Strengths:Quick easy turntable setup. USB and line output
Weaknesses:Software is less powerful than others. No dust cover nor cueing lever.
Posted Aug 6, 2007 - I have been trying to convert an extensive collection of vinyl LPs to digital music, both to burn CDs and load on my hard disk. Using my turntable with simple audio output (not line out) did not work. It actually fried my audio card. This looked like an ideal solution. Most reviews criticized the software, but I am using Magix's Audio Cleaning Lab so I didn't think the software would be a problem.
installed the free Audacity software ver 1.2.4 on my desktop PC (Pavilion, 3.0 Gig Pentium IV, 1.5 Gig DDRAM and 120 Gig hard disk, running Windows XP SP2.) The install was easy and the instructions for setting up the sound card were easy. The first side of the first LP went fine. After that it was downhill. The software recognized the first two seconds of the LP then quit. I tried reinstalling and even tried the BETA of Audacity and adjusted the turntable gain control. Nothing worked.
Then I tried the same install on my HP laptop, (Pavilion, 1.8 Gig AMD Turion 64, 1.0 GIG DDRAM and 80 Gig HD, running Windows XP MC). Works perfectly.
I went back to the desktop PC and tried a number of changes and finally discovered that the USB turntable conflicted with another USB device. By disconnecting one device the other would work. Not the best solution but it works. More on this later if I find another fix.
The turntable is larger than expected but relatively light, made mostly of plastic. I noticed no wobble or lack of rigidity. The tonearm has a nice adjustable weighting for tracking and an antiskate control. The literature says that cartridge is standard and can be replaced easily. The outputs are USB, RCA out (both line and phono) but the cables are hardwired with RCA plugs. I would have preferred RCA jacks for two reasons. I had to cover the jacks with small plastic "baggies to prevent "shorting". Secondly, if I want to input to my sound card I need to buy a new cable (1/8 inch stereo to female RCA) instead of the more common 1/8 inch stereo plug to RCA male. The two "play" buttons are odd but they make starting and stopping the turntable easy.
The software seems to have an extensive list of features, including: Click Removal, Noise Removal, High and Low Pass Filters, Bass Boost and Change Tempo, Speed and/or Pitch. but they are less than intuitive and projects are saved in a proprietary Audacity format. It is necessary to save the files as WAV files to allow editing with other software. Also, the various slider controls do not appear to have a "reset to default" checkbox. If you start to play with a number of effects, you have to remember the original settings.
Two interesting features are a High-Speed recording and the ability to digitize 78 RPM records. Both features use software to change the temp or records played at higher speed in the first case or slower speed in the 78 RPM case. To speed up the process, 33RPM LPs are recorded at 45 RPM, then the speed is reduced using software. The result is a 30 percent reduction in the time needed to record a LP.
The turntable does not have a 78 RPM setting, so it is necessary to record it at either 33.3 or 45 RPM and again use software to change the speed. I haven't tested the 78 RPM version of this feature, but the high speed "dubbing" appears to work. I hope to compare versions recorded at regular and high speed to determine what differences if any occur.
The de-clicker seems to reduce some "clicks" but a significant number seem to get through.
The normalize feature seems to "adjust" the audio level so that all tracks are at the same volume.
I found the problems with Audacity or my PC, not sure which, reduced a would have been a great experience, rendering it only good. This may be an isolated issue, limited to my PC. I am an advanced PC user and teach PC classes at the local college. Someone with less experience and resources, e.g., an alternate PC might give up on this product. I will use Audio Cleaning Lab to record directly from the Ion turntable since it has a number of additional features, but not the high speed dubbing or 78 RPM change. (I'll still use Audacity for that.) Ion might consider bundling a light version of another product even if it adds to the price.
However, overall it does the job well and is a real bargain.
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Rated 
Ion Audio ITTUSB Turntable
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