EZcap Cassette to MP3 Converter to USB Flash Drive Review

[@Remodelingbyirenedesigns]

Thank you Phil, I will try to do that. Just one question: is the record button when pressed the second time to stop the recording, supposed to stop the tape or somehow react to being pressed? Both of my devices show no indication that this record button works at all at the end of the recording. Green/blue light keeps on blinking the same way it did before when the recording was started.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Remodeling by Irene Designs So to start recording, press the record button, then make sure you press silver 'play' on top for the cassette to start playing. You should see the tape reels rotating and if you plug the headphones in you should hear what is on the tape. The LED light should be flashing. To stop the recording, press the record button again and it will begin writing the file to the card. Make sure to wait until the light stops flashing to make sure the file is done processing and completely saved. I believe the light will be a steady green when done. Removing the card before it is done may lead to the file not writing properly. There should be a folder where the files are saved on the card, I think it's called Tapemp3.

[@maadelinarodriguezfernande3160]

@@ReviewedByPhil creo que poco a poco lo ire manejando mejor lo mas importante es que podre rescatar algunas viejas cintas de mas de 50 años que son para mi muy queridas

[@marsrach]

This device is brilliant and receives 5 Stars ***** Lost our user manual to find the auto mode button to split recordings and since we couldn't find a PDF version online we're grateful for your comprehensive review which showed just what we were looking for. Many Thanks!!

[@Remodelingbyirenedesigns]

Phil, you are awesome! I have reformatted the TF card to 32GB and it worked! The record button finally started to react when pressed the second time and turned solid green shortly after that. I was able to record a song! Thanks again. Now I see that it made perfect sense since my TF card was 60GB while the formate setting showed 128GB.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Awesome! Glad to help!

[@tilpeternoske8465]

Hey there; same effect did I have by formating the USB in ext4 format. I try over and over, the LED did blink one short time, then no permanent blinking, not in green, not in blue. But your Phil's YT-Video shows permanent flashing. On the computer I see nothing written on the USB stick. Then I formated the USB with fat32. That helps - Yippiyeh - Thanks for the video. btw: Little more slow speeching is also a way to save my time, then I don't need to hear you five times, as english is not the tongue of my mother. have excellent times ...

[@luetkemumpitz8307]

Hi Phil, thanks for your review. I´ve had problems, and I´ve tested it a lot of hours. In your video you mentioned the problem with 32GB so I switched to another USB Stick. And this was the solution. Thank you so much. :-)

[@ReviewedByPhil]

You're welcome!

[@GarisLintang]

Lol i just found an old ABBA Cassete on my grandma's attic, i'm really interested to play the Cassete, but i don't have Cassete player or walkman, then i searched it online and found Cassete converter, and then i think can this converter can play Cassete like a walkaman. So thank you Phil, now i know this converter can play cassete 👍

[@darrinsmith2571]

Thanks Bro! I just bought one. Your review was both excellent and concise! I appreciate your review! You didn't go off on tangents and your info was superb! I really appreciate your efforts!

[@felixhumanum4676]

Thanks dude. I lost the manual. I did not know how to go into auto mode. This helped a ton.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

You're welcome!

[@captainswb]

Great the only youtube that eally explained how the unit works thanks

[@ReviewedByPhil]

You're welcome, glad it helped!

[@NossyDrelich]

Thank you very much for this detailed review and tutorial. I didn't know how to make it split the songs or that it had a loop function for the tape. Trying it out now.

[@stephanociraptor]

when transfering from tape to usb, does it transfer both sides of the tape without having to flip it?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Yes, if you have the loop switch engaged the player will automatically switch sides of the tape and can transfer continuously in this mode.

[@marco77ar]

I just got one of these off of Amazon...my dad has been asking for something like this....for a long time...just what you did, that's all I need it to do.

[@KareyPohn]

Thank you so much for the comments that you made to others, as I learned what was wrong, and it finally worked. I first had too large thumb drives, and now it is working great. I got mine from Blumway on amazon. I am going to buy a couple more now so that I can record several tapes at a time!!! Subscribed to your channel!!!

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Glad I could help and thanks for subscribing!

[@PeterDebby]

I was looking for info on this and this popped up. Thanks for this.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Glad I could help!

[@demonfox1995]

I found that when recording from vinyl or cassette, it would be just easier to record each side as one really long song and just cut them manually on iTunes. Thus, you can also get rid of those annoying loud pops and cut them to side as it's quickly fading in, if that makes sense. Plus very easier to get that exact second on the song ....as most auto-mode track cutting fails to do so. Every. Damn. Time.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

I agree, that's a useful tip, thanks for sharing!

