Deal of the Day - Convert 78s to mp3

[Silvertone]

There is a good deal on the Ion Audio Portable USB Turntable today on Woot (http://www.woot.com). They are selling the turntable for about half price ($55 shipped). It is a cheap turntable, but it has two important features: 78 rpm and pitch control. You can use it to convert 33, 45 and 8 rpm records to mp3s using the included software and your computer. Woot deals are only for one day, and usually sell out. I ordered one, and I'm not expecting much in the way of quality, but it should be worth the price.

[phonophan79]

So the same stylus is used for 33 45 and 78?

[MordEth]

I ordered one, and I'm not expecting much in the way of quality, but it should be worth the price.

Silvertone,

You’ll have to give us a review of it after you get it–I think that seems a bit too cheaply made for me to want to order one, whether or not it is a deal at $55.

Although, I suppose it is also a portable record player, if it does better with more modern recordings...

I saw this posted elsewhere as well, where I saw Auxetophile opted to get one. Did anyone else end up ordering one?

— MordEth

[Wolfe]

So the same stylus is used for 33 45 and 78?

That's worth checking on. It's hard to believe that it comes with a 78 rpm stylus included, for only 55 dollars.

[MordEth]

That's worth checking on. It's hard to believe that it comes with a 78 rpm stylus included, for only 55 dollars.

Wolfe,

I read the specs on it, and that’s certainly what it seemed to indicate.

— MordEth

[beaumonde]

Inspired by this thread, and thinking ahead to the Bixfest in Racine next month, and then the Union show, I thought of finally getting one of those really small portable phonos with mediocre internal speaker (like the Vestax), for auditioning 78s at record sales.

I finally decided on the Numark PT01 Portable 3 Speed Record Player (e.g. see: http://www.garage-a-records.com/proddet ... ?prod=PT01, backordered here and a bit cheaper through Amazon), with a 3 mil 78 stylus accessory.

Hopefully it'll be adequate for the job. I had always felt guilty asking whoever had the Vestax if I could borrow it!

[phonophan79]

Did anyone end up buying one of these?

I came across an article called "8 reasons why not to buy a USB turntable". Granted, it's written by someone selling a product, but I would agree with the reasoning.

http://www.dak.com/reviews/USBreasons.cfm

[Silvertone]

I bought one, and was going to do a more thorough evaluation this weekend, but since you asked, I will give you my impressions.

To give you the bottom line first, I think it works well.

My primary purpose in buying this was to transfer some of my LPs into iTunes, since that is a much more convenient way to listen to the music. I use iTunes for background music while I am doing something else, so being able to select a long program of music to suit my mood is a big advantage.

Because the turntable offers all three speeds, I plan to transfer some 45s and some 78s as well as the Lps.

The turntable connects to the computer via a USB cable. Software was provided for recording the record, and an additional program, Audacity, was provided for editing the recording. Use is exteemly simple. You plug in the turntable, open the program and press "start". When you have finished the record, you can use Audacity to clean up the sound. I have recorded several 78s, including one early 7" Berliner, and got very acceptable recordings. If I were a critical listener, then perhaps I would find some fault with the rather cheap turntable, but for backup and casual listening purposes it is fine.
The unit I bought has a few nice features. It runs on batteries or AC, and has a handle and lid. I can see it being useful auditioning records at phono shows. It plays all three speeds and has a pitch control. It works as advertised.

The unit is not perfect, however. It is lightweight and obviously built to sell at a low price. It has those small Chinese switches and pots that I've had bad luck with in the past. It has a small tonearm with only a single needle for all speeds. I don't expect it to last more than a couple of years, but as long as I can transfer my old LPs, I'll be happy.

The turntable that DAK offers looks to be nicer. It has a heavy platter and tone arm adjustments. But it is more than 4x the price, and doesn't seem to offer Mac support directly.

I have known the business DAK (Drew Alan Kaplan) for many years, and used to frequent their "seconds" room at the warehouse. I bought a lot stuff in the 1980s from him. He has a great way of writing that makes every product sound exceptional, and that was the key to his success. He now is doing it online, and continuing to be successful, I presume. My observation is that the merchandise I bought from him in the past was always cheap imported stuff, and most of it broke in short order, but maybe that is true of virtually everything these days.