Customer Reviews

ADS Technologies RDX-150-EF Instant Music for Mac and PC

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Instant Music is a great idea, by simply connecting the RDX150 to your PC with a USB cable, you should be able to convert your old LP's and cassettes into wav, MP3 or other digital files which you can then burn on CD or download to an MP3 player. Even someone as lo-tech as me can figure it out, I mean I don't know the first thing about computers, but the RDX150 was easy to install. The Nero software that came with the RDX150 is also pretty east to operate. Simply by clicking on the "Wizards" tab, all I had to do was basically push "play" on my stereo and click on "record" on the software, again very easy to use. The problem came when I actually began to record some of my cassettes. I have read other reviews that spoke of a "hum" that was audible during the recoreding, I wasn't even that lucky....at times I was getting such a loud static sound as feedback, that I wasn't able to hear the original audio! I tried replacing the USB cable that hooked up Instant Music to my PC, and that didn't work. I even used a different stereo hoping to solve the problem. I moved the Instant Music box away from all electronic devices in hopes that by getting it away from the monitor, PC etc. I would cut down on the interference...nothing worked. I e-mailed ADS three days ago with the problem....put it this, I ain't holding my breath for a response now. And just to put it in perspective, I am not trying to get optimum sound for recording, I am not trying to transfer hi-definition, I am simply trying to convert my collection of old radio shows from the 30's, 40's & 50's. Most of which contain enough static on their own, and all of which are mono recordings. So I don't need pristine sound. I finally gave up yesterday, and bought a product called "INport" by Xitel. Basically, it's the same thing, but I found out the "INport" is grounded....I have no clue what that means, but it works! Unfortunately, I don't care for the software that came with the INport, so I am using the Nero software that came with the RDX150. The INport is about $20 more, but it's well worth it, and will get the job done!

On 2/16/06 I posted a negative review. After working all day on making it work I wrote this detailed edited review and procedure which Amazon has chosen not to post for some reason. At least one negative review as been posted since my review was rejected. A strange way to do business. Here is the 2/17/06 review:

With the help of reviews of by Farell at Cnet and John Long here at Amazon I have been able to make a beautiful (no hum) copy of Placido Domingo singing "che gelida manina" from La Boheme from an old LP to CD-RW or CD-R. The CD-RW plays on my DVD player, DVD-ROM drive, CD-RW drive, an Audiovox boombox and my 2005 Camry. CD-RW doesn't play on my old JVC CD player or in my 1998 Subaru but CD-R plays in everything. Both the ADS (http://www.adstech.com/support/downloads/downloads.asp?product_id=RDX-150) and Nero websites (http://www.nero.com/nero6/enu/nero6_3.html) are now more useful than when most of the reviews were written. The ADS website now has FAQs which answer many of the questions raised in the reviews (no volume control, OK = Stop, microphone as input, settings in Soundtrax as well as Windows audio). I downloaded all the pertinent programs and PDFs (many corrections to the manuals received from Amazon this week). I think all the programs you'll need are at APS. 1. I installed the upgrade from ADS (Nero Major Update Version 6.6.0.16) plus a couple others from the Nero website). This got me from Nero version 6.3.1.28 (shame on you Mr. Amazon/ADS/ Nero for selling me old software) to 6.6.0.16.
2. I used an old Technics receiver as my preamp.
3. I couldn't control the recording level from my "out" RCA plugs on the back of the receiver so I used a Radio Shack 42-2546 (1/4" stereo phone plug to two female RCA phono jacks)Y-adapter with the headphone output from the receiver to the "In" inputs of the ADS RX 150.
4. Set Windows Audio as directed in the new "settings and hints" PDF. And the newly downloaded Instant Music Manual PDF p 6. (Select input: UBS Audio Codec and leave output device: as your computer speakers (soundcard.) (http://www.adstech.com/support/ManualsAndDocuments/ManualsAndDocuments.asp?productId=RDX-150&productName=Instant%20Music).
5. Open Nero Soundtrax and (important) "options" to "device settings." Select input UBS Audio Codec and leave output device as your computer speakers (soundcard).
6. Under "Tools" choose "wizards" chose "LP to CD."
7. Choose "microphone" as Audio input line" (yes microphone), Check "digital monitoring" so that you can hear out of your computer speakers"
8. Choose and name the target file. I used "all files."
9. Adjust recording level using the volume control on the receiver and the audio level meters in Soundtrax.
10. Go back to the beginning of the LP then click (or perhaps vice versa) red (left) navigate button to start recording. Do not click "next" since that will stop the recording. When you are done recording hit blue "stop" button. Now click "next." I haven't messed with the next two noise reduction screens. Then to screen "4".
10. If I click "burn now" or "finish" the program locks up.
11. Open Windows Media Player or equivalent. Click "burn."
12. Look in "burn list" and in "All music"
13. Select the files you want to burn. Click "start burn." Then you have a choice of burning onto CD-R or CD-RW.

