The (i)Key to Our Hearts
Musicians will love this- no more bulky equipment, no strings of wires. The Gemini iKey does one thing and does it well, converting audio feeds to MP3 or WAV files and transfering them via USB. As you may have guessed from the name, it’s iPod compatible, but you could also use any flash drive or an external hard drive for storage.
It’s not for everyone- it accepts only RCA inputs, not higher-quality optical or direct minijack. But it’s built-in compression scheme allows for MP3 quality up to 256 kbps, or uncompressed WAV files to be stored on the external device of your choosing. It’s a tad pricy ($120-$150), but it’s extremely portable (4 AA batteries or you can use the included power supply), and pretty nice looking as well. Also, there’s no complicated setup, no software- plug it in and you are ready to go.
The LEDs are nice- showing you your current settings, audio levels, and even the amount of storage space left. A pause feature might’ve been nice, but it’s easy enough to splice together the files in post-production. Finally, a firewire port would’ve been great, especially for Mac users. Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a way to record live audio, and you want something on a professional level- the iKey is just your ticket.
