DIGITNOW USB Cassette Player, Portable Walkman Stereo Tape to MP3 Converter, Audio Music Recorder to MP3 Digital File Converter with Earphones, No PC Required, Black, BR607

Records directly to usb drive as mp3. No computer needed.
Works as hoped. Little finicky sometimes when stating recording, but unplugging usb and plugging back in fixed it. Directions are confusing. To stop recording, press RECORD button again. Suggest a usb with a light so you can see it blinking when it records as not always sure looking at display. Very happy.

Overall pretty good but…
I ordered this converter because I only have a few cassettes to convert so I didn’t need a lot of features and didn’t want to pay too much. I chose this one because it records directly from cassette to MP3 format onto a USB memory stick, which is not provided ,but which most of us already have or can get cheaply. The unit can be powered by two AA batteries or by a USB cable (provided), which is nice because the batteries will only provide about two hours of use (according to the maker). One minor complaint is that the headphone jack is very close to the USB port, which makes the jack a little hard to remove when a memory stick is plugged in. The unit itself seems well made but some parts (e.g., the cassette cover) feel a little flimsy. I’m not sure how much use it can take before starting to break down. As others have commented, the instructions aren’t clear in some places so it took some testing to figure out how to use it. For example, when recording to the memory stick, you have to press the tiny REC button on the back after you start playing the tape, which makes sense. However, the instructions don’t tell you you have to press the REC button again to end recording. If you just press the Stop button then remove the memory stick, the MP3 file isn’t readable in Audacity. Once I got past that, it worked well. The audio quality of the conversion is pretty good, though it depends on the quality of the tape. I did notice, as others have mentioned, that there is a “tape hiss” when there is silence. One of the tapes I recorded was spoken word but it was hardly noticeable. Overall, however, especially considering the very reasonable price, these are all modest trade-offs. It’s not the right tool for converting boxes of cassettes, but if you only have to use it occasionally, it’s a good deal.

What can you expect for $20?
It performs as advertised. However, I found the recordings to sound scratchy and squelchy, sounds that were not present in the cassette but created by the recording process. In other words, the recordings are worse than the sound of the cassette if one were listening to it merely on “play.”The player feels delicate. It’s cheap plastic. It’s not something I would want to carry around with me. The buttons are not responsive. I have to put some muscle into pushing the play button down hard enough that it sticks in position. I also find the record button to be temperamental, not always recording when pushed.The cassette records easily onto a thumb drive (that’s not included), which can then be plugged into a computer and moved to wherever you want. There’s no downloading of programs.It comes with earbuds. However, only one side works for me.I bought the player to record a few cassette tapes, which I did. It’s unlikely I’ll ever use it again. For $20.00, it was an economical investment, and it’s unrealistic to expect a high quality machine at this price point.

Doesn’t work right
Looks nice but came defective and I missed the return window so I’m out the money. Doesn’t rewind and skips when playing, ate the first tape I put in and ruined it. Don’t waste your time.