connection from tape player to laptop

[Sy Fine]

Is it better to connect to the laptop USB or to the mic input hole?

[George Western]

Sy: I've never seen a tape recorder with a USB output. If you've got a USB out, that's probably a good way to connect to Audacity. The proof is in the pudding - plug it in, start something playing on the tape, and see if you can record it in Audacity on the laptop. Most of the sound cards I've seen have a "mic" input and a "line" input jack. Which you choose depends on what kind of output jacks your tape player has. The jack that you plug your headphones into on the tape player will likely have a stronger signal than any "line" output, if your player even has one. It's hard to give advice without more information on exactly what you have to work with. Looking at the subject line, it's hard to even know if you're trying to record from tape to Audacity or Audacity to tape...

[Sy Fine]

My question was, "Is it better to connect to the laptop USB or to the mic input hole?"
I am recording from a tape player to the Audacity program in my laptop. the laptop has usb ports and a mic input.
I want to know which of these two is better -- usb or mic input to the laptop.

[George Western]

Again I ask, "Do you have a tape player with a USB output?" If so, try that.

[Sy Fine]

The tape palyer has no usb output but the laptop has a usb input. My question relates to the laptop not the player. On the laptop is it better to use the usb input or the mic input?
Thanks

[George Western]

The question is kinda moot, since you don't have anything to plug INTO the USB input!

[Sy Fine]

I do have something to plug in to the laptop, -- the cable from the player. I can do that using a cable from the player to the laptop's usb port or a different cable that would plug in to the laptop's mic port. My question is do you know which might give better results?

[George Western]

I'd be willing to bet that there is no USB output from your tape player - if you have a cable that will plug into both the tape player AND the laptop, I'd like to see it. I've seen a mic with a USB output plug on it, and plugging that into the laptop's USB input worked just fine. But I've never seen a tape player with a USB out.