Ripping Cassettes to FLAC and storing on external USB Drive, how to?

[marpow]

My freind called me asking how to rip and store CD's and cassettes.
CD's I know that answer but not cassettes.
I looked on Amazon and saw cassette rippers but all where to MP3.
Is there something inexpensive he can buy to rip to FLAC?
Then store on a USB external drive, I would guess he has no more than 1TB?

 

[winopener]

A decent cassette deck, some refurbishment work (belts and rollers will be shot and need to be changed for correct playback) and a decent stereo soundcard. Stay away from the walkman-sized cassette rippers with USB connection, can be good for grab the disney fairytale tapes to digital for the newborn, but are very limited as sound quality.

Software-wise, the free Audacity is ok for the task, any platform.

Said that, if what he have on cassette has been released on cd, it's better to avoid the hassle and get the cd. If not, plenty of work to do...

 

[atrocity]

Assuming that he already has a working cassette deck, it might be worth looking into a standalone digital recorder. I've been using a Roland R-05 for years to capture vinyl, cassettes, MiniDiscs and reels, but that's hardly the only option out there.

 

[ctoelle]

Assuming that he already has a working cassette deck, it might be worth looking into a standalone digital recorder. I've been using a Roland R-05 for years to capture vinyl, cassettes, MiniDiscs and reels, but that's hardly the only option out there.

Does that Roland R-05 have stereo inputs?

 

[atrocity]

Does that Roland R-05 have stereo inputs?

Yes. Nothing but stereo, which is too bad since it would be nice to have a similar device for capturing Surround Master output.

 

[barfle]

My freind called me asking how to rip and store CD's and cassettes.
CD's I know that answer but not cassettes.
I looked on Amazon and saw cassette rippers but all where to MP3.
Is there something inexpensive he can buy to rip to FLAC?
Then store on a USB external drive, I would guess he has no more than 1TB?

I’ve done this several times. If your friend has a working CD [edit - CASSETTE] player with either a line level or headphone output, He (or she) will need an audio input card or USB digitizer and a software package to do the recording. I use Goldwave (goldwave.com) which cost me $30 about 20 years ago (several free updates since then). It can store in two levels of FLAC, as well as myriad other file types (sorry, I haven’t seen DSD so far).

I use Goldwave for almost all of my audio work on my PC, including adding icon pictures and noise reduction.

Once the file has been created, it can be moved to the connected drive using normal MSWIN navigation. I store mine in the “Music” folder, as well as in a NAS, so I can access it through my OPPO player.

 

[slmccaul]

I have used this piece of hardware along with Audacity to rip all of my vinyl before selling almost 15 years ago. It worked very well. Not sure if these are still made or available on eBay, but its quite a flexible piece of hardware as you can tell by the inputs and outputs. If you can't find one, I would be willing to ship you mine to use as long as I get it back. I still occasionally use it, thanks.

 

[atrocity]

If your friend has a working CD player with either a line level or headphone output, He (or she) will need an audio input card or USB digitizer and a software package to do the recording.

If we're talking about CDs and not analog, it's much, much easier, faster and more accurate to simply suck the bits off the discs with a computer drive and appropriate software, which includes Exact Audio Copy, CueRipper and dBPoweramp, just to name three.

 

[par4ken]

If your computer has a sound card you should be all set. Most if not all have stereo inputs and you can use a free program like Audacity or Goldwave to record. Keep levels below zero to prevent clipping. You can apply hiss/noise reduction in software if needed. I like to use
"CD Wave Editor" to split the big file into tracks.

 

[ssully]

A decent cassette deck, some refurbishment work (belts and rollers will be shot and need to be changed for correct playback)

are there no 'decent' decks to be had new anymore?

I'd add that head realignment, on a per-tape-side basis if necessary, is also a must, especially if tapes were made on various different decks..

And Dolby is a nightmare....

 

[ssully]

I have used this piece of hardware along with Audacity to rip all of my vinyl before selling almost 15 years ago. It worked very well. Not sure if these are still made or available on eBay, but its quite a flexible piece of hardware as you can tell by the inputs and outputs. If you can't find one, I would be willing to ship you mine to use as long as I get it back. I still occasionally use it, thanks.View attachment 83782

That's really only necessary for LPs/45s, i.e., sources that need a phono preamp.

For cassettes, a line in to any computer with a modern soundcard and free Audacity software will do. ADC will be done in the computer.

 

[ssully]

I’ve done this several times. If your friend has a working CD player with either a line level or headphone output, He (or she) will need an audio input card or USB digitizer and a software package to do the recording.

???
No one should be recording CDs to file via ADC.

Just rip the CD data directly using an onboard or outboard CD/DVD disc player/reader and whatever software app you like. I'm sure the OP knows this already. His question is really about digitizing cassettes. Maybe you meant 'working cassette player'?

 

[barfle]

If we're talking about CDs and not analog, it's much, much easier, faster and more accurate to simply suck the bits off the discs with a computer drive and appropriate software, which includes Exact Audio Copy, CueRipper and dBPoweramp, just to name three.

Oops! I meant to say “cassette player.” Clearly, that’s what this thread is about.

 

[barfle]

No one should be recording CDs to file via ADC.

Just rip the CD data directly using an onboard or outboard CD/DVD disc player/reader and whatever software app you like. I'm sure the OP knows this already. His question is really about digitizing cassettes. Maybe you meant 'working cassette player'?

See my edit. I nede a preafrooder.