I've used my cassette adaptor (Sony, bought several years ago) to listen to
music from my mp3 player and minidisc player in the car for years, usually
with decent sound.

Recently when I tried it, however, the sound was very bad, tinny, distorted,
etc. I couldn't listen to it, very unpleasant to the ears. Tried with
different music, same result. (Both of those music pieces, when listened to
with earphones from the same player, same encoding, sound fine.) I listened
to the FM radio instead, which sounded much better than the music from my
mp3 player through the cassette adapter.

Do these cassette adapters degrade with time, being in a hot car, etc.? Do
people usually replace theirs every so often? If so, how often?

Or is it possible to somehow repair it by cleaning the head, etc.? How?

Or do a head cleaning.demagnetization, etc. of the cassette player? Any
method to do that preferred? I have one of the cassettes that is supposed to
do both by running it in the cassette player for a few seconds. Does that
really do the job?

Has anyone compared different brands of cassette adaptors (Sony, Memorex,
Maxell, Philips, etc., etc.)? Is there any difference in the quality of
sound transmitted? Any difference in how long they will last? Or are they
all pretty much the same, perhaps even all made in the same factory, and
branded with different brand names?

I would appreciate any input anyone can contribute to this topic. Thank you.

MS wrote:

I've used my cassette adaptor (Sony, bought several years ago) to listen to
music from my mp3 player and minidisc player in the car for years, usually
with decent sound.

Recently when I tried it, however, the sound was very bad, tinny, distorted,
etc. I couldn't listen to it, very unpleasant to the ears. Tried with
different music, same result. (Both of those music pieces, when listened to
with earphones from the same player, same encoding, sound fine.) I listened
to the FM radio instead, which sounded much better than the music from my
mp3 player through the cassette adapter.

Do these cassette adapters degrade with time, being in a hot car, etc.? Do
people usually replace theirs every so often? If so, how often?

Or is it possible to somehow repair it by cleaning the head, etc.? How?

Or do a head cleaning.demagnetization, etc. of the cassette player? Any
method to do that preferred? I have one of the cassettes that is supposed to
do both by running it in the cassette player for a few seconds. Does that
really do the job?

Has anyone compared different brands of cassette adaptors (Sony, Memorex,
Maxell, Philips, etc., etc.)? Is there any difference in the quality of
sound transmitted? Any difference in how long they will last? Or are they
all pretty much the same, perhaps even all made in the same factory, and
branded with different brand names?

I would appreciate any input anyone can contribute to this topic. Thank you.



Three answers:

1: They should be fairly rugged and last many years

2: It is possible, if one is exposed to a strong magnatic field, for the
head to become "polarised" Which could cause issues such as you cite

3: Other forms of damage (IE: broken wires) can happen

And, of course, the biggie for me is to push the stupid track selection
button and "reverse" the tape as I've got the thing in backwards again.

Oh yes, 1,2 and 3, apply equally to the cassette player as to the
adapter (Call those 1-p, 2-p and 3-p)

--
John F Davis, WA8YXM in Delightful Detroit Remove "do.not.spam." to reply
"Nothing adds excitement like something that is none of your business"

"John Davis" wrote in message
. ..
2: It is possible, if one is exposed to a strong magnatic field, for the
head to become "polarised" Which could cause issues such as you cite

If #2, can that be fixed? With one of the "demagnetization" cassettes?

Since your adaptor couples to the cassette tape head - I would suspect a
wiring problem at the tape head. Pretty common problem, since the wires flex
a bit every time the head engages.

Mark Z.

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.


" MS" wrote in message
...
I've used my cassette adaptor (Sony, bought several years ago) to listen
to
music from my mp3 player and minidisc player in the car for years, usually
with decent sound.

Recently when I tried it, however, the sound was very bad, tinny,
distorted,
etc. I couldn't listen to it, very unpleasant to the ears. Tried with
different music, same result. (Both of those music pieces, when listened
to
with earphones from the same player, same encoding, sound fine.) I
listened
to the FM radio instead, which sounded much better than the music from my
mp3 player through the cassette adapter.

Do these cassette adapters degrade with time, being in a hot car, etc.? Do
people usually replace theirs every so often? If so, how often?

Or is it possible to somehow repair it by cleaning the head, etc.? How?

Or do a head cleaning.demagnetization, etc. of the cassette player? Any
method to do that preferred? I have one of the cassettes that is supposed
to
do both by running it in the cassette player for a few seconds. Does that
really do the job?

Has anyone compared different brands of cassette adaptors (Sony, Memorex,
Maxell, Philips, etc., etc.)? Is there any difference in the quality of
sound transmitted? Any difference in how long they will last? Or are they
all pretty much the same, perhaps even all made in the same factory, and
branded with different brand names?

I would appreciate any input anyone can contribute to this topic. Thank
you.

MS wrote:
"John Davis" wrote in message
. ..

2: It is possible, if one is exposed to a strong magnatic field, for the
head to become "polarised" Which could cause issues such as you cite


If #2, can that be fixed? With one of the "demagnetization" cassettes?


You didn't mention this, so have you tried playing a known good quality
cassette tape in your player. If that is bad, then you have a cassette
player problem. If it is good, then look for a problem in your adaptor.
Good luck.


--
Art Jackson W4TOY Owensboro, KY USA
Life is God's open book test. In order to pass,
you must open His book to find the answers.

