Digital Trends

Think vinyl's great but MP3s are more portable? Convert your LPs and singles to digital audio without intervening pre-amps and gear with Audio Technica's USB turntable.

Audiophiles everywhere will tell you that old-fashioned vinyl offers greater fidelity than standard CD audio—but music fans everywhere will tell you that trying to carry a few hundred records while you're running around all day is a pain in the tuchus. With that in mind, Audio Technica had introduces its AT-LP2D-USB USB-enabled turntable for easy one-step conversion of 33 and 44 rpm vinyl records to digital formats.

"Many people still own their classic LPs and 45s, and a younger generation is discovering and collecting vinyl," said Audio-Technica Consumer Marketing Manager Crystal Griffith, in a release. "The AT-LP2D-USB offers users a simple, cost-effective solution for transferring records to digital files and portable players, and for listening to records on a home music system."

The AT-LP2D-USB features a USB output so the unit can be directly connected to a PC or notebook computer for capturing audio, and features a built-in switchable phono/line-level pre-amp for connecting to either phono-equipped systems or more modern line-level only systems. (Phono inputs adjust for the RIAA phono frequency curve—a standard developed long before the organization became mainly known for suing alleged file-sharers.) The turntable supports 33 1/3 and 45 rpm speeds, has a replaceable diamond stylus, and an old-school removable dust cover. The unit ships with Cakewalk Pyro software for Windows (which features a de-clicker and de-noiser for removing pops and hiss) and Audacity (Mac OS X) for recording music.

The AT-LP2D-USB should be available now for about $229.