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 |
How we build and check this calculator
This calculator runs entirely in your browser, so the numbers you enter stay on your device. The math behind it is written by hand and tested against worked examples and standard references before the page goes live.
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