Cassette to MP3 conversion USB devices.

[teamsaint]

Anybody got one of these ? Any recommendations for a good cheapish one, or any tips?
Ideally would want to burn to CD also.

ta

TS

[MrGongGong]

I'm assuming you have a cassette deck (cue the HiFi buffs and the Nakamitchi Dragon ?)
so you just need a means of getting the sound into your computer
the really cheapo USB audio interfaces are hopeless and a waste of money
so it all depends on what you mean by "cheap" ?
once you have the audio in your computer you can burn away as much as you want

[teamsaint]

I do have a cassette player, but only as part of a "not that great" midi system.
was really thinking of a standalone USB device to copy from tape to computer.

Cheap? well, its not an essential purchase, so tens rather than hundreds.

[Dave2002]

Anybody got one of these ? Any recommendations for a good cheapish one, or any tips?
Ideally would want to burn to CD also.

ta

TS

What tapes do you want to convert? If commercial probably not worth it. Could try looking for a hi- fi deck on eBay and maybe also an interface such as a second hand Soundblaster MP3+ "card" (analogue to USB) which can sometimes be had for under £20. That particular card is only 16 bits resolution though, but probably good enoguh for most purposes. If you had really good tapes it could be worth doing a good job on this and using much more expensive kit. There might also be people who'd be willing to do this for you, say on audio forums, but you'ld have to make sure you had nothing personal or priceless on the tapes.

it is possible to get very good quality sound from tape, but most units didn't. One other possible problem, even if the recording was done on a good deck, is matching the replay deck to the tape.

[Gordon]

What tapes do you want to convert? If commercial probably not worth it. Could try looking for a hi- fi deck on eBay and maybe also an interface such as a second hand Soundblaster MP3+ "card" (analogue to USB) which can sometimes be had for under £20. That particular card is only 16 bits resolution though, but probably good enoguh for most purposes. If you had really good tapes it could be worth doing a good job on this and using much more expensive kit. There might also be people who'd be willing to do this for you, say on audio forums, but yould have to make sure you had nothing personal or priceless on the tapes.

it is possible to get very good quality sound from tape, but most units didn't. One other possible problem, even if the recording was done on a good deck, is matching the replay deck to the tape.

I'd agree with Dave on this one - depends on how good the tapes are and on what they were recorded. Beware Dolbly alignment if they were Dolby B coded. Don't expect too high a playback quality from a poorly made transport. I have kept my old cassette machine for just this sort of occasion.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

An urgent word to the wise, ts - avoid the ones advertized in a well-known listings magazine (the one that tell you the Times that Radio programmes are on) - the CD quality that results sounds as if your lstening with cotton wool stuffed in your ears. (I know whereof I speak )

A friend gave me a really good Technics cassette deck a few months ago - a much better idea. I now deeply regret the tapes I got rid of after CDing them: the remainder sound so much better played through the deck.

[cloughie]

I guess not a cheap option but using a Boss or Zoom recorder will provide the analogue/digital conversion then download to pc for burning to CD.

[Dave2002]

There are currently some Yamaha, Nakamichi, and maybe decent Sony decks on eBay. Mine is a Sony desk with Dolby S, one of ontly two decks which I ever thought were really any good. One other thing though, some decks were better at recording than replay. I had a Goodmans deck which made surprisingly good recordings but only when replayed on other decks - not normally the way to do it, as Gordon and I agree.

[Bryn]

I have a couple of Sony Dolby 'S' decks, and on both I have found it worthwhile inserting a cylindrical 'shim' between the reel centre and cassette deck's feed hub. This stops a shockwave being transmitted down the tape to the capstan/pinch wheel (which can lead to 'snatches') as the reel centre drops into position with each one third turn. The ideal 'shim' I have found is the drinking straws provided at MacDonalds 'restaurants'. Just snip about 20mm off and push it home. Such 'shims' wear out quickly, so a stock of straws is recommended.

Beware of Dolby C cassettes. In my experience they have to be played back on the very machine they were recorded on to get passable results. The slightest deviation from the original tape speed can really mess up the sound with Dolby C. Dolby B and 'S' seem more tolerant in this regard, but in general it is still advisable to play back on the same tape deck the recording was made on (Goodman exception notwithstanding).

[amateur51]

I have a couple of Sony Dolby 'S' decks, and on both I find it worthwhile inserting a cylindrical 'shim' between the feel reel centre and cassette deck's feed hub. This stops a shockwave being transmitted down the tape to the capstan/pinch wheel (which can lead to leading to 'snatches') as the reel centre drops into position with each one third turn. The ideal 'shim' I have found is the drinking straws provided at MacDonalds 'restaurants'. Just snip about 20mm off and push it home. Such 'shims' wear out quickly, so a stock of straws is recommended.

I like it Bryn, my word I like it a lot

[teamsaint]

Thanks for all the great advice guys. Will try to respond personally, where appropriate.

Whenever you try to clear something up round here, it gets more complicated !!

In a good way, of course.

[Flosshilde]

Anybody got one of these ? Any recommendations for a good cheapish one, or any tips?
Ideally would want to burn to CD also.

ta

TS

I've been wondering much the same thing about vinyl to CD equipment - there used to be quite a few adverts for them, but not much recently. Given that the vinyl records I would want to copy are probably now available in cheap(ish) CD form, is it worth buying special equipment to transfer them?

[MrGongGong]

I've been wondering much the same thing about vinyl to CD equipment - there used to be quite a few adverts for them, but not much recently. Given that the vinyl records I would want to copy are probably now available in cheap(ish) CD form, is it worth buying special equipment to transfer them?

I would say no
unless you like playing the vinyl , 78's or wax cylinders ...... which many folk do

[Dave2002]

Beware of Dolby C cassettes. In my experience they have to be played back on the very machine they were recorded on to get passable results. The slightest deviation from the original tape speed can really mess up the sound with Dolby C. Dolby B and 'S' seem more tolerant in this regard, but in general it is still advisable to play back on the same tape deck the recording was made on (Goodman exception notwithstanding).

Interesting comments re the Dolby S mods.

Re the Goodmans, I didn't think it was that great, though when I bought it was the best affordable deck I could manage. It was only when I lent some tapes to a friend, who had by then I think got a significantly better deck, that he commented that my recordings were at a high, and in his opinion, near optimum level that I reqlised that it was perhaps better at recording than replay. The deck has since gone to deck heaven, but I still have some tapes from that era. In general I would not expect this, and I would normally expect the best replay results for any tape on the deck which was used to record it, as Bryn suggests.

[Dave2002]

There are probably too many variables for most of us to cope with when transferring tapes from one replay deck to another. One variable which can be adjusted and controlled is the azimuth angle of the replay head. I don't know if this has a very significant effect on the sound quality - I'd say perhaps not, but it does affect the stereo. I tried adjusting it on the aforementioned Goodmans deck, and I was surprised at how noticeably this affected the stereo. This is due to relative timing of the left and right tracks. I was able to morve the violin soloist in a violin concerto, presumed central, to the left and to the right. With digital encoding I'm not sure if it's worth bothering much about this. I think it could be worth just recording both channels using what you've got, and then just try relative time shifting the channels to get the appropriate width of soundstage.