I have my hi-fi linked to my PC for recording purposes. I play cd's on my hi-fi, and can hear them loud and clear both on the hi-fi and through the pc, but if I play a vinyl album (the deck goes thru' a pre-amp into my amp) I can hear it fine thru the hi-fi, but nothing comes thru' the PC. given that it's the same output from the same source to the same destination, anyone know what is going on? And, even better still, how i can fix it?

If you're not using a seperate phono amp, make sure your amp has a built in phono stage and that your deck is plugged in to the "phono" input of the amp.
Sounds to me like an input routing problem. Let me know what out put on the amp you use to connect to the PC. I suspect that the phono signal is not getting through to your PC coz you don't have the correct input/monitor/tape/input controls set on the amp.

thanks for this reply.

the phono goes thru' a pre-amp to the amplifier, (into MD / Video in jacks, as there is no phono in on the amp) and from the amp to the PC via a audio out (not optical - the amp has an optical line out but my (old) PC doesn't have an optical in, so i just use the normal line out).
As i said before, CD's work fine - i have even, at the same time as I was unsuccessfully trying to hear a vinyl album thru' the PC, swapped over to a CD playing and the sound immediately starts playing. I switch back to the phono and although it plays fine thru the hi fi speakers, not a peep comes thru' the PC.

The signal from the amp to the pc goes thru' the same connection whether it's the cd player or the phono deck, so i'm really at a loss as to how this could be happening.

i hope i'm explaining this clearly enough - it's really puzzling me.

right! what you're saying means that the way your amp is made, the md/video is inputting after the line out; so you'll never be able to do what you're trying to do this way.

Try connecting your phono pre-amp output into the cd input on the amp and you'll be sorted, however, I expect you're going to tell me that you can't do this as your amp and cd player are integrated together as a music centre?

If that's the case and you are using an RIAA equalising phono pre-amp you can connect the output of this pre-amp directly to the line in of your PC.

let us know how you get on

ok - thanks for the reply. it'll be a few days before i can get a cable to connect the pre-amp to the pc direct.

just out of interest, is it ok to connect from headphone out on the amp to line in on the pc, because i may already have a cable that will do that?

yes it's ok. Just bear in mind that the headphon outlet is variable and if turned up can be a much higher level than line out. So connect up with headphone level turned down and then increase it till you get a good input level in your PC.

Good luck and let us know how u get on. But surely you're connected to your PC with a lead with phonos out from your amp to a minijack into the PC, doesn't the phono amp have the same phono output sockets as the amp? You should b able 2 use the same lead??

ok, thanks for all your help. i managed to get the deck connected via the pre-amp directly into the line in on the pc, and successfully recorded the vinyl, so the problem is now resolved.

i still can't understand why a cd or tape will play from the amp to the line in on the pc with no problems, while vinyl won't - surely as it's the same output from the amp into the same input on the pc, the end result should be the same, ie hear it all?

anyway, thanks once again.

Pete i've already answered your query in outline. If you furnish the deatils I requested I'll diagnose the problem exactly!

I have JVC TD-W215/W216 Double Cassette Deck and a Sound Blaster Live card. Also a stero amp from Radio Shack. I have a large amount of cassette tapes I wish to transfer from the cassette deck to hard drive and then transfer to CD. Can you tell me what software i need to copy the cassette to hard drive and where i can get it ?.
I have a P4 system 512 MB memory running XP PRO.
Can you help ? I am in Canada.

Here you go :

http://www.audiotoolers.com/ubbt/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/6553

Any further queries please post back.