[thaumasiotes]

I used to have a car with a tape player in it. No CD player.

But I got a kit that was meant to give that the ability to play CDs, which consisted of a CD player and an adapter where one end plugged into an audio output jack and the other end was an imitation cassette that went into the tape drive.

It was great. I used a tiny screenless mp3 player and plugged the tape adapter into it. Worked beautifully except for the fact that I couldn't charge the mp3 player in the car. But I could easily organize whatever music I wanted for the car on that mp3 player, and since it was screenless it could be operated by feel.

A friend of mine was proud, once, that his new car included an audio input jack in the dashboard. That's gone out of fashion now, but frankly it's still the ideal setup.

[rav3ndust]

> an adapter where one end plugged into an audio output jack and the other end was an imitation cassette that went into the tape drive

When I was in my teens and early 20s, I used to have a 1997 ford ranger, and this was my setup in it. All I needed to carry was my phone or standalone mp3 player and plug it in, and set it to shuffle, and i was a happy camper. it was a nice little setup, and it was always fun when riding with others (playing the old game of "pass the aux cord")

Of course, now with this setup you'd have to carry a dongle around to achieve the same effect, since (most) new phones no longer have 3.5mm headphone jacks :(

[thaumasiotes]

> Of course, now with this setup you'd have to carry a dongle around to achieve the same effect, since (most) new phones no longer have 3.5mm headphone jacks :(

Using a phone would completely defeat the ability to control what's playing without looking. Use a standalone mp3 player. They still have audio jacks.

https://shop.sandisk.com/products/accessories/mp3-players/sa...

[rav3ndust]

hey, this is cool. i had no idea sandisk was making mp3 players these days. thanks!

[reginald78]

> A friend of mine was proud, once, that his new car included an audio input jack in the dashboard. That's gone out of fashion now, but frankly it's still the ideal setup.

I haven't shopped for new cars recently and I hope this isn't true! I like to listen to audio books and don't really want my phone involved. While AUX jacks aren't the only way to do it I like the option.

A 2006 car I had lacked and AUX jack and had a CD player. After experimenting with FM transmitters (beyond horrible) I eventually had to install a new head unit myself. In the past I used to take it to a car stereo place but they had all shutdown by the time I needed them. While there were directions and adapters available it was a pain because I had to tear apart a lot of the dash trim to do it. I ended up wishing it came with a cassette deck because those adapters you mention are cheap and work quite well.

I still have a 2011 car with CD player and no aux jack which doesn't seem to support stereo replacement, or at least it is going to be an even bigger project. But since it can read data CDs full of mp3s I just burn audio books to a few CDs and the swapping is so minimal it isn't a concern.

My wife's car is a 2019 and it seems to have corrected all the wrongs here, it has an aux jack and CD player but it will also read USB sticks. It's actually nice to be able to switch to different systems. Of course I hardly drive it and she mostly listens to audio CDs still!

[devilbunny]

I had a 2009 that had Bluetooth for the phone hands-free but not for audio. I bought a USB power supply that ran off a cigarette lighter outlet, a USB-powered Bluetooth adapter, and a ground loop isolator. Both the AUX port and a lighter outlet were located inside the console between the front seats.

I stuck that stuff in there, told my phone to connect to the car for phone and the aftermarket adapter for audio, and never worried about it again as long as I owned the car. That power outlet was switched with the ignition, so the phone would disconnect when you turned the car off.

My 2001 car’s aftermarket head unit came with a microphone for Bluetooth phone. I ran it behind the dash and up the A pillar (no pillar airbags) and put the clip for it inside the mini-console with map lights and rear AC controls that’s above the rearview mirror. Works fine and the audio, while not audiophile quality, is more than adequate for podcasts and basic music in a 2001-era car. It’s not nearly as quiet inside as a newer car, but it’s fine for my short commute. Beats the tape adapter and Discman that I used in a 1996 car.

[vel0city]

> but frankly it's still the ideal setup

I disagree. I don't like having wires dangling around on the dashboard. I don't want to have to take whatever portable media player out of my pocket/bag/whatever and plug it in and unplug it when I go. I greatly prefer just turning on my car and my portable media player automatically connects. I prefer having the controls of the media player mapped to the physical controls in my car instead of being a separate device someplace in the cabin of the car.