Turn LPs and cassettes into digital media files

Before you start slinging cables, make sure the power to the preamp and turntable is off and all external volume controls are set to minimum. Also make sure the speaker level is low to ensure no unexpected audio surprises send your speakers into orbit. Speaking of speakers, make sure they're not close to the turntable. You want your phono cartridge to respond to the grooves in an LP record, not a pressure wave from your speakers.

Connect the output from your turntable's tone arm to a phono input on the preamp, and the preamp's output (usually labeled "line" or "amp") to the line-input jack on your PC sound card.

Depending on your sound card, selecting the right jack may seem like a game of chance, but there are clues. Jacks are usually color-coded: Blue is a line input, red a microphone input, and green a speaker output. Additional jacks may be secondary speaker outputs or digital interfaces. Other clues, for those with good eyes or a flashlight and a magnifying glass, are the symbols engraved in the vicinity of each jack. The microphone symbol is self-evident. A series of concentric circles with an arrowhead pointing to the center indicates a line input. If the arrowhead points away from the circles, it's an output.

Life is simpler if you want to make transfers from cassette. Just connect the tape deck's line outputs to the sound card's line input, and you're done. Or if you're doing both tape and LP transfers, connect the tape deck to the preamp's second set of inputs.