how to convert old audio cassettes to CD?

[RRS2002]

I have dozens of old cassettes with irreplacable music and other items. How to convert to Audio CD?

Two options

1. Buy a stand alone CD recorder . On ebay they range from $140-$200 at a minimum. This will solve the situation, since these units have analog plugs in the back for L/R inputs. Anybody ever bought one of these? My understanding is that they only use Audio CD-Rs.

2. Option 2 is to use a PC with a CD burner, again only use Audio CDs. But what type of cords? the Cassette deck will have RCA jacks but how to get that to connect to the Line in of the Sound card?? Do Sound cards have a L/R feature?
Do I need 2 types of Software -- one to copy onto hard drive from the cassette deck, then another software to burn it to CD? Also, if anyone has tried this, how is the quality? What is the overall cost of the project?

My feeling is that option 1 is more expensive but simpler than option 2 by about $75 in grand total.

Thanks for your advice techno gurus !!

 

[Crusher X]

You can try ripping the tapes straight to MP3. There are several players out there that have input connections to connect audio sources to convert tapes,records, etc. straight to MP3.

 

[Fanny McLonghorn]

I've actually done this quite a few times. The ideal scenario is to have a sound card that has rca inputs, but it isn't essential. You can get an rca to 1/8 in. cable at Radio Shack.

You will need some kind of software. I recommend The Link to check out different options. My recommendation would be to download an evaluation copy of Adobe Audition which is good for only like a month, but is coded by the developers of Cool Edit, my favorite all-purpose audio editing program.

Just plug it into the line-in on the sound card, and select line-in on the recording mixer. To get to the recording mixer, double-click on the speaker icon in the systray, go to properties and select "recording". It might take you a couple of tries to get the level right.

As a side note, if you have an on-board sound card, or AC97 codec, your results will less than desirable. Because AC97 is a piece of ****.

 

[Fanny McLonghorn]

Oh yeah, it will be recorded in PCM signed wave format unless otherwise specified, so once the file is saved, you can burn it to cd's using whatever you normally use.

And, assuming you will want different tracks, it is pretty easy to cut and paste sections of the wave into new files.