I’m using 2.3.2 as I just downloaded it. I have Windows 10. I am trying to use Audacity to record my old cassette tapes which I then want to make CDs on CD-Rs with the MP3s that I will make. I did this a lot about 8 years ago and had no problems, but now I can’t remember really how to use it. That’s what happens when a baby comes along. Anyway, I believe I have it hooked up correctly. I have a line connecting my cassette player to the blue hole port in the back of my PC. The cassette is playing and I hear the music through the computer speakers, but in Audacity, both the left and right channels are flat lining. Like there is nothing being played at all. I even tried to playback what was “recorded” and nothing. I have the cassette player on full volume even. I messed around with the speaker icon in the tray according to the manual directions but I have had no luck. I’m sorry that I’m not a real expert on this or computer matters. I can get by on doing some things, but this is a bit complicated for me.
Make sure you’ve selected line-in as your [u]recording device[/u].
then want to make CDs on CD-Rs with the MP3s that I will make.
MP3 is lossy compression. Export as WAV at 16-bits, 44.1kHz, stereo. That uses the same underlying uncompressed PCM format as audio CDs. If you make an audio CD from an MP3, it will be decompressed and you’ve used lossy compression unnecessarily, potentially reducing the quality.
That’s assuming you want a standard audio CD. You can burn MP3s directly onto a disc and play them in the computer, and some car stereos will play them and some DVD or Blu-Ray players will play them.
Of course, you can also export as MP3 since you’ll probably want MP3s as well as the CDs. A good quality MP3 can often sound identical to the uncompressed original (and it’s better than Cassettes or vinyl) but it’s best to use lossless files unless you want/need the particular format.
Thanks for answering DVDdoug. I have selected line-in as my recording device but I am still having this issue. I’m afraid that there is nothing else that I can do. Thanks also for your recommendation about MP3 vs. WAV. Yes, I plan on making the CDs as well as using MP3s for my MP3 players. I haven’t found the loss of quality to be anything noticeable for me. They sound just the way they would from the cassette tape. So, back to the big problem, am I out of luck for being able to record from the cassette player to the desktop computer? Or is there something else to try? Thanks again.