TDK Life on Record 77000015378 USB Belt Drive Turntable Review
| Product Code | B004I44F50 |
| Product Rating |  |
| Price | |
| Where To Buy | See More Details |
| Customer Review | See More Reviews |
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #134583 in Receiver or Amplifier
- Brand: TDK
- Model: 77000015378
- Dimensions: 11.06" h x
21.80" w x
19.20" l,
4.75 pounds
Features
- Platter speed is continuously monitored and auto corrected to a perfect 33 1/3 or 45 RPM
- USB output, cable, & software (for Windows® OS) allow transfer of a vinyl collection to digital formats
- Universal tone arm connection works with almost any stylus
- Innovative 10 bar visual equalizer
- Floating design ensures minimal motor noise or vibration can be transmitted through to the audio signal
- Platter speed is continuously monitored and auto corrected to a perfect 33 1/3 or 45 RPM
- USB output, cable, & software (for Windows® OS) allow transfer of a vinyl collection to digital formats
- Universal tone arm connection works with almost any stylus
- Innovative 10 bar visual equalizer
- Floating design ensures minimal motor noise or vibration can be transmitted through to the audio signal
Product Description
The TDK Life on Record turntable delivers the precision performance, premium surfaces and features needed to truly enjoy the experience. This advanced belt driven turntable supports both 33 1/3 and 45 RPM playback speeds as the "floating" design isolates the platter and needle from external vibrations. An innovative visual equalizer embedded in the gloss black surface gives your music a visual heartbeat while the integrated pre-amp, USB output and included software let you import/convert tracks to a PC in MP3 format. The uniquely designed and crafted tone arm with integrated surface lighting gives the freedom to use almost any stylus and cartridge from standard to truly premium through a universal connection.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Audiophile on a budget's assessment
By Chris J. Moore
Many of the other reviewers have commented on the turntable's shoddy software in relation to converting vinyl to audio files... let me just say most of these reviewers received this product free through the Vine program and, I'd suspect, try to do needless things like convert records to audio files. My recommendation is why waste your time doing this and why buy a turntable to do this? Buy a turntable to LISTEN TO VINYL WITH and base your purchasing decisions accordingly.The only reason to own vinyl is for the audible qualities of listening to vinyl records... so the smart buy is putting your money into a high-quality, great sounding TT at your price point.I will focus on an element that other reviewers have not touched on - Is it worth the $$ vs. other similarly priced modern turntables?Specifically - those geared towards young and aspiring audiophiles as this unit is.This TT clearly positions itself in the "i'm cool" category - the question then is, so it looks cool.. how is the hardware? how does it actually SOUND?You need to compare this to other entry-level audiophile table offerings from the likes of Pro-Ject and Music Hall, even Thorens.I received this as a Christmas gift - I am a critical listener with a "budget audiophile" mindset and listening equipment. I am using a vintage 80's Tecnics table for the past several years - I have 80's vintage high end Onkyo receiver and run all my equipment through a Belkin AV-60 power conditioner. Speakers are Polk Monitor 70 II's.I listen to classical, folk, indie, classic rock , jazz and lots of "other".. so a wide mix.SOUND QUALITY - I must say I expected it to sound fairly "blah" given it's made to look sexy.. seems gimmicky right? Well once tracking / counterweight adjusted properly it really does sound nice.. i'm just using the stock cartridge. I'd say it bests my 80's Tecnics with upgraded "mid-level" Shure cartridge. It does deliver on good sonics.BUILD - Well it's got a good overall build quality - very nice base, platter, belt mechanism. What makes me nervous is the tonearm support (weak) and the "cool little digital eq thingy" which is a worthless marketing add-on destined to break.. minus a point for that. I bet this thing burns out any day.OVERALL - Nice sounding, well made (with a few exceptions) and generally very nice product. If considering other turntables at the same price point I might actually still steer someone towards a Music Hall, Rega or Pro-Ject as those companies have very nice offerings at this price point and they have been making quality turntables that are well-respected in the internet world. TDK has released a line of cool products (Life on Record series) that seem to deliver on quality audio but I still would feel more comfortable buying a more trusted name.. like I said - It was a gift in my case and I'm very happy with it - it sounds great out of the box, but if I was spending $400 myself I may buy a better tested and documented brand.***One note - the cartridge is "upgradeable" but TDK provides no documentation on this , and their website is USELESS for technical information. Other TT providers might be better in this dept,. also as they're used to delivering pro-grade audio gear to people that know what they're doing.. so they ask questions that are detailed. TDK has marketed this for the general consumer and manuals / website have a real lack of "tech" stuff most would want to know.****UPDATE - I've had this turntable for aver a year now and I must say I use it daily and it has performed very well and has still required no fine tuning since I took it out of the box. I did speak with TDK technical staff and after some back and forth determined the following related to a replacement cartridge:type: standard mountstyle: moving magnetother specs: The turntable stylus is 1cmwidth by 1.5cm long. The part number is 069-MG2801-01R.I think I might upgrade the cartridge soon to an Ortofon Red - I'll update on sonic improvements here.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent for listening to vinyl; overkill for copying vinyl
