For Barfle and Shos

[OperaTenor]

I just picked one of these up at Costco:



Ion iTTUSB

At $110, do you suppose it was worth it, or do you have a better recommendation?

[jamiebk]

OT...this came up a while ago. Check out the thread: http://www.beethoven.com/phpBB2/viewtop ... &start=740

[barfle]

At $110, do you suppose it was worth it, or do you have a better recommendation?

Knowing nothing about some of the important elements of turntables (stylus characteristics, tracking force, yadda yadda...) and the existence of reasonable equipment you may already have, it's hard for me to say you made a good decision.

I continue to use my dear old Miracord 50H turntable with my dear old Shure V15 Type V MR cartridge, and occasionally the 78 RPM stylus for it. I know it treats my vinyl with respect, so I'm happy with its performance. I'm also happy with my audio card, which has a stereo input jack and with Goldwave, which allows me to record the signals that I input into my audio card. I'm afraid I'm going to have to look up exactly what my audio card is, because it's identification isn't right there in front of me. And I also continue to use my Esoteric Audio Surface Noise Reducer, especially when I want to transfer my vinyl to a digital medium.

If your record player is toast, and your sound card is inadequate, I would guess the USB turntable would be a reasonable product, but only if you didn't already have an acceptable way to digitize your vinyl.

[Schmeelkie]

OT - you'll have to let us know how well it works. My husband inherited a collection of classical records from his grandparents and would love to convert them to digital. This looks like an easy option at a reasonable price!

[Trumpetmaster]

do they have one that plays 78rpm???

[OperaTenor]

At $110, do you suppose it was worth it, or do you have a better recommendation?

Knowing nothing about some of the important elements of turntables (stylus characteristics, tracking force, yadda yadda...) and the existence of reasonable equipment you may already have, it's hard for me to say you made a good decision.

I continue to use my dear old Miracord 50H turntable with my dear old Shure V15 Type V MR cartridge, and occasionally the 78 RPM stylus for it. I know it treats my vinyl with respect, so I'm happy with its performance. I'm also happy with my audio card, which has a stereo input jack and with Goldwave, which allows me to record the signals that I input into my audio card. I'm afraid I'm going to have to look up exactly what my audio card is, because it's identification isn't right there in front of me. And I also continue to use my Esoteric Audio Surface Noise Reducer, especially when I want to transfer my vinyl to a digital medium.

If your record player is toast, and your sound card is inadequate, I would guess the USB turntable would be a reasonable product, but only if you didn't already have an acceptable way to digitize your vinyl.

I have a great turntable - a JVC LE-5, but I didn't have a way to get from this:


to this:
or this:

Besides, I dont have any applicable software, which the turntable comes with.

[Shapley]

OT,

I'm tempted to buy one myself. My old computer sound card had phono jack inputs on the sound card, but no software was available for conversion to mp3, and no storage capacity existed on the sound card to store the large files they produce. Also too, (as Nicole Marie would say), Cd burners did not exist. Now that I have disposed of that computer, sound cards no longer have phono jack inputs, so something is like the Ion is needed, IMHO. You can probably buy some type of phono input card or external device, and the software, but the Ion seems to offer all of that in one package.

Then again, I'm not as computer savvy, nor as devoted to the preservation of my vinyl collection, as Barfle.

V/R
Shapley

[Shapley]

Here's DAk's site selling a more expensive system:

DAK.com

[barfle]

My audio input to my PC's audio card is analog, and therefore does not use a USB connection.

Which makes it good for those old cassettes, too. Just try making THAT out of a cola nut!

[piqaboo]

barfle, your system sounds worth looking into more.
'cause once the vinyl is revinyled smaller and shinier, we have all these video tapes to turn into coasters. Would the software you are describing be able to do that? Also, Im wondering how all the bits and pieces you are using add up $$? Because software takes less room than a new turntable whos entire purpose is to obsolete itself and the other turntable in the house, but which will take up a ton o space in the meanwhile. (in our house, 12"x12" is a TON o space) (one day, our garage will be purged, dee dee de dee de dee, dee dee dee dee de deeee de dee...)

We're also asking Shos, 'cause we know he's embroiled in that slide show to coaster project.

[barfle]

barfle, your system sounds worth looking into more.
'cause once the vinyl is revinyled smaller and shinier, we have all these video tapes to turn into coasters. Would the software you are describing be able to do that? Also, Im wondering how all the bits and pieces you are using add up $$? Because software takes less room than a new turntable whos entire purpose is to obsolete itself and the other turntable in the house, but which will take up a ton o space in the meanwhile. (in our house, 12"x12" is a TON o space) (one day, our garage will be purged, dee dee de dee de dee, dee dee dee dee de deeee de dee...)

