This lovely turntable can also rip your favorite vinyl to your PC. (Photo: ION)(ION)
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Sure, being able to play any song you want on YouTube, Spotify or Pandora is great, but it doesn’t feel the same as whipping out those old records and laying them down on a turntable to hear all their warm pops and scratches.
I know I love spending an afternoon just spinning tunes on my own Ion turntable. And now you can relive your youth too — the Ion Audio Max LP turntable is on sale for $75.50 at Amazon, down from $80.
But even if you don’t have the time for that, Ion record players have an extra-special benefit — a USB connection that lets you rip songs onto your computer. So your beloved vinyl collection from the ‘60s or ‘70s doesn’t have to sit in the closet; transfer the songs onto your laptop or phone and carry them anywhere. Usually this convenience runs $89 but this gorgeous model from Ion—
If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free two-day shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $25 or more.)
To convert your records to digital files, just hook the turntable up to your computer via USB — the included software will walk you through the process. It's easy peasy!
The Audio MAX LP sports a wood finish and can play 331/3 and 45 RPM records — it can even play 78 RPMs but you'll need to buy a special stylus for them. Included in this package you'll find a 45 adapter, dust cover and slipmat. You can connect the player to your system via the RCA ports or the 1/8-inch aux input, or just jam out with the speakers in the front of the unit.
Shoppers love it, with one saying it "does what it is supposed to do as far as converting vinyl to mp3. Just playing records for the sake of playing them also is decent with a pretty good set of speakers built in...overall very pleased with purchase. Great product and recommend."
This audiophile was a little more critical, but admits this product is good for the cost: "I bought this to convert my vinyl records to digital files. The sound quality isn't amazing, but what can a reasonable person expect for this price? I am not trying to save classical music, just 45's from the 60's and 70's, and folk music. It works easily and creates .wav files, which I converted to mp3 with a free program called Format Factory. It saves LP records and automatically splits the tracks into separate files. Very satisfied."
But even if you simply want to listen to some records, it gets the job done. This listener says it was "just what I was looking for to play our family's old records. Simple to use and attractive also."
"Easy setup, and good sound quality!" says another fan. "I would recommend for a starter collector! If the sound isn't loud enough you can also always buy external speakers."
This shopper says it makes a great gift: "I was looking for a just-for-fun holiday gift for my husband, and [...] decided that this would be the best-bang-for-the-buck. I visualized him opening the carton on Christmas morning, and being able to plug it in and play albums. That's exactly what happened. He crowed with delight when he saw the turntable, ran upstairs to get some albums (which have been languishing in an upstairs-hall bookcase....who KNEW they would ever come in handy again?) and soon we were enjoying music we had not heard in years. Maybe a true audiophile would want a different/nuanced sound or have higher standards, etc — but for us this has been a really FUN purchase. Well-packaged, easier-than-easy to set up, and ready to go. Try it!"
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
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