Reshow Cassette Tape Player – Portable Tape Player Audio Cassette to Digital Converter, Compatible with Laptops and Personal Computers Convert Cassette Tape Recorder to iPod Format (Silver)

While sorting through some items left behind by my parents, I discovered several cassette tapes with cryptic labels handwritten by my father. I haven’t owned a cassette deck in years, and I didn’t want to spend much on a project that might have been a total bust. The Reshow player was a good choice. It cost far less than sending the tapes out for conversion, and worked exactly as described, digitizing the 40 year old cassettes with ease. It turned out that my father had recorded long interviews with my grandparents, the only recordings of them in existence and a priceless piece of family legacy.

This is better than I expected for the price. When I first tried to play a tape it was a little slow and I could hear a squeaking noise. I decided to open this player up to see what the quality was like and if the gears could be greased/oiled. Three screws on the side hold the back on. I removed the screws and I then used a feeler gauge to separate the back from the player. On the inside I found a piece of insulating tape was leaning against the motor belt. I cut this tape and reapplied it to the circuit board. I also judiciously oiled the tape mechanism wheels and applied lithium grease to the stop/play,FF/RW gear contact points. I noted the motor was larger than I expected and the drive belt was thicker than I would have guessed. The player is designed to last for many hours of use. Update: I purchased a second one of these players and found after opening it up that the insulation tape on the circuit board has been replaced with shrink tubing on some units. This is obviously preferable. I have attached pictures of the two units; one with the the insulation tape loose and up against the motor/belt, and a picture of the second player with the shrink wrap on the same wiring harness. After this maintenance the tape player functions worked smoothly and quietly and the tape played well at the proper speed. I also found that the tiny hole in the back of the player is for a jewelers flat head screwdriver to adjust the tape speed if needed. For the price I knew I would void the warranty by opening it. I have been working on cassette decks for 40 years and figured it was worth a shot. I am glad I did as this is actually a decent player. Negatives: There is a very minor buzzing sound in the headphones when the tape is playing. It is only noticeable when the volume is all the way down. I did not test the USB audio function as I bought this to be used as a Walkman. The buzzing sound was there when I powered the player by the USB port or with batteries

I was skeptical based on reviews read prior to purchasing. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the ease of use and quality of the cassette converter. The device comes with a USB connector and headphones. The only downside is that the headphones are a really cheap quality, but that didn't make a difference to me as I don't plan to use them. The instruction book comes with steps for using PC or MAC for converting. Directions were simple and easy to follow. Battery life is dependent on batteries or USB plug in. You can use this device for either listening or converting to digital format. Converting to digital format is a lengthy process as you have to listen to the entirety of the song when creating the digital file. The overall functionality of this device is great! I was able to convert a cassette from 1982 and the sound quality wasn't too bad! I recommend this product.

USB connectivity requires a mini-B connection to the cassette. The manufacturer cable lasted for a 45-minute recording session (one side of a cassette tape) and went dead. Audacity software and PC error messages state that the device can no longer be found. Troubleshooting leads to the cheap cable. To continue converting cassettes to MP3 will require additional cost to complete the task. Recording capability requires large disc size if you are copying an entire cassette using Audacity. The sound quality is okay. It's not the greatest. Battery life is okay. It is very light weight, which is concerning because the device is cheaply made. I believe once the device falls and hits the ground, it will shatter. As for the price paid, it is not worth close to $30. This is a white label device, meaning a factory mass produces this cassette converter and sells to multiple retailers, who will then place their labels on it. This one is labeled as Reshow. If you can find a retailer that sells the exact same cassette at a cheaper price, purchase it. There is no set, reputable brand for this cassette. I was going to give this device a two-star rating, but the cable needs to be replaced after one session. Spending more money to get an already cheap product to work was not my intention. My advice is to save your money and find another alternative to convert your cassettes to MP3s.

I bought this product to convert some audio books on cassette tapes to digital mp3 files. I was unsure whether to get this model (which requires Audacity software or something similar) or the model that does the mp3 conversion internally automatically. In the end I was glad I got this model to use with Audacity. Audacity, which is freeware, came in the package on a small compact disk although I already had it on my Windows PC (and it can be downloaded as well). The cassettes were 20-30 years old and had some hiss when played. But I reviewed a few YouTube videos about using the 'Noise Reduction' feature of Audacity and that really helped remove the hiss. Also some tapes, even with the hiss reduced, still sounded muffled. To improve those, I used the equalizer function to bump up the higher frequencies before saving as mp3 files. If I had used the device that converted to mp3 automatically, I would not have been able to remove the hiss and muffle. Instructions were fine and the package included a cable to run between the device and USB port on the laptop. It also had an inexpensive pair of ear buds that I didn't use. Did not insert batteries since it is powered when cabled to the PC. Playback volume and controls were fine but didn't use the device to "listen" for pleasure - just to rip the audio books one time each. It was a solid, affordable solution for me and now I am on the lookout for more titles by the same narrator/author combo from the cassette tape era. I was pleased with how well this turned out.

