( 62 reviews )
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Posted: 04-30-2009
I am converting my old LPs to MP3 and found this product very easy to use! Start the software, start the recording, start the turntable, and the rest just happens! The turntable itself is great. The start/stop button is almost instantaneous, and the anti-skate control helped with some scratched records I have. Couple of notes on the software, though. You have to listen for the end of each track to click the "next track" button, so don't get distracted. It automatically imports the song into iTunes, but I use Windows Media Player, so I had to copy the songs into the WMP library. It automatically searches for the track title online with GraceNotes, even though it would be faster if I just typed them in myself. So the automation is easy, but you have to follow each of their steps even if you don't want to. The MP3s come out sounding just like what I hear when playing the record, so you get what you hear! The Audacity software can help with the pops & clicks, but it's a time-consuming process. All in all, great product! I get to listen to my old LPs on my MP3 player, which is what I wanted.
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( 0 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: 03-21-2009
First off, out of the box I had trouble finding the cheap drive belt. They wrap it around the underside of the turntable. There is no cue lever so if you have nervous fingers like me you'll hear zip! However the machine comes with two large start stop buttons to stop the record while you enter track info into your ipod. Here is the trick. You have to go into your computer and reset the hardware and sound settings to use the thing. Then you have to reset the computer back to its original settings when you are through. In my case restarting the computer resets everything if I get in trouble. The good part is it goes right to the ipod screen and makes a file of what you have recorded, saving your precious records. There is no dust cover so dont throw away the plastic bag it comes in. The tone arm clip has come loose on my table twice and I found the needle on the cheap platter cover so I guess that is not of the best quality. Order a spare needle. However I purchased the blaze audio (blaze.com) lp transfer software a year ao. I had all sorts of problems with that. Recordings were too loud, and the auto track feature would record pops and clicks as part of a song so you would get a whole side instead of individual cuts. However that works differently and the sound was better. You plug your turntable into a preamp. From the preamp there is a little round box that a USB cable comes out of. This plugs into your computer. Whatever way you choose it requires time to learn the procedure and more time to convert the records. sax
