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Vinyl EQ curve on iOS
I’ve been been working with loops and samples in blocs wave, reslice, koala, etc.
It would be great if I could sample from my vinyl collection using just an iPad and an audio interface. Is there any app I can use to apply the vinyl eq RIAA curve? I know there are lots of ways to do this on a Mac.
I searched this forum which has been a great resource to me starting out - but didn’t find anything. Maybe there is a parametric eq that can be configured with the riaa curve.
Comments
It’s not just the EQ that’s involved, the output from a cartridge is well below standard line levels, even more so if the cartridge is moving coil rather than moving magnet. Ceramic cartridges are a bit higher, but horrid sounding anyway. You’d do better to buy a cheap phono preamp if your turntable doesn’t have one built in, or if it’s plugged into an amplifier anyway use a line out from that, if it has one (modern amps don’t seem to have tape outs any more). Or you might find a mixer with proper phono inputs. NB cheap preamps and mixers probably won’t cater for moving coil cartridges anyway, as they tend to be an audiophile thing so less common.
Any fully parametric EQ like LRC5, LRC7, Toneboosters EQ etc. would work.
As @rs2000 says, pretty much any three band or higher parametric EQ will let you match the curve. It would probably be a bit easier in LRC7 than LRC5 because LRC7 has filters available that match the spec'd filters for the RIAA curve easier -- should still be possible with any PEQ though.
As @bygjohn mentions it may be a bit harder than that though. There are two issues with phono cartridge outputs. One is the low output level and the other is the relatively high output impedance of the cartridge. They are spec'd at a relatively high 47kΩ and the input impedance to the preamp stage needs to be about five to ten times that level. I'd try it with the instrument line in on a normal audio interface first to see if that works. (47kΩ sits closer to a guitar output impedance than a mic.) The low output of the cartridge is probably going to require some pretty heavy gain in the audio interface.
If you can't get it to directly work with an audio interface, then either a transformer DI box would work or you might want to go the route of using a a preamp stage. I saw some DIY projects that have the preamp and the RIAA curve when I was checking what the curve was to make sure that my EQ's could match the curve. I wonder if Radial has a phono specific DI to do this?
Yeah, they do. https://www.radialeng.com/product/j33
Not cheap but it is a path you could take if other approaches don't work. I haven't ever used this particular device, but Radial stuff has all been good in my experience.
There are DIY projects out there and they probably wouldn't be too hard to build and they'd most likely ending costing less.
So the plan is to run balanced from the turntable using moving coil into the microphone input, with some resistance added to make it more like a turntable input. This part of it I am pretty familiar with and have worked like this in the past.
The LRC7 sounds like a great option for me to check out. Thank you!