[@leenashah3644]

Thanks Phil. I have so many audio cassette, i was thinking what to do? I just saw your video it seems very easy to convert in USB flash drive. Thanks

[@ReviewedByPhil]

You're welcome!

[@hotlineblues7570]

Thanks Mr, Phil, Great Review

[@damian9303]

Well, I use a capture card (which I also use to convert tapes from VHS) and I use my old radio which happens to have an audio cassette player built in and I use the AV to Componet cable and plug the AV part into the Headphone port and the Left and Right audio into the Capture Card. I then use a program called Audacity and switch the Microphone to an option called something like "USB VIDBOX". I click record on Audacity and then play the tape. When it's done, I click on the record on Audacity again and Export the file into a wav format. It works quite well!

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Yes, I used to do it this way too :-) There's also another version of this cassette recorder that does the same thing (takes the place of the capture card and radio) and you use Audacity to record on a computer instead of direct to a USB drive. I reviewed that one here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f36mZoVjdrNnga8

[@rijshelfrancisco6056]

Hello I have one like that. What if i pressed the direction button too hard and the cassette is not playing, what should i do

[@Morcaiden]

A perfect review and visual instruction guide - thank you so much.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

You're very welcome!

[@rjlx3]

Thanks for the clear and concise review, you earned a sub!

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Awesome, thank you!

[@ChannelBerpindah]

Is the rekording in stereo ?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

The recorded file will have a "stereo" track consisting of a duplicated mono track (exact same recording on the left and right channels).

[@ChannelBerpindah]

@@ReviewedByPhil thanks for the reply man, i just received mine too and i think the sound is good enough in my opinion for a cassette converted sound.

[@johngajdos7950]

Thank you very much. Your video explained everything I needed to know. I'm going to order one now

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Glad I could help

[@elainetaps16]

Please tell me what USB drive I should purchase? Thank you.

[@andrewmoodie5751]

Very useful, clear to follow and succinct.

[@maxpyane9918]

Thanks Phil I received the Pyle cassette converter but it's basically the same thing. Can you show a video of how to access thumb drive to your phone

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Sure, I use an OTG adapter to convert the phone's charging port into a full size USB port. Here's my video review on one of those devices: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKKVonieosyMjNU This particular OTG adapter is a microUSB one but they also have them with USB-C connectors for newer Androids and Lightning connectors for iPhones.

[@f.naroli167]

Thank You Phil ! This is Awesome explanation.

[@marleyknikman399]

Can i also play a song that is on the usb?

[@RichSzerman]

Does it play back thw recorded files on the unit via the headphones?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Yes, you can playback the MP3 files on the thumbdrive by using the controls on the back.

[@AlySunderji]

thanks, i just got one of these... once side A is over, does it automatically switch to side B?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Yes, if you have the 'loop' switch activated.

[@theronfalcon]

If the light stops blinking while recording is the device still recording?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

I'm not sure that I've noticed mine doing that. You can check and play back the file that it recorded to see if it continued to convert the music past the point where the light stopped blinking. If it stopped converting/recording this could be because the file it too large for the file system on the USB device, the device is out of memory, or the converter is low on power.

[@TheResortVideo]

Hi Phil, nice tutorial! How do you record side two?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

If you have the loop switch activated (see 0:39) the tape will automatically start playing side B after side A has finished so you can create one continuous recording automatically when side A is complete. Or you can manually open the cassette player and turn the tape over and start a new conversion/recording starting on that side.

[@maadelinarodriguezfernande3160]

gracias acabo de comprar el convertidor y no tenia idea de como usarlo , espero que con tus indicaciones lo logre

[@Svankmajer]

Can you use this as a normal walkman as well? Like talking a walk with it? Or is it only usable for converting?

[@fedup1940]

I read another review on this item and they said it can be used as a tape player too.

[@darrenmckeown990]

Great review. Can the device link to a speaker using the headphone jack

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Yes, if your speaker has an AUX input, you can connect the headphone port to the speaker's input using a 1/8" audio cable: geni.us/YR0rZBE [Amazon Affiliate Product Link]

[@joeypc87]

Dear Phil, I would like to know how is the recorded mp3 audio quality ? Tks.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

It's pretty good. I would say that it's not quite CD quality because you are using the tape, which is analog, as the source, but it's at least as good as the tape sounds.

