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ION Tape Express Plus | Cassette Player and Tape-to-Digital Converter with USB & 1/8" Out
- USB cassette player for converting your music or recordings into MP3
- Audio output jack for headphone or speaker playback
- Powered by mini-USB or 2 AA batteries
- EZ Tape Converter software included for transfer and dubbing to computer
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Product information
Product Dimensions | 4.5 x 3.5 x 1.25 inches |
---|---|
Item Weight | 8 ounces |
ASIN | B0038OLL2Q |
Item model number | iTR06H |
Customer Reviews |
3.6 out of 5 stars |
Best Sellers Rank | #99,210 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics) #77 in Portable Cassette Players & Recorders |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
OS | PC, Mac |
Connectivity technologies | USB |
Other display features | Network Media Player |
Department | Audio/Video/Electronics -> General Electronics |
Manufacturer | Ion Electronics Inc |
Language | English |
Date First Available | June 12, 2007 |
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Product Description
Turn your tapes into digital files and listen on your computer, iPod, iPad in the car, or in the palm of your hand!
ION Audio’s Tape Express Plus is a portable, handheld USB tape player that works with all kinds of tapes. It has an easy-to-use USB connection for sending the music on your tapes right into your computer where it’s instantly turned into a digital file.
You can listen to digital music files on your computer, load them onto your portable music player, or record them onto a CD and listen in your car. Rediscover those old songs with Tape Express Plus!
Tape Express Plus is designed with your on-the-go life in mind. Its portable design fits in virtually any bag and enables you to play and transfer music anywhere. It runs on battery or USB power when connected to your computer for easy operation wherever you go.
Tape Express Plus comes with ION’s exclusive EZ Vinyl/Tape Converter software. This powerful yet easy-to-use program guides you through transferring your music via iTunes, and includes recording settings for both normal and chrome (Cr02 / metal) cassette tapes.
In addition to converting your tapes, Tape Express Plus has an audio output that enables you to listen on the included headphones, or connect to your stereo or other speaker system for hours of loud enjoyment.
Reconnect with the music on your old cassettes anywhere you go with Tape Express Plus.
Tech Specs
Controls
- Volume: Adjusts the volume of the Headphones and USB Connection.
- Play: Press to play the tape.
- Stop: Press to stop the tape.
- FF / REW: Press to fast forward or rewind the tape.
Connections
- Headphones: You can connect headphones to the 1/8” jack here.
- USB Connection: Use the included USB Cable to connect TAPE EXPRESS PLUS to your computer. The USB connection will provide audio from Tape Express Plus to your computer. For transferring your recordings to your computer, we have provided software on the included CD.
Includes
- Tape Express Plus
- Headphones
- USB Cable
- Software CD
- Quickstart guide
- Safety & Warranty guide.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers like the ease of use of the product. They mention that the program is extremely easy to use, and the setup is super simple. Some complain about the speed and the tape player. Opinions are mixed on performance, quality, sound quality, value, and ease of transfer.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the program extremely easy to use. They say the setup is simple, and the instructions are well written. They also say the software loads easily, and that the recording operation itself is easy and straightforward. Customers also mention that the product creates wav files.
"...But I decided to go for it anyway.1- Ease of use. The software for the Tape Express installed quickly and easily off of the provided disk...." Read more
"...The machine itself is fine, easy to use, you can monitor the music through the headphones...." Read more
"...That's the name, not a description. It works great. Using this setup is simple:1) start Audacity2) click record..." Read more
"...You have to slip it into brackets in the lid - not intuitive. When the cassette is to be removed, it's hard to grip it with your fingers...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the performance of the product. Some mention that it works well and does the job easily for them, while others say that the software simply stopped working and the results were disappointing.
