The Red Ferret Journal

Look I’m no audiophile, and I’m sure the Clearaudio people and their Emotion SE turntable with it’s high-mass motor damping base, aluminum arm base and near silent silicon belt are all very nice. I just happen to think that a perspex turntable looks very classy, like something from Superman’s fortress of solitude. It’s a bargain too, just �1790 (US$2953) and it comes in blue, red or black versions as well. [Via AudioJunkies]

The multi-award winning Clearaudio Emotion is in a class of its own! It is the benchmark in its price point and we’re proud and happy to reach this standard. Listen to it, compare it, and believe it!

Tags: gadget, clearaudio+emotion+se, emotion+se+turntable

The Montegiro Lusso Turntable offers living proof that you can never make something too weird or expensive. The whole cone shaped ensemble is supposed to minimise any distortion from vibration and just happens to look pretty flash at the same time. Of course this sort of bizarreness costs, so you’ll need to dig deep behind the sofa cushions for the $31,000 or so. What, you want speakers too? Tsk.

Mixxx is a free open source program for DJ mixing. It supports MP3, OGG, Wave, and FLAC, vinyl emulation (you can even mix using your vinyl deck) and supports Hercules mix hardware out of the box. BPM detection, adjustable pitch range…it’s all here dude, so go for it. All you need are the earz and the skillz. Oh and some soundz.

The Real-View 3D Scanner looks like fun. The website is very sparse, but it seems as though it comes with twin stereoscopic cameras and a small turntable. Stick your product on the turntable and swivel and voila, a 3D shot in all its glory. We just have to hope that the product is better than the pathetic website they’ve put up. No price as yet.

ART USB Phono Plus. Phono preamp and USB interface gives you the perfect way to connect old stuff like turntables or cassette decks to the computer to digitise your attic chattels. Powered from an external AC adapter or from the USB port, and look, it’s got a lovely friendly knob on it. For twiddling and stuff. Be still my audiophiliac heart. $99.00.

Music Center with Horn. So here’s the thing. You can either switch on the working retro horn speaker option and bathe yourself in some real old fashioned scratch and growl, or admit defeat and activate the bass boost stereo speakers for that full on modern listening experience. There’s an old and painful joke about nostalgia not being what it used to be in there somewhere, but we’re not biting, OK? $199.98.

The new Numark PT01USB Portable Turntable provides an innovative solution to an age old problem. How are you going to convert all those shiny vinyl disks to digital MP3 glory while on a picnic? Yes, believe it or not, a huge percentage of the population need to do such conversion while out and about enjoying everyday life. And now they cans. Oh yess. Three speed deck, battery powered (6 D cells), USB cable included. $99.95.

Billed as the smallest portable turntable around, this dinky little thing comes complete with twin stereo 5 watt speakers, a three speed turntable and a nice looking wood type case with sturdy clasps. Perfect for your travelling road show perhaps? $99.95.

The iConverter Turntable with Radio marks a new high point in retro style geek tech. Tears of nostalgia will flow, nay flood, down your cheeks as you gently place your Loving Spoonful album on the deck for conversion to the digital universe. A lump will come to your throat as you twiddle the plastic silver knobs. Oh such happy happy times… 73.17 Euros.

Simply playback all your records through the mains powered iConverter Turntable and coupled with the software supplied, manage your music on your computer – including music restoration, shuffling songs to your liking and the compilation of your most favourite songs all into one playlist/album. Better still, the iConverter Turntable w/ Radio features an amplifier and two built-in speakers, 3 speed turntable (33, 45 & 78 rpm), AM/FM radio and 3.5mm headphone output as well as left/right RCA output.

Here’s a quick round-up of Ferrety posts from the past week for anyone who missed them. Enjoy.

• ClickFree Backup – the no-install data backup system for dummies – The new ClickFree Backup system is…
• ShareMiner – the search engine for files only – ShareMiner. So this is…
• MIT professor Daniel Nocera discovers more efficient way to store solar energy for use at night – MIT professor Daniel Nocera and…
• Crosley Traveler Turntable CD – retro portable music player gets a modern spin – The Crosley Traveler Turntable CD…
• EQ200 Color Digital Quran – introducing the flexible Muslim pocket companion – The EQ200 Color Digital…
• Nabaztag transforms your rabbit into a bookworm – The quirky French Nabaztag WiFi…
• Freecell for mobiles – free solitaire card game for your mobile phone – Freecell, the single most popular…
• Widgenie – smart, gorgeous data visualisation tool comes online – Widgenie is one of those…
• Ironman fan man – all the fun without the tricky hero business – This is what you call real fan…
• PowerPlus Toucan Solar MP4 Player – singalonga sunshine, Jack… – The PowerPlus Toucan Solar Powered…
• Fuel Checker – make sure you’re putting the right stuff into your tank every time – Fuel Checker. Apparently 150,000…
• Busbi Digital Video Camera – point shoot and score… – Busbi Digital Video Camera. Q:…
• Benkatine Turbine – generating power from your toilet flush – The Benkatine Turbine is a neat…
• Rules of Thumb – the true wisdom of the crowds gets its own website – Rules of Thumb dot org….
• Watercone gets funding – yay for the good guys… – We featured the very cool…

The Crosley Traveler Turntable CD player is a fine looking piece of ironmongery if you like that black leatherette chrome and silver fittings look. It’s got a 3 speed turntable for all your vinyl treasures, AM/FM radio a front loading CD drive, LED display, 20 track memory and a full function remote control. So not only is it portable, but you can be remote too. The mind boggles. On offer at a web price of $99.95 including the nice shiny handle.

Ots CD Scratch 1200 is a freeware virtual turntable program which lets you play two songs from the same CD at the SAME TIME (their emphasis!). One forward and one reverse. And you can scratch and add vinyl crackles and all sorts of jollity. Yeah baby!