How can I eliminate poor sound quality

coreygwbgj wrote on 6/20/2012, 6:45 AM

I had transfered to my computer from an input from a vinyl source, and it came in with a poor sound quality, not really sure how to describe it, other than maybe a muffled sound but it's the whole thing all the way through, it's not a clear crisp sound, it sounds like it was come from a i don't know a echo room or something, and i can't figure out what to do on here, things on here will do things but nothing i have tried on here has took it out of the songs

Comments

Procyon wrote on 6/20/2012, 11:31 AM

You can't "eliminate" it. You can only make quality recordings by preventing it in the first place.

It's difficult to say without knowing all of the details.

First you need to describe in full detail HOW you made the recordings, including all of the components, cables, the complete signal chain, software, software settings, etc.

Is the sound crisp and clear from the source without being recorded?

Are you able to apply reverb during the recording process, and is it on?

Which version of Audio Cleaning Lab are you using?

Procyon wrote on 6/23/2012, 10:01 AM

Thank you, that does help somewhat. Actually, there is a button to post audio files here in the postings, although I've never used it.

For a 40 year old recording, it doesn't sound all that bad. However, there's several factors at play here.

First is the quality of the original recording and pressing. You never did answer my question about the quality of the sound without it being recorded. Also, back in the day, recording techniques where a bit different and a bit of reverb was often used. I do hear some distortion though, probably from years of use/abuse. Vinyl record DO wear out, especially if abused and played on inferior equipment. You will get distortion and loss of the high frequencies.

Then, there is the quality of the ION turntable/pre-amp, which I can not vouch for (or against). If it is not up to snuff, there's little you can do to improve it. I recently recorded a vinyl album from my vintage Dual turntable and Onkyo receiver directly to the Line-IN port on my sound card and the results were very good.

You didn't say, but it sounds like you've already applied some cleaning functions to the recording. I would expect a record of this age to have more pops and scratches, and the ones it does have should have more high frequency content. So, ASSUMING you have "cleaned" it already, the process involves filtering out the high frequencies often associated with the pops, scratches, and noise. Unfortunately, this also filters out important high frequencies in the music itself making it sound dull and muddy, especially if used at too strong of a setting.

For us, the Youtube conversion process also degrades most audio. Plus, we don't know the quality or type of file you posted to Youtube.

As an aside, on the recording from vinyl I just made, I'm using the Music Editor 2 that came with MMM instead of ACL. With it, instead of filtering, I can remove the individual clicks, pops, and scratches without altering the music (much, if at all). It would be "digital restoration" rather than a filtered "cleaning". It is an extremely tedious and time-consuming process, so it's not for everyone.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but without being there in person, it's difficult to analyze the situation.

Procyon wrote on 6/23/2012, 7:38 PM

Well, it seems there are also several models of ION turntables, so they may vary a bit in quality. If it is a model with RCA output jacks, you might want to try hooking those up to your Line-IN jack on your computer, assuming you have one.

Another variable is that we don't know what you're using to listen to the audio. If you're not using a good set of speakers or headphones, it's going to sound like crap no matter what you do.

Procyon wrote on 6/23/2012, 9:58 PM

Stereo RCA jacks look like this (Left-White - Red Riight)...

johnebaker wrote on 6/24/2012, 4:15 AM

Do the records sound OK played on a hifi system?

If so then:

Presuming you mean the Ion turntable was bought used - it is possible that the cartridge/tonearm is not properly aligned, also if it is one of the cheaper models the stylus may not compliant enough to track the high frequency grooves accurately.

If not then:

If the records have been played heavily with a deck which had the cartridge down force set too heavy, then the records may be worn to the point where the high frequencies have been significantly reduced and the Ion's stylus is bottoming out in the record grooves.

In either case you will not be able to get a decent recording.

John