Need to convert some very old cassette tapes to CD/MP3
 

Has anyone done the conversion?

I've got a Denon cassette deck. Thinking about something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/VTOP-USB2-0-Analog-Capture-Grabber/dp/B00XU4NT6K/ref=sxin_15_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.14a246c3-7a62-40bf-bdd0-5ac67c2a1913%3Aamzn1.sym.14a246c3-7a62-40bf-bdd0-5ac67c2a1913&cv_ct_cx=cassette+to+mp3+converter&ke ywords=cassette+to+mp3+converter&pd_rd_i=B00XU4NT6 K&pd_rd_r=d1c17f21-13f7-4519-8bdd-8ef6971d0c39&pd_rd_w=1s8v1&pd_rd_wg=Agr4c&pf_rd_p= 14a246c3-7a62-40bf-bdd0-5ac67c2a1913&pf_rd_r=JPBR7T8S5D53CD57XBC8&qid=1673 665177&sprefix=cassette%2Caps%2C210&sr=1-2-a73d1c8c-2fd2-4f19-aa41-2df022bcb241-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUE4WldUV TRQS1E0NkYmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA0MDE3ODdFTDMyVjhPWVl TSEkmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDkyNTQxNkJSMTFLQzYxU1VBN SZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3NlYXJjaF90aGVtYXRpYyZhY3Rpb24 9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

It doesn't have to be super high quality but just reasonable. Lets face it, 40-60 cassettes aren't be be all that great. I can clean the recordings up with Audacity.

Is there something better out there?

If they are copies of albums, I would just get the digital version. Your MP3 will only be as good as your tape.

Some are factory cassettes of stuff you won't find on CD. Some are live recordings that are lesser quality but have great memories.

I'm skeptical of the walkman size players and figure I have a better chance of using the Denon and a signal converter.

take a look first

there is stuff on the net that never was release on a record or tape
inc a lot of live shows

For $20 that seems reasonable to me Joe. I know where you're coming from. I'd like to have done that with some of my cassettes too but my Sony deck is now eating tapes.
If your Denon deck is working I'd say it's worth a try. I'd just make sure the connections are as clean as possible. I know mine would need some deoxit or something similar to clean them up first.

If you were copying from good metallic Maxells from back then I'd mebbe try it. Purchased pre-recorded cassettes were total crap from day one... good luck tho'!

I have some old albums and cassette tapes I tried to convert to digital. It was a real shock to listen to the crappy quality of worn cassette tape or the snap crackle pop of an album compared to a CD. I know lots of audiophiles throw rocks at CDs but unless you have a "golden ear" and have 10 or 20 grand of high end audio equipment, you are kidding yourself.

Just buy the CD of it or download the album and enjoy far better sound. Yea, if it is indeed some live recording or a album that is so obscure it was never released on CD, then give it a go. Don't expect much as far as quality audio sound.

The early daze of CDs were a bit lacking in both the mastering of the CDs and the DACs .... back in the 80s. Both have come a long way :).

I love my music "live" rather than what's only done in a studio and released officially. I have bunches of both, but my minty college albums are stored away. I bought the albums, then immediately recorded them on Maxells .... warts and all ;).

But it's really about the music ..... I grew up on 8-tracks too :(.

Reasons for converter being mandatory:

-Recording of my wedding
-Recording of my daughter (3 YO) sent to her grandma
-Obscure Christian bands that never made the big time but were fantastic musicians

This is not about whether to convert the tapes but how is the best way to convert them to enjoy them.

Now we understand the issue,
has anyone done the converter route and what did you use? If not, I'll take my best guess on what to get

p.s. 8-track really sucked - they had more self-destruct sessions than the TV series of Mission Impossible.
Cassettes were the bomb in their day. You could copy a album and take it with you on the road. Then there were trading sessions in the parking lot before a Dead concert...

Maxell "Chrome" cassettes were the best because the supposedly better "Metal" tapes sounded worse in the car than the cheapest regular tapes. That is all I used.

The only analog to digital conversion I've done is recording albums to my computer. I figured out how to do it with a small amp so I could hook the turntable up directly to the computer.
If I were to try to convert my cassettes I'd buy one of those units you linked. I think it will work nicely.

I brain farted earlier .... I said Maxell metal, and I actually used the Maxell IIs (chrome) almost exclusively for recording albums.... and later DATs for when I recorded live shows. Ya can't fit a live set on 45 minutes ;).... DATs rocked.

Don't ever be fooled by Maxwell tapes like my college buddy was :D

Good luck with the transfers!

I have done this with an ADA audio interface but that cord adapter will probably be more hifi than the tapes can deliver. My old cassette player has belt drives and pinch rollers that have all turned to goo. Might need a new player as well.

Well, I went and bought the one in the link. Hooked up my deck to the USB and used Audacity to record. Worked like a charm. I put an old tape to test the deck so that if it ate the tape no big deal but the deck worked flawlessly.

No it is not going to surpass CD quality but, these are old cassettes of things like my wedding day, my daughter telling funny stories (sent to her grandma), my mother's testimony of what she went through as a Jew in Germany before they fled to the US, and some other things that are not recorded or found anywhere else.
I'll be seeing how it works with copying very old cassette music that was never published on CD next.

Definitely worth the $20

Do it, regardless of quality.
In the very near future AI will start having practical applications (besides being intrusive and taking jerbs).

It will automatically find the damaged parts, take out the scratches, sharpen and smooth over the voices, add echo, expand backgrounds from 8mm to widescreen format based on hints of existing frames, etc Heck add Shakespeare on a unicycle to your daughter's wedding.