ION Audio Max LP Wooden Turntable Review

Vinyl has really been making a comeback during the last few years with more and more people being interested in buying a turntable every day. That old vintage sound is hard to resist to when we know how natural and nice it is. Such a piece is the ION Audio Max LP wooden turntable. In this ION turntable review, I will tell you more about its spectrum of features and explain what you can expect from it.

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Pros
  • Nice sound quality
  • Offers you three speeds: 33 1/3, 45, and 78 RPM
  • Features a 1/8 inch Auxiliary Port, RCA Output ports, and a USB port
  • Comes with an ION Audio EZ Converter and a USB cable
  • Has internal speakers
  • Has a very interesting design

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Cons
  • Its speakers are not that good, but they are okay for a turntable at this price

Us being so interested in the best turntables out there usually means that we want to buy a model that literally has all the things that optimize our experience as listeners. From a good-quality sound to connection ports, and built-in speakers to ways to convert our tracks into mp3s for the times when the turntable is not around, many of us will like to see a turntable packed with everything necessary for us to enjoy the music.

Design

The ION Audio Max LP wooden turntable is nothing you would call a modest turntable. That being said, the turntable is definitely brilliantly designed to attract your attention, even though it’s not very expensive.

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All the components on this turntable look very appealing, and you can see their wooden, black, and silver finishes perfectly match, making the turntable aesthetically superior to many of the turntables at its price range.

A charming look

The ION Audio Max LP has a wooden plinth that looks very natural and charming. It’s colour is not too bright, but not to dark either, giving it a very classy look. The design is obviously meant to look smooth and soft, hence the turntable doesn’t have any edges on its surface.

There are many components that sit on the plinth, including the volume control switch located on its front right, ION’s logo on the front left, the two built-in speakers that are also in the front, the turntable’s beautiful transparent platter, and the tonearm. The IONAudio Max LP wooden turntable also comes with a interestingly shaped dust cover that will protect both your records and your turntable from the dust that can otherwise cover and potentially damage them.

Underneath the plinth of the ION Max LP turntable, there is a metal base. Many turntables will have feet underneath the plinths. However, the creators of this turntable decided that it is best if they incorporate an entire metal base under the wooden surface. I, personally, think that this is a good idea when it comes to keeping the turntable at its place and avoiding any wobbly movements in certain cases.

In this ION turntable review, we have to mention that on the back of the Max LP, there are the ports that you can use to connect it to other devices. This includes speakers, headphones, a PCs, or a Mac.

Features

Well, you came this far in the ION Audio turntable review. You probably understand by now that the Audio Max LP comes packed with features. These ensure that make sure you can listen to high-quality music care-free.

The ION Max LP turntable is belt drive. That means that the vibrations that its motor produces won’t be able to reach the platter, and later the needle. The Max LP offers all three speeds in which records can rotate: 33.33, 45, and 78 RPM records. You also have a 45 RPM adapter that comes with the turntable. You can change the speeds with a speed switch which is, of course, way easier to do than changing them manually.

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Why go for wood?

Your IONAudio Max LP wooden turntable has a good reason to be wooden. Wood is known to naturally be more damped for vibrations than, for example, plastics. However, the story about the vibration-resistant properties also continues in the metal basis and the platter since they are resonance-resistant themselves.

When it comes to the tonearm, I could describe it by saying that it is a straight arm made of metal, with a preset tracking force. The preset falls somewhere between 4 and 6 grams. It is not automatic, which means that you will have to put it on the record when using it. You will also have to put it back to its resting position once the records stop playing. ION decided to compensate for the manual tonearm by equipping thus turntable with an automatic turn off switch. The tonearm also has a pre-attached, good-quality ceramic cartridge.

What’s fun about this turntable is that it has a built-in speakers, and they really make everything easier. You can just put on your record and that’s about it. The rest it left to the turntable.

The turntable also comes with the ION Audio EZ Vinyl Converter Software, so you can digitize all the tracks on your vinyl collection if you want that.

Performance

The ION Audio Max LP turntable has a good-quality overall performance for a turntable at its price range. That being said, the sound that you will get out of this turntable will be pretty reach and pretty clear. Furthermore, the sound will be warm and pretty detailed, which means that the turntable has the two most desired sound properties.

The vibration-resistant components will prevent a lot of the vibration noise from reaching the stylus and being picked up by the cartridge. Even though the speakers are not the best out there, you will still enjoy what they have to offer. Especially if you are a regular ion vinyl player listener with no special preferences. However, the turntable offers you the option to listen to your music via external speakers and other devices. This includes headphones, so you shouldn’t be too worried about compatibility.

All in all, you will not be disappointed by the sound quality and the performance of the ION Max LP turntable.

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ION turntable review conclusion

The ION Audio Max LP wooden turntable has a lot to offer and won’t fail to deliver. I personally think that this is one of the best options to go for at this prices range. I hope that you agree with me and that this turntable will find a place at your home.

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