5 stars (Works with Macs) - This a great product for the price. It will work on an Apple Mac running 10.3.8 - 10.4.1 (as of 5/27/05). It's not listed as being so. Felt Tip Software's "Sound Studio" works beautifully to use as recording software. It only costs $50. It's easy to use/has great features.
4 stars (The Hardware works great........) - I first bought the ADS Instant Music to try an convert some cassettes, and the idea behind the product was great, and the software was fantastic. But with Instant Music I had some serious feedback issues, and ADS support was basically non-existant! I saw the INport product here on Amazon and figured I would give it a shot. The INport product works great! I simply plug the INport adapter into the PC with a USB cable, and then hook up my stereo with the RCA Adapters, and push play on the cassette. It's so easy...even for a non-technical guy like me! The ADS product was just as simple, but the feedback issues I had to try and deal with made the process a real nightmare. The big difference between the INport and the ADS product, is that the INport device is grounded, meaning it shield the product from all electronic interference. The only thing holding me back from giving the INport 5 stars, is the software that comes in the package. I found the ADS Nero software very user friendly, and quite a bit less complicated. So while I put the ADS hardware back in the box, I am keeping the ADS Nero software, and just using the INport device instead. If you have alot of vinyl or cassettes that you want to convert, then I would recommend the INport device, and then see if you can get a hold of the Nero software. That's the best combination I have found.
4 stars (Just what it says) - The main thing about this item is that it just works. It uses only line level inputs, so if you're trying to rip LPs, you will need an RIAA preamplifier. The manufacturer makes no secret of this, though, and anyone who owns a turntable probably has something to plug it into for a line output. Or, if you need a cheap but pretty good one, you can haunt eBay, or see here:
http://www.paia.com/riaa.htm
Some soldering required. For those still inexplicably using Windows ME, time to move on up. You'll be glad you did. As to sound quality, all I can say is that it sounds as good as the source signal allows. I only gave it 4 stars because the bundled software is pretty rudimentary, if adequate. The utility for splitting a file into tracks is not all that reliable, but they never are, and that doesn't trouble me much. It does not include any sort of a burner, but there are any number of them out there, some pretty good ones freeware. Perhaps this is partially in relief after my dismal experiences with the ADS RDX-150, but I am very pleased with this item. |
