ART V2 USB Phono Plus DJ Preamp Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been monkeying with the Artcessories USB Phono Plus for about 10 days now. I bought it for the primary purpose of recording some LP records to my laptop. My ultimate goal was to make CDs and decent MP3s from my old vinyl. In combo with Audacity (free audio editing tool) and my Project turntable, this ARTcessories product has worked extremely well in every respect. I have not yet found a single shortcoming with this solid and portable little box.
A few things you should know:
1. This is a stand-alone phono pre-amp. It will RIAA adjust for phono before sending audio to your computer via USB. THIS IS GREAT FOR LAPTOPS -most laptops have only a mono microphone in miniplug that's pretty much good for nothing!
2. You could use this box as nothing more than a phono pre-amp. It has RCA inputs for phono AND a ground screw. Cool, huh? At $100 it would be a good deal if it did nothing more than that. I loop from the Phono Plus back into a Marantz receiver and then listen through some fairly decent Wharfedale speakers. I'd say that sound quality is every bit as good as the phono stage built into my Marantz.
3. This device allows you to monitor the phono input (or other input) either by means of a stereo miniplug connection or by way of a pair (L and R) of RCA outs. You could hook up typical PC speakers or subwoofer sytems to this box if you don't want to loop out to a stereo amp. You can also listen to the Phono Plus with headphones. The Phono Plus has a gain knob to ontrol output level. This is critical for headphone listening as well as for making good captures in Audacity.
4. This device will take input from line level RCA, digital toslink, digital coax, as well as from phono sources. Crazy, huh? I plan on using this box to record some local radio and TV audio by connecting it to either my tuner or by putting it where a cassette recorder would normally fit in a tape loop.
All in all, what a great toy! There is so much you can do with this unit. I've really only scratched the surface (no vinyl pun intended). I've been playing with this thing and talking about results and LP recording experiments at shiromaguro.com. See my work there. With a clean LP, I have found that recordings through the Phono Plus captured by Audacity can be ripped to CD or MP3 with no editing at all(except for maybe chopping big grabs into tracks). Sound qulaity of the product WAV or MP3 files is great.
Installation and setup are really non-issues here. Plug it in and connect all the cables. It just works.
Bottom line: if you want to grab vinyl to your PC laptop or to a PC that lacks a good sound card (one with stereo inputs) this is a great way to go. In a few weeks of shopping for my solution, I found nothing else comparable.
Why not 5 stars? My mistake. I should have given this unit 5 stars. Then again, I personally never read 5-star reviews....
Ultimately, I hope that this product will make it easy for lots of people to make some cool and unique MP3s, not just the usual CD rip stuff. Seriously, this product could single-handedly be responsible for the digitization of piles of old analog material that would otherwise be left to fade from existence. Personally I have made it a point to find out which of my old records never made it to CD --those are the ones that get digitized first!
Bravo to ART for a great product.

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The ART USBPHONOPLUS V2 is a long awaited solution to the problem of expensive USB interfaces that don't have phono preamps. The PhonoPLUS V2 is designed with DJs for DJs.Not only can you use it as a USB audio interface, but it can also be used as a standard low noise phono preamp, converting the low phono level into a line level signal. AmericanMusical.com is an authorized dealer of ART products.

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Ion Audio PROFILE FLASH LP to SD Card Conversion DJ Turntable Review

