I am attempting to transfer my collection of LP's to CD's via the computer. The LP's sound great when playing them through the computer. I store the LP into a computer file and then burn it to the CD using Roxio Easy CD Creator 5.0. The sound from the resulting CD is poor. Would a higher grade sound card produce better results?

Not necessarily. You have several possible chances of losing quality copying/converting the CD to a file and maybe converting that file to a CD format. It is possible in some computers to do this without a sound card. I think a possible problem is setting the sound levels. Converting analog to digital can create very high distortion (clipping) if the level is too high. Converting to MP3 would cause compression losses. You should check each step to see where the quality is being loss. The sound card appears to function properly in playing the original CD.

read closer Fred, he is copying LP's, not CD's. He needs a sound card Transfering anything from an analog signal via the sound card to a wave file should always be done with a higher end sound card. Thre are many steps along the way that can add distortion. Try using a decent recording program such as Audacity. It's free and will let you see the volum on the waveform that is being recorded. Make sure you aren't clipping the input signal. Most of the cheaper Creative Labs cards look like they are recording the volume at the proper level but when played back, you hear the distortion from too hot an input signal. If this is the case, open up the Windows mixer control panel and reduce the recording volume. You should also be recording to a wave file. Do not use mp3 for initial recording as it will add compression artifacts.

Thanks Kurt. His sound card seem to be OK if he can play his LP's through it. It's setting the proper record levels to avoid clipping to equalize the output if needed.

Yup, that's my feeling as well.

Thanks for the time you have both taken to respond. I apologize for not getting back to you earlier, but I left town shortly after posting my message. I used your input to do some detective work. I found that I had two problems - old LP's that had been worn, and a low end sound card. I replaced the sound card and am getting much better results, even from the worn LP's.