The 7 Best Cassette MP3 Converters

Updated December 20, 2017 by Brett Dvoretz

7. Ion Tape Express Plus

• powered via included usb cable
• records both sides automatically
• included software is finicky

6. ACTPE Capture

• can automatically partition tracks
• runs on 2 aa batteries or usb power
• release latch is a bit delicate

5. Tonor Portable

• compatible with third party software
• straightforward playback controls
• audio subject to signal interference

4. Momoday Portable

• works like a standard tape player
• has an auxiliary output
• sound quality is inconsistent

3. Quantum FX J22UBK

• can also record onto tapes
• built-in am and fm radio bands
• old school 1980s style

2. Arrela USB Portable

• compatible with pcs and macs
• plug and play operation
• works with free audacity software

1. Ion Audio Tape 2 PC

• built-in noise reduction
• works with most operating systems
• includes rca and usb cables

Finding The Right Cassette MP3 Converter For You

For the person who still sees cassette tapes as viable audio delivery tools but knows conversion to a digital format is a good idea, it's welcome news that almost every cassette to MP3 converter can also be used as a cassette tape player. And in fact, many of these tools are priced so low that it makes sense to buy one simply to enjoy your tapes, even if you think you will make limited use of the conversion capabilities. If you hope to enjoy your taped music or other audio while it's still on cassette, look for a unit that comes with a pair of headphones so you can enjoy the content right away.

If your primary concern is conversion of audio files rather than listening to them, then consider when and where you are likely to do the converting. There are plenty of cassette to MP3 converters that can be connected to a computer via USB cable and which require only minimal setup of software. Still better are the plug and play converters that require no drivers or other installation. These options handle the conversion internally and essentially just transfer a file in its new format.

Why Cassette Conversion Matters

The "lifespan" of a cassette tape tends to stretch from about 10 years all the way to 30 years. Of course a cassette tape can also last as long as five minutes, should its case be cracked or if the tape itself is suddenly damaged as by flame, water, or tearing.

Beyond a sudden end caused by acute damage, myriad factors contribute to the demise of a cassette. The first and most obvious reason a tape will be see a shorter operational life is because it is played over and over again. Ironically, the better loved the content of a cassette tape, the less time that tape lasts. Excessive playing puts stress on a tape, eventually stretching and wearing the film of the tape down to where it can no longer replicate audio or to where it breaks.

Exposure to a strong magnetic force can also have a sudden catastrophic effect on a cassette tape, potentially destroying the tape's ability to recreate music, or else seriously impairing the quality of playback. Also, as time goes on, it will simply be harder and harder to find hardware on which to play cassette tapes even if they are still in working order.

Thus it is that cassette tape conversion matters. While a cassette tape is by its very nature ephemeral, a digital file, such as an MP3, can last indefinitely. Not only are digital files not damaged by repeated playback, but they can also be copied and recreated at the click of a button, making it easy to backup and protect the content thus stored.

A Look At Two Technologies

Casette tapes held sway in the world of audio for much of the 20th Century. They were the premiere format for most of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, finally losing their primacy to compact discs in the last decade of the century.

The technology behind the cassette tape dates back to the 1920s, however. Magnetic tape was invented in 1928 and allowed for the faithful storage and reproduction of audio (and soon video content). Early magnetic tape was too large and expensive for everyday use, but over the decades, advances to the technology saw a reduction of both its size and price.

The compact cassette, as a cassette tape is properly known, was first released to the general public in the 1960s, and soon they were being used everywhere, both for the enjoyment of the listener and for recording content on blank tapes.

Just as the CD supplanted the cassette tape, so too would this format lose its spot in time. The MP3 is a digital audio format that is efficient and reliable, occupying minimal storage space on a hard drive, memory card, or other device. The algorithms underpinning an MP3's compression of audio content were developed and refined during the early 1990s, though the concept of digital compression predates the format by more than a decade.

The popularity of the MP3 dovetailed with the ascendance of the Internet; music was suddenly instantly available and in a reliable format that could be loaded onto a variety of devices.

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A wandering writer who spends as much time on the road as behind the computer screen, Brett can either be found hacking furiously away at the keyboard or perhaps enjoying a whiskey and coke on some exotic beach, sometimes both simultaneously, usually with a four-legged companion by his side. He hopes to one day become a modern day renaissance man.