Belkin Cassette Adapter for iPod, MP3 Player, CD Player, and Laptop Reviews

• Wow! Much better than I had hoped for

  
  By A1HX6VYLC0JMU7 on 2005-06-19
  I bought this on a whim after having the FM Modulator I had installed last week removed from my '03 Jetta because the sound was pathetic. (Really upsettingly bad.) I really didn't expect much, but thought it was worth a try at the price. I could not be happier! I don't have any of the whirry, clicky noises others mention, unless I've turned my iPod off while the adapter is still in the cassette deck, and even then it's not terribly noisy. The sound is surprisingly crisp and the highs and lows are clean and distinct--unike the awful experience I had with the modulator. I don't know whether the quality will deteriorate over time, but at $12, if I have to replace it now and then it's worth it. (Much cheaper than replacing my car stereo, like the car audio salesguy told me I'd have to do.) If you have a cassette deck, try it. You'll be amazed.
  
  

• They start fine, then degrade into noisy annoyances

  
  By A3Q5FER7CJOZV on 2006-02-11
  I have gone through three of these; I purchased two and one I got as a warrantee replacement. Each failed the same way. They start out fine, then gradually start making more and more mechanical noise. Eventually the noise becomes so annoying that the unit needs to be replaced. I give it two stars only because it dies over time rather than all at once.
  
  

• Disappointing

  
  By on 2004-03-07
  On the plus side:
  1. This cassette adapter works in my Passat's stereo, unlike the Sony adapter, which did not.
  2. Sound quality and usability are both better than the iTrip.

  One the minus side:
  1. The sound quality is miserable. Bass is almost totally missing. The midrange dominates, and most of the high end is muted. This problem is so bad that adjusting bass/midrange/treble on my stereo cannot compensate. For reference, actual cassettes sound great in this same stereo.
  
  2. This cassette adapter has gears in it that make both spindles turn when one is turning. This is probably what makes it work in my stereo, however it does make some sound. The end result is some mechanical noise that gets in the way of quiet parts of the music.
  
  

• Piece of Crap is Pretty Accurate

  
  By A3C9PF77TUP17 on 2006-01-06
  Tried it on two different car stereos. On both, experienced no bass reponse and much treble distortion. This is junk. I'm beginning to believe that Belkin could care less about the quality of their products. I had another attachment of their's for reading compact flash cards and had to trash that as well. Same issues - extremely poor engineering (if they know what that is) and very unpleasant to use. I feel like I was ripped off on both items.
  
  

• Utterly Worthless ...

  
  By A2UGEUCFF2J40V on 2005-02-27
  When it worked it didn't work well, the rest of the time it didn't work at all. It's in the trash now where it belongs (I got a DLO, which works perfectly so far).
  
  
• I can't believe they tested this
  By on 2004-04-07
  This is horrible. The first one I bought has a very loud whirring and clicking when connecting an iPod in a Honda CRV. It was impossible to listen to the music. I returned it and swapped it for another, and the performance was identical. For an iPod in my car it is completely unusable.
  
  
• Don't waste your money
  By on 2004-07-09
  This product is aweful. It just absolutly refused to work in any of my cars. I tried it in a 2003 dodge van and it wouldn't even load correctly. i tried it in a 92 carolla... silence. i tried it my friends cars and it didn't work in any of theirs either. don't buy this. i wish i could give it zero stars.
  
  
• Piece of Crap
  By A18P737CR65AHS on 2005-11-27
  Lasted me for two months, and then fell apart. The wire came lose very easily after only moderate use. There was so much clatter and noise when i hooked it up. Use to own a Sony one, which was cheaper and lasted me two years. This is a piece of crap, don't but it!
  
  
• terrible sound quality
  By A9VXCLL69O89Z on 2004-03-09
  Do not buy this adapter if you intend to use it with the iPod. The sound quality is very poor.
  
  
• Good for Audiobooks
  By A2L0GPCVN8KIU8 on 2004-11-15
  I use this adapter to listen to AudioBooks in my 2001 Toyota Corolla (which has a factory-installed tape deck). It worked fine, although apparently some other Toyota owners have had some difficulties. I am glad I have this because otherwise I can't really use the radio transmitter adapter since the San Francisco area has too many radio stations.
  
  The sound quality is fine for audio books, though there is some clicking and whirring from the cassette player attempting to turn the wheels of this pseudo-cassette. I imagine that would get very annoying if you were listening to music.
  
