I'm very happy with the product. It's the instructions that leave a lot to be desired. The instructions are not up to date with the program you use in your computer. After 3 days I gave up and a friend came over and managed to figure out what was next from the point I kept getting stuck at. One thing I reccomend is to keep a written time log for each song as sometimes they are hard to divide as one song ends and the next begins since some fade into the beginning of the next song. Otherwise the player performs flawlessly and produces quality recordings. Pyle PL5CSUB Cassette Tape Archiver and Digital Media Converter
This started out well, but unfortunately didn't end that way. It made some good quality digital stereo recordings before cassettes started to jam in the drive. The final straw was when I had to unscrew part of the top and pull the cassette out with pliers. I was fortunately able to save the cassette, but I was worried.
The instructions were written by a non-native English speaker, and are worthless, but it's obvious how the device works. The drive mechanism looks funky though. You insert a cassette vertically into a slot on the top, but the cassette has to go in at an angle. There's one large knob on top that you push in to engage or fast forward the cassette. There's no reverse, and you can't see the tape when it's playing, so there's no way to see how much tape is left to play.
You have to know how to use the Audacity software, which I fortunately did. The instructions don't help, and there's a tiny CD that came with the device that was too small for my computer's disc drive; I've never seen one like it before. I downloaded the Audacity software from the web site and used their tutorials to figure out how the conversion process works. Audacity is amazing.
The case is solidly constructed, and has a cool blue ring around the volume control that lights up when you turn it on. The speakers aren't that good, but they're good enough to listen to the music while you're converting cassettes. By the way, you don't need a converter to convert cassettes to digital music on your computer; you just need a cassette player with a stereo output and the Audacity software, which you can download free from Audacity's site. This is the second brand of converter I have tried, however (I also tried the one made by Ion, which was useless,) because I assumed the cassette drive mechanism would be of high quality and would give me the best quality sound. I was wrong in both cases, but Amazon has been great about accepting them back for a refund. Now I have to decide which cassette player to buy so I can finish converting my cassette collection; I'm really, really hoping the third time's a charm.
I think it is fantastic! The sound is very rich. Felt well built for its weight. This one appeared to be a good value for the money. definitely reliable. Super easy to use.Easy to move and reassemble. I hope this was useful to those of you who are considering buying this.
Well written instructions to get it going. It truly met my expectations in every way. It has been so useful to have around. It is one of the sweetest deals I've found. The sound is very rich. Luckily it was not too big and was very versatile. This is definitely bargain shopping without sacrifice.
This item came quickly. The instructions are very short and written in poor english. The instructions even say that no extra driver is required.
Well, the mini cd won't run in my drives. I looked on line for 'Audacity'. Found it and read that only a beta version is available for Win7. I downloaded it. It was able to record the audio file in a propriatary format which requires another program to convert to a usable mp3. I could not find a converter to work.
I wrote to support at Pyle explaining these issues. No Response.
This machine will not provide mp3 to my computer without a large amount of special software work. It does play cassettes, much like any everyday cheap cassette player would do. The audio leads work into my realteck sound inputs.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT!
I searched around for something reasonable but with good specs and found this. Heavy & Durable and in about 15 minutes you are ready to go. I've been looking for an easy way to convert my tapes and this did the trick. I noticed that you really have to keep your tapes clean, or clean them before you start to get a good quality recording. Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase. Works well for sure.
The unit is a good prodct. It does what it is designed for. The insertion of the tape and ejection could be a made to operate with less pressure. It is hard to work if you have weak fingers or joints, hard to push down button.
Very cheaply made product. Unit only turned on twice and then stopped working altogether. Was not able to get software provided to recognize the device at all. Instructions are either missing or in broken English. - Ion - Cassette Digital Tape Convert - Cassette'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