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(More customer reviews)INTRODUCTION:
Okay, so it's not perfect. $600+ would probably get you a turntable/recorder that is superior to this, but it won't be 5 times better.
CONS:
To continue in this negative vein before writing about the positive, it would appear that like most inexpensive turntables, the speed/pitch might not be absolutely perfect and there is no way to adjust it. That said, from looking at the timings given on the vinyl I have already recorded, I am guessing my particular unit is spinning LPs at approximately 34rpm, while 7" singles appear to rotating around 46rpm. That might be a big deal for audiofiles, and if so, spend $600+ to get perfection. Otherwise, I doubt anyone would notice such a minor variation. It certainly is vastly better than those TEAC or Crosley self-contained CD recorders, where not only is the speed up around 37rpm (for 33.3rpm LPs), but is also close to 50rpm (for 45rpm records). For those units, the pitch can be noticed by anyone and those products should be avoided.
Another quibble is the lack of useful documentation you receive in the box. It is limited to a "Quick Start" manual, which is all of 4 pages. There are no details with regards to how to use this unit... it is mostly trial and error, but user-friendly and intuitive.
PROS:
Now on to the pluses: For the money, you cannot do better. First off, it is a fully-functional turntable. Plug it into your stereo system's amplifier and off it goes. You now have a new stereo component! Please note, this unit already has a built-in pre-amp, so you cannot plug it into the jacks for "phono" as the double pre-amp scenario will cause distortion. That said, any other auxillary jacks will do, and for those amplifiers without phono jacks, this is actually a plus.
Recording to the SD or thumb-drive jacks is oh so very easy. Push record, which automatically puts the recorder in record and pause mode. Start spinning the vinyl and push play and the recording process begins. There is also a button to create new tracks as you are going along (as well as the pause and stop buttons). It is very easy.
The ION's tone arm is obviously inexpensive, but again, it works well enough... especially for a unit in this price range. It has a nice velvety lever to lower and raise the stylus too. Speeds provided are 33.3rpm and 45rpm. 78rpm and 16rpm would have been nice too, but especially in the case of the former, a different 78rpm-specific stylus would be required, which would have increased the very inexpensive price for this product. (Please note, those self-contained TEAC or Crosley CD-burning products will quite literally destroy your records with repeated plays as their tone-arms are way too heavy. Surface noise becomes prevelant after only a couple plays. In fact, do not even consider those as an alternative to the ION model.)
In general, the bass response is good enough and there is no need to equalize the results once in the computer or anywhere else for that matter. (The TEAC and Crosley recorder, other units I have owned, have wretched bass response, requiring considerable equalization to compensate.)
This ION unit also comes with a dust cover, which is a nice touch.
THUMB-DRIVE USE:
I first tried this unit with a 4MB thumb-drive, but found it could only record about 40 minutes of music onto that. Therefore, I recommend an 8MB drive to ensure you can record both sides of an entire long-playing record at a time. Or, if you want to record even more, try a 16MB drive (which is what I ended up getting for it). After recording, take the thumb-drive to your computer and download the newly created MP3s onto whatever CD burning program you may have (or for whatever other purpose you have in mind). This unit is also supposed to work with other various devices; however, I have not tried these yet, and therefore, cannot comment. I would assume however, the end result would be as successful.
SUMMARY:
Technically, this is a 4-star unit, for all of the negative reasons given above. I gave it 5-stars however due to how well it works and how good the sound is for the price. If you want a decent and servicable turntable/recorder for around $100, there is nothing better on the market. However, if you are an audiophile and can afford it, you may want to look into models that cost 5+ times as much.
In any event, I highly recommend this model to most people who want to add a decent turntable to their stereo system, while at the same time, to have the ability to archive their record collections, and at a good price.

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PROFILE FLASH is the fastest and easiest way to convert your vinyl recordings directly to an SD card or USB thumb drive. You don\'t even need a computer to make the transfer! Once converted, you can listen to your music on any audio player with a standard SD card slot, or USB jack such as MP3 players, mobile phones (with micro SD), your PSP, or your computer.

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Alesis LineLink AudioLink Series Dual-1/4-inch-to-USB-Cable Review

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(More customer reviews)I was excited when I ordered this cable because of its lenght. The 16.5 ft. (or 6 mts.) would have been long enough to reach from my electronic drums to my computer for recording purposes. But after I received it today I found out that the cable is only 6.5 ft long. It is unfortunate that companies like Amazon and Alesis have wrong information on their products. Now I am going to have to spend extra money to extend the cables. It really sucks...

