Ion Profile LP USB Turntable December 2010

If you have a large collection of music on records (either on 33 or 45rpm) and would like the convenience of having them in MP3 format, but without buying them again on CD or as MP3 downloads, then the Ion Profile LP USB turntable is aimed at you.

The Profile LP is mains-powered via an adaptor, and connects to your computer via a USB cable. It also has analogue phono outputs for use as a conventional record player, when connected to a suitable amplifier or hi-fi.

Ion USB turntable build quality

First impressions of the Profile LP are that it is cheap, plasticky, flimsy and poorly constructed. One of the key aspects of any turntable, the cartridge, is no better. Our labs commented that it weighs around 3g compared to the 1 to 2g you’d expect to find on a quality turntable. The increased weight is likely to produce significant wear on vinyl records if used repeatedly, our testers concluded.

There’s also no way to set the tracking weight or sideways loading on the arm (bias) to improve the performance. There is, however, an arm-lift function which raises the arm and returns it to the rest position at the end of a record.

So that’s the slightly disappointing hardware, but for software, it comes with a package called EZ Vinyl/Tape version 7.4.

EZ Vinyl/Tape is very easy to use – start it up, start the record playing, and press the record button. The software figures out where each track starts, and breaks the recording into MP3 files for each individual song automatically. And, at the end of the record, it knows to stop. After you have finished recording, it asks you to name the album and tracks, and then it automatically sends the recordings over to Apple’s iTunes software, which is supplied on the software installation CD.

MP3 sound quality

But how do recorded MP3 tracks sound? Our testers compared the MP3 files recorded from the Ion USB turntable to the original record played on a high quality turntable, listening to both through a reference hi-fi. The recorded MP3 sounded weak – thin bass, scratchy distorted treble, and a complete absence of low-level detail combined to destroy the original ambience and fine musical detail.

The default settings are baffling too – if you used the Ion USB turntable straight out of the box you’d end up with distorted mono (rather than stereo) MP3 files. To remedy this you’ll need to tweak the input settings in the EZ Vinyl/Tape software.

We also found that the Ion USB didn’t record MP3 files at the claimed 192kbps bit rate, but at 160kbps. Higher bit rates give better sound quality, so this will affect the best results that can be achieved with this USB turntable.

We were also surprised there is no facility to adjust the sound after recording. It would have been useful to have a de-noise and de-click facility built in, to remove some of the more obvious scratches and noises from the recordings. This is especially important because you might well be recording old records which are dirty and worn.

Consider the cost of alternatives before you buy

If you’re dead set on buying the Ion Profile LP USB turntable we recommend shopping around - prices online range from around £50 to £80. We think that, apart from the simplicity of this product, if you already have a turntable you’d be better off connecting your hi-fi’s audio outputs to your computer’s sound card, downloading some basic audio recording software, and converting your records to MP3s manually.

Alternatively, unless your vinyl record collection is especially rare, you could subscribe to a music streaming service such as Spotify, and listen to digital versions of your favourite music without the hassle of converting them all to MP3 files manually.

Pros: Cheap, it works, relatively simple to set up

Cons: Poor quality product, software and sound quality