How to convert LP's/Cassttes to MP3 ?

[acowboy]

Hello just wondering if anyone had a product or review of software/hardware that would allow you
to hook up your cassette player of turntable to the PC and convert to MP3 ?

[noddin0ff]

It really doesn't take much to do this. If you have extreme needs like maybe you need to convert 100's of albums or tapes, or maybe you are a very discriminating audiophile with top notch gear. You might wait for better advice...

If your computer's sound card doesn't accept analog inputs already, a simple device like Griffen's iMic is all you need to hook a turntable or cassette deck to your USB port. (~$40, http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/ ) Something more serious might be the M-audio USB interface (http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-MobilePre-Mobile-Preamp-Interface/dp/B0000TP57E).

Lots of people like and use the free, open source program Audacity for recording and editing. (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/). It is supposed to also have features to clean up pops and hisses. I don't know how well they work. It will convert to just about any digital format.

[daviethek]

Thanks, I had the same question. dk

[nightflier]

I don't have a decent cassette deck anymore, so I bought one for these:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=PLUSDECK2C

Haven't played with it much, but it does divide up the tracks into separate MP3s for you.

[royphil345]

You just hook up your turntable or tape deck to your computer's / sound card's line-in jack, usually using a stereo 1/8" plug to dual RCA plug cable.

A turntable must be run through a phono preamp or a receiver with a phono input. Hook the receiver's tape outputs to the computer in this case.

The easiest program in the world to record and cut tapes / records into tracks with is CD Wave http://www.milosoftware.com/ Makes REAL quick work of it once you learn it and it's EASY to learn. It records CD quality wav files and can save them as mp3, Ogg or FLAC if you wish. You set the recording level using the "line-in" control in the recording section of the Windows Mixer.

If your sound card doesn't have a line-in input, or you're not happy with the sound quality, you could go with one of the USB interfaces or add a PCI sound card to your desktop. I wasn't crazy about the M-Audio Audiophile USB. There were occasionally clicking noises in the playback due to the USB 1.1 interface being too slow. Others on this site have experienced the same problem and the Audiophile USB has been discontinued, so I think that's why... Recordings came out good, the sound quality was excellent. Sometimes there was a short dropout in the first 5 seconds of a recording.

I'm using the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 internal PCI card now in the computer I record with. It sounds great and makes EXCELLENT recordings. Highly recommended if you only have stereo speakers on your computer and the best 2 channel recording / playback is most important to you. It has RCA inputs and outputs, so no adapters necessary to use it with stereo components. It will require an adapter to use it with computer speakers that have a stereo 1/8" plug however. It has a coaxial digital output that will pass through Dolby Digital to be decoded by your A/V receiver.


http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.list&ID=pciinterfaces


I recently heard a vinyl rip done using a multi-channel M-Audio card (Revolution) and it sounded excellent too. Might be a way to go if you want multi-channel capabilities and excellent 2-channel recording / playback too. I didn't get great results using a Soundblaster Audigy 2 for recording or playback over my main system. Sounded too "processed".

Here's another popular inexpensive USB interface http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHUCA202 Not sure how the sound quality is... Most reviewers seem to say it's better than using the built in sound card in a typical laptop.

[noddin0ff]

I was wondering about USB 1.1 being too slow. Mine are all 2.0 so I don't worry. Thanks for adding some real info royphil!

[royphil345]

The Audiophile USB really is excellent for recording. Seems to "stumble" occasionally mostly during playback of difficult passages. The D/A converters are high quality and the sound is excellent.

I'm holding onto mine... Might try using it to make some multi-track guitar recordings and "play with myself"... LOL

The design seems similar to the boxes they sell for mainly that purpose... amateur musicians recording 1 mono track at a time... Probably will work excellent for that. They probably pushed the limits of the USB 1.1 interface using the same design in a stereo unit.