Music question.

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daisyduke
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Music question.

Post by daisyduke »

Hi guys,

Long time no chat/see. Apologies to have missed COC this year :(

my car is running pretty well (in my ninth year of ownership now!) but my stereo/speakers are pretty whack. I've got the original tape deck and radio, with some speakers that look pretty shyte, the sound quality is generally... bad.

Recently the wiring (I think) has been pretty jumpy too, with the speakers cutting out completely every now and again, sometimes for multiple journeys with no sound, sometimes the front ones work and sometimes the back, and cut in and out intermittently.

I understand there will probs be some wiring issues to sort out, but I'd like to (finally) get some new speakers, do you guys have any recommendations – I don't want anything boy-racer or over-the-top in any way, just a better sound. And I don't want to fork out too much either if possible. Along with speakers, I'd also quite like a lead to connect to MP3 but I want to keep to original cassette/radio deck – any thoughts?

Oh - and does anyone else use the tape/mp3 adapters? I swear they used to be really good when Tesco did them for a few quid but I can't seem to find a decent one anymore, even the more expensive ones don't seem to work very well.
80s kid
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Re: Music question.

Post by 80s kid »

Never used those tape things for my mp3 I always wondered how they worked.

As for speakers I just bought some 6x4 speakers from a place by me, 50 quid and they are nice and loud. Can't remember the name of them but will look later.
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Re: Music question.

Post by ThatGuy »

Pioneer speakers are pretty good, they've got a good range or bass and treble on then although Im not too sure how much they cost.
As for the tape mp3 things my sister had one in her car for years and it was fine, but if you can't find a good one I'm sure you can put an aftermarket head unit in the glove box and use the mp3 cable from that if you wantb keep the dash looking original.
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Andrew 2.8i
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Re: Music question.

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

daisyduke wrote:Oh - and does anyone else use the tape/mp3 adapters? I swear they used to be really good when Tesco did them for a few quid but I can't seem to find a decent one anymore, even the more expensive ones don't seem to work very well.
Hi,
I use one of these. I bought a Sony tape/MP3 adaptor for £10 from Amazon (they are £13.49 now). That sounds expensive as non-branded ones can be bought for a few pounds, but I tried one of those first and it was terrible. It made a loud noise when it was operating and the cassette player kept trying to change sides. Bought the Sony version, no problems since.
Obviously the sound quality cannot compare with a high quality head unit and speakers, but it works well enough for my simple tastes!

Andrew.
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Terra-Kotta
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Re: Music question.

Post by Terra-Kotta »

I use a couple of dcoe's. 40s are fine and remove the bonnet sound deadening.

If you advance cam a few degrees you'll get a lovely bark.
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Re: Music question.

Post by Taff50ish »

Hi,

I was using one of the Tape adapters till just last week, when my Tape deck finally gave out. (Martin ain't got any either at the moment.)

BUT!!! What I did find, was a small FM Transmitter in Asda for £6... It takes the standard 3.5mm Jack, plug in your MP3, then find an Empty FM frequency, tune the transmitter to that and the Radio Head and listen to your music in better quality than through the Tape Adapter. You do have to find the optimum place in the car to place the transmitter though, I've found in the Ash Tray works very well and I can fit the MP3 player in there with it... Everything still looks standard... Great...

I did find replacement speakers at a Local Car Stereo shop, 4" Circular, for a direct replacement in the back, they only charged me £25 for them and they sound great, just go into one of these places and ask I would recommend.

Best of luck with it, cheers,

John...
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Re: Music question.

Post by c.turff »

Daisy, I have done exactly what you are looking for. I run the original tape deck with a jack lead tape connected to my phone. I replaced the door speakers with alpine speakers the same size. They fit in the door card but the plastic shield behind the speaker needs trimming. I then put JBL 6×9s in the parcel shelf ( my shelf came with holes in ) and this works great :)
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Re: Music question.

Post by daisyduke »

Awesome - thanks guys!
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pbar
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Re: Music question.