By Jim
Vinylphiles use turntables first and foremost if not exclusively to listen to vinyl, and secondarily if at all to copy their record collections to a digital format (such as MP3) which, to vinylphile (and my) ears doesn't come remotely close to the fidelity of vinyl. The TDK 77000015378 belt-drive turntable is a turntable for vinylphiles and is overkill for those whose primary interest is in making digital copies of records. There are far less expensive turntables with USB output that are easier to set up and simpler to operate than the TDK for those whose primary goal is to digitally copy vinyl. (Vinylphiles who have no interest in digitally copying records may want to consider the TDK "Life On Record" turntable that is identical to the one under review other than that it lacks USB connectivity.)The TDK requires a bit of assembly after it is "unboxed," and one may have to play around for a while, as I did, to adjust the counterweight that serves to balance the weight of the cartridge. Once that is done, one must determine if it is necessary to use the TDK turntable's preamplifier for each given listening situation. For example, if you want to connect the turntable to an amplifier that has dedicated turntable inputs, the turntable's preamp may be turned off, but if the amplifier lacks such dedicated inputs and instead gives you the option to connect to auxiliary inputs, the turntable's preamp will need to be turned on.The sound quality of the TDK is awesome. All the wonderful qualities of vinyl shine through: ambiance, warmth, depth, crystal clear non-digitized bass, and that rich, tactile quality of sound caressing eardrums that digital technology has so far been unable to reproduce.Another plus to the TDK turntable, in addition to the fact that it has a preamplifier, is that the cartridge and needle are replaceable by a number of non-proprietary brands (IOW, users are not forced to buy replacement and/or upgrade needles and cartridges manufactured by TDK).Some reviewers express frustration about the copying/recording software that comes with the TDK turntable. In my experience, software that comes with electronic equipment is often not the best software to actually use with the equipment (e.g., the digital photo editing software that comes with digital cameras). On top of that, such software may become quickly outdated and the manufacturer may not update it as often as necessary to help consumers have as non-frustrating an experience using the software as possible. Audacity is an excellent free audio editor that can be used to digitize vinyl records, and is recommended by TDK for Mac users to use with the turntable.It seems somewhat short-sighted of TDK to only include a Windows version of the audio editor that comes with the turntable, as, I would venture to say, most audiophiles work on/with Macs these days and take advantage of Core Audio (OS X) robustness. A high-end product should serve the high-end market on the computing side.The included manual/documentation is somewhat spartan on dialing in proper settings for ideal playback (i.e. no audible distortion typically caused by mis-balanced counterweight on tonearm) - refer to this resource for better counterweight adjustment procedure: turntablebasics dot com / adviceUPDATE: I had an outstanding customer service experience with TDK after losing the belt for this turntable. I brought the turntable to my daughter's house so my son-in-law and I could listen to it on his high end audio equipment and do an A-B comparison with his high-end Technics turntable. Somewhere between my house and my daughter's the slender rubber belt for the TDK turntable got lost (I'd removed it for transport; maybe my grandchildren got to it!). I contacted TDK, told them I lost it, and they offered to send a replacement at no charge - for the belt or shipping - but they also told me it might take a while because they were in the process of relocating a warehouse. They called me every week thereafter with an update, and then when it was shipped, they called with a tracking number and an expected delivery date. Really impressive customer service. Anyway, my audiophile son-in-law is very impressed with the TDK turntable, and we both agree on the basis of our A-B test that it has more pronounced musicality and presence than his Technics turntable.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful.Absolutely Beautiful Turntable, Software decent
By C. Ball
Pulling this thing out of the box is an experience unto itself, I was expecting the typical plastic USB turntable but oh no no no. This thing is a piece of art. It is very well made and easy to put together having so few parts. The thing that was troublesome was the software. It lacks some features I would expect. I normally use Adobe Audition, so the software wasn't a big deal for me at all. I was much more interested in the hardware and it is fantastic. It even has a small digital screen that comes on (normally it looks like part of the black base) and gives some data. Not important but a touch of cool. I do wish it had some more exotic speed settings, such as for the old 78s that one may find laying around. It's that rare stuff that makes the capturing of recordings worthwhile. But on the whole, beautifully built.
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