We're also asking Shos, 'cause we know he's embroiled in that slide show to coaster project.

Hmmm, total dollar costs... As I recall, I bought the turntable for $99 when I was in the Army in 1969. The Shure cartridge cost about $250, but it was the latest coolest grooviest neatest most totally bitchin thing going at the time, which was something like 1977. I've replaced a few styluses for about a hundred each, although I hear you can get Shure to rebuild them for about $40 these days.

The sound card might have been a hundred bucks - sorry, I didn't look it up last night, but if memory serves, it's a Yamaha. The software I've already described as Goldwave, and it runs $30 and has a free trial. CD burners are all of $12 these days, and they come with software, not to mention the stuff that's bundled with XP.

When I built my computer, I always knew I wanted to digitize audio to CDs, so when I bought the audio card, I made sure it had an audio input.

I recently acquired a video card that has inputs as well, but I haven't gotten around to turning my complete collection of All Creatures Great And Small and Indy 500 races back to 1979 into DVDs. I believe, but do not know, that the card came with video recording and editing software, as well as DVD authoring software. My DVD burner claims it can do -R, +R, RAM, and R/W, but I've only used it to make backups on RWs. My DVD player says it will play -R, and I have a cakebox of those, just waiting, and waiting, and waiting...

As you might imagine, I have many projects, and that one will wait for bad weather, or maybe longer. With each tape/DVD holding two hours of programming, it promises to be a lengthy process.

[Shapley]

Looking at the DAK site I linked earlier, I see they sell the interface and software for $69.90. If you already have a turntable, (as I do), then that looks like the way to go.

[piqaboo]

Thing is - the whole system OT posted is about $120. ( I think. I have a really bad memory for things I know he will remember.)
So, while its worth saving $60 - no question! - its not clear that buying the software etc would save $60. I guess he has some more of that fun kind of homework to do!

Thanks everyone for the info.
Wheeeee!

[jamiebk]

Sometimes its not so much the cost but rather the effectiveness of the chosen system. I'd be curious to know which does the job simpler, better and then more cost effectively.

[piqaboo]

Yeah, but Jamie, you'd be the one doing the work. I, however, am interested because I wont be doing the work; OT will!

(I'm sure OT is interested in the same order you are, tho)

[jamiebk]

OK...I get it!

[barfle]

Thing is - the whole system OT posted is about $120. ( I think. I have a really bad memory for things I know he will remember.)
So, while its worth saving $60 - no question! - its not clear that buying the software etc would save $60. I guess he has some more of that fun kind of homework to do!

Thanks everyone for the info.
Wheeeee!

I'm the kind of techy geek who builds his own PCs, so, since I needed an audio card from the git-go, I picked up one with an analog input. The original video card was adequate for NT and I got it used dirt cheap, but when I tried to play a DVD on it, its shortcomings were obvious. So I did a little digging, found a card that was adequate, and bought it, and it came with software.

So, as things sit for me now, I thought the idea of a turntable with a USB port was clever and cute, but, since I already have two working turntables and a proven way to digitize audio, I didn't bother digging any further. Sort of like looking at the open houses in my neighborhood. There's just too much to do on my own place to bother with it.

[bignaf]

Get a RCA to 1/8" adapter, which you plug to the jack (which looks like an RCA, and should be one) you show on top on one end, and the mic jack on your computer on the other end. you then capture the sound from the sound card with a trial version of Goldwave. that's the way for cheapos like me.
here's a pic of an RCA to 1/8" adapter:

[barfle]

'naf, that will probably (depending on how the connections inside are made) render one channel from your source into two identical channels in the sound card. Which means, at best, you'll end up with the left channel (or whichever one you choose to connect to the RCA jack) coming out of both speakers.

I have an adapter that looks a bit like that, but it has two RCAs on it, color coded for right and left sides. Actually, I have several, and they have gold connections, because I was always concerned about how the southern California smog would corrode the solder coated jacks. It turns out that the humidity in Vahjinyah is far, far worse than the Mediterranean climate there.

[OperaTenor]

Guys, remember, I now have a MAC! It only has Firewire and USB ports, no analog RCA or other audio jacks. As a matter of fact, it likes wireless more than anything.

$119 bought the turntable and applicable software, which accommodates 78rpm, along with 33 and 45. As far as quality goes, it seems to get good reviews.