Alternative to ipod hack

[Shinjuku]

Was browsing ebay the other week and came across a tape that you can put an SD card in and which has codecs inside which push the sound out through the tape head

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/180760025621? ... 1497.l2649

 

Anyway, it arrived the other day. Charged it up and tried it out. With my headphones in (it also functions as an mp3 player) the sound quality was pretty disgusting with none of the EQ settings giving anything close to decent music. I was disappointed.

 

Anyway, I got home and gave it a roll in the Zed. The results are a lot better. There is some hiss (like a tape) and you would not mistake it for CD - it would pass for radio though once you have selected the right EQ setting on the device and adjusted the bass on the stereo a bit.

 

It comes with a little remote control which allows you to change tracks with it in the stereo and other bits and pieces.

 

In summary would be that its a great idea and if a bit more cash had been put into the hardware and digital analogue conversion process it could probably have been a more effective piece of kit. Its not going to replace your CD multichanger, but it does provide a nice extra option for long journeys / when you need a change. For £10 delivered you can't really go wrong.

 

Hope someone finds that useful.

 

Shinjuku

[SteveRS]

I was going to say just from the photos the build quality doesn't look that good at all.

[Shinjuku]

Its not Bose, no. However, until someone makes a quality version it will do me. For a tenner its functional.

[Dblock]

Good find

 

I have heard some people say the better/more expensive tapes give a better sound but TBH I only used the tape and my phone for podcasts and stuff.

 

A clever idea though

[lrh]

I did the aux line-in hack with a 99p cable and bought an old Sandisk MP3 player for £5

 

Sound through cheap tape heads will never be as good and pumping up the EQ will likely cause overload/distortion.

 

An interesting concept for old/classic cars where you have no other option.

[zDan]

Most people seem to have had bad experience with tape adapters, however I brought a few weeks ago a tape adapter from nowhere else other than TKmax (don't ask how I got there) and I must say it's surprisingly good!. It's one of those white IPod/IPhone accessories, can't say what the brand is. I hook it with my mobile via a standard jack.

 

It takes a few tries to get the tape in the right positon, but once it's there it sounds great. I'm no audiophile but the same tunes I play from the mobile sound better from the tape adapter than they do when I hear them on the FM radio, bass is deeper, treble is clear, noticeable difference. Deffinitely worth the 4 quid I spent on it.

[Shinjuku]

Have a go with one of these dan. No wire poking out. As you say sound is not cd but its radio quality easy enough.

[spursmaddave]

Its not Bose, no

 

Goes well with the Zed HU as that won't be Bose either

[rtbiscuit]

i use a tape adapter to use minidisk player in my car or my missus Ipod etc. in the zed i found the trick was to turn down the volume on the ipod etc and that removed the background hiss etc.

 

i love my tape adapter. cost me £10 and means i can use everything in the car.

[brillomaster]

yep went for cassette adapter and MP3 player... started off with the mp3 player on high volume as this normally seems to be best, but it just made for massive distortion especially on the bass.

 

So turned the volume and bass down on the mp3 player to get a nice clean signal through the tape deck heads, then cranked the volume and bass back up through the BOSE headunit if necessary.

 

I'm pretty happy with the setup and its way cheaper than replacing the entire head unit, only thing i might do is upgrade to a Sony cassette adaptor, instead of the absolute cheapest one i could find on ebay.

 

As an aside, most of the problems from playing tapes are a result of the sound being recorded onto the tape, and then the deck heads picking the sound up off the tape - whereas adapters cut out the tape middle man so to speak, so they're actually a lot better.

[lrh]

As an aside, most of the problems from playing tapes are a result of the sound being recorded onto the tape, and then the deck heads picking the sound up off the tape - whereas adapters cut out the tape middle man so to speak, so they're actually a lot better.

Not really. Old Nakamichi tape decks are capable of incredible sound even with cheap tapes but good heads cost a fortune. In-car decks and tape adapters have cheapo heads that can't deliver bass or high-frequencies without distorting. That's why they'll always struggle to match even FM.

 

The aux line-in hack bypasses the head and pipes sound straight into the amp, hence it sounds miles better. I can crank the EQ and volume on my MP3 player to almost maximum without distortion.