  I do find that sometimes ejecting the adapter and then re-inserting changes the volume and/or sound quality. It seems to be sensitive to the way it is seated in the casette player.
  
  
• It does work, but it's noisy noisy noisy!
  By A13MHE5GVBMAO6 on 2006-01-14
  This was a huge disappointment. It did work, but I had to crank the volume way up in order to hear anything, and there was this incredibly annoying loud clicking-clacking sound, nonstop.
  
  
• An alright product.
  By A1II5CAJRHQFBB on 2005-01-04
  This adapter is alright. When I play the iPod in the car (2003 Corolla) while using this adapter you can hear a little bit of feedback from the tape deck. Why it happens, I have no idea. Also, if the lines are twisted or happen to get jammed into the deck while thew adapter is in there, you tend to lose sound quality, so make sure you straighten the wires. So far it's been great, but I'm thinking of switching over to the iTrip...
  
  
• Works in one car but not the other
  By A55PCTJ6NINET on 2005-02-19
  I bought this to use in my 2003 Infiniti G35 (factory Bose system) after trying three different types of FM transmitters (all of which worked fine unless you were within 50 miles of any city with a poplulation over 10,000).
  
  It just did not work, period.
  
  I took into work and tried it in my staff vehicle (2003 Dodge Caravan, factory system) where it works OK. I brought the Sony adapter I had at work home and it works fine in the G35.
  
  However, the last time I was on a multi-hour road trip at work, I noticed the Belkin adapter is starting to make an annoying amount of mechanical noise. I may try to pop it open and see if there's any way to reduce the racket it's making, but I'll probably end up buying another Sony. The Sony adapter I have is at least ten years old and still works OK.
  
  
• Great Product
  By A29FNL2GO7CJZX on 2006-02-25
  The Belkin cassette adapter was my 2nd attempt at a product that would allow me to play my iPod through car cassette deck. The first, non-Belkin, product (can you say Monster here?) was crap...stopped working properly after two weeks. The Belkin adapter has performed flawlessly for 2+ months now.
  
  
• Distracting Clatter
  By A3S6B4SG7WALY4 on 2005-09-27
  noisy, rattling clattering and very distracting even over moderately loud music. The plastic gears constantly rattle and drown out all but AC/DC on 10 (mine goes to 11)
  
  
• Seems to work okay in some decks...
  By ACG7HCFNRSI6H on 2005-12-27
  I read the reviews on this product and figured it was going to be a problem. I had purchase it before checking out this review board. So, when the cassette adapter arrived I tried it out in a stereo system cassettte deck in the house. It did make all the sounds that I read about while it played. The unit was placed in the deck contact down on its horizontal side. I then decided to put the unit in my Pontiac Van's tape deck which has a side port for the cassette. I started the unit and played my iPod through the car stereo. To my surprise the moble cassette did not make any noise while rotating and the sound was quite good. So, I was pleasantly surprised. I think the trouble many have been having with this unit may have to do with the deck one uses and the way it sits in the unit. Only trial and error with the unit will tell if it works for you. A strange way to buy equipment. Mine just happen to work for me. But for how long, I wonder.
  
  
• Dont purchase
  By AIGHW5K93SEO2 on 2006-05-26
  Within 5 months this product proved worthless. If I attempt to use it i enjoy a symphonic medley of 100% volume, no static; to 60% static at reduced volume; to no volume at all. Have used other ipods with it and received same result.
  
  Doesnt help faciitate your Ipod addiction and is frustrating as all hell on those long rides.
  
  
• Satisfied
  By A3ASIQMB8R8P6T on 2004-12-01
  So far, this has been working really well. I know people that have used others that have begun to fray and do not have very good sound. I suggest this one over the others most definitely!
  
  
• Good product
  By AHIZU5V0HDBRP on 2005-03-15
  I was very pleased with this product when I first bought it in December. It was pretty cheap compaired to other products that I had looked into, and worked extremely well in my car stereo. I did however recently have to buy a new one because the old one started to not work. I think this may have been due to the fact that I used it so much. Overall I think this is a great product!
  
