Review: ION USB Turntable peripheral

Converting vinyl records to a digital format is do-able, but it involves connecting the hi-fi to the computer, which are invariably located at opposite ends of the house.

The ION USB turntable, available from Firebox makes life easier by incorporating a USB cable that runs from the record deck into a computer. The turntable has a built-in pre-amp, which boosts the analogue sound to a recordable volume level and also has a 3.5mm input for attaching other analogue devices such as a cassette tape.

Once connected, the turntable appears in the Volume properties within the Control Panel. A quick switch of the recording device and the ION is ready to rock. It’s then possible to loop the sound from the vinyl out of the computer's speakers to hear what's being played. Integrated phono leads on the back can connect to an amplifier too, allowing it to be used as a regular turntable.

ION has supplied the turntable with the Audacity recording software that will encode tracks to mp3, wav and Ogg Vorbis files. Unfortunately, none of this is done on the fly and all post-recording chopping, trimming and saving of tracks has to be done manually.

Audacity will also perform some basic audio-editing functions but won't clean hiss and crackle natively. For this you'll need to install another piece of accompanying software that, unfortunately, is only a trial package.

The ION USB turntable can play records cut at 33 1/3 and 45rpm speeds. With a special stylus (that isn't supplied), it will also play 78s. Although audioholics will be aware of the drop in quality, Audacity can slow down 33 1/3 records that have been recorded at 45rpm, which is essentially high-speed dubbing for vinyl.

The supplied stylus isn't great but the tone arm and weighting can be adjusted if a record is slipping. There's also a gain dial on the back for controlling how much volume is sent to the computer.

There's no denying this is an extremely handy way of recording vinyl and is a decent enough turntable for everyday use.

However, when you consider that the Audacity software can be downloaded free of charge and that a £2 audio cable will connect a hi-fi to a computer, the ION USB Turntable's £120 price tag seems excessive. Supplying the turntable with bespoke software that meant no cutting and splicing of tracks would have impressed us much more.

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