"...It was fantastic and worked perfectly! So I thought this ION product would be just as good for cassettes. WRONG!!!..." Read more
"...the time I found this out, I had downloaded iTunes and the thing still would not work ... and I tried this on computers that had iTunes already..." Read more
"...machine like this but was pleasantly surprised and pleased with the results. I agree with the other reviewers who said the software is not the..." Read more
"...adapter that worked with it and tried again, Now but the cassette player wouldn't play or fast-forward, and the warranty has, of course, expired...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the quality of the product. Some mention that the unit is solid and reliable, with adequate construction. They say the buttons are all sturdy and the tapes to the computer should last a long time. However, some customers say that the software crashes frequently, the case is plastic and flimsy, and the actual player is not heavy duty.
"...results. I agree with the other reviewers who said the software is not the best, but yes you can download a free software called Audacity..." Read more
"...using this product to transfer your tapes to the computer, it should last a long time. The headphones that come with this, well they suck...." Read more
"...It seems to be very cheaply built...." Read more
"...I found out that the software was 10 years old and had not been upgraded any in the last 10 years. The software was no longer being supported...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the sound quality of the product. Some mention that the signal level so the MP3s sound good, highly listenable, and acceptable. They say the metal bias tapes had very little noise, and the commercial normal bias gave them many options for sound normalization. However, others say that it sounds more muffled, has less treble, and adds an audible hum to all of your recordings. They also say that the product works, but no sound goes into the computer.
"...(it does not play through the computer speakers from the Tape Express, you need the headphones to..." Read more
"...Auto volume for recording. Don't have to mess with it.6) No batteries, no power cordsCons:1) Plastic body...." Read more
"...There is no microphone to pick up room noise, the music is transferred through the USB...." Read more
"...It seems to be very cheaply built. Second, there is a constant ringing I hear through my headphones when recording which I do not hear when just..." Read more
Customers are mixed about the value of the product. Some say it's a good value and worth the money spent, while others say it was a complete waste of money. They also mention the transport is noisy and the cassette recorder is cheap.
"...All in all a great value for such a low price, I am happy to get all my music to digital so I can save it...." Read more
"...My bad, should have held it. Cheap spring hinges accompany a cheap plastic case...." Read more
"...It's the right price2) Easy operation3) True plug and play on Vista...." Read more
"...Sure, it's possible this company is knowingly putting out cheap garbage at the expense of everyone who buys one, hoping that enough of them won't go..." Read more
Customers are mixed about the ease of transfer. Some mention that it's an easy way to convert tapes to MP3 files, and easy to copy to a CD. However, others say that it wouldn't transfer to iTunes and that it has trouble moving spoken audio tape to digital files when the speaker pauses.
"...Moving them to ITunes is simple but as far as I could tell, if you want to convert to MP3, you have to go back in and right click on each track and..." Read more
"...to and manually record a full side of a tape, then the music does not export to my computer, thus wasting 20-30 minutes of my time...." Read more
"Works great! Very easy to use. Transfer automatically to ITunes. Would highly recommend this item...." Read more
"...transfer has to be done in real time but it's a cheap and reliable way to transfer files from cassette to digital as far as I can see...." Read more
Customers are dissatisfied with the speed of the product. They mention that it plays cassettes at a speed that is slightly too slow, and there was some distortion. The playback on the tape player itself is too slow and it just won't play at a consistent speed. The music sounds warped and keeps changing speeds. There is no high-speed dubbing mode, and the product does not have a fast convertion feature. It also seems to play some tapes in slowed motion, which makes the sound unusable. It takes a long time to transfer the music to an mp3 format.
"...The tape speed was NOT consistent, causing the music to modulate between several different keys and waver up and down every few seconds...." Read more
"...Just keep in mind, with no high-speed dubbing mode, you will need to be patient...." Read more
"...The recording sounds good, but to my ears the frequency response has been reduced which assists in eliminating the cassette hiss...." Read more
"...Though after several hours of playback it tends to run a little slow, causing the voice to drawl somewhat." Read more
Customers are dissatisfied with the tape player. They mention that the tape is skipping, ruined, and the unit began eating the tape. The tape unit was defective, and it sounds like the tape was beyond help. The transport mechanism is poor, and there is a lack of power. The head would just pull the tape and either break it or wind it up in between. Customers also say that the audio levels are low.
