A good use of the factory cassette player
 

Today I decided that I wanted to be able to connect an MP3 player to my X5 factory radio. I wanted something neat with no visible wire and a good sound quality. I wanted to keep my CD changer so I did not go for the Icelink solution. I thought about the FM modulator, tried it and did not like the sound quality. Since my X5 2000 radio unit was equiped with a cassette player which I do not use (the last tape I listened was more than 10 years ago) I decided to give the cassette adaptor solution a try. 15$ only the adaptor at Target was worth trying. Well, to my surprise the sound from my Rio player came out excellent. Much better than with the FM modulator and about the same as from a CD but I had to hide the wire. For that I removed the radio unit to pass the wire behind and then thru the central column up to the central column box where the player is now located. The only tricky part was to unsolder and solder the wires back inside the cassette adaptor. I had to do that because the jack would not pass thru the little intertices I needed it to go. No visible wire, a great sound and only 15$ spent. Now I have the mp3 played when I select TAPE. Sometime simple solutions work great.

Sounds like a great idea for folks with cassette players. Hope the sound is very good : )

The only drawback with this setup is that sometimes the cassette adaptors can be noisy when the wheels are spinning around the plastic as its` trying to turn the tape. I had one once and it drove me mad!

Right now there is no noise at all coming from the cassettes adaptor. I was a little bit suspicious about the sounds quality before testing it but the sound quality is great. As I said I do not hear much difference in quality between a CD from the CD changer and the MP3. Actually since the MP3 player comes with a good egalizer I can even twist the sound from the MP3 to make it better/deeper than the one from the CD.

I wonder if, as the tape heads wear or get dirty, your sound quality diminishes.

Cassette player heads get dirty from the tape deposit. There is no tape here so would it get dirty?

And that's when you pop-in a cleaning tape, and you're ready to go in 60 minutes!

Could you please post few pics for soldering part ??? This would be a great and inexpensive mod. I too have a cassette player which is not being used...

I dont quite understand: doesnt the cassette portion have a wire extending out of it? Wont this wire show, at least partially before rerouting it?

Sorry I did not think about taking picture while the cassette adaptor was opened but here is what I did. The headphone connector jack at the end of the cassette adaptor's wire was too big to pass it thru the intertices. I had the choice to cut the wire either at the jack end side or unsolder it inside the cassette adaptor. I decided to go for the second solution since it was neater. Inside the cassette adaptor there are 3 wires which go to the head, one for each channel signal and one for the ground. I just unsoldered the 3 wires from the head and soldered them back after having passed the wire where I wanted it to pass. Since there is no tape to dirty the head there is no reason why the the head would get dirty.

Hi I have tried to use this solution, I have tried 2 cassette adapters now and iget thesame results the sound seems to fade in and out sometimes or thevokume increases or decreases soemtimes, and sound quality is not that great any ideas why folks

Simply because you are using a high level signal from the iPod through the cassette leads, the player was never designed for this. While it's a cheap way to get the iPod to play in the vehicle, it sounds like garbage.

This is the kit you need:

DICE iPod Integration Kit for BMW
http://www.europeanautosource.com/pr...roducts_id=268

The DICE iPod Kit will integrate perfectly with your BMW and offer steering wheel control as well as ID3 text and charging of your iPod. Full CD Quality can be expected after installation. There's even an integrated AUX port for other devices.

The kit will come with everything needed w/ the docking cable. The iPod can be safely stored away in the glove compartment for 100% stealth installation and accessed completely from the steering wheel controls. The DICE comes with a 15-foot cable length to reach anywhere in the vehicle you like.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

does this kit mean i wil lno long be able to use my cd changer at the simetime ofhaving this kit installed

Yes, the CD Changer is removed - but a worthy sacrifice. ;)

ve to do away with the cd changer and install the aux setup. thanks for the advice

In my X this solution using the cassette player DOES NOT sound like garbage at all. It is actually pretty close to the quality from the CD changer. Unlike hc97mg2000 I have never experienced any volume issue nor had any problem with the sound fading away. I actually had people in my car amazed by the sound obtained from this solution. It is much better than an FM transmitter. I would agree though that the Dice IPOD integration kit is probably the best for connecting an IPOD to the X but for a cheap connection working with any mp3 I found the cassette player to be a good solution. I did it in 2 other BMW (1998 & 2000_3 serie ) with the same good results.

No worries, most people start with the cassette adapter. The price is definitely attractive, but most grow tired of seeing a wire protruding from the tape player and constantly having to recharge the iPod.