In alt.music.mp3.hardware MS wrote:
I've used my cassette adaptor (Sony, bought several years ago) to listen to
music from my mp3 player and minidisc player in the car for years, usually
with decent sound.

Recently when I tried it, however, the sound was very bad, tinny, distorted,
etc. I couldn't listen to it, very unpleasant to the ears. Tried with
different music, same result. (Both of those music pieces, when listened to
with earphones from the same player, same encoding, sound fine.) I listened
to the FM radio instead, which sounded much better than the music from my
mp3 player through the cassette adapter.

Have you recently dropped it?
Does the tape player still play tapes?
It's probable that the azimuth is off, meaning the head is slightly vertically
out of line with the other one.
Is there a little screw with a spring next to the head in the adaptor?

MS wrote:

"John Davis" wrote in message
. ..

2: It is possible, if one is exposed to a strong magnatic field, for the
head to become "polarised" Which could cause issues such as you cite


If #2, can that be fixed? With one of the "demagnetization" cassettes?


Only 2b (if it's the player that has magnatized) others have told you
how to check that (play a tape)

If it's the adapter... Then you need a tape demagnitizer of the proper
kind (AC, not PM) ask if you need to know

--
John F Davis, WA8YXM in Delightful Detroit Remove "do.not.spam." to reply
"Nothing adds excitement like something that is none of your business"

"John Davis" wrote in message
...

If it's the adapter... Then you need a tape demagnitizer of the proper
kind (AC, not PM) ask if you need to know

Now that I don't understand. What are AC and PM demagnetizers? Obviously one
for the adapter couldn't be like a cassette itself, as are the ones you put
in players.

PM = permanent magnet
AC = electromagnet powered by an AC current

The AC current "scrambles" the polarities of the playback head and this
is how it gets de-magnitized. Check documentation before using the AC one.

If it's the adapter... Then you need a tape demagnitizer of the proper
kind (AC, not PM) ask if you need to know


Now that I don't understand. What are AC and PM demagnetizers? Obviously one
for the adapter couldn't be like a cassette itself, as are the ones you put
in players.

MS wrote:

"John Davis" wrote in message
...


If it's the adapter... Then you need a tape demagnitizer of the proper
kind (AC, not PM) ask if you need to know


Now that I don't understand. What are AC and PM demagnetizers? Obviously one
for the adapter couldn't be like a cassette itself, as are the ones you put
in players.




There are two kinds of Demagnetizers, One is for cassette tape and uses
permenate magnets (I have one stuck, by it's magnet, to one of the steel
support posts (I-Beam shape post) in my basement) You slide a cassette
tape through these a few times and it does a good job of erasing them,
actually, in the digital world it sets all bits to either one or zero,
not a true erase so much as an overwrite.

The other kind is AC powered and scrambles the magnatic bits, AC is your
60 (or 50) Hz line power. I have one of those too, you initially
start with the coil (It is a coil of wire) near the object to be
demagnatized, "Swirl" it around a bit and slowly pull away. The plan is
to leave the magnetic bits in random pattern, neither one or zero but in
between. This is truly erased if you are tape, or demagnitized if you
are parts.

In short... If I were to take a screwdriver, and stick it in the PM tape
eraser. Then I would have a "Magnatic" screwdriver that would pick up
screws all by itself.

But if I used the AC-powered bulk eraser I use for Video tapes... IT
would not pick up a screw when I was done.

--
John F Davis, WA8YXM in Delightful Detroit Remove "do.not.spam." to reply
"Nothing adds excitement like something that is none of your business"

"John Davis" wrote in message
. ..

Three answers:

1: They should be fairly rugged and last many years

2: It is possible, if one is exposed to a strong magnatic field, for the
head to become "polarised" Which could cause issues such as you cite

3: Other forms of damage (IE: broken wires) can happen


So, you don't think that being in a hot car for many years can damage them?
Heat isn't a problem to them?

Also, curious if anyone has noticed any differences in different brands?
Have there been any comparison tests? There seem to be many more brands of
them these days, probably due to the advent of Ipods, as well as other
digital audio players. There are even "Monster" (as in "Monster" cables)
cassette adapters these days. (Although I still wonder if they are all made
by the same company in Asia, and branded with different brand names. The
prices generally range from $15 to $20.) Anyone think there is a difference
in the brands though?

In alt.music.mp3.hardware MS wrote:

"John Davis" wrote in message
. ..

Three answers:

1: They should be fairly rugged and last many years

2: It is possible, if one is exposed to a strong magnatic field, for the
head to become "polarised" Which could cause issues such as you cite

3: Other forms of damage (IE: broken wires) can happen


So, you don't think that being in a hot car for many years can damage them?
Heat isn't a problem to them?

There is nothing especially complex in them.
A backwards cassette reading head, and maybe a few passive components,
with a plasic cassette and a wire.


Also, curious if anyone has noticed any differences in different brands?
Have there been any comparison tests? There seem to be many more brands of
them these days, probably due to the advent of Ipods, as well as other
digital audio players. There are even "Monster" (as in "Monster" cables)
cassette adapters these days. (Although I still wonder if they are all made
by the same company in Asia, and branded with different brand names. The
prices generally range from $15 to $20.) Anyone think there is a difference
in the brands though?

Possibly build quality.