This was an ad in the daily Dealmac newsletter:

Costco.com offers its members the ION USB Turntable, model no. iTTUSB05, for $99.99. (Non-members pay $5 more.) With free shipping, that's the lowest total price we could find by $10. Sales tax is added where applicable. This record player features USB connectivity for both Macs and PC. Other features include line-level RCA audio outputs, 33 1/3 and 45 RPM playback, belt drive, and more. Deal ends May 27.


Sounded good to me so I ordered it.

Now I'm wondering if it will do a really ggod job considering my background in the audio field?

Anyone familiar with this unit?

I have boxes of LPs stored away from as far back as the '60s, so it would be wonderful to be able to save them to disks. Could I use DVD for the greater capacity or do I have to use CDs?

Thanks for your thoughts,

GeneL

As per our conversation GL.:
[www.flyingsnail.com]

BGnR

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Many thanks, BGnR.

One thing, the ION turntable shown in the article looks a lot more sophisticated than the one I bought. I don't see a model number, but I guess I should do a Google search and also check Amazon for Customer comments, if there are any.

GeneL

I've been wanting one of these, good price, thanks.

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I would save them as high bit rate MP3's on a hard drive. 180 CD's only took up about 60 GB, just over a third of a 160 GB hard drive ($40 on sale).

I have been trying to figure out what to do with my Quadraphonic copy of Dark Side Of The Moon. I have not seen any hardware that would play it in over 10 years. I thought encoding it in 5.1 would be the best treatment, or I could just buy the 5.1 SACD version and give up on it.

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In tha 360. MRF User Map

Now THAT is a good USB device!!!!

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Filliam H. Muffman
I would save them as high bit rate MP3's on a hard drive.

I don't ever use MP3s.

I'd like to save them in the highest quality possible.

Also, I'll to check if there's any decent "processing" freeware or cheap shareware to get rid of clicks and scratches?

Any suggestions?

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GeneL
Many thanks, BGnR.

One thing, the ION turntable shown in the article looks a lot more sophisticated than the one I bought. I don't see a model number, but I guess I should do a Google search and also check Amazon for Customer comments, if there are any.

GeneL

Here's the product info on the other turntable: [www.ion-audio.com]
Yeah, it looks cooler but it seems the one Costco is offering is newer. BUT, the older one has more features like anti-skate adjustment. The prices for both don't seem to vary more than $10 at other places so the pricing doesn't appear to indicate that the newer model is a cheaper, stripped-down version.

I'll probably end up ordering one of these. I've been converting some of my vinyl using an old turntable/receiver combo and haven't been all that pleased with the results.

The good thing is that it will be easy to return to a store, if it doesn't have the quality I want.

Even though it's been years since I left the audio business, I still have strong feeling about quality.

Price is definitely a factor,but I really wonder what kind of cartridge this unit uses and whether rumble and speed are truly "audio quality?"

When I left the business turntables were running into the high hundreds to the thousands. that's plus tone arm and cartridges.

I'm willing to be happily surprised, but not overly optimistic.

But again, price is a factor for me.

I'd sure like to hear from anyone who has used one.

Yikes, lots of bad reviews on Amazon. Let us know how it works for you!

I purchased one from Amazon for myself back at Christmas. I have converted 20 or so LPs to CD thus far( would have done more but haven't had the time). Mine came with a fairly cheap Numark GT cartridge, but for the price, I think the audio quality is good. I save the files as AIFF, filter out the noise using Audacity, then run the files through Click Repair. Sounds like CD quality to me when I'm done. I have over a TB of disk space, so the large AIFF files don't bother me.

Super, cyclemax!

Thanks for the detailed info.

Does it make sense to change out the cartridge for something better and can that actually be done?

The cartridge is mounted on a standard headshell, is user replaceable and according to the manual, is compatible with a variety of standard cartridges. I'm not an audio expert, so I don't know if the quality of the rest of the turntable justifies a higher quality cartridge. Once you get yours, try it out and let us know what you think.

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GeneL

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Filliam H. Muffman
I would save them as high bit rate MP3's on a hard drive.

I don't ever use MP3s.

I'd like to save them in the highest quality possible.

Also, I'll to check if there's any decent "processing" freeware or cheap shareware to get rid of clicks and scratches?

Any suggestions?

Audacity does a good job of removing background noise. The shareware ClickRepair does an excellent job with pops and clicks, although it's not cheap at $35 for a one-trick pony.

What is troublesome to me is that ION's other turntable has more specific info about the features such as the removable cartridge shell, anti-skate, etc. while there is nothing described for this model.

Another question that's raised by its description is that it only mentions making MP3s from its output. This wouldn't be satisfactory to me.

Is this a built-in limit?

I have the iTTUSB model. It has the anti-skate and removable cartridge shell, but no dust cover. I don't think that only MP3 is an issue. My units description says the same thing. The recording software for Macs that comes with the turntable is Audacity and I believe that the storage format is a function of the software.

Looking at the quick start manuals on ION's website(under support), it would appear that the model you bought, the iTTUSB05, does not have the anti-skate or removable cartridge like the iTTUSB model I have or the iTTUSB10 model.

You are right about the model that I bought. It is the iTTUSB05.

I'm beginning to think that I sprang for the wrong model

At least I can return it locally.

My biggest concern would be that playing my irreplaceable LPs with a poor quality needle and cartridge could ruin them.

I wonder if there's any way to find out if it's safe to use, in order to see how an album can sound on a disk?

I think that I should be doing more research into what is an adequate set up to preserve my LPs and, perhaps, spend a bit more.

By the way, the turntable shown in BGnR's linked article, is the same one I have, the iTTUSB. Other than not having a dust cover, it appears to be similar to the iTTUSB10. The iTTUSB05 and 10 appear to be new models.

cyclemax, it sounds as if you are satisfied with the quality of your ION model.

Do you feel that using the stock cartridge won't damage my albums? If so, I should return this purchase and buy the iTTUSB10.

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cyclemax
the iTTUSB05, does not have the anti-skate or removable cartridge like the iTTUSB model

Even if the whole cartridge in not removable, I'm guessing you can still replace the stylus itself. Those usually slide right out of the cartridge and aren't built in to the cartridge shell. Otherwise, the lifespan of this unit is only as long as the stylus stays sharp, which would have people howling.

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GeneL
cyclemax, it sounds as if you are satisfied with the quality of your ION model.

Do you feel that using the stock cartridge won't damage my albums? If so, I should return this purchase and buy the iTTUSB10.

The cartridge and stylus quality seems comparable to the one I have on my home stereo system. I played my LPs on that turntable for many years with no noticeable damage to them. The stylus is replaceable. I found some online at about $12 for two. The stylus pressure can be adjusted nicely using the counterweight to optimize contact on the LP. I don't expect you will have to worry about damaging them.

Thanks, cyclemax.

I guess I'll try copying one of my "less important" albums and see how it does.

I did a search and the other usb turntables that I found were either very expensive (well over $200, which is not a lot in audiophile terms, but high for me right now) or too cheap (in the sense that they didn't have some basic features that I feel are important, i.e. dust cover and an effective cueing system for my shaky senior hands)

I'm also wondering what to use to clean my long stored records? The device I used before has disappeared years ago.

Your welcome GeneL.

I hope it works out for you. The DISCWASHER D4+ Record Cleaning System is supposed to work well. I have an old version of this that I bought at Radioshack many years ago and it still works well although I am out of solution. Do a Google search to find it online.