Audio Cassette---> Computer---> CD (Hardware solution)

[hi555]

Dear friends,

I want to convert my audio cassettes (consisting of only spoken words, i.e. NO drums, piano, music, etc) to CDs.


Now I have the following equipment at my disposal.

1 x Sony Walkman (with only a headphone out)

1 x Sony cassette player (with only a headphone out)

1 x 1/8 stereo jack wire to connect the headphone out on my walkman to my computer LINE IN.

1 x Computer + CD-RW + a built-in almost useless sound card


In addition to this I have US $ 110 at my disposal.

Now I want this conversion to take place in the best possible way (i.e. best quality of audio to be preserved during the conversion process, this is of the utmost importance)

A crude way of achieving my aim is to connect the walkman (headphone out) to my computer (line in) and then record it on the computer and then process the sound further with the relevant software.


But I want a much better quality sound,

For this can you please help me by telling me that do I require:

1) A new Cassette player? If so then which one?


2) A preamp? If so then which one?


3) A mixer? If so then which one?


4) A sound card? If so then which one? (Btw I was thinking of a Creative:
SB Live ///Audigy LS /// SB Digital Muxe/// but after reading through these forums I have come to know these are gaming sound cards so I dropped the idea)

This question has been asked soooooooooo many times and I am sorry to ask it again. The reason I have asked the question again is because I want to find out only the Hardware solution now.

Kindly spare a bit of ur precious time and help me out,

Thanks a lot,

Hi555

 

[manning1]

if you want HIGHEST quality your best bet is to rent a mastering house engineer by the hour.
if you want to diy.imho you dont need any thing else than what you got.
unless you want to try an audiophile (inexpensive) or lynx(expensive)
sound solution. i'm not sure the "man in the street" will notice much difference. you could try renting a high end cassette deck if you find one but failing that use one of your current cass players.
the free audacity software will let you clean up thru filtering things like hiss etc by letting you identify "noiseprints".
there are also other products like dart restoration tools on the net.
and many other products. shareware/freeware. try hitsquad.com for demoes.
for a cheap sound card for about 90 bucks try staudio.com and tracertek.com. look for hoontech stereo sound card.
just some ideas.

 

[hi555]

thanks for the reply "manning1"

So, it means that i do not need a pre-amp with my sony walkman or the sony cassette player?

Also how much difference will a cassette deck make?

And also how much difference will the new sound card make? Which features should i look for in the new sound card (from the recording point of view as I am not into gaming nor i am into dvd's etc)

thanks again for taking the time out to help me,

hi555

 

[manning1]

as your devices are line level outputs.
you shouldnt need a preamp.
best bet is to try a recording to pc with what youhave now.
and clean it up like i said with the tools i suggested. and see if your happy before spending money.
also look for the free lame mp3 encoder if you want an mp3 of
your cassette recording from the computer.
say for posting to a web site. lame will take the wave file recorded and convert to mp3.
also there are cheap/freeware cd burner software around that will burn a cd of your cass recording once in the pc if you wish.
i use nero that came with my pc burner.
will different cassette decks sound better ?
a difficult call this one. in technical theory yes - but in practice - maybe not.
i dont know what your source sounds like. even then its hit and miss.
best bet is to record from walman, then from a proper cass deck to pc,
and compare. ie: use the old motto if it sounds good it IS good.
it depends who the potential future listener is. if its top notch engineers.
then you might want to consider a better dek feeding the pc and sound card. for the normal consumer or family. i dont think you have to go the expensive route. if its a record company you want to demo your tunes to ,
from what ive seen and AR folks ive talked to in the past they are more interested in the song and whether it will make them money (and will probably redo it anyway !!) than the smallest technical details.
hope this helps.

 

[hi555]

thanks for the reply "manning1"

I really appreciate that you are sparing moments from precious time to answer my questions.


I have checked out the recording with the existing equipment but it is not up to the mark.

Now, basically I want to convert some audio tapes (only speech/vocal sounds) and launch them in the market on a non-commercial basis.

I will be making the CD's which will be used to produce further about 2000-5000 CD's per year.

The people who will listen will be the average "man in the street".

Now I am considering investing in a sound card.

Can you suggest what features to look out for in a good sound card (from the recording point of view)
As my local computer market does not have much variety of sound card brands (except creative) can u please suggest the features of the sound card instead of the actual sound card. Or alternatively can you suggest a sound card from the creative range (up to $ US 50).


Thanks a lot once again,

Best wishes,

Hi555

 

[manning1]

if your budget is fifty bucks. dont bother.
if you search these forums youll see one gets recommended often
an audiophile 2496.(over double your budget) but it would be a good idea to list your computer configuration to the sound card vendor to make sure its compatible. you need a fairly recent pc with pci slots. preferably at least 1ghz. you might want to consider a local studio instead.

 

[Bulls Hit]

Audiophiles can be had for around $85 now

 

[manning1]

you lucky americans. us canadians get ripped off on sound card prices /duties etc/taxes except diy computers. we have cheap computer prices. eg..canadasys.com
think i'll move to the usa. i'm being offered three times the salary, at less tax.
been considering it for awhile bh.

 

[hi555]

thanks again manning1 for the reply and thanks to Bulls Hit as well.


