Cuffy

I had a Plusdeck 2 which I kept for a year in order to convert a sizable archive of cassettes to MP3 files in the laziest fashion possible.

It's not quite the sophisticated solution it purports to be, it needs a bit of wiring up to the soundcard, the software is buggy as hell and needs careful setting up for decent results. Oh, and unless you have a lot of processing power then you don't have a hope of getting decent recordings whilst running a firewall or doing much else at ll with your PC.

However, for anyone reasonably competent with a PC and doesn't mind leaving the machine to its own devices for 45 minutes at a time then I'd say that it's a nice tidy solution (as Howse already states, volume is the main factor). And it sits neatly in a drive bay to be forgotten about when not in use.

Yeah, it has it's faults and they are not minor, but you can't really expect such a niche product to be highly developed at that sort of price. It does the job and without a doubt someone will been keen to take it off your hands when your work is complete.

jamesharris

extra info noted cuffy..I'm PC incompetent so that is a bit daunting...

johng

Why not buy a CD recorder and then you only need Cassette OUT to CD recorder IN.

Saves messing around with a PC - much simpler.

jamesharris

I like that idea..are they expensive dear boy?

johng

I haven't check up but I cannot think they are any dearer than a DVD recorder.

have a look at Amazon for average prices. Curries or Comet may even do one of their own make?

I put my collection on to mini disc partly because it was generally available before CD recorders became common andalso because of its ability to edit the contents.

sippog

Nobody seems to have mentioned yet the idea of a simple USB capture device like Griffin's iMic (around 50 quid) or the Terratec Pre-Amp (around 80 quid from Maplins on sale recentlly). You would still need a cassette player or turntable but these devices let you digitise any kind of audio input - they're much more versatile.

jamesharris

thanks again guys.This forum is great

lordtednfs

James, check out Richer Sounds at www.richersounds.com for the best prices on cd recorders, and I have to agree, it's the easiest way to copy all your tapes to cd. There's a branch in Newcastle and I am sure they will advise you on the best buy for your needs. Good luck.

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samkydd

I've been using Audacity which is free to download and you can save in WAV or MP3 formats. I've been using it for real time recording of mini-disc, vinyl and cassette to my PC.

"...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"

jamesharris

give richer sounds a shout..download audacity in case.cheers