[srkstan]

Ok - so, I have an older model car that still has a cassette deck in it.  Now that I have a ibasso DX90 with plenty of 24/96 music files on it, I want to play that bad boy through my car stereo.  I realize that it will lose quite a bit of quality going through one of these car cassette deck adaptors, but I think that is my best option at the moment (and it should still sound better than my old iPod going through an adaptor).  Does anybody know if any of these adaptors are better than others? Monster seems to have one with a bit nicer cable, but Coby looks to have one with a removable cable...maybe it would be better with an aftermarket cable added?
 
Monster - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002DW92IE/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=33M6ORQGPS2DM&coliid=I10TVO8WKAP609
 
Coby - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006JPFU/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=33M6ORQGPS2DM&coliid=IA5W1OF8LRQUL

 

[suicidal_orange]

I was going to say that you probably wouldn't notice the difference between the ipod and DX90 as surely the cassette adapter would be the weakest link, but realised I'd only used one adapter so perhaps it was just not a good one.
 
According to this roundup the Coby wasn't a good choice many years ago and for just a couple of bucks more (or a couple less than the Monster) you can have their top rated sony one.  As it's unlikely someone's been making new versions of this ancient tech that's the one I'd go for.
 
Let us know how your hi-res cassette works out

 

[Baroninkjet]

If your car has a CD, you might get lucky and find RCA plugs connecting CD to head unit. Some used to have them -- even though both were part of same unit. 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Ok - so, I have an older model car that still has a cassette deck in it.  Now that I have a ibasso DX90 with plenty of 24/96 music files on it, I want to play that bad boy through my car stereo.  I realize that it will lose quite a bit of quality going through one of these car cassette deck adaptors, but I think that is my best option at the moment (and it should still sound better than my old iPod going through an adaptor).  Does anybody know if any of these adaptors are better than others? Monster seems to have one with a bit nicer cable, but Coby looks to have one with a removable cable...maybe it would be better with an aftermarket cable added?
 
 

 
Running a DX90 through an old cassette deck (do you even have upgraded amps and speakers?) will be like buying an old bookshelf midi system and then replacing its CD module with a $3,000 32/384 DAC. You would lose not just "a bit" of sound quality, and not simply from the cassette adapter but from the unnecessarily long analog chain, not all the downstream components won't do a proper source any justice (even then, that isn't even enough - see below). You can get a Clarion digital media receiver (uses USB drives, etc instead of a CD transport) from Crutchfield for under $80. Or buy it locally if you can find it (Frys or Best Buy maybe) and pay extra to have them install it and save you a lot of sweat (while you go over to Burger King or something) and have someone accountable if they mess up the wiring.
 
If you have bigger plans for the system in that car, save up and get the Alpine media receivers that are compatible with the PXA-H100 processor (that works through their AiNet protocol - both digital audio and control of the processor parameters pass through it). That should keep your system future-proof, especially since not even a $10,000 DAC or CDP will correct the fact that a car system's tweeters and midwoofers aren't located in equal distance relative to the listener (you are closer to the driver side tweeter, driver side midwoofer, passenger side tweeter, and passenger midwoofer, in that order) but a $150 processor like the H100 has a time alignment feature that puts custom microsecond delays on the closer transducers. Not to mention that sibilance is a huge problem in car audio, but it's not a matter of frequency response - improperly installed tweeters will have too many reflections and you jsut hear those "t" and "s" several times over separated by microsends. A better source unit will only aggravate that thanks to its better 20hz to 20khz response, and some deal with it improperly by using the EQ as a blunt instrument and just hacking out 4khz to 8khz.
 
In any case mosey on over to www.diymobileaudio.com for actual advice about proper car audio.