[@principitokasim]

Thanks for your explanation. One more question that the Manual is missing. On the back of there are 6 dots or buttons. I am clear on Autoplay and Record. What are the other buttons?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

They are playback controls so you can listen to the MP3 files on the USB thumb drive and navigate between tracks e.g. play/pause, FF, RW, skip forward/back.

[@deenaalexander2029]

I put a flashdrive in to record from a cassette. I get the solid green light, then press & get the flashing green light but when I push the play button to start the recording the tape does not play. The tape will play without the flashdrive being installed but when I try to record on the flashdrive the tape won't play. What am I doing wrong?

[@alsheikhla1988]

I want to ask about the quality of the songs that recoded?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

They're ok. Not CD quality for sure since it is an analog signal and not as "clean" or precise as digital sound, but that's the charm of cassettes, isn't it?

[@alsheikhla1988]

@@ReviewedByPhil some cassettes have good quality same like CDs specially if it's original, so when you convert it will be the same quality or less ...

[@ReviewedByPhil]

I would say, that whatever you hear in the headphones plugged into the unit is what is faithfully captured in the MP3 when you do the conversion, so about the same quality as what the tape plays.

[@sawajiri100]

Hi it's is stereo? Two channel audio

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Yes, the recordings are stereo.

[@sawajiri100]

ReviewedByPhil if is this real auto reverse is nice.. but i see the other version of this cassette converter on the other review youtube on the front of cassette say is auto reverse and mega bass but the guy open the cassette i see only one pitch roller meaning not real auto reverse maybe also mega bass?.. i Just currently order this. I use not for converter but auto reverse capabilities i like it.. if real autoreverse

[@sawajiri100]

ReviewedByPhil hi again i receive this unit today and i'm empress about the quality of this cassette capture is truely autoreverse hi-fi stereo ang mega bass the sound quality almost the same of walkman in 2000 era. Thanks for review i really like this unit 👍🙂

[@subasreeravindran5428]

Is this possible to MP3 audio to cassate?

[@jagypattur9376]

does the blue light stop flashing once the recording starts?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

No, it will continue to flash throughout the recording period so that you know it is actively recording. It will only stop flashing and return to steady blue once you stop the file conversion and it is done writing to the USB thumb drive.

[@1seansouth]

excellent, thank you Phil

[@ashoktondwalkar123]

Thank you for the review. How is the durability of this player. Does it still works.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Hm, well I don't use it as a player on a regular basis. Just to convert some tapes. It still works fine, but I've only used it a handful of times over the years to convert some personal recordings.

[@ashoktondwalkar123]

@@ReviewedByPhil Thank You for the prompt reply. It seems a Chinese product though it is the only cassette player that has better durability that other available in Amazon. Sadly Sony and Philips don't make Cassette Walkman anymore.

[@principitokasim]

Good set of instructions, My questiosn is: I have a 2 hours record of an event, not music. As the EZCAP has automated reverse option. How do I know when the whole tape has been recorded? I am guessing there is no automated stop. Thanks you.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

The loop feature can be turned off by changing the loop switch from 'on' to 'off'. Then the tape will stop when it reaches the end of that side. So you can either record each side separately and have the recorder automatically stop at the end of each side, or you can switch the loop to 'off' after it has reversed to the second side so that you have one continuous file that stops at the end of the second side (you have to know the approximate timing so you can manually do this). On a side note, I don't know that I've recorded a tape end to end, and I think in either situation even if the tape stops playing you still have to manually switch off recording to the USB, otherwise you could end up with hours of dead noise. The file is easily editable in Audacity afterwards if you need to truncate the tail end.

[@tekkenobility]

I have a question. Can i use it to make mixtapes on a blank cassette tape?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

No, this converter does not have the capability to write to magnetic tape cassettes, only decode and play audio from them.

[@nataliezier6581]

Hi Phil, nice video. First, sorry my english is unfortunately not the best but i hope you still understand me. I have questions. Firstly, in the operation instruction stands something that you can use the recording via PC without batteries, do you know how it works? Secondly, how exactly does it work with the automatic recording of the second page and thirdly, how do I stop the recording after the page change? Thanks for your time.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Hello. If you would like to record via PC without batteries, you must connect the device to the PC using the USB cable and capture the audio using software, like Audacity, it is free. Please follow the instructions here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f36mZoVjdrNnga8 It you want the device to automatically record the second side of the tape without any pause, make sure the loop switch, shown at 0:39, is set to loop (on the right). If you do not want it to record the second side, set the loop switch to the left for single-side only and the tape will stop playing once it reaches the end of the first side.

