SoundTap Streaming Audio Recorder for Mac is a tool that lets you freely record just about any audio played through your Windows computer into .MP3 or .WAV files. This little gem of a program will let you record streaming radio or music, VoIP calls such as Skype, conference calls, and even Instant Messaging conversations. Put simply, if it’s a sound you can hear through your speakers, SoundTap can record it for you.
The install is simple and straightforward and the user interface looks good and works well. You can turn SoundTap on or off at will, so it only records what you want and when you want it to. The software is quick and lightweight and comes with its own audio player should you want to use that instead of your chosen audio player.
Key Features:
- Records any sound you can play on your computer.
- Small install.
- Simple and easy to use interface.
- Free for non-commercial users!
- Recordings can be searched easily by date, time, duration or format.
- Saves audio directly into .WAV or .MP3 but has 20 different formats to choose from.
- Wide range of selected codec and compression options.
- Let’s you listen as you record (optional).
One of the key highlights and best uses is for recording VoIP or conference calls in that users can choose to record their own voice as well as others. While this is optional, it’s a useful little addition. It also works offline, which is nice. SoundTap is however just as proficient for recording any other type of audio you want to record. To use SoundTap, simply load it up, and press REC.
SoundTap works by using a ‘virtual’ driver directly within the kernel so the process is perfect digital quality. It does not matter how loud your speakers are, or if you are wearing headphones as it records directly through your OS and hardware. It can also link directly to the WavePad Sound Editor Software and Switch MP3 File Converter, making editing of audio files much easier than might otherwise be the case.
We found the overall quality of the audio we recorded to be high, but some users have reported that there are occasional issues such as crackles and pops. We did not experience this issue with anything we recorded, and so have no problem recommending SoundTap to the wider internet population at large. While SoundTap Streaming Audio Recorder for Mac is aimed directly at users dealing with audio and video applications on a daily basis, it is a very easy piece of software that almost anyone can use.
