MP3 to Cassette - Mixxed feelings

The Paulthings Mixxtape® is a modern take on a cassette that plays MP3s...but is it any use?
Available from Paulthings.com
The Bluetooth adaptor used in this video is this amzn.to/4jOoqKb (Amazon Affiliated Link)
UPDATE:
Apparently the reason the album tracks are randomised is because this is the order the files were written to the card and I'd need a FAT editor program to re-sort them. A few people on Patreon people pointed out to me that this kind of thing is common with simple MP3 players.
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[@syrus3k]

Charging/powering it from the spools with a dynamo of some kind would have been next level

[@Bitmappy]

Was just going to say the same

[@gantas6804]

Me too ;) ​@@Bitmappy

[@iandavidson99]

It would help to slow the spool rotation down too

[@jmalmsten]

include a pencil in the pack for the full experience

[@stephenlee5929]

@@jmalmsten With the pencil, would that be a way to charge it by hand/external to the cassette deck. Might you be able to use it to move to the next track too. Maybe it could show this on the screen. So many innovative improvements for version 2.

[@perrybarton]

A couple days ago, the company that supplies my fiber Internet swapped out my modem with a new one. After the technician left, I realized that there was a clear, thin plastic sheet over the front. As I slowly peeled it off, I found myself uttering "Oh, YEAAAAAH!" in a suitably pitched-down and creepy voice. Techmoan, you are the definition of "influencer."

[@jed1nat]

Creepy?! I think you mean SeXy!

[@Timico1000]

Did the same a while ago...😁

[@josuelservin]

That sound bite always plays in my head whenever I peel plastic sheets these days...

[@falksweden]

Yello created their Oh Yeah song just for the purpose. Almost true story.

[@danielmorez1234]

Same! Born and raised in USA here, yet now whenever taking any new devise protective skin off I must whisper, "Take it Off.... Oh Yeaaahh" in my best Sultry-Brit-Techmoan homage.

[@JeffWatkins-h7b]

An interesting engineering challenge would be to detect spool movement to ensure the transport controls from the tape player work as normal.

[@kylosalvesen]

and a mechanism that can be powered by the cogs spinning

[@megabits_mzq]

​@@kylosalvesen That's quite difficult since the cogs spin slowly, with little torque. And you won't be able to set the file you want to play before putting it in. 😆

[@Programentalist]

Yes, I was just thinking about that. You could even send a short silence when detecting fast forward for tape decks that have a "next track" function. One possible way could be to use a tiny magnet on the cog and use a hall effect sensor to count the speed of the "tape". Or just use a light/visual sensor of sorts.

[@LatitudeSky]

​@megabits_mzq Very little torque is an understatement. Most tape decks sense over-torque and stop. So just when your deck was able to really grunt and power this, it would also shut off due to the load.

[@MrBrainFear]

Not watched this yet, but what would be interesting would be if it would possible to miniaturise a recording head that could operate inside the cassette and pre record the Bluetooth audio as it’s sent to the cassette onto a high quality infinite loop of magnetic tape, then a wiping head on the other side so when you play the cassette it works just the same as a normal cassette mechanically. Only worry beyond the technological challenges would be degradation of the tape reel itself. Could be just a ridiculous thought tbf.

[@SlapadelicMusic]

This is maybe the most impractical thing you’ve had on this show ever A cassette that doesn’t fit in cassette players and needs to be removed to change songs because there’s a tiny touch screen that barely scrolls. It doesn’t even have a remote! lol

[@tramadol42]

Thats called "Verschlimmbessern" in german: "Trying to improve something and worsening it in the process..."

[@SlapadelicMusic]

@ brilliant

[@zig131]

The casette output is kinda gimmickly, but I do really want a DAP without an audiophile-grade DAC in it (and therefore an audiophile price). I want to just be able to play stuff from an SD card to my bluetooth DAC, and it also looks like the battery could easily be replaced non-destructively. I also still have my walkman from the noughties so could play with that functionality. Unfortunately it doesn't look viable as there is no media library functionality for the files on the SDCard - you just get a dumb file browser.

[@vhfgamer]

The older orange and white version was much better. By far.

[@pajagames20]

I managed to make the same concept with a chinese speaker and a scrap tape once, remote controlable too, so sad it exploded due to the poor condition battery falling to the ground and shorted everything inside

[@errorate]

Cassette "tape" with a touchscreen, what a time to be alive.

[@Guy-McPerson]

With a 7 hour battery, and that doesn't fit in cassette players. It's amazing how poorly thought out this is.

[@maxi-me]

IKR ....what'll they think of next, a crank _Victrolla_ that plays VHS ? 😅

[@lajya01]

What used to be a storage device has become a computer itself thousand times more powerful than a C64.

[@mUbase]

lol x

[@DominicExcedol]

@@lajya01 but a thousand times less useful

[@MarshalArnold]

Love the look of this but needs 3 things to make want to buy one. 1. Needs a way to disable button presses (like a hold) so that in players with a tighter fit, you won't have inadvertent button presses. 2. A remote control for obvious reasons. 3. Similar gearing so that both tape wheels move live we would expect to see when playing a normal cassette.

[@lemongrabber]

It used to have a hold switch as part of the on off switch before oddly enough. Gearing for sure, being important for working in cars and stereos

[@rarbiart]

since it already has Bluetooth, just make it switch roles, when not streaming to a speaker, let an app connect. and perhaps even let the connected phone stream audio to the deck.

[@NOWThatsRichy]

@Or build the unit with one of those mini FM transmitters inside, so that it could use the host device's FM radio tuner, this would also save wear & tear on the cassette mechanism & use less battery power too

[@softy8088]

Just recess the buttons so that nothing exceeds the dimensions of a standard tape. It's definitely possible to come up with an ergonomic design that fits in all tape players.

