On Mon, 8 Mar 2004 19:44:34 -0800, Pierre wrote
(in message ) :

I have a new iMac.... I want to know the best and inexpensive way to get
audio from a minidisc into the iMac without too much loss, and then be
able to edit the tracks by cutting them into seperate songs and fading
the beginings in and the endings out.
--------------------------------snip----------------------------------


I don't think the new iMacs have a S/PDIF input, but if they did, you could
transfer the Minidiscs into the computer digitally, which is a good thing.
Doing that will avoid going to analog and back to digital again, which can
introduce more distortion and potential problems.

This might be overkill for you, but you could get a used Digidesign 001
system relatively cheap on eBay ($400 or so), which includes ProTools LE
software and a A/D/A interface box. The ProTools software will let you slice
up the songs into individual tracks -- though you'll need some CD-burning
software like Toast to actually create the CD. You can also go he

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/audio/issue47.html

and get some recommendations on suitable audio cards that will work with your
Mac. Don't forget, you'll also need a Minidisc player with an S/PDIF output
to do this right; I've seen table-model MD decks with digital outs go for as
little as $100 used, and no more than $175 new from many sources.

--MFW