The transfers that I made from my turntable to the hard disk using this device were terrible. After a little investigation, I tracked the problem to the USB connection between the RDX150 and the computer. The connection at the RDX150 end did not seat properly - I could wiggle it around and change the quality of the sound. I'm not sure whether the problem was with the design of the device or with the particular unit that I purchased.

I finally decided to direct the output of the pre-amp directly to the soundcard in the PC to see how the Nero software worked. The software had some good features - after a little practice I could record music, break it into tracks and remove noise. It was particulary good at removing clicks and crackles.

However, when I tried to burn a CD, all a got was a terrible hum - the sort of noise that will damage speakers. I was able to burn an acceptable CD from the files created by Nero using Windows Media Player. It is possible that I was not using the software correctly, but the help available for Nero, either included on the CD or available from their website, is virtually useless.

All-in-all, there must be a better way to do this.

Caution-I'd advise potential buyers to look carefully for online info concerning INSTANT MUSIC by ADS. Last site I checked rated it 1.4 out of 5 and that's high in my book. The package I just bought is currently back in the original box ready to be returned and here's why:
Nero Software is incompatible with my VAIO and Microsoft XP-->ADS support said they were aware of problem (constant freezing on Step 2) and that I could download a correction from Nero site; Okay, but they didn't tell me that the download was a 5-6 hour affair and my browser kept crashing after 200 plus minutes: two days later, still no upgrade so I called ADS to see if they could ship a new Nero CD with upgrades included-nope...so, essentially, they're selling a defective product and know it but refuse to fix it..come on people-do the right thing...what's with these tech outfits?! In Detroit, we call it a "recall" and it's done to fix defective merchandise and protect buyer's rights and make them a repeat customer. This company makes crap, sells it and knows it and, apparently doesn't care. No soup for you!

First, a warning about transferring LPs to CD. You can't just plug your turntable into this thing. The signal from your cartridge must be first run through a "pre-amp." But if you've got a hi-fi system amp or receiver lying around you can use that. The turntable plugs into the phono jacks on your amp, and then you run audio cables from the "record out" jacks (what you used to use to record your albums to tape) of the amp to the Instant Music.
Second, the Nero software is multifaceted and most of it is not necessary for making an LP to CD transfer. There are several ways you COULD make the transfer, but I found NeroMix's "Record" function the easiest. Just bring up the NeroMix window and hit the record button. Windows come up to let you make a few simple settings. Then start the record playing, and save the audio to your hard disk. Then choose another setting in NeroMix to turn these files into an audio CD with your CD-R.
The Nero software has additional features to take out pops, rumble, etc, and normalize the volumes across tracks, but those functions are more complex. I found that unless the vinyl was very scratchy, I was quite satisfied with the CD sound produced

I bought this after e-mailing ADS Tech support, I asked if the "static/noise" problem had been fixed & he assured me it was (the unit I have seems fine thus far). The gripes I have is that the manual is poor & though I didnt have any problem setting it up others might. The unit comes with an adapter that has 2 RCA jacks to a "female" mini jack, this is useless unless you have a male to male cable (which I do). The other things to note are the green LED (S/PDIF) stays on all the time signal or not even though the manual states if there is no signal the light wil "go on & off" (if I recall another review mentioned this as well). Also the hardware offers no input level adjustment. Anyway I was able to copy an old LP to my computer & burn & CD that sounded as good (or bad) as the original & for $40 it will serve my needs.

