I use the Sony W33 pro CDR (I think I paid $479 late last year) and it does a very good job. It has 24/96 A/D - D/A conversion and it also has Sony's SBM dithering(?) technology as an option. I'm sure a nice Apogee A/D converter would sound better than the internal Sony converters, but they're friggin expensive. I'm not sure how much of an upgrade a $799 MSB unit would be, but it's probably noticeable. You can spend thousands on seperate components if you want the very best, or you can spend $450-$600 for a Sony, Tascam, Marantz, or HHB pro model and get pretty good results out of the box. And yes...go directly from the phono preamp into the recorder, if possible. Keep the signal path as short and pure as possible.
Vinyl LPs To CD
I would like to transfer some precious LPs to disc. What hardware and software do I need to make a sonic transfer that preserves the beauty of my vinyl LPs? I have a Gyro SE with Origin Live Silver 250 arm with a Lyra Lydian cartridge. CD player is Arcam FMJ DV27. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Johnny