CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

Bucketfoot · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 698 Location: Centennial, CO

Anyone have any experience/suggestions with transferring cassettes to digital?

I've done it before using the mini-jack input on a computer, but want a method with less noise injected. Are there any decent USB options or should I just look for a sound card with line level inputs?

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:31 pm Post subject:

Get a line level sound card. I haven't seen any that don't, mind you, I"m not a computer guy.

ecrabb · Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:39 pm Post subject:

There are a whole slow of audio interfaces - card-based, as well as USB and FireWire. It all depends on how much fidelity you want and how much much you want to spend. Most cheap sound cards (and most PC's built-in audio) have pretty crappy line inputs because they have crap a/d converters and horrible filtering. That combo gives you a really crummy s/n ratio, distortion, and generally pretty shabby-sounding audio I/O. You have to spend more money (whether PCI-based, USB or FireWire), to get better fidelity.

I use a ~$300 Edirol interface, but it's "prosound" gear, and has phantom power and Hi-Z inputs... But, anything even in the $50-100 ballpark will be FAR superior to what you get from the junk $5 audio interface most people have built-in to their computers. Here are a couple of options in that ballpark:

M-Audio Fast Track ($68):
http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-US44010-Interface-GT-Player-Software/dp/B00061ZM2Y/curtpalmecrtp-20

Lexicon Alpha ($80):
http://www.amazon.com/Lexicon-Alpha-Desktop-Recording-Studio/dp/B000HVXMNE/curtpalmecrtp-20

There are some cheaper options (like the Griffin iMic - ~$35 street, which I've gotten great results from), but personally if fidelity is relatively important, I'd go for one of the higher-end interfaces, record your material, then sell it.

Oh, and I much prefer an external solution because I can easily move the devices from computer to computer, and more importantly, to a notebook. I hate being tied to a damn desk all the time and rarely use a desktop computer anymore. So, I don't really buy anymore internal peripherals if I can help it. I like the flexibility of external devices.

SC

Bucketfoot · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 698 Location: Centennial, CO

At $68 I think I'll give the M-Audio a try.

Thanks Thumbs Up

ecrabb · Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 9:12 pm Post subject:

Hey, wait a sec... The lower-end Fast Track box can take a line-level, but you'd need two different adapters - a little goofy. I think you'd be better off to spend another $12 on the Lexicon and get a couple of RCA to 1/4" adapters from Monoprice or Rat Shack. That would be a little cleaner, I think.

SC

greg_mitch · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 5320

Behringer UCA 202?

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA202-U-Control-Audio-Interface/dp/B000KW2YEI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1251772015&sr=1-1/curtpalmecrtp-20

Bucketfoot · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 698 Location: Centennial, CO

Saw that one too, I actually ended up going with both the M-Audio & Behringer.

This way I have the line level inputs with no adapters, plus I've recently pulled out the guitars and drum machine and have been thinking about doing some recording again. So this way I should be covered for both.

allenborder · Joined: 17 Sep 2009 Posts: 3

Audio quality with respect to a cassette tape recorded to a CD will only be as good as the source (tape) and the equipment used to read the tape and input it to the computer and of course, the ability to modify the digital recording in order to improve sound.