Ion Audio

The ION Audio Tape Express is a Cassette to USB interface. This is one of those devices that will not be useful to everyone but for someone like me who was around when tapes where big, this is a must have. I have hundreds of tapes and I have always looked for an easy way to get them into MP3 format. At first I use to just run the audio out through an interface and record into Edison. But now that this has been created it is very easy to get all of my great tapes from the 80’s and 90’s into digital form to play back in my car or on my iPod. The Tape Express gives you a few different options to get your tapes out in MP3 format, you can choose “normal” “noise reduction” or “chrome for metal tapes”. So once you figure out which one you want it is pretty easy to get tapes into MP3 format. This product even takes batteries so you do not have to have it plugged into a wall jack. This unit is very easy to use, after you have it all set up and ready to convert your music you can also play your music out loud because of the audio output options. You can listen back on your stereo, speaker system or headphones directly from the Audio Tape Express. This is a must have for anyone with a lot of tapes that still wants to enjoy them and get them in the digital format. After I convert majority of my tapes (so far) I am going to store the tapes in my attic just so I don’t have to have them sitting around anymore because they take up a lot of space and all I really wanted was the music anyways. It is great to be able to have of my favorite cassettes that I great up listening too on my ipod now!

I checked out this turntable because I saw that it had a USB connection as well as traditional audio connections. Thus I figured I could use it traditionally and also use it to play vinyl and perhaps transfer my collection. It has a 9V power supply that plugs into the wall outlet. It also comes with a needle and it has a volume knob plus bass and treble controls. I found that using it with the USB was definitely not a great option. It didn't really sound that good on my computer. The studio I work for does vinyl transfers, and after hearing their transfers compared to mine I had to try something else. I don't know what it is that makes this table sound so bad on USB, because when I used the regular audio connections it sounded pretty good. It's not like a vintage table with a nice pre-amp and a solid speaker system, but it does sound pretty great overall going into a regular set of speakers, probably because of the built it power amp. I like it because it's portable and it's easier than buying a whole stereo set with a vintage table, and it's easier to carry around. I think that in general, it depends how much you're willing to spend and what your end goal is. If you're primarily looking to do vinyl transfers then I would get something else, preferably something that sounds better and can equip a good needle. The best way is to get a preamp and then run than preamp to XLR and send that to a mic line straight into the Pro Tools system, that way you can get a direct signal without the preamp coloring the sound. This isn't the best table to do that with, though, so if you're looking for a cheap record player to just play records, this is fine. Otherwise look elsewhere.

The mixer wasn't very thorough as there were no adjustments for HIGHs or LOWs. In any package, it's the mixer that you need to be detailed and the one included is anything but. The CD players offered pitch controls and cue functions but nothing really over the top to make this package stand out. Great for a beginner, but far from for even an experienced amatuer. Price paid $225 Everything seemed very clear with this package. The mixer was smooth and the CD players put out a good overall sound. No real hiss in the background that I noticed either. Maybe a little too much bass which made it difficult to hear some of the highs sometime. The entire basis of this package was to show (although very simple) how to DJ. Everything is very straight forward and easy to use. Anyone could use the equipment, making it sound professional is a different story (thanks to the mixer's simplicity once again). Everything worked fine until the day of a gig and one player started skipping. After the show, the problem continued, which pretty rendered the entire thing useless. Sold it about a month after. I loved it because it was my first setup but once I traded up, I realized that there wasn't that much good about it. It has sentimental value but other than that, nothing really makes it stand out. Originally posted on FutureProducers.com Posted by: in:vision ( 4-, 2006)

I purchased this product about six months ago. I was in the market for a drum set and living in an appartment, this seemed like the perfect choice. I looked at the electronic roland drum sets, but they just seemed way too expensive(although the feedback/response of the roland drum sets felt of higher quality and more realistic). This product was the best value that I was able to find for an electronic drum set. I found it relatively easy to assemble and also easy to position the drum heads to suite the needs of the user. The sound bank has many different drum kit sounds and you can plug any of the drum heads into any of the inputs on the control module which allows you to easily switch two pad sounds without re-mountin them. The pedals seem to be good quality although at first it wants to double tap the bass drum when you tap it once with your foot, although with practice this can be overcome. Overall I am satisfied by my purchase. You get what you see when you buy this product. I would reccomend this product to anyone as specially a new student learning how to play the drums.