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The output is through USB. The software is responsible for what file format it encodes as. The software it comes with will only do MP3. But any other software should be able to pull an audio source from the device. Allowing you to encode whatever file you want on export. The device itself has nothing to do with the final format of the audio file. Its not like the machine itself is spitting out an MP3. Its just throwing a digital audio signal to the PC.
MP3 is a software codec It doesn’t take a $5 chip to get you other formats. It doesn’t take any chip to get you a file format. Hardware has almost nothing to do with it, and firmware certainly doesn’t. And as plenty of people on this thread have pointed out if you simply connect to the device in better software than it ships with. Then the world is your .aiff.
This sort of thing ships with basic bullshit software because they’re low cost/complexity/quality tchotchkes. Off the shelf hardware. Combined with off the shelf, dirt cheap, basic software. Ignore the software and you can pull that audio signal into anything capable of digitizing the audio signal.
So to summarize. The device is not outputting an MP3.
The device is outputting a digital, uncompressed audio signal. Into the PC.
The software it ships with encodes that signal as an MP3 after its recorded.
I’m probably repeating myself as well. But 3.5mm is dodgy as a recording source. Of course we’re talking about cassettes so its not like there’s a ton of quality to lose. And both any tape deck, and any PC already have 3.5mm ins and outs. Cables to connect the two are like a dollar. So yeah why the hell not.
I just hated trying to make that work so. so. SO. Much.
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Well I had good luck copying some spoken word tapes for a friend years ago. I have been meaning to do the same to my custom mix tapes from recording Dr Demento on the radio. Of course we are talking dubs of dubs from the radio, so I am sure the quality is meh. But I have songs I can’t find on youtube. Like Krypton’s version of My Dingaling.
That would be the things worth doing it for.
I’ve just spent more than a few stressed out nights trying to dub old cassette recordings at sufficient quality for professional quality audio/video work. Mostly at film school. But a couple times for work. Usually from archival sources. Quick and dirty meant we had to do it over the 3.5mm jack. And reliably moving over a large amount of audio that way. Wasn’t reliable.
And the level of cleanup needed…
Lets just say I’d rather do it through the $20 knock off Walkman with the USB out.
Ideally you’d have a proper quality tape deck, plugged into a quality interface or digital mixing board. Good analog out from the tape deck, with a solid full sized connector.
But seriously noone needs that to save some Dr. Demento tapes. And noone just has that setup on hand these days. Even the pro-grade cassette equivalents have been gone for a long, long time. But I am routinely surprised at the level of rare weird that’s trivial to find online these days. Shit you only heard about or had to swap tapes for is just out there. Apparently HUGE sections of Dr. Demento’s history has already been digitized.
And this for when I’ve been drinking.
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this converter is a crappy walkman that with his low tech will add a noisy hissing effects to your digitally converted mp3s.
My opinion? Use a Hi-Fi deck instead, if you prefer a better backup job done.
Quite honestly, rather than invest in something that you’ll use twice and store away, I’d recommend any number of services that take piles of your old cassettes and dump to CD. Not very expensive and saves many hours of encoding time, cleanup, etc. And quality is great.
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The better way is to get a decent 2nd hand hi-fi tape deck, some IPA + a cotton bud to clean the tape head, and a phono to whatever-sound-card-input-your-computer-has cable, then download Audacity
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or even better just turn off ur computer and listen to cassettes 
IPAs work well for indie music, but I prefer to use, say, a doppelbock for Krautrock or Labatt’s when encoding Neil Young.
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