[@tyebuck76]

Will the recording stop once the cassette has finished recording and stopped?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

No, recording has to be manually stopped.

[@g_rammstein]

i bought this few days ago. though the light turns green every time i insert a flash drive, it wont start recording. connecting it to pc or phone doesn't do a thing.

[@imafatimah22]

Thanks for the review. Short but very informative

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ASGRECORDSCHANNEL]

Very good video sar

[@iraq_96]

Thank you I purchased this device , is it possible to increase the recording speed

[@ReviewedByPhil]

No, sorry. It only records in real-time.

[@iraq_96]

@@ReviewedByPhil thank you so much dear 🌹

[@confusedcarlos]

Do you know if there exists a device that allows the contrast? mp3 to cassette tape

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Hm, no I'm not sure about that.

[@thegit8698]

Can an MP3 player be used in place of the stick?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

I suppose, if it can be recognized as a USB drive without any special drivers.

[@minyazi4595]

Can i only use it to play the song from the cassette using this ?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Yes, you don't have to convert a tape when listening to it. You can play only and listen to the music just fine using headphones.

[@DarioVidili]

Thanks! I found this video very helpful 😃

[@ReviewedByPhil]

You're welcome!

[@barbwelty7142]

After recording 4-5 minutes of my tape using a thumbdrive, I loaded it into my mac and Itunes. But it only recorded the last 15 seconds of the recording. I followed your instructions of pushing the record button at the beginning, and waiting for the solid green light before pushing Play. And at the end, I pushed the Record button again, & the green light began flashing. The light was still flashing at least 7-8 minutes, so I assumed nothing was recorded. If I pulled the thumbdrive too soon, why would there be a perfect recording of the final 15 seconds?

[@97warlock]

so it wont save each song?? it saves 1 enourmous file?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Yes and no. If you make one continuous recording in one go, then yes, it's one long file. If you manually stop the conversion (and the tape) between songs, it will end the recording and save each song as its own file, but you'll need to monitor and start the conversion process again (and press play for) for the next song on the tape. If you enable "auto" conversion, it will automatically split songs into separate files when it detects a long enough section of silence between tracks (needs a gaps of several seconds or more).

[@97warlock]

@@ReviewedByPhil somebody said it tends to cut off the very beginning of each song when using the auto feature. Have u nopticed this to be a problem? i wouldnt mind of OCCASIONALLY it missed the very beginning, but it would suck if it chopped the intro to every song.

[@karwanbyaamirirfan7768]

Hello, your video is so informative thanks for posting it. I have a question I am unable to record it to mp3 when I press the record button on auto or manual mode it is not recording and I am not getting the flashing light for recording mode as u mentioned in the video. I don't know why. I switched the USB as well but did not work.

[@alialmosawy793]

Hello dear I used this for the first time, it was very convenient and I succeeded in converting a complete cassette But now when I start recording the green light doesn't turn on and maybe it starts blinking a bit without recording What do I do

[@panasonicoverstock1584]

Phil I have about 100 c-60 cassettes of history lectures that i would like to put on a USB and listen to in my car. After transfer will I be able to pick the lectures i want to hear ?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Each tape would become its own file, so yes, you would be able to skip through them like tracks on a CD. You could also do this on the converter itself while using it in USB playback mode. In your car, it depends on how your audio system selects tracks on a USB drive. Most will allow you to skip one track/file at a time forward or backward but some allow you to type in a track number or title (if there is an LCD screen control) so it may helpful to rename the files after you have converted them.

[@hardtofindagood]

Do you recommend a certain power adapter?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

No, you can use any mini USB cable to power it.

[@uomiwonfortun2323]

I too ended up buying two different versions of the EZCAP Cassette to USB player/recorder. I purchased a 64gig micro SD with a USB adapter to record all of my music on. I was never able to actually get recordings on the 64 gig card. I thought that it was diffective and was ready to send it back. Since they are only like $20 ea I figured I would try my luck with a different version player/recorder. It was in these instructions were I found that you had to have a "directory" on the card labeled "TAPEMP3", in order to playback an MP3. When I did that I was able to playback music, but I still wasn't able to record to the card. So, I went in search of smaller cards. I had a 4 gig card and a 500 MB Sandisk, similar to the one the reviewer shows in his video. The 4 gig stick worked great, files recorded and played back perfectly. However, the 500 MB Sandisk recorded the files, but when I tried playing them back on my PC the files sounded super speed at least 4x playback.

[@nanayippy]

thank god and thank you i found this review.

