RECORD PLAYER COVERTS VINYL RECORDS TO MP3
Know someone with a terrific record collection? Maybe it's you.
But regardless of who it is, I'm sure they're feeling the passage of
decades as their record collection becomes more and more obsolete.
Granted the passing isn't totally linear in that there continues to
be small resurgences in the industry when it comes to finding
players that will spin these aging vinyl disks. You can even find
amplifiers that use a tube or two to capture the missing "warmth"
that's supposedly lost in our digital players.
Now when it comes to computers, there are those who still run DOS.
Like those who keep those old records, there will probably always be
people that think we took a wrong turn when we turned onto the GUI
path. And you know, there's nothing wrong with holding onto the
older ways. There will always be a market for antiques. But if one
of your new year's resolutions is to move that old record collection
into the digital 21st Century, there's something you should be
checking out.
Ion Audio has created the world's first USB turntable and it's a
looker. Sporting a sleek, silver base, the iTTUSB turntable is
traditionally rectangular in its shape on the right side but is
modernly curved on it's left. The turntable sports the traditional
stylus arm which you swing out over and lower onto the spinning
record. You'll find many of the other traditional features here as
well including a 45 adapter for those smaller single-song records,
an adjustable anti-skating control for increased stereo balancing
and line level RCA output jacks if you want to connect the turntable
to a more traditional setup like your home stereo system. Place the
needle onto the record and you're playing just like you did years
ago but with a twist. The belt drive turntable has the ability to
connect directly with your Macintosh or Windows PC via a USB cable.
Included with the iTTUSB are both Windows and Mac versions of
Audacity software which is a popular recording application although
you can use the iTTUSB with anything that you might already have
that records form an external source. Ion also includes a trial
version of SoundSoap 2 from Bias. This utility lets you literally
remove the clicks and pops you get from scratches and other types of
wear that notoriously plagued the vinyl formats.
When you're ready to make the conversion, simply place the record
onto the iTTUSB and begin playing. The music from the record is
instantly captured and stored onto your computer in a choice of
audio formats including MP3. Once transferred, you treat the audio
files like any other. Move them onto your MP3 player, copy them into
your copy of iTunes, or whatever else you use to play, store and
organize your music files.
The iTTUSB plays 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records but the included software
allows you to convert 78 RPM records too. Just play them at the
slower speeds and once digitized, the software speeds up the digital
recording to the faster speed. Nice.
So there you have it. No more worries about your old record
collection. Just make the conversion and put the records safely away
for the next generation. And don't worry about your DOS computer
this coming year. Maybe the next one will be when you throw caution
to the wind and get a copy of Windows or buy a Macintosh.
www.ion-audio.com |
