[Jmmmmm]

I bought one of those adapters that plug into the headphone jack of the ipod and the other side is a blank 'cassette' that you stick in the car stereo to play the ipod in the car.

I wasn't expecting it to be crystal clear, but the sound reproduction is bordering on awful. Is there a difference in sound quality between the different brands of these tape adapters, or is it just how good these things sound? There are a number of different brands with varying prices, but I figured it was just due to the normal ipod ripoffs. They had one that used the line out, but it was like $40 (vs $10), and then I wouldn't be able to use my car charger.

Anyone had good experience with one, or who has compared different brands?

 

[andyshedd]

I remember reading somewhere that the Sonys sounded better the rest. I think they are about $20 now (used to be $30).

 

[Just Josh]

I've tried a Jenson, a Maxell, and a Sony one. The Sony sounded WAY better out of all 3.

 

[Duncan]

Does the one you have have an azimuth adjustment?

If not, regardless of new brand (although it seems by the previous two posters that Sony have it right) make sure that it does - that way you can fine tune the two heads to match up that much better (if you buy cheap units, they often end up virtually missing the heads in your tape deck completely!!)

 

[Mr.Sneis]

I bought a sony one from a local used bookstore, it only plays mono and sounds like arse.... can anyone explain this?

 

[kev777]

Also have 2 a Sony one and a generic one and to be frank theyre useless, theyre somewhere in one of the cars collecting dust and sweet wrappers.
May as well have asked the Mrs to sing the tunes as thats about the SQ

 

[Oliver :)]

Have an elderly SONY from the early-mid 90s (although I doubt these were much improved) and it is not hi-fi. If they really are the best option, better look for some other way to put signal into your radio.

 

[Jerome G]

Wow ! They aren't that bad.
Just pick up the Sony one for $15-$20 until you can get a new headunit with mp3 integration for $300+.
BTW, that is just what I did and it sounded fine until I got the Alpine unit

 

[citywithoutmetal]

I have a generic model right now but i used to use a sony until it died. let me tell you that the sony was much, much better. pay the extra 5 bucks and get a sony.

 

[PaulRivers]

If you're having trouble with the Sony cassette adapter, try pushing it around once it's in the tape deck. I found that in my tape deck, pushing it down, then towards and away from the tape head positioned it much and I got noticably better sound.

 

[Jmmmmm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncan Does the one you have have an azimuth adjustment? If not, regardless of new brand (although it seems by the previous two posters that Sony have it right) make sure that it does - that way you can fine tune the two heads to match up that much better (if you buy cheap units, they often end up virtually missing the heads in your tape deck completely!!)

I can't seem to find anything about azimuth adjustments in any kind of tape adapter. Do you know of any specifically that do?

Also, how do you check about the heads? I don't have a picture of the tape, but it just looked line one metal wheel in the center that (I assume) makes contact with the stereo. It didn't look too different than any other the other brands at compusa when I bought it, though, other than some slight variation in the size of the wheel. I have a feeling that not too much effort goes into the quality of these things.

Is this the sony tape you all are referring to? I'll try it, although my expectations aren't too high any more. I don't have to have perfect sound quality here, but it will be ok as long as it doesn't make me cringe. If so, CDs really aren't that bad.

 

[Jerome G]

Yes, that's the one, it will be fine

 

[riker1384]

I've tried a Sony general (not Ipod) adapter and it's decent, much better than the white one from the Smoke Ipod Nano kit from Circuit City.

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmmmmm Is this the sony tape you all are referring to? I'll try it, although my expectations aren't too high any more. I don't have to have perfect sound quality here, but it will be ok as long as it doesn't make me cringe. If so, CDs really aren't that bad.

I certainly would hope it would work...

I have been googling around, and can't find one that is marketed as such, yet - the Sony CPA-3 (this is from the early 90s I would think) has a 'cross talk' adjustment, three positions for the head - maybe not as scientific / accurate as a real azimuth adjustment, but certainly should be enough to tidy up any loss of fidelity in one / both channels

Edit -

PartStore list the CPA-9C from your link as a direct replacement for the CPA-3, so - I would think that that would also have the manual 'cross talk' adjustment

 

[osoucy]

I just made a set-up in my car that allows me to listen to my ipod.

It consits of a Sony tape adapter and a belkin auto kit.

Sony tape adaptor
Belkin Auto kit

This set up provides much better results than I expected. It is probably due to the fact that the Belkin charger also provie a 3.5mm audio line-out to the iPod which greatly increases the sound quality.

The sound quality isn't that far from CD quality. I did a test with AAC encoded @ 256 vs original CD. I used this set up in an Lexus IS300 equipped with the premium Lexus soundsystem. The sound quality is not prefect but still nice.

One problem with the cassette is it produces some "grinding sounds" which we can hear a low-level volume, but for a low-priced iPod integration, it is the best option available.

For more info on cassettes, consult iLounge cassette shout-out.

Hope that helped.

PS: I tried FM transmitter before and it sounded crappy.