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LP 2 GO is the iPod of vinyl record players

Make your records relevant again with the Ion Audio LP 2 GO, a compact and very portable system for playing and ripping vinyl.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
Ion Audio LP 2 GO
The LP 2 GO is as portable as vinyl gets. Amanda Kooser/CNET

LAS VEGAS--Having hauled my record collection from state to state, I know that vinyl is pretty much the antithesis of portability. Ion Audio's LP 2 GO is making me think differently about my stash of Dylan and Stones records.

Ion has been spinning around in the digital turntable market for a while. The LP 2 GO takes that same tech and shrinks it down to something you can toss into a backpack. You'll still have to pack those big record platters around, though.

Ion Audio Duo Deck
Play and transfer both vinyl and mix tapes with the Duo Deck. (Click to enlarge.) Ion Audio

LP 2 GO has a built-in speaker and headphone output. You can blast your tunes or convert them to MP3 format via USB with the bundled software. It plays both 33s and 45s.

The best part is that LP 2 GO will run on four AA batteries. That means you can groove to the sweet sounds of Elton John at the beach, in a bus, or halfway up the side of Mount McKinley.

I poked and prodded the LP 2 GO on the CES 2012 show floor here. It's not something you're going to want to carry around in your purse all the time, but it could definitely get a party started.

Ion also announced the Duo Deck at CES. It's a similarly portable record system, but it adds a cassette deck so that you get two obsolete technologies in one.

Watch this: Ion Audio LP 2 GO rocks records on the go