Presently i have a 2000 Ghz Pentium Cerelon computer, with 60 GB of HD at my disposal, along with 256 MB DDR RAM.

I am now willing to spend up to $ US 100 on the sound card.

Now no one in my local computer market seems to be be aware of Audiophiles, and I really dont have the time to order over the internet.

so
I would really appreciate if you can let me know of the features of the Sound Card that should be good for recording the audio cassettes.


thanks 4 the time

hi555

 

[johnnymegabyte]

you lucky americans. us canadians get ripped off on sound card prices /duties etc/taxes except diy computers. we have cheap computer prices. eg..canadasys.com
think i'll move to the usa. i'm being offered three times the salary, at less tax.
been considering it for awhile bh.

Where are you in Canada ?
I'm in Toronto area, and have some good prices, especially in the Agincourt / Asiancourt area. More competition.
Want some URL's ?

 

[hi555]

i just have come back from shopping for a sound card and i am really dissapointed.

There is no sound card variety except that of CREATIVE available from my local market. (i guess majority of ppl think that sound cards are only for games/movies)


Now from the creative range of sound cards which ones do you reccommend with a budget of $ US 100 Max.

thanks

regards

hi555

 

[manning1]

hisss - people here are not being awkward suggesting no creative card.
we ARE trying to help. but the convertors in those gaming cards are just not good. would suggest respectfully you contact maudio for the nearest dealer of the audiophile card, and suggest you get it on the basis that you can return it in case you have a pc configuration that is different or you get some glitch. which has been known to happen from time to time as everyone
has different pc configurations.

johnny meg - thanks. but i'm not in buying mode right now.
saving up for some major upgrade work.

 

[hi555]

hisss - people here are not being awkward suggesting no creative card.
we ARE trying to help.........

thanks for the reply manning1.


i am v. sorry if i hurt somone but when i said: (quote)


"I guess majority of ppl think that sound cards are only for games/movies"


I meant the local ppl in my area. These ppl were vvvvv. surprised when i asked then that I want a audiophile sound card. It seemed that they had never heard the name.

but sorry for not putting it clearly in the first place.

thanks again,

hi555

 

[Bulls Hit]

I'd rather order a decent card from musiciansfriend or whoever and wait the extra few days than be stuck for years with a junky soundblaster

 

[hi555]

I'd rather order a decent card from musiciansfriend or whoever and wait the extra few days than be stuck for years with a junky soundblaster

thanks for the reply Bulls Hit

you are quite right there.

so i guess i'll play the waiting game for now.

thanks again,

btw so you think i should get an audiophile? Is this a generic name or is this the model name?

 

[tedluk]

Where did you shop for the soundcard? You're not going to find a card for recording audio in a computer store or a consumer electronics store. You need to go to a music store or some place that handles pro audio. I don't know which retailers you have in Canada. Down here, the biggies are Sam Ash and Guitar Center.

BullsHit is right though. If there are no retailers in your area, get a card online. Audiophile 2496 is a card manufactured for M-Audio. You might look at the E-mu 0404 also, it's about the same price ($99.00 USD).

Ted

 

[hi555]

Where did you shop for the soundcard? You're not going to find a card for recording audio in a computer store or a consumer electronics store. You need to go to a music store or some place that handles pro audio. I don't know which retailers you have in Canada. Down here, the biggies are Sam Ash and Guitar Center.

BullsHit is right though. If there are no retailers in your area, get a card online. Audiophile 2496 is a card manufactured for M-Audio. You might look at the E-mu 0404 also, it's about the same price ($99.00 USD).

Ted

thanks for the reply ted,

i am located in a vvv small computer town, and hence will have to shop online for the card.

how long do you think that this card will last before i have to purchase a new one?

thanks again,

best regards,

hi555

 

[tedluk]

thanks for the reply ted,

i am located in a vvv small computer town, and hence will have to shop online for the card.

how long do you think that this card will last before i have to purchase a new one?

thanks again,

best regards,

hi555

Sorry to hear that.

How long will it last? If you're asking about reliability, it should last indefinitely. I'd say it's pretty rare, assuming you don't do anything to damage it, for a soundcard to fail. If you're talking about how long before it's outdated? Too late!!!

Seriously, things are constantly changing and improving. You'll go crazy (and bankrupt) trying to stay on top of the curve. The best you can do is to find tools that work for you and use them as long as they continue to serve you. This could be months or even years. I bought Mixtreme soundcards 3 or 4 years ago and they still are working perfectly for me and I don't have any complaints nor feel the need to replace them. Wouldn't mind getting the new Mixtreme 192's though! lol

For what you're trying to do, as long as this is the ONLY thing you are doing, either of these cards should serve you as long as you care to use them. If your needs expand, then you might find yourself pusing the limits of their capabilities.

Ted

 

[hi555]

dear ted,

thanks for taking the time to reply to me to help me out.

Finally after a number of long-distance phone calls i was able to find out about a M-audio dealer in my area. I shall be going there today.

I hope i get a good deal.

thanks to all other posters as well who have posted here to help me out.

best regards,

hi555

 

[manning1]

to protect yourself just make sure you can return the card in case
for some reason it wont work in your particular configuration.
its been known to happen. some people just have pc's with quirks.
in particular i often see problems where people ask too much of older pc's.
on the other hand you might have smooth sailing.
good luck.