Vinyl to Digital Calculator
Estimate recording time and file sizes for digitizing vinyl records at 44.1kHz, 96kHz, and 192kHz.
Returns WAV, FLAC, and MP3 storage totals per album.
How Vinyl-to-Digital Conversion Works
Converting vinyl records to digital files involves capturing the analog audio signal as digital samples, then choosing a file format that balances quality and file size. The key technical parameters are sample rate and bit depth.
Core digital audio specifications:
- Sample rate: How many times per second the analog waveform is sampled (Hz)
- Bit depth: How many bits describe each sample’s amplitude (determines dynamic range)
CD quality standard: 44,100 Hz / 16-bit
Dynamic range (dB) = 6.02 × bit depth
- 16-bit: 96 dB dynamic range
- 24-bit: 144 dB dynamic range (exceeds human hearing)
Vinyl’s practical dynamic range: ~60–70 dB due to surface noise — making 24-bit capture overkill for playback, though useful during editing.
File size calculation:
File size (MB) = (Sample rate × Bit depth × Channels × Duration in seconds) ÷ (8 × 1,048,576)
Worked example — one LP side (22 minutes):
At 44,100 Hz / 24-bit / stereo (2 channels) / 1,320 seconds:
Size = (44,100 × 24 × 2 × 1,320) ÷ 8,388,608 = 334 MB (uncompressed WAV)
At 48,000 Hz / 24-bit: 364 MB
Recommended workflow:
- Capture at 48 kHz / 24-bit (highest common standard)
- Clean and restore in software (iZotope RX, Audacity)
- Export masters as FLAC (lossless compression, ~50% smaller than WAV)
- Create 320 kbps MP3 for portable listening (97% smaller than WAV, nearly indistinguishable)
Format comparison:
| Format | Quality | Typical Size (per LP side) |
|---|---|---|
| WAV 24-bit | Lossless | 330 MB |
| FLAC 24-bit | Lossless | 180 MB |
| MP3 320 kbps | Near-lossless | 50 MB |
| MP3 128 kbps | Good | 20 MB |