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VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES
#1
I've been ripping vinyl for 13 years and have listed below suggestions for obtaining good rips. Hopefully this will be of interest and of value to other Devialet owners.
I started with a Devialet D-Premier in 2012. The D-Premier was upgraded to a Devialet 250 in 2014. The Devialet is a most convenient and cost effective vinyl ripping engine. The cost of separate components of commensurate quality - analogue to digital converter (ADC), phono stage, digital to analogue converter (DAC), preamp and power amp - would be significantly greater than the cost of a Devialet. For me vinyl playback and vinyl ripping are the best features of the Devialet.

WHY RIP VINYL?
Ripping vinyl can be can be a lot of fun. The resultant digital files provide a convenient and versatile method of playback on multiple digital devices. Vinyl ripping when done well can generate high resolution files superior to those commercially available for download. Rips can sound as good as or, in some ways, better than direct playback of the original vinyl. Consider your vinyl collection a ready source of high resolution digital files.
Vinyl rips also provide an archive, allowing comparisons of current with past equipment and software, including cartridge, tonearm, turntable, power supplies, cables, computer software and Devialet firmware.
Vinyl ripping also allows for editing out of clicks, pops and other defects of the original vinyl.

HOW TO GET GOOD RIPS
Simple attention to basic setup can give significantly better rips. The suggestions below are based on my experience. Decide yourself what for you, if anything, is relevant and how much time and/or money you wish to spend. Draw your own conclusions from your own listening to your own system.

In computer audio there is often more than one way of doing something. I recommend comparing alternative methods and listening for yourself whether there is a benefit of one method over another. Have an audio buddy on hand to lend their ears to any A/B comparisons.

The suggestions below may seem numerous and detailed, but if you’re going to the trouble of ripping vinyl – something which must be done in real time – you may as well do it once, do it well and, ultimately, save time.

Turntable Setup

It goes without saying to have a well set up turntable and clean LPs. There exists much advice online, in books and on DVD. It’s worth spending a few hours ensuring your vinyl rig setup is optimal.

Particular points to note:

STYLUS WEAR is gradual and may not be noticed until advanced. I only discovered a worn stylus after I had already done a whole lot of rips with it! A stylus re-tip brought back the detail and purity I had unconsciously been missing. I now monitor cartridge use and have my cartridge inspected annually.

VERTICAL TRACKING ANGLE (VTA) is an adjustment some say should be a "set it once and forget about it" adjustment. My experience is otherwise. I've been surprised just how much difference VTA adjustment can make. At times, for the sake of being thorough, I've adjusted VTA to what I would have thought an extreme degree only to be surprised at the better sound achieved. I check VTA for each LP before ripping. A VTA too low results in a less distinct bass. A VTA too high gives an edginess to the treble. These differences may seem subtle at first but you can learn to readily recognise them. With VTA just right both bass and treble sound right and midrange frequencies, such as the human voice and clarinet, will sound most natural. Don't be afraid to experiment with large variations in VTA. My VTA settings from one LP to another have varied by as much as 9mm! Make a note of your VTA settings for each LP for future playback.
Some tonearms have no VTA adjustment so one has no choice.

Turntable to Devialet Connection

If you have a moving coil (MC) cartridge then consider using a step up device and configuring your Devialet to moving magnet (MM). I’m using a Graham Slee Elevator EXP with a Graham Slee PSU-1 power supply (itself powered with a Furutech power cable). This results in better defined bass and treble, quieter background and better soundstage.

Devialet Setup

CONNECTION TO COMPUTER
DEVIALET D-PREMIER     The D-Premier has no USB port and warrants the use of a digital-to-digital converter (DDC) to connect to computer. When using the D-Premier I employed a Weiss INT203 (bi-directional DDC) to connect to my Apple computer – the Weiss connecting to Devialet via SPDIF, and to computer via Firewire. The Weiss, as with all digital devices, benefits from a good linear power supply (see below).
DEVIALET 250     The two-way USB connectivity of the 250 provides a simpler and, to my ears, better quality signal path to computer.
USB CABLE      I've compared various USB cables between Devialet and computer. They each have their own effect on the sound. Try out any cables to which you have access. It's always a matter of bang-for-buck. Upgrade only if you hear a difference and are happy to pay for it. I'm staying with my Audioquest Diamond USB cable for the time being, but I consider the [/url]Curious USB better value for money.

ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL CONVERSION (ADC)      Set ADC to 192 kHz in the Devialet Configurator. This gives a more clean sound than an ADC of 96 kHz.

DIGITAL OUT     When using the SPDIF digital out with the D-Premier set this to 48kHz in the Devialet Configurator. Surprisingly, I found 48kHz to give better results with the D-Premier than rates of 96 or 192 kHz. Using the USB connection of the 250 the sample rate is set in your software. I found 192KHz best with the 250.

CARTRIDGE SETTINGS      Let your ears decide which settings are best for your cartridge rather than rely on those specified in the Devialet Configurator. Cartridge settings can now be altered easily and on the fly using the remote.

RIAA     I tend to use only the 1953 and 1976 curves according to the mastering date of the vinyl, however, some pre-1976 pressings, to my ears, sound better using the 1976 curve. I don’t have any recordings stamped prior to 1953 so I don’t tend to use the other curves. I’m interested in others’ experience of the various RIAA curves.

SUBSONIC FILTER      Switch the Subsonic Filter OFF. By default the Subsonic Filter is ON when selecting the Phono input – annoying! To my ears this filter has undesired effects on the rest of the frequency spectrum. Do a long press on the "BASS" button on the remote. The "Balance" setting will appear on the Devialet display. Keep doing short presses on the button and you will cycle through the various phono cartridge settings. Keep going until you get to the next window and the Subsonic Filter is highlighted. Switch it to "OFF" by turning the volume control.

DYNAMIC POWER MANAGEMENT (DPM)      Ensure DPM is on. The setting is in the same display window as the Subsonic Filter setting. DPM gives a much more natural sound and better soundstage.

CARTRIDGE MAXIMUM OUTPUT LEVEL      This level can be set for your cartridge but also individually adjusted for a particular LP. Aim for a full wave form in your recording software but without clipping. If clipping occurs increase the Maximum Output Level to allow more head room. For example, with my MC cartridge: (1) without a MC step up device and Devialet set to MC I used levels of 0.7mV to 0.9mV. (2) with the MC step up device and Devialet set to MM I am using levels of 0.9mV to 2.2mV.

SPEAKER VOLUME      Turn the volume all the way down to -97.5 dB and monitor the rip through headphones. This will prevent any feedback from speakers to cartridge. If you don’t have headphones, monitor with the speakers at very low volume.

Computer Setup
There is much information about computer setup on various websites including Computer Audiophile. I’ve listed below some basics from my experience.

SEPARATE DRIVES      Record to a drive other than the system drive. This means the operating system and software are on one drive, while music files are written to another drive. This is a standard recording protocol for good reason. It does make a difference. In one variant of this arrangement using a late model Apple Mac Mini computer it is possible to run the operating system and applications on an SD card inserted in to the back of the Mac mini while using the internal drive (ideally a solid state drive) as the record drive. In this configuration a more direct path to the record drive is obtained. One avoids the potential for degradation of signal through USB or Firewire cables.

SOLID STATE DRIVES (SSD)      Replace spinning hard drives, both system drives and recording drives, with solid state drives. SSD are more expensive, but they do make a difference.

LINEAR POWER SUPPLIES (LPS)      Most electronic equipment, computers and computer peripherals are powered by switch mode power supplies (SMPS) which can be internal or external and which are electronically noisy. External SMPS are readily recognised as "wall warts" or "power bricks". Replacing these common SMPS with a good linear power supply (LPS) is one of the most significant upgrades you can make. Good quality LPS include the  Keces DC-116, UpTone Audio JS-2and models by Paul Hynes. The Keces DC-116 is very good value for money at about US$400. A good LPS will result in greater detail and blacker backgrounds.

