The tape deck was the standard way of playing your own music collection in your car from the 1970s through the early 1990s. Tape decks are still popular in cars because many people still have a lot of old tapes they’ve collected over the years. The sound quality is inferior to newer formats such as CD Audio, let alone high-resolution audio formats like DVD Audio and SACD. It is even somewhat inferior to the popular MP3 format.
Another downside of tape decks is that audiotapes deteriorate over time. An audiotape is a strip of plastic coated with magnetic particles, which are arranged into something that will play back music by a recording head. These particles, being physical objects, are bound to become disarranged over time.
Tape decks typically include noise reduction systems. This is because, as analogue systems, they introduce unwanted white noise into the quiet parts. Noise reduction systems by Dolby Labs have proven effective over the years.
Tape decks are just one of the many audio options that a car can come equipped with. Most cars come directly from the manufacturer equipped with many car stereo options. Many car dealers offer a variety of options in terms of equipping your car with audio. These can sometimes be quite a bit better than the dismal equipment car manufacturers have a reputation for including. Some car manufacturers rely on reputable manufacturers of car audio components such as Alpine or Infinity. Many also include satellite radio as standard equipment on their factory car stereos. Still, the best stuff is only found on the best, most expensive cars.
The tape deck is the control center of a tape-oriented car stereo system. It’s the brains and connects to the muscle, which consists of amplifiers and loudspeakers. Many people refer to the unit as the deck, receiver or CD player. This term indicates what type of input you would expect to use the head unit with. Decks are holdovers from the days of tape decks in cars. Receivers imply the listener favors radio formats, whereas CD Players tend to play other formats like MP3s in addition to CD Audio.
Typically, the kind of people who prefer tape decks accept the one that comes from the car manufacturer. Many car dealers offer a variety of options in terms of equipping your car with audio. These can sometimes be quite a bit better than the dismal equipment car manufacturers have a reputation for including. Some car manufacturers rely on reputable manufacturers of car audio components such as Alpine or Infinity. Many also include satellite radio as standard equipment on their factory car stereos. Still, the best stuff is only found on the best, most expensive cars. However, if you are the sort of person who sees your car as a way to get from point A to point B, but really cares about the music you’re listening to, then you are probably going to have to add your car stereo after you buy the car.
