Starting with caveats first:
1) The cassette door's hinge is on the short side. Laws of physics would tell you - it's easier to break it. Handle with extra care.
2) The player has no speakers.
3) The battery compartment opening is inside the unit (which is very unusual). It is difficult to open since the main door doesn't open too much to leave space for you to pull the battery door. So if you have a big hand, you may crack the main door's hinge. Again, be very careful.
4) The output power is less than usual. It doesn't play loud at all. This would make sense when you're transferring tape to computer (high volume = distortion), but it may not be so good for typical listening.
The good:
1) This unit could be USB powered. Wow!
2) The unit has USB output to computer for audio capturing.
3) The software included support both Windows and MacOSX
Tip:
Due to the low power output, the audio capture must be amplified. One easy tool is Audacity. Typically, you need to amplify it to N minus 2 decibel (e.g., if Audacity's amplify option suggests 11db, you enter 9; if it suggests 6, you enter 4), then choose bass boost option (use Audacity's default). 95% of the time the results would be very loud playback capability with great mid-bass and bass, without distortion. Ion Audio USB Portable Tape-to-MP3 Player with Headphones
After reading some of the reviews, you would swear that this was a piece of junk, however it was exactly what I needed to get these old recordings off of tape and into my iTunes! Granted, the player is made of plastic (chromed plastic). It's not something you'd want to abuse or tote around with you, but sitting on my desk it does the job it is intended to do. I just transferred a 20 year old musical recording of a friend of mine and now it's off of that old tape and into my system where I can back it up for the future.
If you're looking for a cheap way to turn your tapes into MP3s, this is a great way to go. It was super simple. I loaded the software in about 2 minutes, plugged it into my Mac's USB port and pressed record and play...It's as easy as that! The only drawback is that if you want to separate your tape into separate songs, you do have to sit through the song and press "new track" on your screen. Otherwise, it's pretty great. If you want a super high-end system, this isn't it, but I'm very satisfied with my results so far.
I spent several hours trying to copy a tape to my HD using the software that came with this unit. It was a NIGHTMARE!
First of all, the software REQUIRES that you download and install iTunes (200+Mb.) or IT WILL NOT RUN. Second, the ion software lets you input the artist and titles, then switches you to iTunes where all the titles and artist info disappears. Thirdly, you can not go back to a previous screen without losing everything.
The iTunes requirement was not divulged in the item description, in the advertising or on the box. This would be a deal-breaker for me if I had not purchased it on E-Bay. iTunes may be a great program for those who need it's features but, on my netbook, it is pure and simple bloatware. The program has many features I will never use and it sops up over 200 Mb of hard-drive space. In the end, I deleted the Ion software and iTunes and installed Audacity (about 2.0 Mb). Audacity was easier to use and required less than 1% of the hard-drive space of the Ion software plus iTunes.
The hardware, in my opinion, is quite adequate for it's intended purpose. It is intended to allow you to convert your tapes to digital format on your computer. It is plenty robust enough for that purpose. After copying your music to your computer, it would be reasonable to assume you would listen to the digital copy from then on, and never have a need to play the tapes again.
Wanted to transfer my cassettes - especially my holiday collection - to MP3s and my laptop doesn't have an audio input (which is different from a headphone input) to accomplish this properly; even with downloadable software from the net. I didn't want to invest in a whole conversion receiver system, so I went with this. Despite some unfavorable reviews, I was hoping that the software, the USB cable input, and the cassette system itself would do the job. Boy was I right. The thing works perfectly. I have already transferred some treasured cassettes to MP3 and they sound better than ever. The software works seamlessly with Itunes. I just loaded the software and started recording immediately. The only things you have to play with are the record level and if you want the software to split into tracks. You can just let your tape play, if you chose, and it WILL automatically split the songs into different tracks - very cool. If you're like me and you're a little bit concerned about some of the negative reviews - don't be. If you have Windows XP or above, Itunes, a USB input, and a CD player to install the software - you'll be fine. I picture the unfavorable reviewers as people with very low computer saviness, very old operating systems, or those too stubborn to use Itunes. Great product. - Ion - Cassette Digital Tape Convert - Poor Construction - Mp3'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