DC POWER LEADS      Even the DC lead between LPS and device makes a difference! When replacing the cheap DC lead between my LPS and an external drive with a quality lead (terminated with Oyaide barrel connectors) the improvement in sound quality was greater than upgrading the USB cable to the same drive! Complete DC leads with Oyaide connectors can be purchased from Mains Cables Are Us

SOFTWARE      There is no shortage of software for ripping vinyl, some free, some not. If you're happy with what you're using go no further. I've been using Pro Tools software ever since it came bundled with my first serious audio interface. I have tried other ripping software but keep coming back to Pro Tools. It is reliable and sounds clean, detailed and natural. Pro Tools can also be used for better CD rips- see my post at Computer Audiophile.

SAMPLE RATES
D-Premier settings are done in the Devialet Configurator. As mentioned above, I found ADC of 192 kHz and digital out of 48 kHz best.
Devialet 250 settings. As mentioned above, I found an ADC of 192 kHz and a digital output of 192 kHz best (the latter set in recording software).
I always use a word length of 24 bits. Ripping at 24bits/192kHz generates a file size of up to 3GB for one LP. This size is not an issue with hard drive space today, however, copying such files to another drive as a backup may be slow – if only I had USB 3.0 on all my devices!
For playback on devices such as iPods and smart phones, 24/192 files can be dithered to 16/44.1 using various software applications possibly including the one you’ve used to rip your vinyl, or even iTunes. I believe there is more professional high quality dithering software out there, such as Izotope Audio Editor, but I’ve not used such … yet.

COMPUTER PREFERENCES      I’m not a Windows user but others have told me [url=http://www.fidelizer-audio.com]Fidelizer is excellent for improving PC audio. There are Apple Scripts for optimising performance for Apple Mac computers but I haven’t used them. However, I have gone through System Preferences to ensure as little as possible is running in the background – Spotlight: ensure all options are unchecked and that any drives attached to your computer have been added to the “Privacy” list. Energy Saver: sleep never. Software Updates: uncheck automatic updating. Screen saver: Never. Time Machine: Off. If your computer is dedicated to audio and not used for other purposes you can delete email accounts and any cloud computing connections. In addition on a Mac you can run Activity Monitor to ensure you do not have any unnecessary applications running unknown in the background using up memory and CPU.

BACK UP      Much effort and time goes in to the creation of a vinyl rip. Regular back ups are good insurance. Off site backups can be a good excuse to share your files with a friend.

Quality Control
To check you’ve done a decent rip and not overlooked any parameters compare your rip to the original vinyl. It is possible for your rip to sound as good or even better than the original vinyl played live. In addition, compare your rip to any other version you may have of the album. Other versions could be (1) a rip of the LP done previously with earlier equipment and software, (2) a CD rip or (3) a download. A CD rip or download may sound clean and “pure”, but, if your original vinyl is a decent pressing your vinyl rip, despite the presence of surface noise and clicks and pops, may sound superior. A good piece of vinyl ripped well will have greater openness, more detail, a more life-like sound and better sound-staging.

Conclusion
By putting the effort in to building a good vinyl ripping engine you can end up with a great collection of high resolutions files to be played back at your convenience. It’s now possible to have the sound quality of analogue with the convenience of digital – as someone said, “the future of analogue is digital”.

Happy ripping!
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Messages In This Thread
VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by Leigh Hibbins - 23-Jun-2016, 03:28
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by Axel - 23-Jun-2016, 07:58
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by Confused - 23-Jun-2016, 09:16
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by f1eng - 23-Jun-2016, 12:32
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by Dr Tone - 23-Jun-2016, 13:45
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by Axel - 24-Jun-2016, 03:25
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by Axel - 25-Jun-2016, 04:39
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by jfp - 12-Nov-2016, 17:07
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by Jean-Marie - 12-Nov-2016, 18:28
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by jfp - 12-Nov-2016, 19:13
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by thumb5 - 12-Nov-2016, 20:30
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by jfp - 12-Nov-2016, 20:43
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by jfp - 12-Nov-2016, 20:58
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by thumb5 - 12-Nov-2016, 21:13
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by baddog - 12-Nov-2016, 21:54
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by Jean-Marie - 12-Nov-2016, 21:58
RE: VINYL RIPPING EXPERIENCES - by jfp - 12-Nov-2016, 22:31

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