Best Cassette to MP3 Converters – Geek Review

What to look for in cassette to MP3 converters

There are many great options out there for converting your cassette tapes to MP3, and most of them will do the job well enough. Choosing the best one for you will likely come down to style and additional features. This is what you should look for.

• conversion capabilities: Obviously, if a device can’t transform your tapes into a digital format, it’s not worth buying. But consider how your device of choice does it. Do you need to connect it to a computer? Will you need to download special audio software to use it? Or can you directly transfer your tapes to an external storage device like a flash drive or SD card? Each product in this roundup has its own way of doing it, so choose the one that is most comfortable for you.
• Design: Remember your favorite cassette player as a child. Was it a walkman-style device or did it have that shoebox design? Maybe you were a fan of boomboxes or those big double cassette devices that were part of a larger stereo system. No matter what brings you nostalgia back, there’s a converter to match.
• AM/FM radio: If you have a box of old cassette tapes lying around, there’s a good chance you’ve recorded what’s on them straight from the radio in the past. The good news is that you can bring back the good old days with some of these converters. Even if you no longer want to record directly from the airwaves, it’s always nice to have an extra radio nearby.
• modern features: Some of the best cassette-to-digital converters do more than just transfer your tapes to a computer. Some offer more contemporary features like Bluetooth connectivity, USB ports, wireless streaming, built-in microphones, and more.

Best Overall: Reshow Cassette Player

If all you’re interested in is getting those old tapes out of that cardboard box and onto your hard drive, look no further than the Reshow Cassette Player. This Walkman-style cassette to MP3 converter plugs directly into your computer to help you get that content into a digital format. However, you will need to download the free audio editing program to use it. But that’s okay because Audacity is free and easy to learn and use. Also, it will be very useful by allowing you to select which parts of your tapes you want to keep and which parts you want to discard.

This converter also works as a portable cassette player. You can plug your headphones into the 3.5mm jack and take them with you, just like the old days. However, you won’t get some of the more advanced features found in products further down this list, like built-in speakers, wireless streaming, USB slots, and a built-in microphone. We picked this as our top pick because it’s the simplest cassette converter device out there, has been around a long time and has proven its worth, and is the least expensive of the bunch.

AM/FM Radio Style at its Best: SEMIER Portable Cassette Player and Recorder

One of the main reasons people have so many old tapes lying around is because they would record live radio broadcasts on their analog cassettes. Those broadcasts will never come back. So immortalizing them digitally seems like a good idea.

But you don’t have to stop there. The radio continues to broadcast. And if you want to revive that old habit, the SEMIER Portable Cassette Recorder and Player can help you do just that. This cassette converter comes equipped with an AM/FM radio, so you can record all the shows you want, just like years past. Plus, its built-in speaker and headphone jack mean you can listen to your tunes or the radio wherever you want.

This cassette to MP3 convert a little different than Reshow cassette player. Instead of connecting to your computer, it saves audio files directly to an SD card or USB flash drive (not included). This is really convenient, but it also means that you won’t get the precision editing that Audacity offers when importing the files. But that’s okay. Since Audacity is a free program, you can import your converted files later for editing.

Best Dual Stereo: Pyle Dual Stereo Cassette Deck

If you have a high-tech audio setup in your home and want to get your cassettes spinning again, then the Pyle Dual Stereo Cassette Tape Deck is for you. This tape deck comes with a USB cable that plugs directly into your computer and imports the cassette content using Audacity. It is a really simple matter.

However, the rugged nature of the machine is its real selling point. It’s meant to be part of a larger stereo system to bring your tapes back to life the way they were designed to be used in the first place. Also, it’s quite expensive, so buying it solely for its conversion capabilities doesn’t make much sense.

If you decide to go for this player, be aware that it does not offer some critical features such as auto reverse and track search. If those are the things you want from a tape deck, you may want to look at some older or used models. The old cassette decks became better than the new ones, mainly due to changes in licensing and manufacturing. For example, they don’t make high-end cassette mechanisms anymore, and things like Dolby NR can’t be licensed anymore.

The downside to buying an old cassette deck, however, is that you will likely need new belts. But the price to replace them would probably cost less than this model. So buying this cassette to mp3 converter just for its tape playback capabilities is also pointless. Buying this device would only be smart because of the combination of its conversion capabilities Y its nature as a heavy piece of audio equipment.

Best Shoebox Design: Riptunes Portable Cassette Recorder Player

We are now moving into the pure designer style models of our line. The Riptunes Portable Cassette Recorder Player is shaped like an old school shoebox cassette deck. Converts tapes to a USB flash drive, so you can use them on any computer after digitizing. It has a built-in microphone to record your voice to a blank tape or flash drive.

In addition, it has a built-in speaker and a handle so you can easily walk around town carrying it while listening to your music. And the auxiliary port means you can plug in your favorite headphones directly. Unfortunately, this model doesn’t come with AM/FM radio or wireless streaming like other models in our roundup. But it’s under $50, so the price is definitely right.

Best Boombox Style: Riptunes Boombox Radio Cassette Player Recorder

Nothing brings back memories of the ’80s like a good old-fashioned boom box. And the Riptunes Boombox Radio Cassette Player has just about everything we look for in a cassette to MP3 converter. Convert your tapes directly to a Micro SD card or USB flash drive. There is no computer connectivity, unfortunately. But that’s offset by its classic ’80s-style soundboard design.

But this boombox doesn’t stay in the ’80s for long. It also comes equipped with a Bluetooth receiver, so you can pair it with any audio device you like and use it as a Bluetooth speaker. So whether you’re using an iPhone, Android smartphone, computer, or whatever, and party like it’s 1999.

No boombox would be complete without a radio. This retro model features an AM/FM shortwave radio, so you can listen to the latest songs and old stations you love, as loud as you want. It also features an AUX input port so you can connect devices like microphones and other auxiliaries to capture your voice and other electronic inputs.