Dat To Imac Cdr, How to get the file from DAT to the iMac Options

[sydney666]

I have this iMac that has been little used and a PC with reliability problems. And, since OSX has come out I've decided to move to Mac and get on OSX.

Anyway, here is my goal: record a 44.1 or 48.0 khz digital audio stereo file (DAT) into the iMac. The source deck has both AES/EBU (XLR 3pin) and digital coaxial (spdif) interfaces for playback. The playback will be mostly at 48.0 khz so resampling will be required to master the file to CDR for redbook standard.

I see the iMac has both USB and Firewire and I am not sure of the best way to get the digital file into the iMac; does it also have PCI capability and would that be a better way to do it? I found one product from Edirol that will accept a standard Toslink and digital coaxial input and output to a USB port and it is for a Mac.

I also will require software that can perform the following tasks:

resample from 48 to 44.1 khz;
insert start ID's, song names, and the usual stuff to make a CDR truly useable
correct any level imbalance in the digital domain
work with audience noise
fade in/out

that would be the bare bones requirements. Basically, I have a bunch of DATs from Dead, Zero, Kimock, and other bands that I want to move to CDR so I can get more use out of the library. I have a PC loaded with Soundforge and an appropriate high end card but the PC is not reliable at this time and I wish to focus my energies on the Macintosh and OSX these days.

All input is appreciated. The iMac in question is an early 800mhz, 40gb hard disk, CDR (no superdrive) model with 256kb of ram. It has the early version of OSX and we are going to upgrade to the latest version of OSX as I've been told 10.3 should be out soon. Should we wait for 10.3 or buy 10.2 at 79 bux from Macwarehouse?

Regards,

Carl