Gotta admit, I'm something of a Technics snob, but this is really cool. I wonder about that direct drive motor, but to be completely fair, having USB output is really freakin cool. I don't think I'll replace my MK3s with these, but I can definitely see a place for these in a few studios. :D

How does this differ from the Ion turntables?

Not all turntables are the same, Drew! :) These stantons are likely much higher quality than the Ions - the Ions are more than likely to be used just for porting your vinyl to your computer via USB, where as these Stantons are probably DJ quality turntables with the USB functionality built in - that way you can take em with you to a houseparty and spin your favorite tracks, and the next morning come home and save your vinyl to mp3 when you're catching up on email.

At the same time though, not too many DJs would use these to record sets - you'd want a mixer that can connect to your computer for that (and I know with mine I just plug the booth-out channel into my PC's soundcard) but when there's a mixer with USB compatibility, I'll be sold!

I have done this for years, using a state of the art riaa preamp connetced to my soundcard and good software.

The dynamic on a vinyl record is about 35db's...
but many people want to get their old record back converted to cd's.

Regards
Tor from Norway.

What makes anyone think that a DJ-quality turntable is a good-sounding turntable? The cartridges, to be fair, are designed to put 5-10 times as much weight on a disc as quality audio equivalents, and they are geared towards pumping out bass and treble at the expense of even frequency response. The tables themselves are known to damage LPs because of the inherent "scratch" functions that DJs must employ to que up selections, and the ultra-fast motors literally rocket the stylus into the grooves with brute force. DJ-quality tables are actually desirable for being able to travel without falling apart, not brilliant playing.

The question is, does a turntable squeeze every drop of music fidelity out of a record (the only reason to use vinyl instead of a CD in the first place) or is it merely a convenient transport with outputs to your low-fi PC card? High-end consumer turntables like Pro-Ject, Rega, NAD and Music Hall walk all over DJ decks in every way, and having computer outputs isn't going to make a DJ turntable sound better -- probably not as good. Stanton, Gemini, Technics...these companies make excellent industrial tools, but don't confuse them with audiophile sound equipment, because they're not.

Touche Eric! Sometimes its difficult for DJs like me to remember that what sounds good to us isn't exactly hi-fi audio! To that end, I highly doubt that these Stantons would be anything like what you'd look for - someone very concerned with audio quality like yourself might do better with a DIY approach with a high-end record player and your own mixer, piped again into your computer. A little post processing to clean up any artifacts in the audio wouldn't hurt either, I imagine!

As often is the case, I regret reading the comments since there is never a clear agreement about anything. That said, if I have a bunch of lp's that I want to convert to cd, is this a good choice? I understand that standalone components are more elegant etc., but will the result for the stanton t.90 be good or not???

I have looked and tried several turntables to create CD's from my vinyl with limited to 0 success (this could be more my ineptitude but what looks more promising to me is to use my ancient (mid range quality) turntable with a preamp. Due to previous failed attempts I have spent a ton of time looking at all possiblities as I want to do this once and do it well.There may be some good options but the information is limited in that the information has a "anyone" can do it air about it.

This looks like it would be heads and shoulders above the typical USB-output turntable, but decidedly not an "audiophile-grade" solution. Back in the day, Stanton had a reputation for good "Pro" cartridges... used in clubs and radio stations where durability was paramount, and fidelity an important, but secondary, consideration. Tracking force was generally a bit high, but that's not a big concern if using this to rip and retire your vinyl.... i.e. you won't be playing them over and over on this set-up.

I've had very good result transferring vinyl to CDs and an on-line jukebox, but the process is time-consuming to do correctly. I have a vintage Yamaha YP-D8 table with Signet TK10-ML cartridge (Audio Technica's former high-end marque; A-T's engineers have kept me supplied with replacement stylii that work in the Signet cartridge.) I run the output through a dedicated phono preamp, then into the analog inputs on a SoundBlaster Audigy card. Analog-Digital conversion, filtering and clean-up, as well as track splitting is all done using GoldWave software, then saved as wave files at CD sample rates. Given the difficulty in locating contemporary cartridges comparable to those of the golden age of vinyl, the Stanton looks like an acceptable compromise.