The second best accessory for your iPod, Belkin's Cassette Adapter Kit.
Written: Jan 21 '05 (Updated Jan 30 '05)
Product Rating:
Pros: Cheap, simple to use, works on almost any vehicle, better sound quality than FM Transmitters.
Cons: Not CD quality sound, may produce poor quality audio on older or cheaper cassette players.
The Bottom Line: For the money you can't beat the Belkin Cassette Adaptor. It works on any iPod or other device with a headphone jack. Pick one up today!
openroad's Full Review: Belkin (F8V366-APL) Car Kit for Apple iPod
----- What does this thing do for my $20? -----
Like any other portable music player, the Apple iPod is best in situations where a standard stereo system is impossible to use. Home audio components are still the best and highest quality (on average), with car stereos starting to catch up quickly. Many new cars come with premium systems as an option, and names such as Bose (Infinity & Mercedes), McIntosh (Subaru), and Harmon Kardon (BMW) are becoming more commonplace. It makes sense then to find a way to utilize your portable media players in the best environment outside of your home. The answer is... your CAR!
Since this Belkin Cassette Adapter Kit is sold for the Apple iPod series of MP3 players, I'll focus on them for now. The only other option besides a cassette adapter for using your iPod with your car audio system is an FM Transmitter such as the Griffin Technology iTrip and Belkin Tunecast units. These devices broadcast a very short range FM signal on a radio frequency selected by the user. The only downside to this is the frequent and often debilitating interference from other radio stations. If you live in a large metro area you can almost complete write off these FM transmitters as useless.
Option #2 happens to be a cassette adapter, and as long as you have a cassette player in your vehicle you are ready to jam away. Read on and find out how the Belkin version works.
----- Okay, time to use the cassette player again! -----
First I have to give a quick history lesson to some of my younger readers about cassettes. Before MP3 players we used to listen to music on shiny round discs called CDs. But the predecessor to the CD was a squarish device (usually black) that we called a cassette. What? No silly, that's a MiniDisc... think 1980s and older here. Thankfully for the product I'm reviewing, most car, truck, and SUV manufacturers are still sending their new vehicles out with not only a CD player or changer, but also a cassette player.
The Belkin Cassette Adapter pops into your cassette player and fools it into thinking it's reading a tape. The iPod sends its audio signal from the headphone jack to the adapter, which feeds the signal directly to the tape player. This allows for very little distortion, although your sound quality is limited mostly by the quality of your tape player. In the case of many GM and Ford vehicles, the quality isn't that good.
Downsides to this type of audio transmission are few, with the biggest annoyance being the length of audio cable you need to stow away. Quality isn't as good as a CD, but it's a far cry from the spotty reception you get with an FM transmitter. Overall I've been very happy with my Belkin Cassette Adapter, the only downside being it failed on me 2 weeks after purchasing.
I lay most of the blame for its failure at the feet of my Mazda 626 sedan, and the horrible factory cassette player. I popped in the Belkin unit on a -5 degree morning, and the cassette player made some lovely crackling noises before starting to squeal horribly. Afterwords my Belkin adapter wouldn't play the left side of any audio, only the right. I tried cleaning it and using it in several different cassette players to no avail. I did go out and purchase a 2nd Belkin unit which has worked fine for several months now.
----- Bottom Line -----
If you have an iPod of any size and want to listen to your massive library of music on the road, I wholeheartedly endorse the Belkin Cassette Adapter as your best option. When combined with the excellent Belkin Auto Kit DC car charger you'll never run out of batteries or songs. Unless you have a rare stereo with an audio input jack, this is the best quality iPod reception you can get with your vehicle.
I'd like to give this little guy 5 stars, but I'm sticking with 4 because of the less than perfect sound quality. As a bonus you can use this unit with ANY device that has a headphone jack. If you have a portable CD player you can listen to it over the same cassette adapter you use for your iPod. This also works very well with your PC or Mac laptop. Want to watch a movie from the backseat and hear the audio over the car stereo? No problem, just plug the adapter into your laptop's headphone jack. Nifty 'aint it? I recommend you try this out and see what you think, and at $19 street price it's not a big investment and you'll get plenty of listening pleasure in the future.
A quick note on my title implying this is the 2nd best accessory for the iPod. The most important accessory in my opinion is some type of skin or case to cover your iPod. If done early enough in your ownership, this prevents the dreaded scratch-n-scrape of your new toy.
Product info:
Available online or at various retailers.
MSRP: $24.00
Fits front- and side-loading cassette players
Comes with a Belkin Lifetime Limited Warranty
Features inner-magnetic and shake-resistant design
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