The humble cassette (or tape, as it is known in some parts of the world) is well and truly ancient technology these days.
CDs came and blew cassettes out of the water, and then in turn the compact disk was vanquished by MP3s and other digital technology.
However, the cassette still has a role to play for the older car owner.
Connecting your phone or MP3 player up to an older car can be quite a challenge, but if your car’s stereo has a cassette player/tape deck, then this gives you an effective (if somewhat “old school”) way to enhance the audio connectivity and playback capabilities of your car.
You can learn more about the different ways you can connect your old car stereo to your phone or audio device, in our ultimate guide to older car audio connectivity. This goes through all of the different options at your disposal, and is well worth reading if you’d like to explore how you can make your older car better in terms of audio functionality.
If you have read that guide, then you’ll know we are big fans of using cassette adapter products to enhance your connectivity – if your car’s stereo has a cassette player/tape deck.
In our guide to the best cassette adapters, we looked at some of the best options for enhancing your audio connectivity via using a cassette adapter
In this article, we are going into more depth on a particular subset of the cassette adapter category; the Buetooth cassette adapter.
In particular, we are going to explore how Bluetooth cassette adapters work, and look in more detail as to whether one of these might be a good solution for your needs.
Table of Contents
How Does A Bluetooth Cassette Adapter Work?
At a fundamental level, the function of a Bluetooth cassette adapter is rather simple.
The adapter unit itself functions in your cassette player like any old cassette would (yes, just like your 1980s high school hits mix-tape that would cause horrendous embarrassment if it were to resurface).
If you’d really like to know how a basic cassette/tape works, this short video provides an explainer.
This is time-tested technology that has been around for decades, so we won’t “reinvent the wheel” here.
It’s the Bluetooth component that is more interesting for the purposes of this article.
Basically, the cassette adapter contains a Bluetooth receiver within it. This is able to pair with your phone or other Bluetooth-enabled device, and then play back the audio signal via the cassette adapter.
In some respects, the cassette is just a “container” for the Bluetooth receiver.
Because of the additional power requirements to run Bluetooth, these adapters either have to be plugged in or charged up to work (this is usually achieved via the use of a micro-USB cable that can be plugged in to the 12v outlet/lighter outlet in your car, or charge from any other device like a USB wall charger, laptop etc).
Normally you might expect anywhere from 6-10 hours of playback on a single charge, so make sure you remember to regularly charge the adapter (or keep a suitable charger in your car). It’s also worth checking if the adapter you are looking to purchase supports playback while the device is charging, or if you have to charge it before use and it cannot run while plugged in.
Bluetooth vs Wired – Which Is Better?
In our view, it’s probably still better to look at a wired cassette adapter in the first instance.
Bluetooth devices (especially cheaper ones) can have connectivity problems. It’s also a pain to have to either keep your Bluetooth adapter plugged in to a power outlet, or having to keep the batteries charged up.
Sound quality wise, we have tended to find that a quality wired adapter edges out, but Bluetooth options can have good sound quality as well.
Remember that the output of any adapter (wired or wireless) is ultimately going to be limited by the quality and capability of your car’s stereo anyway.
Another argument in favour of using a Bluetooth adapter is that some of them come with nifty features like the ability to control audio playback, and take calls using the adapter (often via an attached control dongle).
Therefore, if you have an older car that only has a cassette player/tape deck AND you really like the idea of Bluetooth connectivity, then a Bluetooth cassette adapter can be a great choice.
Recap – How Do Bluetooth Cassette/Tape Adapters Work?
In short, there are two parts to a Bluetooth cassette adapter.
The “cassette” piece works pretty much like any cassette tape works.
Where the magic happens is with the Bluetooth receiver/unit within the adapter, which is able to receive a signal from your phone (or other Bluetooth-enabled device) and then use the old-school magic of the cassette to play audio back via your car’s stereo.
So if you have an older car and want to enhance your connectivity capabilities, then a Bluetooth cassette adapter could be just what the doctor ordered.
Go here to learn about the best cassette adapters for your car. Make sure you also take the time to check out our other product articles and guides, including the best Bluetooth FM transmitters for older cars, and the best paint thickness gauges for inspecting the paintwork and paint quality on any prospective car you might be looking to purchase.
If you have any questions or concerns, then feel free to leave a comment below!
This didn’t really answer how it works though.. does the adapter have tape that it writes onto it dynamically in a loop and then erases it as it goes? Does it just stream out magnetic signals that the tape reader can read?
I see what you mean, fair point – I’ve tried to keep it simple in terms of the explanation. This video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH4n8fUjtLQ – explains well the more technical aspect. Basically, the signal goes from your phone to the adapter via Bluetooth, and then this signal is converted in the adapter to an analog signal and then passed to the magnetic head on the adapter, which can be picked up by the cassette player (so the ‘middleman’ which is the tape is cut out).
I’ll update the article to explain more.
My tape player doesn’t turn by more…the plug in tape adaptor works but not the blue tooth…no connection for sound from my phone…does the cassette have to spin? Or is it just connectivity problem? Thanks, Kevin
Hi Kevin,
If I can chime in here, I believe the tape/cassette must be able to spin in order for the adapter to work. The adapter functions by capturing the Bluetooth signal (which carries sound) and converting it to an analog signal which passes through the cassette head so that the car’s stereo is effectively tricked into thinking there is a regular tape playing, but I believe this dependent on the cassette actually being able to spin as you’d normally find.