[@carlosrjr1973]

Phil,The instructions indicate not to record at full volume. Also not to adjust the volume level during conversion. What is the recommended volume level? Will the level make a difference in the final conversations?You also mentioned that the first second of a file is lost when in Auto. Is there a remedy for that?CR.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Yes, the volume you set on the player will affect the volume level of the audio in the converted file. I found that if you set the volume somewhere between 50-75% of the max the playback on the file has good volume and little distortion. At max volume you may experience some clipping, depending on the source audio, which is why it is not recommended. You may have to just do a sample conversion or two to make sure you like the output before spending the time to convert an entire tape. The cleanest way to avoid dropped audio is to simply do a single file conversion of the entire tape and then clip the individual tracks out manually in computer software, like Audacity (it's free). It's a bit more effort, but if you're finding that the auto-split mode doesn't produce the results you want, this may be the better option.

[@carlosrjr1973]

Thank you very much Phil much appreciated!!

[@nickykoleto1982]

Can you tell me how many gigabytes of flash drive to use THANK YOU!!!

[@bahianightengale5514]

can this deck be used to playback the cassette tapes as well?

[@loveibiza1969]

Hi Phil, I just bought this same exact ezcap & am having trouble just trying to even just play the music. Eventually my "direction" button just keeps clicking, clicking, clicking & clicking . Does the device need to be charged up ??

[@carolprice7638]

Hi Phil I would like to know,why my ezcap keeps stopping when it is recording from a cassette. It is different lengths of time when it does it.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Hm, my first thoughts are perhaps the USB drive is running out of space, but that would only happen if it's already quite full and/or the capacity of the drive is small, since the file sizes aren't terribly large. The other thing it could be is battery life. Have you tried converting a cassette while the device is plugged into USB power or are you just running off the AA batteries? The last thing it might be could be you have the "auto" track detection on and it's splitting up the recording based on a detection of silence. If that's the case, set the device to record one continuous file and then split it into tracks manually later, if necessary.

[@catman58]

Is it stereo and do you know the bitrate of the MP3

[@ReviewedByPhil]

It is mono (duplicated to a stereo track). The bitrate of the converted MP3 is 128 kbps.

[@MegaMoto85]

that is horrible! @@ReviewedByPhil

[@ReviewedByPhil]

@@MegaMoto85 🤷‍♂I wouldn't set too high expectations on getting audiophile quality from a $20 analog cassette converter.

[@MegaMoto85]

its in mono, that concluded my interest in this device @@ReviewedByPhil

[@AneliseKunz]

Thanks a lot! Your USB Flash drive tip saved my frustration!!!! :)

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Glad I could help!

[@irenesamson7472]

Hi Phil, Just watched your video, thanks. I am having a problem using my device. Actually, this is the second converter I bought from Amazon. I thought that the first one was defective and got another one - exactly the same problem. My TF card is fine, it is 60GB and in exFAT format. But whatever I do, the card remains empty. I tried to copy some MP3s from my PC to this card - it works. Both converters show green (or blue) light blinking as if recording is taking place but when I try to stop recording and press the record button again, nothing happens. The light keeps on blinking in the same way. This is when I stop the cassette using the stop button, eject TF card, put it in my PC - and the card is empty again. Tried to do it different ways: pressing the play button first, then pressing the record button or vice a versa in manual mode, in auto mode - no result. Can you, please, tell me what am I doing wrong? It is very unlikely that both devices are defective in the same way.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Irene Samson Hi, I think there are two possibilities. I would try reformatting the card as a Fat32 format and see if that works. My second thought is that the capacity might be too large. When I tested my converter it had trouble reading a 32Gb drive, but handled a smaller capacity drive fine.

[@simonmichaud2285]

I just got one the other day and I am experiencing the same issue. The light keeps blinking and there is nothing being saved, therefore empty flash drive. How did you fix this issue?

[@ducanhnguyen6903]

Can the device record audio FROM my computer ONTO A CASSETE TAPE? Thank you very much!

[@numo203]

Can you listen to songs without using the ear plug?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

The unit doesn't have a built-in speaker, so if you don't plug anything into the headphone port, you won't be able to listen to a tape. However, you *can* connect a small speaker instead of headphones to the player using an AUX cable if you don't want to use the included earphones.

[@numo203]

@@ReviewedByPhil thanks the the info

[@francobug]

Thank you for this review, this was very informative. I think I'll buy this for my work space

[@ReviewedByPhil]

You're very welcome!

[@leevansbrown8320]

Very helpful thank you as I couldn’t find where the battery went!

