Review on USB-1 Music Hall Record Turntable by Mark Toth

In my opinion, the Music Hall USB-1 surpasses every other player in this price range. First, it was packaged very securely and neatly. there was a breeze. The instructions were pretty clear on how to do it. It produces a very clean and clear sound from my 45 year old vinyl albums. Easily adjust tracking, pitch, anti-skating and turntable speed. -shaped tonearm and cartridge (Audio Technica). (There is even room for an extra cartridge on board). Connections: USB is always on, so you can easily record directly to your laptop. The RCA cables are not hardwired to the case, but via connectors on the back of the unit. This makes searching easier as you can get any length of cable you want. I used the included cables which are about 6 feet long. It has a built in preamp that can be used or bypassed depending on the system. The only drawback for me is that the turntable is quite light, although it is very well made (I think a heavier one would be more stable). The disc, base and body are all plastic, although this doesn't affect the sound quality and it's not partially automatic. When he reaches the end of the record, it helps if he automatically lifts his arm off the record. The "lid" of the record is a foam that my records slipped easily on and collected static electricity. I quickly switched to leather. There is a tonearm height adjustment BUT it is located underneath the unit and can only be accessed from below. It's pretty uncomfortable, but it's there. The only thing I would wish for from any turntable manufacturer would be a record cleaning kit and a needle brush. They are not very expensive but very important for the longevity of the needle. Review Addendum: I've had this player long enough to have some experience with it. Recently I recorded some tracks from vinyl. The block works great! The software is fairly easy to use, but there is a slight learning curve. Note that the software states that you can only use recordings made with their software. Not true. Check out the help section and it will walk you through the process of getting a free plugin to create WAV files from recordings. It's very easy to do, but I think the first recordings sound better than the wav files. When I first received the turntable I was a bit skeptical about the weight of the unit. My doubts were in vain. The player sounds very good and has no sound transmission from other sources. I'd like to see a heavier drive as the one that comes with it is pretty light but works well. I replaced the anti-slip mat. The one provided is foam and the records slide onto it. I chose the leather version. Works perfectly. Buy this. And enjoy.