Rolls Bellari VP129 without RIAA???

cmy330go
cmy330go Posts: 2,341
edited March 2007 in 2 Channel Audio
Stumbled across this (CTP-2000) a few minutes ago from a company that seems to specialize in dubbing and restoration of recordings.

It appears to be a standard Rolls Bellari VP129 Phono Preamp/Headphone AMP, but without the RIAA equalization. They claim it is good to use for recording vinyl to a PC and then using software to apply the equalization curve.

My question is: Wouldn't that make the headphone section of it pretty much useless. Who wants to listen to an LP flat?

Anyone had any experience with dubbing LP's this way?

Just curious.
HT
Mits WD-65737, DirecTV, Oppo DV-970HD, XBOX ONE, Yamaha RX-A1030, Parasound Halo A23, Rotel RB-985, Music Hall MMF-7, Parasound PPH-100, LSi-15, LSi-C, LSi-FX, LSi-7, PSW-1000, Monster HTS2600

2 CH
Parasound Halo P3, Parasound Halo A21, Sutherland Ph.D, VPI Classic 3 w/ 3D arm & Soundsmith Aida Cartridge, Arcam CD72T, B&W 802 S3, Monster HTS2500,
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  • pblanc
    pblanc Posts: 261
    edited March 2007
    I have started to fool around with archiving LPs to hard drive using Enhanced Audio's DC Six and a flat phono transfer preamp. DC six claims that the software applies a more accurate EQ curve than the hardware does, with no noise. I haven't really had a chance to compare so I don't know. Also, different recording studios apparently used slightly different RIAA curves (some Columbia recordings, in particular, I beleive) and the software can adjust the EQ curve accordingly. I would think that the headphone ouput would be useful only for monitoring voume and the beginning and end of tracks, unless you wanted to run the output through an inexpensive equalizer and apply your own "RIAA curve".
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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited March 2007
    cmy330go wrote:
    My question is: Wouldn't that make the headphone section of it pretty much useless. Who wants to listen to an LP flat?

    Anyone had any experience with dubbing LP's this way?
    2nd first... madmax has done more LP xfers than most anyone else here. Hopefully he'll chime in.

    As for "flat"... LP playback without RIAA would be anything, but flat, at least for post WWII recordings.

    RIAA boosts the bass that is rolled off in the recording process. Reducing the bass content of vinyl pressing is necessary for tracking, as in keeping the stylus in the groove. Similarly the high frequencies are boosted prior to pressing. If they were not, many would be too subtle for even the best cartridges to detect.

    So playback of a RIAA equalized LP without the playback application of the RIAA equalization curve would lack bass and be overly bright.

    However, many old, old recordings, in particular pre-WWII 78's were pre-RIAA. They were pressed as recorded, and many were "direct to disk" with the recording captured directly to the master, metal plate used to stamp the vinyl (one take, no edits). If these are played back through an RIAA phono section, what highs there are will disappear. And what bass there is, will be overly bloated.

    Since many transfers are of older 78's, a phono section sans RIAA would be handy.

    Wikpedia has a nice summary...
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
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  • cmy330go
    cmy330go Posts: 2,341
    edited March 2007
    Tour2ma wrote:
    ...As for "flat"... LP playback without RIAA would be anything, but flat, at least for post WWII recordings....

    By flat I meant without the RIAA curve. I was referring to the preamp being flat not the actual recording.

    And that's why I was thinking that the headphone section would then be virtually worthless. The only use I could figure was just as pblanc said: to monitor and cue the recording.
    HT
    Mits WD-65737, DirecTV, Oppo DV-970HD, XBOX ONE, Yamaha RX-A1030, Parasound Halo A23, Rotel RB-985, Music Hall MMF-7, Parasound PPH-100, LSi-15, LSi-C, LSi-FX, LSi-7, PSW-1000, Monster HTS2600

    2 CH
    Parasound Halo P3, Parasound Halo A21, Sutherland Ph.D, VPI Classic 3 w/ 3D arm & Soundsmith Aida Cartridge, Arcam CD72T, B&W 802 S3, Monster HTS2500,
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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited March 2007
    Well... that's different... NM... ;)
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
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