XP SOUND XP201 Phono / Microphone Pre-Amp for Windows PC

Rating:
Summary: Check your turntable before you buy this
Review: I bought the XP201 to use as a preamp for converting my vinyl records to CDs. Initially this requires connecting the turntable to the XP201. However, the unit WILL NOT WORK if your TT already has a pre amp built in and you cannot turn the pre amp in the TT off. I learned this the hard way.

When I first hooked the XP201 to my TT, the second that the needle contacted the record I wanted to play, the peak warning light on the XP201 immediately came on. This light is a nice feature that warns you if your audio input is too strong, in which case your audio will be totally garbled and useless for recording. You can also blow out your speakers (which is why I use an old set of computer speakers to monitor the sound.)

After doing some research on the Internet I discovered the problem. Even some old TTs (the one I was using was over 20 years old) have a pre amp built in, which I didn't know since there is no marking on the outside of the TT. In order to find out if my TT had a pre amp, I removed the TT mat and slowly spun the TT around by hand to see if I saw "amp" through any of the openings. When I found this marking on my TT, I saw that there was also a marking for an on/off switch. But since my TT was so old, it did not function. At that point I would have been out of luck unless I had another TT in the house.

Fortunately I had a second TT in the house, and this one did not have a pre amp built in. The XP201 worked fine with it.

The moral of the story is to check your TT before you order the XP201 to see if it has a pre amp built in. Do this by removing the TT mat, slowly spinning the TT, and looking through the openings to check for a pre amp. If the TT has one, you theoretically do not need the XP201 and can connect your TT directly to your soundcard--but I did not get acceptable sound when I tried this, and believe you will get a far better sound using the XP201. However, unless you are positive that you can turn off the built in pre amp if your TT has one, do not order the XP201 because it will not work properly since it is not meant to amplify audio that is already being amplified by another source (i.e. the built in pre amp in the TT).


Once I solved my TT problem, I found the unit was very easy to use and performed well. I connected the unit to a USB external sound card called the Maya EX5 (I think this works better than using my PC sound card, and also avoids the possibility of frying a computer component if something goes wrong) and my old records sounded great. I suggest listening to your records first before you convert to mp3s so you have an idea of what kind of condition they are in.

Go to Radio Shack and buy an AC adaptor for the unit, which does not come with one. You will then be able to use the AC/battery switch on the back of the unit as an on/off switch instead of having to unplug the unit. Although you can use a 9V battery, for heavy usage the cost of batteries will soon exceed the cost of an AC adaptor. Also the battery compartment is very narrow, and it not easy to insert and remove the battery (I had to use a needle nose pliers to get it out).

Although this unit comes with software for converting your records, I personally did not find the software as easy to use as other software that I tried from Blaze Audio called RipEditBurn.

I really like this unit and gave it four stars rather than five because neither the manufacturer's website nor instruction book mentions the TT issue, which I think is quite serious for anyone planning to buy this unit.