How to Transfer Your LP Collection to CD

CD Roms are portable, more durable and more widely available than LPs, and transferring your music from LP to CD, vinyl to CD, can be done in a few simple steps. This conversion works best when the LP records are in good condition. Read on to learn how to convert LP to CD.

Things You Will Need
Pre-amplifier with RIAA equalization
Turntable and pickup arm with a high-quality cartridge and stylus,
PC with a sound card
Interconnecting cables.

Step #1
Ensure that the pickup arm is correctly mounted according to the manufacturer's instructions. Also ensure that the phono cartridge is adjusted both vertically and horizontally to reduce tracking errors and ensuring the correct playing weight. Adjust the stylus force. Having the wrong tracking force can damage your records and your stylus.

Step #2
Connect your stereo to your personal computer. You can use most audio devices with line-out terminals. Some devices can be connected directly to your computer's sound card, and some may require a stereo pre-amp or an auxiliary connector.

Step #3
Install a program such as Audacity to record the LP record. You'll need to do this even if you have the Windows Sound Recorder, because it only records up to 60 seconds of audio. You can download and install Audacity from SourceForge.

Step #4
Launch Audacity. The program's Mixer Toolbar will provide a graphical interface of your sound card's settings. Adjust the recording level to avoid digital clipping. To do this, set the Input selector to Line In and make a trial recording of one of the loudest parts on your LP record. If clipping occurs during your trial recording, you will need to lower the volume of your input source.

Step #5
Once you have identified a recording level that results in quality playback with no distortion, you can hit the record button (the red circle) on the Audacity window.

Step #6
After recording an entire side of an LP album, you may want to divide the recording into separate tracks. To do this, click Edit and then Select. After that, click Cursor to End. You can then label each individual track accordingly.

Step #7
Export the audio files by clicking File and then selecting Export Multiple. Select the export format and location. Click Export when you are done. Now that you have exported the audio files, you can burn them to CD by using a CD burner.