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ShareKnow 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 that 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 such as 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. The list price is $145.
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.
(Craig Crossman is a national newspaper columnist writing about computers and technology. He also hosts the No. 1 daily national computer radio talk show, Computer America, heard on the Business TalkRadio Network and the Lifestyle TalkRadio Network - Monday through Friday, 10 p.m.-midnight ET. For more information, visit his web site at www.computeramerica.com.)
