Tools

• For the conversion process you'll need a computer equipped with a high quality soundcard and a CD burner. Look for an add-on soundcard with a high signal to noise ratio over 100dB to gain the purest sound with the least outside interference. Your soundcard should have a built-in RIAA-equalized pre-amp that adjusts for the specific frequency ranges of vinyl recordings. An E-MU 1820 soundcard meets all the necessary specifications for an online cost of $399 in 2009.
  
  The best source for sound input for vinyl is a traditional analog turntable. While there is little change in sound quality for greater price in the digital world of CD players, a higher price in analog turntables will likely get you higher quality, so be prepared to spend at least $500 retail in 2009. The Technics SL-1200MK5 is a good analog turntable suitable for providing quality source material, and it's on the low-end in cost at only $599.96 retail in 2009.
  
  Buy a high quality needle cartridge for your turntable, avoiding ceramics as they muffle low and high frequencies, and produce more wear on the records than other cartridge types. A moving magnet cartridge plays back recordings with higher fidelity than other cartridge types, giving you a more accurate sound. They can be found at any good electronics store, with prices for quality cartridges beginning at $175 retail in 2009.
  
  

Setup

• Once you've assembled the tools, the actual process of setup and conversion is fairly simple. You'll want to run your turntable's phono --output port into the line-in port of your soundcard. For this, use a shielded cable to cut down on any outside interference.
  
  One of the more feature rich software packages for converting vinyl is Spin it Again by Aucoustica. It handles everything you need to convert your vinyl recording to a CD, including recording from the input, normalizing compressing and equalizing the volume, removing noise from the recording, converting 33, 45 or 78 speed records, and burning it all to a CD with track titles taken from the Internet. It can be found for $34.95 from the manufacturer's website in 2009.
  
  

Conversion Process

• To do the actual conversion start up the Spin it Again software, choose the LP to CD option and follow the voice assistant guide's instructions. Click "Record" and then place the needle on your record as the software records the output. Press "Stop" when you're finished, and the software splits the tracks, cleans the noise and burns it to CD.