ION Audio TTUSB05 Turntable

Scotiaguy's comments on one model of this turntable are thorough, enlightening, and enjoyable.  They are also realistic about what you're getting involved in.  The idea that transferring vinyl to CD will be a one-step, turn-key operation is, as he writes, not a possibility.  Don't blame the Ion for this; just be realistic.

Nonetheless, the prospect of converting favorite vinyl to CD by simply using this one reasonably priced unit was too much of a temptation to pass up.  I have a closet of vinyl 33's. My mother passed away at at the age of 97 and her stack of pristine 78's  from the 1920's (!) would be terrific background for a DVD photo tribute to her and her family. The Ion 05 turntable does not have a 78 setting, but if you play the 78 at 33 or 45, the software will convert it.

So -- I bought the Ion 05 model.  Its list is $119.  I got it at a discount department store for about $79.  "Cheap construction" is an understatement. The molded plastic is so flimsy it reminds me of the stuff they used to make model airplanes out of.  I examined the underside, a glorified cardboard. Out of the box it was not working: the turntable did not spin and the tone arm didn't move.  I called tech support (17 minute wait, but very helpful; they even e-mailed me a clear, well-illustrated repair manual).  On my unit, the "belt drive" had slipped off during shipping.  I was advised to remove the c-clamp securing the turntable, which I did, and here is what I saw: first cheap, then flimsy, plus cheap and flimsy, and then cheaper yet, all of those cheaps and flimsies sitting right next to each other.
The "belt" is more like a flat rubber band.  It needed to be pinched to re-set it onto the motor nylon capstan.  Then the tone arm was supposed to work.  Neither happened successfully.  The "belt drive" (pardon the quotations;  I can't really call it just a belt drive) must have gotten some of the grease on it from the generously greased c-clamp and it slipped around on the capstan, causing the turntable not to turn.  The tone arm never did its automatic activating, and even the lift lever on the tone arm failed to work.

Nobody else, I hope, will ever have the same experience I did with this product out-of-the-box, but I do feel privileged to have seen the shoddy underside beneath the skimpy plastic, and I wanted to let you know about it.

One other thing: the software.  The software in the 05 has three options -- one for a quick, non-technical conversion of vinyl to CD; a second for conversion of cassettes to CD; a third for the more technically minded, which I assume would mean ability to eliminate hiss and pop and scratch noises.

The third of these is available as a free download on the internet from the developer, Audacity Software.  As a matter of fact, the version being offered is a step up from the one offered on the Ion 05. I had already downloaded this Audacity program (an easy download), and although I haven't tried it, it doesn't seem too complicated.

     So, the unit goes back to the store. From here  I go to a local retailer to find a cable that will convert RCA plugs to USB plugs and I get out my old, old turntable, which works fine.  I connect it to my computer through  a USB port, run it with the free software, and I will be happy ... won't I?  If I need a pre-amp, or if I get discouraged, I'll just remind myself of all those vinyl albums of everything from Telemann to Brubeck to the Kingston Trio to the Stones that sit in my closet rather than in the CD player in my car.