Q. I’m transferring old records and tapes to CD. I connected my stereo to the 1/8-inch jack on my sound card. However, it only records in mono. Other than that, the recordings sound excellent. I’ve heard they sell sound cards that accept RCA jacks. Do I need to buy one of these to record in stereo?

A. I understand your frustration -- music is much better in stereo! But before you buy a new sound card, let’s nose around a bit and check your computer’s connections and settings. You might save some cash. And that’s a good thing.

First of all, sound cards can vary a lot in terms of input/output jacks. The most basic have three jacks that take 1/8-inch stereo plugs. Plus, they sometimes have an input for a midi or game controller. This looks similar to the plug on your monitor cable. Some older cards also have a volume dial.

One of the 1/8-inch jacks is a line-out. A second 1/8-inch jack accepts a line-in. And the third connects a microphone to the computer.

Don’t connect your tape deck or turntable to the microphone jack. If you do, you’ll be disappointed. It records in mono. To record in stereo, you should use the line-in jack. Your computer’s manual should explain which is which, if you are not sure.