Music input from mini disks on Hi Fi

[gomango]

I have just upgraded from an iMac laptop to a MacBook pro, hoping I would be able to download music from my Hi Fi minidisk player to my laptop.

With my imac I used an imic but found this was not very satisfactory.

I was under the impression it would be a simple matter of plugging straight into the MacBook from the Hi Fi phono out and away I would go.

Not so, and the apple help people tell me the the only direct input to the computer is from a microphone and have gone so far as to suggest I get a microphone and hold it close to the Hi Fi speakers.

I will be grateful for any advice on this. I should mention that after 5 years of using my computer I, as an 82 year old, am still very much a beginner.

My MacBook is an OSX 10.4.11.

Yours Bill Robertson

[symphonix]

The current Macbook Pros include an audio-in minijack which supports analog and digital (toslink minijack format).

That means you could take an analog audio signal (such as stereo-RCA to minijack cable) from the phono output on your hifi, or even better - if your hifi has optical audio out, you can use a Toslink-to-optical-minijack cable to transfer the audio from the minidisc digitally.

If you choose the analog method be sure to set the output on your hifi to about 50% and set your input levels (in System Preferences -> Sound) so that the music kicks around at 60-70% of the sound level meter and doesn't hit the top too much. That'll give you the best sound possible using analog methods.

With the optical-digital method you won't have to worry so much about levels, etc.

You can use a program such as Audacity or GarageBand to record, trim and tweak the audio before saving the completed track and adding it to your iTunes.