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So, not entirely on topic, but I've been searching for a cheap portable cassette player that has a 3.5mm input to record audio from other sources. Maybe anyone

So, not entirely on topic, but I've been searching for a cheap portable cassette player that has a 3.5mm input to record audio from other sources. Maybe anyone can recommend something? Goal is to give the kids something unconnected to the Internet to play music, and I want them to be able to make mixtapes by recording audio playback from another device. Hence the line-in requirement... preferably I'd buy something mass produced, not spend 400 bucks on ebay on something that might break within weeks ;)

scrumper 4y ago
Cheap walkmen are available readily, most of which can record off 3.5mm. Better experience would come with a used full-size deck off eBay to make the recordings themselves, then you play back on the walkman. I'm in the same boat. I'd ruled out cassette as unavailable and cumbersome, but my 10 year old took to it instantly when her friend bought her a Jensen walkman. I wrote another comment above on that.
- isoprophlex 4y ago
  Have you actually seen a cheap knockoff Walkman that records off 3.5mm?! I must have searched all the wrong places, endless scrolling of amazon, aliexpress etc and all i saw was things with a microphone for voice, no 3.5mm -- like your kid does in the other comment Guess I'll do some more searching tonight!
  - scrumper 4y ago
    Her is a Jensen CR-100, it has a 3.5mm "mic" input so I guess it's expecting a low-level mono signal. Probably not what you want but for kids' ears it's likely ok. It was for sure cheap. We've only used the built-in mic which is, of course, horrible, but nonetheless exciting for her to hear her voice and music played back. But I think the easiest way to go is cheap walkman for playback, used full-size deck for proper stereo recording off line-level inputs. Edit: I said "most of which" didn't I. Oops. I'm sure there's some cognitive bias at work there; what I meant was, the single one I have seen does, but only for certain values of 'does'. Sorry!
    - isoprophlex 4y ago
      Whoooo yes this is exactly what I was looking for! Crap ass mono in is no problem at all, they think those post cards that play a 5 second tune when you open them are top premium audiophile stuff. A full size deck is a better solution quality wise but I'm adamant at not having a lot of physical stuff around, and it makes it more difficult for the kids than running a 3.5 mm lead from the ipad to this Jensen thing. Thanks again!!
      - scrumper 4y ago
        Fantastic! Glad I could help, hope the kids enjoy!
jazzyjackson 4y ago
Maybe cheap is in the eye of the beholder but MiniDisc might fit the bill - they often have a line in + mic in, I think I had one with toslink even. I have a few albums captured from web-radio that I'll never find online again, plus some recordings of open mic nights at the cafe I hung around as a teenager. To be fair tho these probably fall into the "as is without warranty" category, interesting to think of this market segment being uncatered too tho... maybe an Arduino MP3 / SD card shield could be hacked together...
- jareklupinski 4y ago
  > I have a few albums captured from web-radio that I'll never find online again thanks for the inspiration for my next weekend project :) I'll probably try a Teensy or something that can also emulate a USB sound card to the connected host, so you can "play" anything from a pc/smartphone into the device as if it were a normal speaker and have it recorded onto the SD card. And a passthrough so you can hear what's being recorded... multi-device sound output has always been a nightmare for me on any OS (funny how it's so simple to mirror a screen, but not an audio device?)
- mackrevinack 4y ago
  miniDisc is a great option. there's the long play modes that fit more songs if you are ok with having lower audio quality. you can rewind or skip tracks you can fit a few of them in your pocket at once and they are better protected from the elements if the player supports netMD then you can get the songs off it again using something like web miniDisc, which is great when sharing a mix with someone since they have the physical disc but also the option to add it to their digital collection https://webminidisc.com https://webminidisc.com
hot_gril 4y ago
Doesn't an iPod fulfill those requirements? Unless you want the mixtape to be more customized or the cool factor of tapes, which I understand.
JKCalhoun 4y ago
I still see cassette recorders/players in thrift stores.
pkphilip 4y ago
You may be able to pickup full sized music systems with cassette recorders/players. Another option it to buy the car audio systems with cassette players from the 90s which are pretty good but won't have the recording capability

scrumper 4y ago

Cheap walkmen are available readily, most of which can record off 3.5mm. Better experience would come with a used full-size deck off eBay to make the recordings themselves, then you play back on the walkman. I'm in the same boat. I'd ruled out cassette as unavailable and cumbersome, but my 10 year old took to it instantly when her friend bought her a Jensen walkman. I wrote another comment above on that.

isoprophlex 4y ago
Have you actually seen a cheap knockoff Walkman that records off 3.5mm?! I must have searched all the wrong places, endless scrolling of amazon, aliexpress etc and all i saw was things with a microphone for voice, no 3.5mm -- like your kid does in the other comment Guess I'll do some more searching tonight!
- scrumper 4y ago
  Her is a Jensen CR-100, it has a 3.5mm "mic" input so I guess it's expecting a low-level mono signal. Probably not what you want but for kids' ears it's likely ok. It was for sure cheap. We've only used the built-in mic which is, of course, horrible, but nonetheless exciting for her to hear her voice and music played back. But I think the easiest way to go is cheap walkman for playback, used full-size deck for proper stereo recording off line-level inputs. Edit: I said "most of which" didn't I. Oops. I'm sure there's some cognitive bias at work there; what I meant was, the single one I have seen does, but only for certain values of 'does'. Sorry!
  - isoprophlex 4y ago
    Whoooo yes this is exactly what I was looking for! Crap ass mono in is no problem at all, they think those post cards that play a 5 second tune when you open them are top premium audiophile stuff. A full size deck is a better solution quality wise but I'm adamant at not having a lot of physical stuff around, and it makes it more difficult for the kids than running a 3.5 mm lead from the ipad to this Jensen thing. Thanks again!!
    - scrumper 4y ago
      Fantastic! Glad I could help, hope the kids enjoy!

jazzyjackson 4y ago

Maybe cheap is in the eye of the beholder but MiniDisc might fit the bill - they often have a line in + mic in, I think I had one with toslink even. I have a few albums captured from web-radio that I'll never find online again, plus some recordings of open mic nights at the cafe I hung around as a teenager. To be fair tho these probably fall into the "as is without warranty" category, interesting to think of this market segment being uncatered too tho... maybe an Arduino MP3 / SD card shield could be hacked together...

jareklupinski 4y ago
> I have a few albums captured from web-radio that I'll never find online again thanks for the inspiration for my next weekend project :) I'll probably try a Teensy or something that can also emulate a USB sound card to the connected host, so you can "play" anything from a pc/smartphone into the device as if it were a normal speaker and have it recorded onto the SD card. And a passthrough so you can hear what's being recorded... multi-device sound output has always been a nightmare for me on any OS (funny how it's so simple to mirror a screen, but not an audio device?)
mackrevinack 4y ago
miniDisc is a great option. there's the long play modes that fit more songs if you are ok with having lower audio quality. you can rewind or skip tracks you can fit a few of them in your pocket at once and they are better protected from the elements if the player supports netMD then you can get the songs off it again using something like web miniDisc, which is great when sharing a mix with someone since they have the physical disc but also the option to add it to their digital collection https://webminidisc.com https://webminidisc.com

hot_gril 4y ago

Doesn't an iPod fulfill those requirements? Unless you want the mixtape to be more customized or the cool factor of tapes, which I understand.

JKCalhoun 4y ago

I still see cassette recorders/players in thrift stores.

pkphilip 4y ago

You may be able to pickup full sized music systems with cassette recorders/players. Another option it to buy the car audio systems with cassette players from the 90s which are pretty good but won't have the recording capability