[mdlug] Cassette tape to Music CD

[Robert Meier]

Drew,

> >     What's the best way to go about this? My sound card, 
> > according to lspci, is an Ensonique ES1370.

> However, a point - cheaper soundcards have correspondingly cheaper D/A
> and A/D units. Indeed, they'll tend to skimp on the Analog-to-Digital
> (capture) because that's less often used, and when people do use it,
> they're usually capturing voice which doesn't need a lot of fidelity.

line-in/line-out/aux-in/aux-out usually have an impedance of 1Kohm,
the historical convention for amplifiers and other audio components.
speaker-out is usually 8ohm, historical convention for final speakers.

If you don't match impedance out to impedance in, you suffer distortion
that increases noise, like trying to use a pda keyboard with a broom handle
for stylus, or write a message in the sand with a toothpick.

The solution is to attach line-out to line-in or use an "impedance matcher"
(8ohm to 1K) between speaker-out and line-in.
In the 1990s, most stores (Sears, Meijers, ...) that sold tape recorders
also sold impedance matchers as accessories.

I haven't seen them or other "parts" in the local stores for years,
so when I needed one a few years ago, I built one from junkbox parts.

Hopefully helpful,
-- 
Dr. Robert J. Meier