Help needed for a good recording mechanism

[tsrusa2002]

I am looking for a good quality audio recording mechanism using a PC or other handy device. I have many old audio songs on cassette that I can play using my sound system. I want to convert them into wav or mp3 format and store on CD’s. I am thinking if I can connect the output of my sound system to a computer (or some other device) and use some software to enhance the quality (like echo, treble, bass, surround effect) of the audio song and record it in wav or mp3 format, it will work fine. I found some pocket mp3 fm players (that can record also) at Bestbuy, which comes along with PC software. But those are very expensive ($150).

[Perro Grande]

Take a line out (not a speaker out) from your sound system and connect it to the LINE IN on your sound card. You'll probably need an inexpensive cable (stereo RCA to Male Stereo 1/8") to make the connection.

You can then digitally record the line input using software like Goldwave. Goldwave can save the file as a WAV. For CD, you'll want a 44.1Khz wave file. It can also do things like noise reduction, eq, and other goodies.

Obviously, the better the sound card you have the better the capture quality will be.

[tsrusa2002]

Is there a difference between line out and speaker out and headphone out. Will there be a dfference in recording quality?
I tried with the headphone out but the recording qualiity was not good. Lot of humm and hiss even after reducing it.

[Perro Grande]

Do not use a speaker output. The output level is much too high to be used by a line input.

The ideal output is a line level output. Tape Out on most receivers will be ideal for this.

Technically you could use a headphone output, as it is a line-level output. However, if at all possible, tape out is ideal.

If you've got hum and hiss, you could have other issues going on, including a bad cable, poor contact, etc. If you had the sound level reduced on the headphone output, this, too, could lead to hum and hiss. If you have a truly crappy sound card, this could contribute to the problem (especially hiss).