Vinyl Meets MP3: Stanton T.55 USB Turntable

Whether you’re an audiophile who doesn’t let the sun set without giving an LP a spin—or someone whose once-loved records now live in a dusty pile (for shame!)—I’d like to introduce you to a new friend: the Stanton T.55 USB Turntable.

This turntable allows serious record collectors to archive and convert vinyl records into MP3s. Why would you want to archive your vinyl library in your Mac or PC? Well, let me put it this way: How many of your “can’t live without this” records aren’t on your iPod? And how heartbroken would you be if a hard-to-find and impossible-to-replace vinyl love met an untimely death? I though so.

Why You’ll Love It: Digitizing your collection will not only allow you to bring your vinyl faves along on summer road trips (or your daily commute to work), but it will also allow you to preserve your collection. (Perhaps to educate future generations about the pre-Miley Cyrus era—an accomplishment that is certainly worth more than the cash you’d shell out for this turntable.) Not to mention, the Stanton T.55 makes the conversion process quite simple.

How It Works: Thanks to the music editing software included with purchase—Cakewalk Pyro Audio Creator and Audacity, to be exact—you simply plug the turntable into your computer’s USB port, drop the needle and click record. Then you can sit back as your record pops and crackles its way to a new digital life. Once an album is on your hard drive, you can edit, clean up and tag songs. (The latter step is easier said than done, but it’s entirely necessary to name separate songs for future playlist building.)

The Downside: Though simple, the vinyl-to-computer process can be time consuming, especially if your collection is hundreds strong. But unless your LPs are set to self-destruct in t-minus 24 hours, it shouldn’t be a problem that some dedication and a handful of lazy Sunday afternoons can’t solve.

(Image: Elizabeth Ulrich for Extrabux)