It's a fact of life that vinyl LPs or 12in singles deteriorate over time. Every time the needle is applied to a record, the sound quality fades a little more.

Help is at hand in the form of Clean Plus from Steinberg. Clean's basic function is to digitally record vinyl directly from your record player onto your PC and fix any clicks, pops and hums that inevitably appear. It also allows you to process any kind of sound recorded into your PC including MP3s and WAV files.

To record vinyl you'll have to connect your record player to your PC. This can be tricky because unlike most other hi-fi separates, record players can't be plugged directly into your sound card. They need a special, dedicated amplifier.

Thankfully, Steinberg has done the logical thing and included a dinky, cigarette packet-sized amplifier that plugs into the sound card's game port. As far as we're aware, no other audio restoration package in this price range includes a standalone amplifier. You can buy Clean (without the amplifier) for £25.

Hardware requirements

Recording high-quality audio is reasonably strenuous for your PC, so take heed of Steinberg's minimum specifications for use. A Pentium II 350MHz with 64Mb of memory is required, although users of AMD machines take note that 800MHz is the stated minimum.

Also, make sure that you've got enough hard disk space: you'll need 20Mb per minute of music. Any reasonably modern sound card will work, but a better-quality card will yield superior results.

Processing functions include a rumble filter to remove the low frequency hum generated by the motion of the record, the standard tool for removing clicks, crackles and noise, and some impressive surround-sound functions.

If these tools aren't enough for you, WaveLab Lite is included so you can play about more extensively.

Major and minor

The results are good but don't expect miracles - there's a limit to the damage that Clean Plus can repair. Conversely, the improvements we made on records with only minor damage were excellent and a marked improvement on the originals.

Whether your records are young or old, scratched or pristine, Clean Plus can rescue your record collection.

Contact
PC World: 0870 546 4464 www.steinberg.net

ALSO CONSIDER

Magix MP3 Maker Gold
A good package for both MP3 and digital audio fans
£30 ****
Reviewed in Computeractive, issue 86

www.computeractive.co.uk