations so there's probably little to be gained from a flat recording.

There's more likely to be colour added to the music through the character of the arm, cartridge and the gain parts of the phono stage in general than from the specific implementation of the RIAA curve. My current tube based phono pre sounds really nice, and I'd prefer to record that than a flat phono pre I liked less. But it's very much a personal thing.

A microphone preamp is one option, but you'll have to be careful with the loading (both capacitance and resistance) if you're after a flat recording, and getting enough gain to feed into a line level ADC can be challenging.

That said, if you want a DIY or semi DIY version I've read very good reports about this: https://ka-electronics.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=98

There's a MC version available too...

Or there's this: https://phonostage.co.uk/graham-slee-accession-mm-high-end-phono-preamp at a mere

Thanks for sharing, really valuable links