I don't know, maybe I've been lucky or perhaps its the platform I'm using (an Apple iMac G5 Desktop with 17" M9843LL/A (1.8 GHz PowerPC G5, 512 MB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive) running OSX 10.4 Tiger), but I've had none of the problems other reviewers experienced. I plugged the USB connection into a USB hub that is plugged into a USB hub (no, I'm not kidding), and set the ADS on top of a speaker that is nestled together with all kinds of wires and electrical devices. No static. One thing I may have done differently was use high quality RCA wires to connect the ADS to my (ancient but high quality) stereo. The RCA wires themselves are 30 feet long though, and pass more than a few electrical connections on their way to their analog source; still, I had no problems with static or other interference.

The software issue wasn't an issue at all: connect the USB wire and turn on Garage Band, record, import to iTunes, the use iTunes to convert the aiff file to an mp3. That's it.

The instructions are on the ADS web site as a PDF file, they were easy to find and there were no problems using them.

The quality of the music files is very good, no hum, clicks, buzzing or static at all. With a well maintained LP the quality is very close -- and in some ways superior -- to an audio CD converted to mp3s. Based on my experience this is a very good product, I would buy it again without hesitation.

Addendum: Since writing this review I've had the chance to listen to the files on my computer (both with and without a Logitech Z-4I 2.1 Speaker System), and pumped back through my home stereo with enough volume to make an enemy of even the best neighbor (seriously: watched psycho last week and felt right at home.) I've also listened to the files on my well used Apple 20 GB iPod M8741LL/A (2nd Generation), and on my SONY CDXF5510 Xplod Car CD Receiver/Changer Controller/MP3 Player Car Stereo from a ripped CD, and on my car stereo through my iPod via an Netalog TransPod All-In-One - Power adapter (car) + battery charger. I've also recently begun to listen to the files on my LG VX8600 cell phone via a Bluetooth Wonder Stereo Headset. The files sound good -- very good -- regardless of the mode used. For the price, the RDX-150-EF is a bargain, even when used with those fancy (and pricey) RCA wires.

The product seems to work fine but the accompanying software is awful. After spending hours trying to figure it out I succeeded in capturing one cassette only to find that the beginning few seconds of each song was appended to a previous song.

I just tried a software+cables solution called Digitope™ Media Digitalizer™ 2.2. You can download a trial at www.digitope.com. Unlike the ADS method of writing a wizard for otherwise inappropriate software, the Digitalizer is designed solely to transfer music from record or cassette. Very easy to follow, saves in a variety of formats, can either burn to a CD or save directly to a PC. Give it try before buying Instant Music!

The Nero software that comes bundled with the ADS Instant Music is terrible. It crashes my computer immediately about 50% of the time when I try to start a recording project. The program also crashes immediately if I try to start a new recording after finishing one, forcing me to reboot between every side/take. The software interface is not very intuitive, and the very limited documentation that came in the package was really not helpful. The audio quality is pretty decent, but every once in a while a skip will show up for no apparent reason, forcing me to re-record a song.

On the plus side the device was relatively inexpensive.

The device does work but using it is a big hassle. It could have been a real winner if they had made better software for it.

They really nailed it with this inexpensive and versatile device. I have converted several phono records to CD's and they play on my CD player, audio system and PC. Sound quality is surprisingly good as the software includes a program for removing static and noise reduction. It works as advertised.