[@ReviewedByPhil]

You're welcome!

[@lensafilm]

Hi, I follow the instruction, the cassette is about 2 hours length . But when I checked the mp3, it only encoded 4 min mp3. How do I solve this ? thanks

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Hm, do you have the converter set to regular convert mode or auto mode (LED is green for regular mode and blue for auto mode)? If it is in Auto mode, while in standby, press and hold the next track button until the LED changes to green. Then try the conversion process again by pressing the record button on the back and then pressing play at the top to start playing the tape. You may want to check after about 10 minutes to make sure the file length is longer this time. If so, if you only want 1 file, you'll have to start over from the beginning. Your other option is to break the recording into shorter segments and check that the files are capturing all of the tape, then stitching these smaller files together later on a computer or other software.

[@MikeJBlues]

Just ordered one of these. Cool video

[@nuelarchannel9378]

mine is spraker not working . may i don't know how to set up and also mp3 file quality is very low

[@ReviewedByPhil]

The cassette player doesn't have a speaker. You must use headphones plugged into the headphone port to listen to the tape or MP3 file on the player.

[@emilehoogstoel4243]

Hi Phil Some months ago I had bought also a thing like that In the meantime I was busy moving to another place Now everything is ok here so I have time to convert my casettes to this stick Have a problem ...................... I do not find the manuel anymore Do you know where I can download this ? I would be very happy to have that , will print it and then I can begin to do the job Have more than 50 casettes to convert , so a lot of work In the meantime I greet and thank you Greetings Hoogstoel Emile

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Hi Emile, This manual should be the correct instructions for this model: download.chinavasion.com/download/CVMK-G551.pdf

[@michaelelendil1]

excellent presentation, Phil! could you please tell me how to adjust the PLAYBACK speed of the cassette player. My AGPTEK device is playing TOO SLOW...I have had someone record tapes for me, and record in Audacity, and it sounds great, but when I record with this, the tapes are too slow. Thank you!

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Hm, there isn't a setting for playback speed on the player that I know of. Just for clarification when you play the tape and listen with headphones does it sound slow too, or is this only happening during the conversion? It could be that the tape was recorded at a different speed that requires a player that can be set to match it, like a “long-play” cassette tape. The other option is to record using Audacity via USB cable vs using the onboard thumb drive converter since you can adjust the sample rate and speed in Audacity.

[@michaelelendil1]

yes, if it is too slow i CAN speed up with Audacity....i will do that! okay, thank you! (is just 45 min tape; not long play....it may be the unit itself; a cheap unit!) thank you, and than you for your response!

[@sofiaagostonelli5893]

Is it possible to record MP3 onto a cassette using one of these?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

No, this converter cannot write to tapes because it lacks the magnetic head necessary to encode information; it can only read from the tape.

[@sheilabryant3]

Hi, In the instruction manual it says you can record from any audio device with a 3.5mm cable. Does this mean if you plug it into a CD player it will convert the CD to mp3 the same as a cassette?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Hm, perhaps you have a different version? Mine doesn't have any additional "input" options, like an aux-in jack, so it's not possible to have another device output audio to it to make the conversions. Again, yours might be different and if it does have a 3.5mm audio input jack, then I'm sure that's what the manual is referring to.

[@benbowden2129]

Does it work the other way around?? Like mp3 to cassette?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

No, unfortunately, this device does not have a tape recorder head and cannot write to the cassette.

[@calum9121]

Hi Phil - I like the look of this device, I have a question though. I am looking to convert old tapes of my old band. The recordings are gigs, so there is no real end to each song due to the fact that it is all one recording from a tape recorder at the time. Is it easy to divide the MP3 up into different songs rather than one long MP3? Thanks

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Hi Calum. If you use free audio editing software like Audacity, dividing up a single mp3 into smaller "tracks" is relatively easy. You can simply highlight the portion of the master track that you want to save as a single track and create a separate file of just that section.

[@calum9121]

Hi Phil - thanks for that. I have been looking for an easy solution for a while. I shall give this a go. Cheers.

[@calum9121]

Hi Phil, it looks like that the make has updated a little. Is this the one that you would recommend? www.amazon.co.uk/Reshow-Cassette-Player-Converter-Convert/dp/B01LYGZK89/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504597774&sr=8-1&keywords=Reshow+USB+Cassette%2FTape+Player+Converter

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Yeah, the box looks a little different now, but I believe the hardware inside should be the same. There may be a few small tweaks to the underlying circuitry (there usually is for version updates), but that's hard to say for sure without trying it. Recent reviews for the item seem to indicate that it functions exactly the same as the one I showed here in my review.