Post by pbar »

daisyduke wrote:
Oh - and does anyone else use the tape/mp3 adapters? I swear they used to be really good when Tesco did them...
I don't use one anymore, but I have a fair amount of experience with these. By far the best one I've ever had (and I tried quite a few), is the one made by Goodmans. You used to get it in a 'set' which included various power adapters, but I think it's available on it's own too. Great quality and sound level, you don't even know you're using it. Every other one I tried is very poor in comparison, even those by the likes of Sony.
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Re: Music question.

Post by Adlen85 »

Didn't bother reading all the replies so I don't know if I'm repeating anyone.

eBay has loads of them adapter cassettes, or you could get fancy and wire into it so the cable is discreet behind the dash. Endless possibilities with trick wiring.
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Re: Music question.

Post by gt-bloke »

I currently use one the FM transmitters, £5,ish from tesco, ebay etc works well but the volume on the MP3 needs to be full wack..... and as said before, with a small mp3 player it can be tucked in the ashtray.. 8-)
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Re: Music question.

Post by Terra-Kotta »

You can get somat that plugs in cig lighter, these take signal from I pod via a wire then sends via a radio signal to the stereo. So basically you don't even use the cassette part at all. Just goes over the radio (you can choose the station). Used to use that in my works van and worked a treat.
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Re: Music question.

Post by ollyw »

In a previous car of mine I had Rainbow 6 x 4s in the doorcards.

6x4 speakers are pretty pants as a speaker cone should be round not oval! However these were excellent for their size and bloody responsive down to about 250 Hz, plus they were a straight swap.

Put a capri club parcel shelf in the back drill holes and fit 6x9's and get it carpet wrapped. All the way! :lowrider:

I get keeping the original stereo but the amp on those is utter pants. You cant have a crap stereo in a car in my personal opinion! I rip all of mine out and swap for a cut dash, job done!
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pbar
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Re: Music question.

Post by pbar »

Terra-Kotta wrote:You can get somat that plugs in cig lighter, these take signal from I pod via a wire then sends via a radio signal to the stereo. So basically you don't even use the cassette part at all. Just goes over the radio (you can choose the station). Used to use that in my works van and worked a treat.
The issue with those can be that if you travel any distance, and/or listen to a localised station, the frequency may need re-tuning whilst you're on the move.
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Re: Music question.

Post by stevemarl »

pbar wrote:The issue with those can be that if you travel any distance, and/or listen to a localised station, the frequency may need re-tuning whilst you're on the move.
That`s exactly what I found, as you move around new stations come into range and bleed over the signal. Gave up in the end & use a Sony cassette adapter now. Works OK if you adjust the graphic equaliser on MP3 to compensate for frequency drop off.
(Looked for Goodmans on ebay but no trace now.)
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pbar
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Re: Music question.

Post by pbar »

There are a couple of Goodmans ones that I found on there Steve -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Goodmans-Cass ... 3a94ed97bf

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GOODMANS-CD-T ... 2592dddc82

I had the kit in the bottom link, may still have it somewhere. Tried numerous other makes including Sony, none matched the clarity, volume and quality of the Goodmans one.
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stevemarl
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Re: Music question.

Post by stevemarl »

I looked the other day and not one!!! Added to watch list. (does the first one, the cassette alone, look like your item?)
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pbar
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Re: Music question.

Post by pbar »

I will have to root it out and take a look. I managed to break the wire (my fault) a couple of times, which is why I kept trying others. So, kept patching it up as it was the only one that worked well. I'm sure I still have it though, will find it.
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stevemarl
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Re: Music question.

Post by stevemarl »

pbar wrote:I had the kit in the bottom link, may still have it somewhere. Tried numerous other makes including Sony, none matched the clarity, volume and quality of the Goodmans one.
Got that! Have to say - it`s really nicely made actually! I don`t think I`d actually fit it to Capri now as MP3 is much more convenient than CD, but in it`s day it was a great idea! I`m keeping the kit (bar the adaptor) as a period piece and who knows, one day....?
Thanks for spotting!
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pbar
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Re: Music question.

Post by pbar »

Great stuff, Steve :D
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