Cassette Tapes to CDS


I have a huge cassette tape collection of live recordings that I want to get on to cds before they fall apart. I googled the free downloads that are avalaible on the internet. Are they safe downloads? Can anyone tell me how the process works? Is it easy etc...??? Thanks in advance.
tlg
I'm happy you're getting good results. My cheap soundcard, when I conected my Onkyo TA-2600 cassette deck to it, was so noisy that I gave up. I bought a stand alone CD-recorder (now using a Marantz CDR-632) and have never looked back. Everything is done in real time, and track numbers must be manually inserted, but it's a labor of love. IIRC, the Alessis CDR uses a hard drive to allow some post-recording editing (e.g., track divisions) prior to burning a CDR.
I ended up downloading some free software off the internet. I have my tape deck feeding into an equalizer to modify the sound for best sound. I went to my local Radio Shack and got an analog cable that connects to the audio out of the equalizer to an audio input jack on the back of my computer hard drive. PRESTO! pretty easy stuff with good results.
This might be a shot in the Dark-Ozzy reference.
BUT I have a Pioneer cassette deck that plays the tapes
in analog, then puts them through a ADDA conversion.
Then it outputs in analog, and in this process it
cleans up the tape, so that there is no
tape HISS. It makes them sound more like a
CD then a cassette.
The model numbers that you need to look for are
616(which I own)
606
Elite 05
Elite 07.
These decks also incorpoate a signal to noise
ratio of 85db.
If you use Dolby b or c, then it`s 90db.
Just to let you know.
it's pretty simple process, provided you have a bit of computer knowledge. you will need an interface of some sort (I have a 'Mbox') and software (often comes with the interface or is already in your computer). you make a digital file by playing the cassette through the interface, into your computer, then burn a CD from the file. ideally, you want to make the digital file using the highest resolution you can, even though you'll have to 'dumb it down' to make a CD. why that's better than usind CD-spec resolution all along I don't know. alternately, you can just get a hard drive and keep the (hi-rez) files on it and play them back using a USB dac. this means two good things: it'll sound better, and you don't have to burn all those CDs.