Can you imagine a USB record player?

[Mr. MacBook]

Lol, can you imagine if some 80's company came back after being stranded on a desert island for 27 years, thought they still used records, looked at computers, and made a external record player?

Awesome.

 

[phidauex]

Lol, can you imagine if some 80's company came back after being stranded on a desert island for 27 years, thought they still used records, looked at computers, and made a external record player?

Awesome.

Um, they have these! Denon and Numark both make turntables with integrated ADCs that output optical or coaxial digital audio.

Mine doesn't have a built in ADC, but it goes through an external ADC, and into my computers via optical. Sounds great. Its a Technics 1301 quartz-lock direct drive, with the s-arm and a Grado Green cart.

Vinyl is actually coming back. Record sales have been up every year since 2003, and increase by a greater amount every year. I buy quite a bit of brand-new (not used or NOS) vinyl each year. I love itunes and MP3s, but I have an 'easy come, easy go' outlook on it... It doesn't feel real or permanent. Its the same every time. That has value, so I use it all the time. But I like the more organic experience of the turn table. You can touch and feel the music. Each time you play it, it sounds a little different than the time before. It makes me cherish each playback. iTunes just sits and plays in the background. But when I put on a good record, I have a seat, and really listen, because I know that it is a finite resource.

So anyway. Computers + Turntables = happy mix of technology.

peace,
sam

 

[Gerg]

I bought a nice unit this XMas for my mother to start converting her vinyl collection over.

Ion USB Turntable