With the (probably temporary) setback in the widespread sharing of music files over the Web, it can be hard to find digital versions of your old vinyl records. True, many will be available on CD, but what about those that aren't? How can you convert your records to digital form so that they can be played on an MP3 player or recorded onto audio CD?

This little gadget is one possible solution. It's effectively a miniature pre-amplifier, which takes the very low voltage signal from a record deck (of the moving magnet type; moving coil decks are not supported) as a stereo input, via two phono sockets. The unit then boosts this signal and equalises it, adjusting the frequency balance to compensate for the response curve of the record deck.

The Phono PreAmp Studio plugs into the midi/joystick port that's a feature of just about any sound card. It gets its power from this port, and there's a stereo output lead that plugs into the 'line in' port of your sound card. There's a pass-through cable for a joystick too, although it's not a good idea to play games while you're recording (as if you would), as that could affect the audio quality.

Two selectors on the side of the device let you set the input capacity (either 100, 250 or 425 pico-Farad) and the output signal level (low, medium and high). Once you've set these, you can use the supplied Algorithmix software to record the incoming signal from your record deck and 'clean it', by removing clicks, hums and background noise (although that's all part of vinyl's charm, isn't it?).

You'll probably need a long pair of phono cables to connect your record deck to the Phono PreAmp Studio, but that's the only hassle involved. Once everything's set up, the conversion process is pretty painless, helped by the interesting manual.

Converting vinyl to CD or MP3 is, obviously, complete heresy. But if you are such a heretic, this is an effective way of squeezing 12 inches of vinyl into a CD or CompactFlash / SmartMedia card. It works, the software's good and, if nothing else, it's a good excuse for digging out those old records.