ION TTUSB Turntable Review
Friday, May 29, 2009 at 7:05AM Turntables designed to convert stacks of vinyl to digital format have been selling well over the last few years. The price of the base models has dropped substantially: The ION TTUSB was recently on woot.com for a mere $49, so we figured we should check it out.
There are two different things to take into consideration with this kind of device: the hardware itself, and the software/process of getting satisfactory results.
First the turntable. The TTUSB is adequate for the job it was made for. Unfortunately, it's so large, it won't fit in many entertainment centers, so it will either become a display piece, or get shoved in the closet for most people.
Secondly, while we can sequence DNA, and create incredible CG animation, the seemingly simple task of removing pops and clicks from vinyl records in digital form, still seems to be an impossible task. We used moderately played records, and using Audacity (included with the TTUSB), as well as Soundtrack Pro, and ClickRepair, pops and clicks were still quite audible. A clean recording can be created if you're willing to put a lot of time and effort into manually fixing the audio file. At some point though, you start to wonder if it's all worth it. If the song you're trying to digitize, is already available in digital form, how much effort do you want to put into taking an analog recording and making into a clean digital copy?
Putting that aside, if you have some records sitting around, and you haven't had a way to play them in years, the TTUSB gives you a decent/cheap way to hear them once again. Take a look:
Reader Comments (3)
Great review!
i ordered a similar device without the USB interface from NuMark (related company). It was missing the counterweight and slipmat out of the box. Service took five phone calls, two emails, and almost a month. Probably wouldn't go this route again.
Those items were fairly well hidden in the ION box. They had a big warning sheet on top not to throw them out. It must happen fairly frequently.