Turn LPs and cassettes into digital media files

If your sound system already has a working turntable, you're in luck. All you'll need--in addition to your PC, of course--is a cable with two RCA plugs at one end and a mini 1/8-inch stereo plug at the other. Simply connect the RCA plugs to the tape-out jacks on your preamplifier or receiver and the other end to the line-in jack on your PC's sound card.

If you long ago tossed that ancient relic with the built-in turntable, you'll need to buy a standalone turntable, along with a phono preamplifier. Though some LP turntables have built-in preamps (RadioShack's 42-7012, for example), ours didn't, so we bought GLI Pro's $79 GLX-2800 2-Channel Stereo Mixer, a fancy name for a black box that supports three inputs: one for a microphone and two more for either turntable or tape-deck signals. In case you're wondering about the turntable, it was a Panasonic Technics SP-10 MKII direct-drive introduced about 25 years ago. It weighs close to 60 pounds (thanks to an obsidian base for vibration reduction) and cost about $1,500. Used ones in good shape go for $1,000 and up. (You guessed it: The author is a serious audiophile.)

There's an advantage to having a free-standing phono preamp. If your sound system isn't near your PC, you can run a long cable between the preamp and the PC and deputize a friend as turntable operator while you attend to the PC.