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Gear / Technical Help => Ask The Tapers => Topic started by: evolute99 on September 20, 2021, 07:20:44 PM
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Hi, I know some of you who will see a thread post like this and may cringe. You may also think why would someone spend the time to record a FLAC to a cassette why don’t they just burn the cd or stream over Bluetooth (which does not sound the same compared to a Cd or Cassette on my system.)
What I would like to do is record a show or many shows from the FLAC files on my PC to a cassette. There are a couple questions I have in regards to how to properly do this.
I could run out of the PC to my audio interface to a cassette deck. But do I need a DAC in the line somewhere to improve quality or does my interface accomplish this?
Next question what is the old school taper mentality when it comes to song splits? Say I have a 90 minute cassette but Side A is like 32 minutes so that’s 13 minutes of dead air and side Side B is like 38 minutes. What are your thoughts on the dead air situation? Would you rather have the tape flip in the middle of song or are you mostly fine with the dead air for several minutes. I could just get up and fast forward.
I’m looking to transfer a lot of my Gov’t Mule shows to cassette just for listening purposes on my home stereo. I also have a small truck that has a cassette player and would like to stroll around cranking those tapes as well.
Thanks in advance for any advice .
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Your interface is a DAC, you don't need anything else. Since it's just for your listening pleasure, put the tape flip split wherever you want. Most of us would cringe with a cut in the song at the flip, but unlike taping live to a cassette, you are using a file. So you could just run it back a bit so side B starts right where Side A ended or even a little before if you want.
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A cassette adapter with a 3.5mm tip would also work for your truck if you get tired of messing with the tape.
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not cringing at all, if the cassette deck is top notch there's potentially some analog warmth to be gained.
As has been said, you just need a nice DAC. I like my simple, mid-fi solution, a Dragonfly Cobalt. It's basically a USB powered dongle and has a simple 1/8 out you can run 1/8>RCA into your recording deck. The Dragonfly Red is nice too, but to me the Cobalt is way more transparent but retaining a tinge of warmth. YMMV.