Customer Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic Toy for a Grown Boy
Comment: I gave the USB turntable to my husband last Christmas. We share a huge collection of LPs, 45s and some 78s; however, we do not share a love for the same music. He's a jazz and hip-hop aficiondo; I love salsa and opera. Although it was a gift to him, I thought he would be willing to let me convert some of my favorite music to digital. To date this hasn't happened, so I'm unable to give a first-person evaluation of the equipment. Based on my observations of his obvious joy when he's spread his albums across the desk and is pushing buttons, this is one fantastic toy. And, I overheard him and another audiophile discussing the Ion's performance. Both of them give it high marks and agree that the dust cover is a must-have feature. Another plus: Between laughing to himself and listening to snippets of songs, he's said that you don't have to be a techno-geek like he is to operate it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Exactly as advertised
Comment: If one realizes that converting tapes and records to a digital format must take place in real time (unlike the batch processing that occurs when a digital medium, such as a CD, is transferred to a computer), then the Ion Turntable is the way to go.
I purchased the Ion Audio TTUSB because I have hundreds of LP's and 78's that I need to convert to CD (and I wanted the dustcover that comes with it). I have done many conversions of audio cassette tapes (I have a tape deck connected to my computer already) so I'm very familiar with the Audacity software that was provided.
Audacity will also convert recordings made at either 33 1/3 or 45 RPM to 78 RPM digitally. If you need to record old 78's, this is the way to go! I find that if I record an entire album with Audacity, I can then spend a few minutes dividing the original into separate files (tracks) at a more convenient time.
Both programs run in real time, so recordings must be played in their entirety. Audacity allows audio play-through as one transfers music to the computer, so a person can listen while doing other things. Audacity also gives one the flexibility to "clean" recordings of the surface scratches and dust "pops" that are inherent in LP play-back. (Audacity is a free, open source program available for download from Source Forge). It will also export files in either WAV, mp3 or Ogg Vorbis formats.
The "Easy Vinyl Converter" software that also accompanies the turntable is very time consuming to use, especially if one uses it to break the tracks into individual files ("automatic track spacing")-- users must physically sit at the computer and manually divide tracks as they are input into the computer.
The turntable operates as exactly advertised -- it's easy to set up if you've worked with turntables before; the instructions provided would, I think, make set up easy even for a novice. The most time-consuming part of the set up (actually only about five minutes)was the balancing of the tone arm.
There is a separate "gain" control on the back of the turntable housing to regulate output volume (there is a pre-amp in the housing case)as well as a "turntable/line" selection switch. I connected the Ion to my stereo system's amplifier, and was disappointed in the volume of sound during playback, until I turned the switch to "turntable", and then the sound was just fine.
One difference between the standard turntable and the Ion is the felt pad provided for the platter; one usually expects a rubber mat, but the one provided works just fine. I had to purchase an extra long USB cable (16')due to the arrangement I must use (the turntable is that far away from the computer, and I found one on Amazon for about $8.00 , plus shipping. If your set up allows close proximity between turntable and computer, then the USB cable provided should be sufficient.
I have not tried to connect a tape deck to the turntable as yet, but as nicely as the turntable and conversion system operates now, I would expect no performance trouble after doing so.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Super easy to use
Comment: Just got mine last night and found it very easy to use. Instructions are very clearly written and easy to follow. It took a minute to find the two parts taped into the styro packaging but they were well protected there. I am now happily converting my old LP's.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Easy Solution
Comment: Turntable works fine, software works fine. All very easy if you are putting your records on your computer as albums rather than individual tracks. A nice feature is that after you are finished with an album, it goes looking for the album title so you won't have to transcribe it. My record collections stops at about 1970, when the technology wasn't that clever, so it succeeds in about one of three records. Still, it's a convenience.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Buy this - you won't be disappointed
Comment: Don't be misled by the Windows or Mac only requirements. Use this with any Linux box, as I do, with Audacity installed, and it is a breeze. And that way, you don't have to worry about any additional installation with the enclosed CD.
With just a stereo, this player is top quality and has a great range of sound as well.
|
*Eligible orders over $25 ship free