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Record your mixer, keyboard, sampler, or drum machine in stereo to your computer.LineLink makes it easy to direct-connect nearly any mixers, keyboard, sampler, sequencer, drum machine, or other stereo, line-level audio source to USB for stereo recording.The AudioLink Series USB-audio cable outputs studio quality stereo, 16-bit, 44.1 kHz digital audio thanks to its internal analog-to-digital conversion system. LineLink connects plug-and-play to your Mac or PC for an all-in-one USB audio solution.

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Ion Audio Profile LP USB DJ Turntable Review

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(More customer reviews)I had to download the installation file from their website rather than from the CD (outdated) but once that was installed, I was golden. I wasn't prepared for the mp3's to sound as good as they did. Very, very easy to record songs & they sound great!

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The PROFILE series of LP-conversion systems is designed with contemporary, low-profile looks and is finished in sleek, piano black. Each model is designed to capture the music from your vinyl records and turn it into portable, flexible, digital MP3s that you can enjoy at home and on the go.

The PROFILE LP Turntable The PROFILE LP is an LP-conversion system based on a multi-speed USB turntable. When not converting records, you can simply enjoy your classic vinyl records using PROFILE LP as a standard record player.
The belt-driven PROFILE LP features 33 1/3 and 45 RPM settings, a high-quality tonearm and cartridge, a raise/lower lever for the tonearm, and a standard RCA output (in addition to the USB port) for use with normal stereo setups.
USB-Enabled The turntable has simple USB output that enables you to capture music from records onto your computer. No drivers are necessary, simply plug it in to your Mac or PC and the audio will be sent via the USB port.
Conversion Software Included The PROFILE LP includes a software CD with EZ Vinyl Converter for PC (with auto track detection) and EZ Audio Converter for Mac. They are the simplest way to record and convert vinyl directly to iTunes. Before you know it, you'll be listening to songs you haven't heard in years in iTunes or on your iPod. A free download version of EZ Vinyl Converter with Gracenote MusicID is included for automatic track naming.
Audacity Software for Advanced Processing Audacity (PC and Mac) is intended for the advanced user. This application allows for advanced audio editing and processing, such as normalization, noise removal, 78 RPM speed conversion, and automatic track separation.
What's in the Box PROFILE LP Turntable, USB Cable, Slipmat, Software CD, 45 RPM Adapter, Quickstart Guide, Safety Instructions & Warranty Information

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Behringer UFO202 Audio Interface Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Over last few years we replaced all desktops in the house by laptops. One day I decided to convert an old audio cassette into MP3 like I used to do on my desktop. I realized that it was not going to be possible as the 'line-in' input which was available on desktop was missing in all the three laptops in the house. After some futile tries of trying to record through mic-in, I started researching. I somehow stumbled upon this device and decided to give it a try. All I can say is this is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Here is what you need to do if you wish to convert audio cassette into MP3 -
You need -
1. Audio cable with one end 3.5 mm jack and other end with red & white L-R audio. You may have a spare A/V cable which comes with camera or dvd players etc. (W R and Yellow ends, you do not need to plug the Y end as it is for video)
(With 'line-in' on desktop, you simply needed an audio cable with 3.5 mm on both sides)
2. Boom box or tape deck (I used boom box)
3. U-Phono202 device
Plug the 3.5mm end of the cable in 'headphone out' of the boom box. Plug the L-R inputs in the L-R inputs of the U-Phono202 and plug it into a USB port of the laptop. Play the audio cassette. You cannot hear the sound through laptop speakers, you have to plug in the headphones in 'headphone out' of the U-Phno202 in order to hear the cassette playing.
If you are using Vista, right click on the speaker icon in the bottom tray and select 'recording devices', change the recording device to the '2USB Audio Codec' (at least that's how it shows up on mine).
I haven't yet used the packaged software. I useed Audacity instead. Open (or download if you have not) Audacity. Go to 'project', select 'new stereo track' and hit record. Whatever is playing on your boombox is now being recorded on your laptop. Hit stop when your recording is done. Export the project as 'Mp3', save it in your desired location.
I suggest making some few minute test recordings to make sure your recording sounds fine or you need to reduce/increase recording volume etc.
It worked exactly as above for me and worked perfectly too. The boombox gave a terrible hiss and an extremely annoying constant background noise while playing the cassette, however the U-Phono202 filtered almost 99% of it and the final MP3 sounds extremely clean.
I wrote detailed review as I had all these questions in my mind before I began searching for the right product. Hope this helps in case you are also looking for a solution to convert your cassettes to Mp3s. Thanks for reading.
UPDATE : UPhono202 is working perfectly fine! Just wanted to mention that if your recording appears over loud and there is jarring even after reducing boom box volume and the PC volume very low, here is what you shall do - Keep the boombox and computer volumes at decent levels but reduce the microphone input 'level' - Rightclick on the speaker icon in the tray. highlight the Uphono device. Click on properties. Select 'levels' tab and reduce the level all the way to 5 or 7 and then record your clip.

