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37 Karma

Review on ๐ŸŽต Revamped Cassette to MP3 Converter: USB Cassette Player for Converting Tapes to MP3 with Headphones โ€“ Advanced Silver z17 Technology by David Reyes

Revainrating 5 out of 5

AUDIO ENGINEER REVIEW: Sounds good and works well (with caveats)

I've been a recording and recording engineer for over 30 years so I feel I can give this cassette player an accurate review. I put new batteries in the player first because low-voltage batteries can cause sound distortion. I also listened with studio monitor speakers and good quality headphones as the sound quality you hear depends on your playback system. I put a blank CD cassette in the player because the sound quality also depends on the cassette itself. Under these conditions, I found that the turntable's frequency response (balance of bass, midrange and treble) sounded very flat (hiss) and was acceptably low. There was a very slight wobble, which is normal with cassette tapes. The playback speed was just right: not too fast and not too slow. I didn't test the supplied headphones because I only listen with very good headphones. Looking at the negative reviews on this product, I see that some lemons are still on sale. Apparently these devices were not quality checked at the factory. At this price point, you may need to order more than one device to get a good one. I've been lucky. Control labels have low contrast (chrome on chrome) making them difficult to read. I've included my own handwritten labels. The problem is solved. USB connectivity can be difficult. I suggest you open Device Manager on your PC and then expand Sound, video and game controllers. Then connect the USB cable to the player and the computer. You should see "USB PnP Audio Device" as one of the audio options. If not, the USB connection was unreliable. Try again or use a different USB cable. Once you see "USB PnP Audio Device" as a sound option, launch Audacity. Choose Edit > Preferences > Devices. Set the Recording Device to Microphone (USB PnP Audio Device) to allow Audacity to receive input from the tape player's USB port. The recording level in Audacity is adjusted in two ways: the input level of the recording in Audacity and the volume control. in the player. If the volume of the player is too high, the sound will be distorted. So I suggest that you set the Audacity recording level slider to the maximum and adjust the player's volume control so that the peak recording level is around -6dB to a maximum of -3dB. This prevents distortion and allows you to record cleanly on your computer. The device will record clicks from cordless phones, so be sure to keep the player away from the phone during use. All of these precautions have been taken. , this cassette player sounds very good and its transfer of recordings in wave or mp3 files works well.

Pros
  • An absolute legend
Cons
  • Great price