Ripping MP3s from audio cassettes

[Fast Twitch Fiber]

I have a pretty big audio cassette collection that I want to rip into MP3 format. I've read a bit on it and I need to connect my cassette deck to my computer's sound card with standard RCA cables. The only question is where do I connect it to the sound card? I have two jacks on the back of my PC. One is labelled for a microphone and the other is labelled with a music note and an arrow pointing in. There is another jack above this with a music note and an arrow pointing out for the speakers. I'm assuming the one with the arrow pointing in is for the input. Does this mean that I can only get monaural sound since there's only one input? Is this standard or would I need to buy an expensive sound card to get stereo?

 

[The Wenis]

wish i could help more, but i can tell you that when i transferred some of my cassettes i used the input jack and got stuck with monaural sound.

 

[jhonj]

I thing this thread must be moved
Anyway...

ALL the sound cards' line input uses a 3.5mm STEREO (1/8") miniplug so you won't have to buy a new one to get stereo. The only thing you will need is the right patch cord (you can buy it or you can make yourself your own).

The configuration for this patch cord depends on your audio tape player. One tip of the cord must be always a 1/8" miniplug. The other tip could be a:

1- Stereo 1/4" plug
2- Stereo 1/8" miniplug
3- Stereo RCA
4.- Naked wire

1 & 2 are commonly used for headphone output, 3 & 4 are used for speakers output. You must be careful if you are going to connect directly the speakers output from your audio tape player to your sound card's input (because the sound card line input is designed for low power and the audio player's speaker output is high power... you must set the player's volume too low, otherwise you're going to get distorted recordings or -in the worst case- you're gonna burn out the sound card's line input). I suggest to use the headphones output as the "output line" instead of the speakers output. Always remember to adjust the player's volume to avoid saturation of the recording VU meters (to reduce distortion).

For the MP3 ripping, try to get the COOL EDIT PRO software. (there are a lot of nice software to do this, but I highly recommend the Cool Edit Pro)

If you get monoaural sound, two things can be happening:

1- You're using the sound card's MIC input instead of the LINE input or
2- you didn't set up the software recording options to get stereo.