  
• poor quality
  By A1EC152UHJYC97 on 2005-01-16
  I bought this for my iPod. It works ok but the sound quality is awfull. I have an very old Panasonic adapter and even Panasoic sounds much better than this Belkin. Also Belkin adapter is very poorly constructed that there is a lot of hissling and noise while playing. Only buy this adapter if you like heavy metal music so that you can supress the static noise with heavy drums and bass:)
  
  
• Excellent!
  By ASG6Q0LEBJXHV on 2005-02-14
  I was a little weary before getting this. I chose the cassette adapter over an FM transmitter after reading several reviews of both. We bought the cassette adapter as part of the Belkin Accessory Kit and tried it in the parking lot right after it was bought. I was very very surprised at the great sound it had. I was very surprised that I had read bad reviews of this because it sounds really quite great. On a scale of 1-10 I would have to rate it a very high 9. Definitely give this a try!
  
  
• Loud and obnoxious
  By A1TXE0JGKDFR3M on 2005-02-18
  I don't know if it's common to all of these tape-type adapters, but the noise coming from the tape player is so loud you can hardly hear the music unless you're blasting it. We also get a strang buzzing once in a while as it plays. Don't bother with this. I've heard the FM adapters are no good in urban areas either, so I reccommend an adapter that hooks to your CD Changer input if that's an option for you.
  
  
• Yeah, Too Loud
  By A1S3FDRL58HBEG on 2005-02-22
  I'd agree with some of the earlier comments. I got this as part of an iPod package deal thing. I already had I believe a Memorex version of the adapter from way back in the day when I'd use my Discman in the car. I tried this new one just for the heck of it and the rattling was very distracting. Went back to the 15-year-old model I have and it works just great...
  
  
• What a piece
  By A61GZJ8D1RF98 on 2005-09-07
  I had lots of trouble getting the tape into any tape deck and I would have to almost force it into my car tape deck for it to work. And as if that wasn't enough the wire striped and the jack fell off. Now it is out of service and I am out 20 dollars.
  
  
• great ipod adapter
  By A2LNS56S29AAJ2 on 2006-11-11
  This product works really well with my ipod-the sound is very good, as long as you adjust the volume on both the car radio and the ipod itself. This is the second one I've purchased (one for each car). It works much better than the ones that use the FM frequency, since you don't have to worry about changing the station when you drive into a new area.
  
  
• Good quality --- if it works
  By A1AOSFDR1T9CBJ on 2007-01-10
  I give this product a mixed review. When it works it works very well. It sounds much better than an FM radio module, but has some problems with reliability. The first one I purchased worked for about 8 months in my Volvo. The sound was very good. It started to fail by causing the tape player in the car to flip direction back and forth as if it was at end of tape. I called Belkin and they were helpful. They suggested cleaning the tape head or returning the unit. They seem to have a liberal return policy which is good considering relaibility issues. Instead of returning it, I moved it to my Acura where it worked fine. It's still working in this car. I purchased a second unit for the Volvo and it has been working for a few months without problems.
  
  
• Works great, no complaints
  By A30REFMQHNQU7L on 2007-11-18
  I've been using one of these adapters for almost two years now, five days a week to work and back, in two different cars, in winter and summer, and have never had a problem. No complaints, very happy with mine. It's a lifeline I could not imagine my morning commute without, because my iPod would be nearly worthless in the car otherwise. I saw these other reviews, in fact, when I came on the site to buy a second one as a backup so I don't have to keep switching between cars.
  
  
• Rattletrap
  By AYL3CH1Y1DOB8 on 2005-02-17
  I bought this item to hook up to my iPod while driving my Honda Pilot. The sound quality is reasonable especially considering the price - better than the FM transmitter I was using before - but the product is close to unusable because of the noticeable rattling from the adapter's wheels. Very disappointing. I've read similar reviews about the Monster: too much unwanted noise and rattling. I had a MacAlly adaptor about two years ago for use with my office cassette player, and it eventually started rattling and then the wire broke. I'm going to check out the Sony version which seems to get higher reviews.
  
  
• too much sound (not the one you want, though)
  By A3I5JZ7MVZP5M5 on 2005-09-16
  it makes a constant white noise in the background of the music you're playing
  
  
• Not that great
  By A3RQTZOFQ2GAS1 on 2007-01-01
  The tape deck in my car would play the ipod for about 10 seconds and then it would reject the tape adapter thing. I wasn't very impressed by this performance. It is possible that I purchased one that happened to be flawed, because it appears that other reviewers have been able to use their adapaters for more than 10 seconds at a time.
  
  

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