No Line Input selection on MBP 11,1 Retina

Thanks, cabakroll. So, she WILL have to use the USB port for the audio input from this cassette player? Is that right? The player is basically a radio,CD,cassette player that you can buy at Walmart, or similar retail store. Obviously, there is no preamp on it...just a headphone jack.

I can do what I have described on my 8 year old MBP, but it has a separate audio line in port. I wonder why Apple has not provided something similar on the newer MBPs?

Thanks for the reply. Please stick with me as I am still a little confused and have some questions and I think you can teach me something.

You said "all Macs have line–in port so input signal must be amplified". When I plug my iPhone into the Audio In port of my MBP 3,1 I get a Line Input selection in System Preferences > Sound and am able to play audio from my iPhone on the MBP and all is good. Does that mean that my MBP has a preamp and is able to accept the iPhone audio signal?

On her MBP 11,1 there is not an Audio In port, like on mine, but only the headphone jack (which is why I thought it doubled as an audio in connection) and I get no Line Input selection in System Preferences > Sound pane. Does that mean that this connection does not have a preamp and does not accept audio in signals? Does this Mac have a line-in port?

The lady has a player similar to this and can not transfer audio via USB.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-CFDS50-Portable-Cassette-Boombox/dp/B00INEG8W4

The adapter that she ordered looks very similar to the image you included (Thank you!!). It is a 3.5mm to USB adapter for headphone and microphone inputs. Does a mic signal not require a preamp and that is why this will work using USB?

Thanks very much for your help.

Here's the adapter she ordered from Newegg, which is very similar to the image you posted;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812232050&cm_re=3.5mm_to_u sb_audio_adapter-_-12-232-050-_-Product

It says "USB Stereo Audio Adapter for Microphone & Headphone". Is this the USB interface Csound1 is referring to? Is there a little preamp inside the case (your image seems to show something like that in there)?

On her cassette player she only has a headphone jack for audio out and that is what I plan on using to plug into this adapter. I just don't know what level this is. Are you saying that if I plug this into the mic port of the adapter the Mac will see this as a Line Input and will work?

I plugged her audio cable into my iPhone's headphone jack and the other end into my MBP's Audio In port and was able to record on my MBP. Since the iPhone jack is used as a headphone out I would assume the same level is used on the cassette player. Is that not correct? I then disconnected and plugged into her headphone jack of her MBP (not a MacBook Air) and it was a no-go, so I guess the level was too low to be detected. Is that correct?

Thanks for the help. This is rather confusing since the specs of the Mac does not make it clear to me what will work and what will not. I then have to depend on you guys to sort all this out...and I really appreciate it.

Since I am no audiophile I would really appreciate a suggestion on what she needs to purchase, and the cheaper the better. These audio tapes are not classical music. They are old and made by someone speaking into a small cassette recorder with a built in mic (certainly mono) so there is a lot of ambient noise and has poor audio quality. A little noise added from a poor quality adapter will not be noticed.

How did I miss that link? I swear it wasn't there the first time I read that. Oh, well...

So, she will need an audio cable with 3.5mm stereo plug on one end for her cassette player and RCA L&R for the other end to plug in to the input , right?