I’ve spent the best part of the weekend trying to get my NPC to talk to my Windows 10 PC, nothing physical has changed but something it last weeks Windows 10 update to 2H02 build 19042.867 has either broken the USB interface or caused a failure in the NPC.
Given the NPC are way out of support, and I’m not interested in buying a used one if the NPC is the problem. What are the alternatives for a phono stage that does A2D and has a line level output?
I use a music hall turntable > NPC > USB to Windows 10 PC and typically record 5-10 albums a week. I don’t use it for listening, typically I just have RCA > AMP out of the NPC.
What are others using now the NPC has met it’s maker?
Of course I tried the drivers again, and yes I am seriously considering replacing the NPC with something else. I’m of the opinion that the PSAUDIO USB drivers are really the issue.
Rather than get too far off topic here, where I was hoping to hear what alternatives if any there are to the NPC, I’ve posted a response over here NuWave Phono Converter - #258 by 4mc
These remove record noise, convert it to digital and record to a USB stick including looking up meta data (album, artist, song titles) and tags the recorded files. I have the older SC-2 (used) coming later this week. All reviews I have read say that the noise removal does not affect the sound quality.
I can’t be sure if it was last weeks update that broke them, but by the time I rolled back the update, I couldn’t get them to work. The USB cable was plugged into a different USB port or had been plugged into a bunch of ports and install tried, no good either before or after.
The point is, by comparison to the Soundblaster USB drivers, the PS Audio drivers are very fragile. Even the install on a new machine The PS Audio driver doesn’t always detect them and the install process prompts you unplug and plug them back in again. I can’t say if thats an issues with the USB Chipset they use, a software design issue, or something else, but it’s clearly not just a Windows update issue.
I had been considering an McIntosh MP100 MM/MC Phono but am wary of spending too much. Second on my list is the Music Hall pa2.2 MM/MC Phono Preamplifier, which seems like a direct plug replacement for my PS Audio NPC. The only problem, it’s also long in the tooth and I’d hate to buy something going out of support.
I may consider using a dedicated computer and use Windows 7, its a big deal though since the cabinet I already have the desktop computer in is packed. It sits under a 76-inch TV, and the computer uses the TV as a monitor when I’m recording and editing, and is a VPN 24/7 to allow me to stream my own music from home when I’m away. We also use the PC for certain streaming services, so it’s not practical to go back to Windows-7.
I need to think it through, for now I can get by going back to the Soundblaster. I don’t have a tight schedule for digitizing. I did a Hank Crawford double album yesterday with some tweaks I think sounds pretty close. Hence I was open to hearing what others were using.