With a cassette adapter, you are amplifying a high-level signal which typically causes distortion - the equivalent to making a photocopy of a photocopy. The highs and lows are the most affected can be present depending on the type of music you are listening to.

A $15 cassette adapter is a good cheap way to get the iPod in the vehicle and should sound better than an FM transmitter, but it is no way comparable to a true integration kit like the DICE.

This option is on the homepage, if you dont want to lose your cd changer.

http://www.bmwtips.com/tipsntricks/M...e%20inputs.htm

Alpac do you have a pic? I didnt realize 2000 tuner doesnt have aux input capability till now. I have a 16:9 nav unit with tape. Trim isn't back on yet thinking about trying the adapter solution.

Does your wire show? I am thinking about routing it down the console. I have used this adapters with great success in the past back in the day in my mercedes.

I can't believe I'm the first to post this......:worthless:

Haha I agree with what Tom says however I would NOT want to get rid of my CD changer for my MP3 player. However I don't really like the sound quality of the tape adapters I've used in the past.

Tom is there any word on if Dice or another manufacturer will ever put out (giggity giggity) a product that will give us the best of both worlds.

I personally would add an Aux input, seems like that would give me the best sound quality from the MP3 player while retaining the use of my CD changer. No steering wheel controls or charging though :(

Here are some pics. The wire shows a just little bit for about 1 inch but it is really not obvious. I keep the cover most of the time anyway. I could have made the wire not show at all and come from inside the tape deck but when I did this few years ago I wanted to make sure I could remove the tape adapter easily for cleaning the tape player heads for time to time. It turned out that it has worked flawlessly for several years now and I never had to take the tape adapter out. I remember having tried a couple of these tape adapters before finding one that did not make noise though.

Holy old thread revival batman! :wow: Haha just realized that from reading your last post.

BTW that's a nice clean setup when the cover for the tape unit is closed. :thumbup:

Did you have to drill a hole in the center console? I may to do this but I dont want the wire to show. I'm not sure if i cant route it inconspicuously on the 16:9 nav unit unless i ran the wire inside the unit and out the back end.

I was thinking about a hybrid alternative. Tapping the TAPE input leads on the tuner in the rear of the vehicle and just putting a regular cassette with the tape ripped out of it in the head unit. I think that should work. Should get a perfectly clean signal. Then I don't have to worry about running wires from the deck. I will just have to run the cable from the rear.

I think I am definately going to try my idea. Just one questions though. Does anyone know which connector is x18805 in the pic on the FAQ page:

http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/s...light=2000+AUX

Hi,

is this all you need?
http://cgi.ebay.com/FOR-IPOD-VIDEO-C...d=p3286.c0.m14

:dunno:

Yes that should work if you can locate the right wires to tape into. If you have a unit with Nav then chances are that the following mod would work for your X.
http://www.bmwtips.com/
Go to "tips and tricks" and under "stereo" section look at "MP3/Aux input Install". I bet that is exactly what you need.

Go for the sony one if you are going to do it. You can get for around the same price and its supposedly the best.

Thats kinda cool good info on the rubber band cassette trick to fool the tape deck. That's exactly what i need. Except I think I am going to try to tap the input in the rear and use A2DP to connect my cell phone wirelessly via Btooth. Or I might just run the 3,5mm mini stereo plug up to the center console.

pre 2003 tuners do not have AUX capabilities, but you can add AUX at the cost of your CD Changer. Some have tapped into the tape leads - it's a bit invasive, but does work.

i don't have a CD changer nor do i want one... can i just tap those leads or is that what dice does? I would imagine the head unit only selects cd changer if you actually have one present.

This AUX interface will plug into the CD Changer leads in the trunk and provide an AUX input:

Blitzsafe - AUX-in Adapter for BMW
http://www.europeanautosource.com/pr...oducts_id=1937

these are in stock, let me know if you need anything else.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwXasAY6xAU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiyhsJxkAsI

I think I will go with the Blitzsafe unit since I just want AUX input capability. Does it hook up similarly to the dice unit?

Same connections are used.

Ended up going with the Grom unit. Can't beat for 55 bucks free shipping:

http://indashpc.org/new/aux_adapters/car2aux-bmw.html

1. Can you recogmend an adapter?
2. Can you elaborate on how you got the wiring into the center console? Another user asked about drilling.

Thanks.

I have a question. will this Dice charge my NANO Chromatic. Because Apple changed the software to where not even ihomes, car chargers, or wall chargers charge my chromatic only usb to the computer will charge the nano chomatic. could u please confirm charging for nano chromatic.

thanks.

Yes - DICE will charge the current lineup of iPods (including nano Chromatic).

cool. thanks.