****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
For years, I have been an avid audiobook listener, a journey that began in the era of 'Books on Tape'—a term synonymous with the pioneering company of the time. I must have accumulated 100+ titles on cassette tape, which I played on my Sony Walkman and the cassette deck hooked up to my stereo. As technology evolved, so did my listening habits, transitioning from the iconic Sony Walkman to Apple's revolutionary iPod, and ultimately, to the convenience of my iPhone. What I appreciate about audiobooks in a digital format is the ability to re-listen to them after a while, and their handy presence right on my phone.While I was excavating my crawl space recently, I unearthed my venerable collection of 'audiobook cassettes. Through my old Denon tape deck, I was thrilled to once again discover the high quality of these productions, from the narration to the sound engineering. And with so many great titles, from Sherlock Holmes with John Gielgud to Ken Follett, to Clive Cussler, I wanted to rediscover them again, but conveniently in a digital format.I initially recorded these analog gems directly into my computer, which required the purchase of specialized software and an adapter. This worked well, but it was time-consuming. I had to monitor the audio levels of the files once they were recording, and then use a second software program, Audacity, to edit it all together and export the native files as MP3s. (Some of these titles were six or eight cassettes in length!) I found that this process was tying up my computer for long periods. So, after digitizing a couple of Clive Cussler epics in this way, I convinced myself there had to be a better, more convenient way to transfer my audiobooks from an analog cassette into a digital mp3 format.I googled "Tape to Digital Converter" which led me to Amazon and this product. When it arrived, I immediately went through the 8-page folded panel instructions that were included. It's worth noting that the instructions are articulated in clear, comprehensible English, a refreshing departure from the usual perplexing 'Engrish' translations. I realized that not only could I record cassettes, but I could also PLAY them from a powered speaker, or headphones (there is a pair of ear-bud style phones supplied) as the unit can function as a tape player/recorder with both Aux line-in and output ports.The recording process is multi-faceted and easy with a standard USB drive, which you insert on the side of the unit. You can choose to record in two modes, "manual" and "auto." The manual mode will record the cassette side "as is" and you will have to turn it off manually once it has stopped. You can select auto-reverse and it will also record the other side, but you will have to stop it manually or it will continue to record each side in a continuous loop. If you choose auto mode, the software will detect the space between tracks and save each into separate files. If a song has a pause longer than two seconds, it will detect this as a new track and record the one song into two files. But, this is easily fixed as you can recombine the files in Audacity.In terms of price and functionality, this product represents unparalleled value. I am more than halfway through digitizing my entire collection of books on tape...it's like getting a whole new audiobook club membership for one low price! The overall process saves me a lot of time.As an FYI, if you have audiobooks on CDs, it will transfer those as well through the "Aux-in" jack. My laptop is relatively new, and they have eliminated external drives from these, so now I "rip" them via this unit.One final note, if you have just one boxed set of audiobooks on tape, you can sell it on eBay after you have digitized it, and the unit has paid for itself!I wholeheartedly endorse this product as the most efficient, economical, and user-friendly method for digitizing your cherished analog cassettes and other 'vintage' recordings, music included!
