Well worth a spin! (Numark TT USB)

Member Name: otalgia

Product:	Numark TT USB
Date:	18/08/08 (763 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy way to convert you old vinyl collection

Disadvantages: None

When I first saw the Numark TT USB turntable I thought that it was another cheaply priced turntable aimed at the budding young DJ. It was only when I read the store display card that I realised that it was more than that, it had a USB connector.

The USB connection is the selling point of this entry level priced turntable as it offers connectivity to your computers USB socket which opens up a whole world of uses.

As an aging man (!) I have an awful lot of obscure and hard to find vinyl records that had never made the transition to CD, whether it was due to popularity of the music or the obscurity of the groups I'm unsure. Whatever the reasons, the songs were never released on CD and could only be listened on a turntable.

Despite being a vinyl purist, there are times when you'd like to listen to the songs on the move or other locations. This is where the TTUSB turntable becomes invaluable as it allows you to record your music to your PC with the software included and then convert the tracks to either WAV files so that you can burn a conventional CD or turn the files into MP3 so that you can pop them on your Ipod.

The whole conversion process was a breeze. First you install the recording software, which is the incredibly powerful Audacity. Once the software is installed you plug the turntable into your PC via the USB sockets, power the turntable and set your recording levels to a suitable volume in the software. Once it's all connected you then press record on the software, place your record on the turntable, put stylus on record, start the deck and off you go! Once the song has finished you press the stop button on the recording software and you have successfully recorded the song.

Once you have recorded your song you can use the Audacity software to remove unwanted space at the beginning and end of the tracks and also use it to remove any unwanted hiss and pops by using a series of plug-in filters, once you are happy with the overall sound you can then save the file to your required format. The software also allows you to speed up recordings. This is really useful if you wish to convert 78rpm records as the turntable only has 33rpm and 45rpm speeds. To convert a 78rpm record you have to record it sounding slow at 45rpm and then use the software to speed it back up to its correct speed! It sounds crazy, but it works.

This leads me to the turntable itself.

The turntable is roughly 18 inches square and is made of a sturdy, aluminium look plastic. Despite being built of plastic it weighs around 8lbs and feels like a quality build.

There are large Start/Stop buttons that allow you to start and stop the turntable. This button is quite severe and can start and stop the turntable almost instantaneously.

A pitch control slider allows you to speed up or slow down your playing record by around 10% either way. This is useful for tempo beat matching if you are a DJ, but for the process of vinyl conversion has no real use.

Other buttons on the unit are the main power on/off button, plus two illuminated buttons to select the deck speed (either 45 or 33 rpm).

The playing arm is a weighted silver affair with removable cartridge head. The stylus is also removable and can be changed when worn. Unfortunately I could not a replacement stylus locally and needed to buy a replacement off the internet. Stylus life is good however, and depending on the condition of your records should last for several months.

There is an anti-skate control that stops your arm sliding across smaller grooved records and also can be adjusted to obtain better stereo balance tracking (though this is also possible through the software included).

The turntable platter is made of reassuringly solid aluminium and topped with a functional slip mat. The deck is belt driven and I experienced no wow or flutter (fluctuations in speed) whilst recording my tracks.

Other than the USB output there are also Phono outputs for connection to a mixer and a mini jack in that allows you to connect an external device such as a tape player so that you can digitise your tape collections as well.

So overall it's a good buy if you want a quick way to archive your record collection. It is of course possible to do all of the above using a standard turntable and connecting it to you pc soundcard input sockets, however the TTUSB makes the process a whole lot easier. The included Audacity software has a growing community of supporters and developers too, so there are lots of additional audio filters available openly.

To summarise a cheap looking but well functioning turntable for the money that does what it says on the tin.

The turntable was available for £89.99 from www.amazon.co.uk at the time of writing.

Copyright M Jones (Otalgia) 17th August 2008.

Summary: A great USB turntable for a great price

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