Probably better to get a USB turntable that's stand-alone and you can connect to your own speakers.

 

It sounds great, comes with good software. And I can plug another device through it, so I can rip from tapes as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-PS-LX300USB-Stereo-Turntable-Black/dp/B0015HOFZI/ref=pd_cp_e_2" rel="nofollow - http://www.amazon.com/Sony-PS-LX300USB-Stereo-Turntable-Black/dp/B0015HOFZI/ref=pd_cp_e_2

 

Unless you are looking for something to convert LP's to MP3's. It is very complicated anf finnicky.

 

Edit: Nvm. I see you want something you can easily rip. This has great quality, but it is a pain in the ass to try to rip stuff to your computer

 

It works fine for just playing records through you computer, but the problem I had was the converting sound picked up on the pops of the needle, and drowned at the music, and other times the music was to loud and overpowering.

Again it is great for just playing, it really has amazing sound quality.

The supplied ripping software is Audacity, which is tough to get used to, its complicated but nice. I have always used Groove Mechanic, which to me has the better vinyl repair options like hiss/rumble/pop eliminator.

 

http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/turntables/583f30b3a8662772/index.html" rel="nofollow - http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/turntables/583f30b3a8662772/index.html

Unfortunately those might be problems with most USB turntables. Most ones I've seen that come with software come with Audacity, which is actually a free open-source software package that is actually quite good, but not designed specifically for working with vinyl. There are tools in it of course that work with vinyl but there is so much more to it that the interface can be hard to get used to. Even having used it before I got my USB turntable, it took me a couple of vinyls before I really had the feel for it.

As for the pops, what most USB turntables do is basically just have a USB-Microphone output, so what the needle hears your computer will hear.

 

While I don't need to replace either my Thorens or my QED turntables, I've always liked the Pro-ject Debut III turntable and would probably buy one of those if I had to replace one of my exisiting ones. The Debut-III is also available with a built-in USB interface Mark (Cert1) has one and has recommended it in the past - though as I say, I'd do it all in seperates myself.

 

 

If all you want to do is seperate the audio into tracks then http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audacity" rel="nofollow - Audacity is free and simple and will allow you to do a whole lot more in terms of sound editing etc.

Is there a sound quality hit if, instead of using a USB turntable, you take a headphone to headphone type wire, plug it into the headphone out of your receiver, and into the mic in of your computer?

Firstly - don't use the mic input of the PC (that's the pink 3.5mm socket) - that is designed for microphone use and in some PCs is mono, not stereo - the sensitivity of that input is far too high and it will be very difficult to set the receiver volume control low enough to prevent distortion.

 

It is much better to use the light-blue Audio Line Input (also called the Analogue Line Input) - this is designed for connecting to the Line-Out of most audio peripherals so is less sensitive (and guaranteed stereo).

 

The headphone output of a receiver is capable of producing more volts than is needed for the line-in so it is important that the volume control is set to minimum and then gradually increased so that optimum levels are achieved (ie no distortion) - if you were intending to do this on a regular basis then I'd suggest modifying the cable with two resistors to attenuate the signal.

 

However, the best way is not to use the headphone output but to use the line-out or tape-out of the receiver as this is better matched to the line input of the PC.