[@serelocci]

Thank you 🙏🌺

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Welcome 😊

[@crispzapple]

Question. I bought a cassette converter like this (not realizing it was a converter and thinking it was a normal walkman) I’m glad to know I can use it normally, but- do I just add the battery’s, put in the cassette, put in the headphones and press play? I tried doing that but I could hear nothing

[@CakeandCosplay]

Does it automatically stop once recorded both sides? Or just continue rerecording from the other side? Thanks

[@Ovalrapture]

I have a lot of very long audio books. One thing I find confusing is according the the instructions once the tape finishes playing you press the record button again and it converts the recording into the mp3 format. But it doesn't say how long it takes to do the conversion. How do you know when the conversion is complete and you can remove the flash drive?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

I haven't converted anything over 45 minutes, but I don't recall it taking a very long time even for that length. I think the device is constantly writing as the tape plays, so it just needs to end the file when you hit the record button the second time. Make sure to wait until the light stops flashing. The light will be a steady green (or blue in Auto-split mode) when done saving.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

If you're asking how long it takes to convert a 45 minute tape, the answer is 45 minutes. It converts in real time.

[@VJhammeR]

what format fo default of mp3 for recording on usb stick?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

128kbps mp3 file.

[@petergriffith638]

Can you record more than one cassette to the flash drive

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Yes.

[@bernadettesantiago327]

I just bought this and it is not forwarding or rewinding. It worked for a few minutes and I started hitting buttons. Now it is not working at all. Is there an easier way to convert tapes to MP3 player?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Hm, are you using it battery powered or do you have the USB cable plugged into a power source (like wall adapter or computer)? I found that the player works more reliably on USB power than off batteries. But if you can't get it to work, maybe it's simply defective. While these types of cassette converters are the most economical, and fairly simple, devices used to convert cassettes to MP3, there are more expensive "professional" devices out there like the Marantz PMD-300CP: geni.us/NR5oh [Amazon Affiliate Product Link] However it's quite expensive and would only be necessary if you have a very large library to convert.

[@bernadettesantiago327]

ReviewedByPhil thank you, it worked for a few minutes and I started hitting buttons to figure it out. Im using USB connected to my computer. I’ll try it again. Thank you

[@Mike12349]

Hi how tapes can you put on the usb ? Please

[@ReviewedByPhil]

It will depend on how long your tapes are and how much capacity your USB drive has, for example some tapes are short, only 30 minutes of audio but some are longer, over an hour. So unfortunately it's hard to say how many tapes will fit onto the USB drive, but it is a lot. Probably hundreds or more on a 512 MB thumb drive since each minute of audio takes up only 1 MB of space on the drive.

[@Pizzacam3]

Is it possible to just connect this using the headphone jack into a PC and capture from your PC using software like Sony Sound Forge or something like that, that can record from the microphone jack on your tower?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Yes, you can connect the headphone out of the converter to the mic input of your laptop or computer tower and this would allow you to record in audio capture software like Sony Sound Forge or Audacity. You can also attach the converter via USB to a USB port and your software should recognize it as a "USB audio input" device.

[@Pizzacam3]

Yeah, I finally got that going, however my assumptions about the the EZCAP device itself were right...PIECE OF CRUD! lol I mean, if it was just running slow, I could correct that but when it's completely wonky and sounds like the belt or motor is screwed up and the speed is "Various" you can't really get a nice, clean capture like that(at least not with MY high standards) but eh, I guess that's what you get for $30 these days! I guess I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and spend a small fortune and buy a damn Teac deck since no other REPUTABLE brands out there are making portable or even single/dual decks...you have to go consumer-grade "high end"(Teac or Tascam) I know same thing... or risk it with brands like "ION" IDK where the hell they even came from but I have a pretty good feeling what their products are like... I keep hearing that the cassette wave is coming, like record players but record players are the only things I see being made by decent brands... My Teac record player is nice but I can tell it's definitely "bottom of the line" Teac" which, is most likely still better than "ION" however I remember saying that about Samsung too and I've had some Samsung products last 10+ years and for consumer grade, in the $100-$150 price range, is really all you can expect, I think...(definitely just my opinions!)

[@saveradhingra4937]

Hiii, thank u for ur information....i have using it for couple of months. Now suddenly the audio has stopped, it's playing blank... Can u please help me out in this....

