i have a cassette player with a headphone jack 3.5. i would like to connect to hp pavilion usb port. do i use a audio capture cable or a 3.5 to usb cable… does audacity capture audio with a regular 3.5 to usb
would i use the recommended cable on a 2013 imac also
do i use a audio capture cable or a 3.5 to usb cable…
It’s essentially the same thing. It’s not just a “cable”. There is an analog-to-digital converter chip in it.
A headphone signal is about the same as the line-level outputs on a CD player, or on your TV, etc., so you can use the headphone jack if your audio interface (or “cable”) has line-inputs. They don’t all have 3.5mm connectors so you may need an adapter cable.
Most desktop/tower computers have a soundcard with line inputs and you can use that, but most laptops only have mic-in and headphone-out.
Don’t buy a regular little “USB soundcard”. They only have mic inputs and headphone-outputs.
The [u]Behringer UCA202[/u] (with RCA connectors) is a popular and inexpensive, but it probably costs more than the “cable” you’re considering. Or there are lots of higher-end audio interfaces.
would i use the recommended cable on a 2013 imac also
Almost all of these things are “class compliant” USB audio devices so they are plug-and-play with the drivers built-into Windows, OS-X, and Linux.