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High-quality USB Audio Interface with Built-in Phono Preamp and Massive Software Package for Digitalizing Your Tapes and Vinyl Records

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Ion USB Turntable with Built-in CD Recording Review

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(More customer reviews)The ION LP turntable was much better than I thought it would be for the following reasons:
1) First of all, the sound through the headphones was nice, full, and deep - much better than I expected.
2) Recording directly to a CD made it much easier than dealing with software since I don't have the time to figure out how to effectively use the software (maybe later I will take the time to see if it makes it any better).
3) Recording to the CD was simple because the tracks are automatically separated. It also allows to manually separate tracks if for some reason the turntable missed separating a track (especially when an artist does not space out time between songs because they want the effect of a continual track).
4) It comes with a cover which many others don't (this may seem not important but it really is if you live in an environment where dust is prevalent).
5) Here's what I didn't expect which was a bonus - it comes with an internal hard drive to be able to record around 2 albums. This is very helpful because it allows you to correct any mistakes or skips that occurred before recording it on a CD. It also allows you to rearrange or erase any of the tracks very easily before recording it on a CD, so you can personalize your tracks compared to the album in a simple, easy way.
6) I am a musician and audiophile, so the most important thing to me is the quality of the sound that is recorded on the CD. Upon hearing the CD through my car CD player, the sound remained full, rich, and deep. This was very pleasing to me as I have tried other brands and the sound was always a disappointment, being very thinny and poor in quality.
6) Finally, the price on Amazon, along with free shipping makes it worth the money. I compared it to Brookstone which would have charged me $200 more in the store.
I personally believe that ION got all of the best features placed into this model which was more than I had expected. This is a good buy and the best model I have experienced so far. It is a 5 star product!

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LP 2 CD is the fastest, easiest way to convert your vinyl records to CDs with none of the hassle of connecting a computer. Listen to your music in the car, at home, on your computer, or any place with a CD player.

The LP 2 CD Turntable The included turntable is belt-driven, with a premium tone arm and cartridge to get you the best sound from your vinyl. It's as great for simple playback as it is for conversion. 33 1/3 and 45 RPM vinyl are both supported, and you can also record 78 RPM albums using the included software.
Record Directly to CD-R/RW LP 2 CD features an on-board CD burner that lets you record one or more CD copies of a record with ease. Just place your record on the turntable and insert a blank CD. Play your vinyl, hit the record button and let LP 2 CD do the rest.
Records on blank CD-R/RW discs.
USB Interface Thanks to the LP 2 CD's USB interface, you can also connect your computer and easily transfer your music to your iTunes, iPod, or MP3 player. LP 2 CD comes with software for fast, easy importing to your iTunes library. Mac and PC compatible.
Conversion Software LP 2 CD includes a software CD with EZ Vinyl Converter for PC (with auto track detection) and EZ Audio Converter for Mac. They are the simplest way to record and convert vinyl directly to iTunes. Before you know it, you'll be listening to songs you haven´t heard in years in iTunes or on your iPod. A free download version of EZ Vinyl Converter with Gracenote MusicID is included for automatic track naming.
What's in the Box LP 2 CD turntable, Dustcover, Cartridge with stylus, RCA audio cable, AC adapter, Quick start guide

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