"...The cassette doesn't just plop into the ION easily. You have to slip it into brackets in the lid - not intuitive...." Read more
"...I couldn't figure out why the tape levels were so low. Once I moved the control to its midpoint everything functioned perfectly...." Read more
"...does not always auto stop on either play or rewind and rips the tape at the lead section so I have had to repair the last several tapes that were..." Read more
"...the ION to my laptop through the accompanied cable but it did not detect the tape, I thought that the cable has a problem accordingly I have bought..." Read more
Reviews with images
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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1- Ease of use. The software for the Tape Express installed quickly and easily off of the provided disk. After that its just putting in a tape, connecting your USB cable, hit record the software on your desktop and then hit play on the Tape Express.
2 - Quality. It's not a heavy duty walkman like those made in the 80's, nor was it meant to be. If are just using this product to transfer your tapes to the computer, it should last a long time. The headphones that come with this, well they suck. But you can easily plug in your own headphones so that you can better listen to the tracks if you want to while they are recording (it does not play through the computer speakers from the Tape Express, you need the headphones to hear it until the transfer is done).
3 - Helpful Hint - When I first recorded one track from a cassette, I could see that it had been recorded but when hitting playback there wasn't any sound. It took me a few minutes to figure it out, but I had to completely unplug the Tape Express from the computer. This may be the way my sound is set up, but it was still trying to play it through the Tape Express. Once I unplugged the usb connection the sound on the computer played fine.
4 - I used the item completely on the phantom power through the USB. I think it can take batteries, but I didn't find a need to use any.
5 - This will not transfer your cassettes in a pristine like new condition. It will transfer the sound as is. So if you have a crackle-ly warble-ly tape, that is what you are going to hear. You can reduce background noise by using an editing program (such as Audacity free download). To help reduce warble, it may help to put the tape in a regular cassette player that has more power and fast forward the tape to the end and then rewind back to the beginning again. The high speed may help to tighten up the tape and reduce the warble.
6- I was able to transfer some tracks from a cassette tape of some home recordings a friend and I made 22 years ago. The tape I had was in fairly decent condition, and the ION did a great job in transferring it to digital format.
I received my package a day earlier than expected and the item worked exactly as I hoped it would, even if I had to figure out the sound piece for a few minutes. This is why I rate it 5 stars. I'm not going to fault them for crap headphones :)
I agree with the other reviewers who said the software is not the best, but yes you can download a free software called Audacity which works beautifully.
The main drawback of the supplied software is I could not find any way to adjust the recording volume (gain) and the result is slight distortion in the finished result. with audacity you adjust the Db easily with a slider control, and the result is excellent. Then you can go back and remove the blank parts at the beginning and end, add labels for the individual tracks, edit out any hiss you may have, lots of stuff you can do, it is a pretty sophisticated software for free.
The machine itself is fine, easy to use, you can monitor the music through the headphones. It gets it's power from the USB, it only needs batteries if you want to play tapes away from the computer and listen through the headphones.
Somebody else said he was getting room noise through but I find that hard to believe. There is no microphone to pick up room noise, the music is transferred through the USB.
All in all a great value for such a low price, I am happy to get all my music to digital so I can save it. I would have given it 5 stars if it had better software.
Top reviews from other countries
(I bought this device after having to return a competing product that just didn't work.) I chose this one, as I have an Ion turntable that I've been very happy with as well. The included software isn't great and records in wav format, but it does its job. Like any music digitizing software, it does a decent, but not perfect job of track separation, so I suggest recording as a single track and separating later, as you are likely going to want to convert it to mp3 or another format anyway.
If you are looking into digitizing your old cassettes and don't want to break the bank, I highly recommend this product.
You won't find anything better anywhere near this price.