Headphone Output to Line Input Recording

Sep 26, 2013 1 Replies
K

I have a recording of a meeting on one of those small voice recorders. It's a cheapie and there is no built in computer link.



My plan is to use a stereo 3.5mm cable connected from the mono headphone output of the recorder to the line inout of my PC.



I will then use Adobe Audition to record the file to the PC as the recorder plays. I would adjust the volume to avoid clipping.



I realize the gain stage of the recorder may not be the greatest, but, apart from that, does the method above present any technical issues?



Connectivity, impedance matching, etc.?



Thanks for any advice.



Ken Rockwell


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D

Shouldn't be a problem, I would think. It's a classic sort of lashup.

The PC's mic input would not be a good choice - too easy to overdrive, and you'd probably need something other than a simple 3.5mm mono cable.

Impedances don't need to be matched, in this case, and are probably just fine. Since the recorder is designed to drive headphones, its output impedance will be low; the PC line input probably has around

47k or thereabouts as an input impedance; so, loading won't be an issue.

Do your primary volume control on the recorder, so that you don't clip the first stage of the PC's line input. Almost all line inputs should handle 2 volts peak-to-peak without clipping.

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