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Sorry, I'm not sure about this issue. Have you tried using different headphones? If you connect the unit to a computer via USB are you able to capture it's output? If not, it's possible the tape reading head inside the player has been damaged.

[@ceciliaperrin7352]

Hi, I have two questions for you. My questions are:(1) I bought an ezcap cassete tape to MP3 converter on Amazon. I have lots of old cassetes I want to keep. Only when I tried to converte a few cassetes after one cassete is done, to be able to do an other one I have to change for a new set of batteries, and so on for each cassete I do. Because if I don't change the batteries each time the ezcap converter will not work. Is it normal to have to change batteries for each cassete? What can I do to correct that, because it will cost a forturn to copy all the cassetes I have. My second question is:(2) If I use the USB cable in the package. Will I have to get Audacity software? Where can I find it? How does it work? I am not very good on the computer, and it takes me a while to figuer it out, most of the time I never get it. An other question do you have a tutorial showing how to use the Ezcap converter with the USB cable, also do you have a tutorial on how to use the softwaew Audacity. I thank you ever so much for taking the time to read me and mostly to answer me. Please help... Thank You.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

The EZcap recorder can be powered solely by the included USB cable, so you don't actually have to put batteries in it at all to run it. Just plug it into a USB wall adapter (like a cell phone charger) or connect it to a powered USB port on your computer. You can still convert directly to the USB thumb drive, as if it is running on battery power. You do *not* have to use Audacity just because it is plugged in to a computer or powered by USB. For the review I did on the other unit, it didn't have the USB drive conversion capability, so the _only_ way to convert on that unit was to use external software like Audacity, which is free and downloadable from their website. Again, since you have this model that can convert directly to USB, you don't have to use Audacity, unless you prefer it. So I recommend for you, remove the batteries from the unit and plug in the USB cable to the converter and any USB power source and convert the same way you have been doing, directly to the thumb drive. Then you won't have to keep buying new batteries.

[@ceciliaperrin7352]

@@ReviewedByPhil Thank you very much for your answer.

[@TheSwordofpower]

Can you copy many tapes to the one drive or do you need a new drive per cassette

[@ReviewedByPhil]

TheSwordofpower You can save many cassettes to a 32 gb drive. Each minute of audio only takes up a few megabytes.

[@johnhickok5273]

Hi Phil. I have attempted to do anything and everything I know to do and still am not able to get the converter to record to the USB drive. Any thoughts? Tape inserted, powered by USB port from my laptop, insert brand new USB 2.0 thumb drive, green light, hold automatic program, hold til blue light, press record second, press play. Blue light flashes for a minute or two and then stops. Repeat process. Stops again. Repeat process. Stops again. No files are recorded other than "condiment files" with "0" file names. No music recorded. Help please. Thank you.

[@peacearchwa5103]

I just received a similar-looking unit as a gift. However, my unit (ezcap218 USB Cassette Converter) doesn't save to a USB flash drive, only to a PC or Mac. Yours is the ezcap231 Cassette Converter USB Drive and adds the functionality of saving to USB flash drive. Much of your information remains very helpful, but I'm sure a few folks have been confused since the units look similar and the product nomenclature sounds similar. The one question I have, both when converting to MP3 via Audacity and when listening via headphones as a "walkman", is there's a low-frequency "thumping" sound every couple of seconds that isn't present on the cassettes when played on my other cassette players. I'm researching the "thumping" sound. In any event, thanks for your review!

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Yes, I have a separate video review of the version recorder you have, without the USB drive capability: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f36mZoVjdrNnga8 If the distortion (thumping sound) is at regular intervals I can only guess that it might be some sort of interference from debris on the pinch roller or play head, so you may just need to swab it with a lint-free q-tip and tape head cleaner.

[@pushpamohan8607]

When I insert the flash drive, and press the play Button, it doesnt play or record after pressing the play and record Button.

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Do any of the lights come on? Perhaps the batteries were not correctly installed (see 0:58).

[@Beatleboy1969]

The play button wont stay down. Is this unit broken?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Hm, that's not right; sounds like that might be the case, unfortunately :-(

[@elsydavid8847]

What is my green light never changes to blue or flashes?

[@ReviewedByPhil]

Hm, I'm not sure. Did you try holding down the next track button for longer? If this doesn't work, perhaps your device doesn't support auto-split mode. I would check the instruction manual for clarification.

[@dOtrukdOrkut]

Phil! Please, tell me what's the best way to clean the heads of this appliance? my tapes are very old and they will certainly get their heads dirty very quickly, which can compromise the sound quality ...