Help with converting Audio source to MP3

[lnong]

There are no answers so far.
My dad wants to archive his collection of old music cassettes to MP3s, I need to get some hardware to do that. I have two options:

1) Buy a good quality (Sony?) cassette deck (if they still exist!!) and record the music through my soundcard via the Line-In input. By the way, I think I know the answer to this question but im gonna ask it anyway: Will I get better recording quality if I use a soundcard with coaxial or S/PDIF inputs (both of which are digital), as suppose to just the normal Line-In mini-stereo plug input (which is analog)? I say NO, because the output from tape playback is analog, never digital...

2) The other option is to buy this product:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/audio/7a8d/

I didn't know such a device existed until I came across that site! That's the most convenient option. In concept, it seems easy to use, which is good because my dad can actually do it by himself. My only concern is that quality of the audio playback may not be as good as a Sony or any other reputable branded device...

Please advise. Thanks.

[redwudz]

I would use the cassette deck-sound card method myself.

If you look in 'Tools' there are audio encoders there. https://www.videohelp.com/tools?s=10#10

There are also audio editors there that can encode, if you need to edit.

You are likely stuck with the analog output from the cassette deck. S/PDIF and coaxial are digital inputs and you would need a digital source.

That second unit looks interesting but expensive. I would make sure they are using a hardware MP3 encoder. Otherwise, you just have an expensive cassette player and you would still need to software encode.

Audio software encoding should go fairly fast once you have the audio on
your hard drive.

EDIT: Here's a link to that computer cassette unit: http://www.plusdeck.com/englishsite/index.asp

[sanjayk]

I would prefer the cassette-dek to sound card option.

I have converted hundreds of old songs into MP3 this way. I generally use Media Juke Box for this purpose because its an all purpose application. It will record from line-in, encode to MP3, organize music according to artist / album / track etc. Rip CDs burn CDs etc etc.

The PC cassette player looks interesting but I dont think its a proven system.

[FinChase]

If you have a good sound card, I think the cassette deck to sound card option is best. Goldwave is another good program for recording it and then editing. I used it to clean up the sound on some recordings I made from old records and then split the tracks, and I was very pleased with the results.

[sanjayk]

... if you want a free version, there is Audacity also.

[aedipuss]

hate to be the one to put a damper on things, but i wouldn't worry too much about the quality of the components you buy. cassettes had low fidelity to begin with and over time the magnetic structure of the particles on the tape degrades. the most important aspects you would need to match are the type of tape used(metal, or type I-IV oxides) and the type of noise reduction used while recording, i.e. dolby a, b, c or a propietary version such as used on high end jvc decks. be forwarned that tape hiss/wow and flutter will be noticable no matter what. cassettes are analog so your only option is line-out/line-in. better would be for you to find cd to mp3 versions for your father, rather than trying to make barely acceptable copies of old warn tapes.

just my 2 cents worth