You get what you pay for. This player does work and does record to a free, downloadable third-party app that exports in MP3 format. The cassette head is not the best and subject to a lot of rf interference, so listening through the supplied headphones does not reproduce a clean sound from a cassette. The cover is difficult to open and is not very sturdy. Likewise with the battery cover. For transferring to an MP3, the supplied USB cable needs to be replaced with a longer, shielded cable. I immediately found that if the unit is too close to the computer or the cable isn't shielded, that the MP3 quality will degrade. Frequently, there would be enough rf interference to crash the app. I can't blame the app crash on the recorder, but the unshielded cable doesn't help. My current shielded cable is 3 feet long and reduces the noise in the MP3, so very little clean up needs to happen in post-processing.

At first, the reviews seemed mixed, but I had no choice, since I needed to convert or save some old 1980s cassette tapes into digital format before the magnetic tapes wear out, and there were few other products on the market (and definitely not in the stores nearby). Given the price, I took the chance. At first, when the product arrived, it looked daunting, since I'm not tech savvy at all, but in minutes I figured out how to connect the devices and to start recording and saving to the computer and to external drives. I copied nearly 4 hours of old casette tapes to *.WAV files. Now it is easier to play, stop, and replay the content. Essentially, install the Audacity DVD (and use an external DVD drive if, like me, you don't have a DVD drive on your laptop). Next connect the recorder to your laptop using the USB cable. And plug in the headphone so that you don't have to hear 2 volumes: one from the tape and the other from the laptop. All audio sounds goes from the recorder directly to the laptop if (for the microphone option), you use the USB option. Therefore, if you make a lot of noise at your desk, none of the sounds will be capture in the WAV file. By controlling the volume on the recorder, you directly influence the loudness of the recording. [If you're stuck, there are manuals for Audacity and the Recorder that you can google. I only needed to read more about how to edit.] Just follow the directions to record, stop, and export the recording to a WAV file. Then afterwards, you can reimport the audio file to edit or delete dead sounds (silence and thus waste of audio space) by again following the directions (what I do is: I use the Zoom In button to see where the dead silence is -- namely when you see a horizontal line in the graph -- then use the | symbol to shade (left click) the area of the recording to be deleted and the click on the scissors icon, and then export to a new file or replace the old file). Close the existing recording so that if you want to capture or copy a new recording, the previous one isn't included. That's it. Take a chance on the product. It's inexpensive (low risk), but in exchange, you get to save the content of the old casette tapes -- if you really need them. In my case, the old casette tapes contained not music but information (documentary dialogue). Save the information digitally, since as you know, it won't wear out, like old magnetic tapes.

First of all, let me stress this device is not designed to make low quality recordings into high quality recordings, or even good recordings. However, digitizing analog recordings will allow one to clean them up some using good audio software. I use Sound Forge Audio Studio rather than Audacity because I already had Sound Forge when I bought this cassette player, Sound Forge cost me a lot while Audacity was free, and I know Sound Forge has the functions I want. I don't know about Audacity. So much for the advantage of converting cassette files to digital files. Now, about this player. First of all, its pros: at under $20 it's a bargain; its sound quality is okay, I guess. most of my cassette recordings, mostly interviews of now long-deceased family members, are transfers from mini-cassette recordings and so the sound quality is not great to start with, but as good as this player plays them, I believe it be very proficient at playing professionally produced cassettes. This player is heavy for its small size which indicates it's well-constructed. Time will tell. Some of the cons: the cord for the ear buds is way too short. As I monitor the player when I am transferring files I tend to pull the player from its place on the table when I move my head. The volume control and the 'open' latch are in a bad location. They're next to the USB plug and the ear bud plug making access to the volume control and latch difficult, especially if you have sausage fingers like I do. Locating the battery compartment requires some patience. I think this player is supposed to get its power through the USB cable but since it only supplies five volts and I don't know how much current, I installed batteries just to be sure power requirements are met. So far I've transferred one 90 minute cassette and the results were satisfactory. Due to the age and brittleness of the second cassette, I've had some problems but not the fault of the cassette player. Bottom line is, this is a very capable cassette player and, although some components of it have a cheap look, for $20 I don't think it can be beat. If I get what cassettes I have converted to digital files without this player failing, it will have been $20 well spent. I recommend it. UPDATE: I've had the Reshow Cassette player for about two weeks and transferred two or three 90 minute cassette tapes to my hard drive. Now the cassette play is DOA. Sorry, but I cannot recommend this item. I've changed my rating from four to two stars.