BestTurntables.com

1. 

   Lawrence F. Pavilionis
   October 4th, 2009 - 10:53

   Pretty disappointed in what I received for the price of the item. It is not as flexible to use as it was described.
   Rating: 3 / 5
2. 

   Kirk James
   October 4th, 2009 - 11:48

   I had 300+ old cassette tapes and a lot of them contain music that can’t be found on iTunes. I bought the I-on U-recorder and was somewhat skeptical of what I’d get. It’s a simple gadget with only the one input variable but that’s all you need. The software is easy to install and operate. The interface with iTunes is easy to use (I hate iTunes) and I can’t complain. I’m very satisfied with this product and would recommend it to anyone. I haven’t tried it with vinyl yet but I’m assuming that I’ll get the same output.
   Rating: 5 / 5
3. 

   James Fox
   October 4th, 2009 - 14:42

   Copying and then filtering scratchy vinyl recordscan be daunting, but Ion’s “U-record”, with its advanced editing features, is an amateur’s dream!
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. 

   Ronald H. Chilton
   October 4th, 2009 - 16:06

   This product is effective…and highly productive
   
   as well….convenience is the by-word.
   
   I would highly recommend it for the person wanting
   
   a quick and inexpensive method of transfer.
   Rating: 4 / 5
5. 

   Melanie V. Walton
   October 4th, 2009 - 19:02

   Despite considering the product to be barely workable, nevertheless, I recommend this product for those who desire a device to render vinyl music into digital formats.

   This recommendation is merely based upon the fact that there are nearly no products available to accomplish this task short of buying a USB turntable (and ruin one’s records due to their poor quality needles and duplicate poor sound), purchase an extra CD player/recorder (for at least 250 dollars above the cost of this device), or other competing recording devices (that operate with even less reliability: I have tried three others).

   The Ion U-Record product, itself, though, is lousy.

   It is unreliable. It will record two tracks perfectly and then break into static and distortion or drop the record signal below a normal audible range with no seeming cause. (There is a grounding spoke, and various tricks were tried to eliminate distortion and static, to no avail.) The built-in phonostage is utterly weak and requires the record output volume turned to a hair shy of maximum, poorly affecting sound quality. Also, be aware of some of its quirks. As other reviews note, you must be present at recording to press a button to separate tracks. Further, do not do other work on your computer and turn off any alerts, etc., as it records because all computer noise (beeps as you turn up volume, etc.) will be transfered into the recording. The computer speaker volume level also affected the recording volume. I tried running the signal (post recorder and computer) back into my system and out my normal speakers to better monitor it, and this weakened the record signal; the recording was matched as ratio to the live volume and was too soft on play back (i.e., one would have to crank live play all the way up to get it to record at a moderate level). Finally, as with normal audio equipment, cell phones will also cause static and hum in the recording.

   On the positive side: it is a perfect idea and hopefully will accomplish the task at least some of the time for most people. The software (for the mac) is very easy to load and to use. The software, further, has some nice benefits, for example, not having to record the entire album in one sitting, but can do so song by song in such a way that ITunes still understands it to be a single album (this is useful since the device will not be reliable enough to record an entire album well). The transfer to ITunes is, overall, flawless. The instructions are easy to follow and do offer troubleshooting.

   Overall, the product is shoddy, but the best of various poor products out there for under several hundred to achieve the task of vinyl to digital transfer.
   Rating: 3 / 5

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