Cassette to CD Converter Buyer's Guide

A cassette to CD adapter is a useful device which allows you to use the speakers of a car stereo for listening to the audio of a portable CD player. These converters can also be used with some older boom boxes and radios with top- or front-loaded cassette players, including several models made by Electro Brand, Rhapsody, and Worldstar. In addition to CD players, you can use a cassette to CD adapter to listen to audio from an MP3 player, multi-band radio, or another device which has an earphone jack. A converter of this type can be used by simply inserting its cassette into the tape deck and plugging the end of the unit's wire into your portable audio device.

Cassette to CD converter units can be purchased at Radio Shack franchises, Target stores, Wal-Mart, eBay.com auctions, and a number of online shopping websites. They generally cost about $5-20, including any shipping cost. When searching for them online, be sure to try searching for both "adapter" and "converter", as the two words are used interchangeably when describing this product. Brands which produce (or have manufactured in the past) cassette to CD converters include Philips, Maxell, Belkin, jWin, Koss, and others. Some eBay sellers offer generic units for as little as five or six dollars.

Aside from their brand names and coloration, there is usually little apparent difference from one model to the next. However, there are sometimes minor differences, or additional items included. Cord lengths vary, but the length is often not provided on the package or item description. A few cassette to CD converter models (like the Coby CA-747) have a two-sided removable plug which attaches to the cassette tape in two different ways, apparently to make them compatible with a greater number of cassette players. Some converter units (including at least one Trisonic model) are sold with a DC cigarette lighter adapter included for powering a portable CD player; sets like this can be purchased on eBay for about $8-14.

Most cassette to CD converter models have a built-in wire with a 1/8-inch (a.k.a. 3.5mm) plug at the end, which fits the most common type of earphone/output jack on portable audio devices. However, some devices have a 1/4" or another type of jack. If the converter's plug doesn't fit the audio device's jack, an appropriate adapter can be purchased at Radio Shack or on eBay for under five dollars. If you aren't sure of the right adapter, consider bringing the audio device and the cassette to CD converter to a Radio Shack or other electronics store so that they can easily be matched to the appropriate adapter type.