[@Uncle-Jay]

It came with a remote control, you can see it when it's being unboxed.

[@RobCamp-rmc_0]

It isn’t nitpicking, it’s an attention to detail. Maybe it’s a little frivolous, but if there were more people like you involved in developing things like this, things like this would just be better across the board.

[@ZexMaxwell]

Yeah, it's a really strange ui and case design. Why did they not make the button recessed into the case? Or a freaking 'on' light?

[@RobCamp-rmc_0]

@ oh for sure, if people buy it, then the company will think they’re doing things right; it becomes more difficult when there are no alternatives-especially in such a niche case like this-so no one can say they prefer the features and attributes of one product over the other

[@RealNovgorod]

The "random" arrangement of the tracks in the playlist is because these dirt cheap players have the laziest file system implementation and read the files in the order they come off the FAT32 record without bothering to do at least an alphabetical sorting. There are tools to make sure the file system sequence on a USB stick or SD card follows the alphabetical order (by rewriting the FAT). Last time I encountered this issue was in a Blaupunkt car radio around 2008.

[@arikauraniemi9383]

All my mp3 players 20 years ago had this problem. It's hilarious they still can't be arsed to fix it.

[@JoshsGadgetsandMore]

The old basic mp3/tape unit you showed previously seems to have a lot more actual functional thought put into it.

[@Ranger_Kevin]

Definetey. I am so glad I bought one for my boombox while it was still available. You just turn it on and it starts playing through all of the tracks on the card. Like the Mixtape it is trying to emulate. All physical buttons, and no stupid screen to drain the small battery. If I want more sophisticated access to the music, I just connect a diferent player to the line-in.

[@eadweard.]

​@@Ranger_KevinSurely it's better to have a screen than not, assuming you can turn it off?

[@sickregret]

@@eadweard.why?

[@Underskore]

@@eadweard. how are you going to use the stupid screen while playing it?

[@eadweard.]

@Underskore You mean playing inside a cassette deck? Or when used externally as a standalone player?

[@wal]

I've had one of these for a while and use it as a portable high-rez music player (plays FLAC) without the cassette function. To me, the coolest feature is the looks and it's one of the most unique high-rez players out there. I attach my Grado headphones and smile big with the sound quality and get lots of comments from people asking what it is. The cassette function is just an extra feature, but IMO, not the most impressive feature of this unit.

[@PhilipMurphy8]

Always a great start to the weekend by watching a Techmoan KZbin video

[@daniel.santos]

I bought 5 of these one year for a group of teens we were looking after. They weren’t allowed to access the internet, so this was a great option. They could load up an SD card and connect to Bluetooth no problem. We got to use those old boom boxes lying around too. 📼

[@thecianinator]

Not allowed to use the internet, what were they in a cult?

[@erik3371]

@@thecianinatoramericans 🙄

[@davechupp7922]

It is indeed impractical without a remote control. Having the pinch roller drive like the older model player seemed very practical.

[@marblemunkey]

Does this device stop outputting to the tape head while connected via Bluetooth? If it doesn't, you could use the Bluetooth controls.

[@PPW-007]

@@marblemunkey I don't think you can control by Bluetooth - it only outputs audio to your earphones/buds or speaker. I own one so will have to check and will reply later to confirm.

[@ksavage681]

With the cost of this thing, a phone app to go along with it would have been perfect.

[@HKSkansei]

​@PPW-007 that sounds like a big design oversight. I would have thought there was a lot more demand for an adapter to let you listen to streamed music on an older system. It looks well made, but a device that can only play music from internal memory seems a bit pointless. If anything, it's just acting like a regular cassette with a long playtime, and track skipping.

[@mrn234]

@@ksavage681 Problem with apps is someone needs to update them otherwise it will be probably stop working in a couple android/IOS versions.

[@jeremiefaucher-goulet3365]

I'm amazed that so much effort went into creating this, and yet, creating it with so many obvious flaws that could easily have been avoided.

[@TheNewFlesh]

If the play order problem is anything like using a USB stick in my car stereo, the easiest fix is a Windows freeware program " Mp3DirsorterE", it rewrites the table of contents to be properly alphabetical

[@jarthurs]

That's handy to know. I've had to copy tracks one-by-one to the USB stick I use in the car as it plays them in the order they were copied and not track order.

[@lowdefal6306]

I believe Matt is a Mac user so FatDriveSorter or something like that would do a similar job. Early console flash carts had similar issues because they didn't have enough power to sort the files for the user during runtime.

[@MickeyMousePark]

is it because the Track # in the file metadata is blank

[@AccAkut1987]

Thanks for that. Don't need it for music, but I got a digital photo frame that has this issue of just messing up the order of the photos, reading them, I suppose, by file system position.

[@djhatstand7312]

I use "Drivesort" does the same thing, some file systems resort to the time the file was written to disc rather than alphanumerically

[@ericwilliams8038]

Best part of Saturday morning - Techmoan.

[@Fly0High]

I appreciate the "Ears in Stand" music from Dankpod for audio quality review.

[@blakekell649]

I had to do a double take when I heard the piano kick in from DankPods. 😂

[@Charalspirals2]

* freakish ears on a stand 😅

[@bugdrvr]

Needs to put Scarlet Fire on the track list to complete the crossover.

[@pillowhacker]

Price wasn’t mentioned in the video but their site also shows it as $70 USD, yikes. I’m sure the Bluetooth and line-in cassette adapters are cheaper. For that price i’d expect them to be doing more advanced stuff with the wheels like mentioned elsewhere in the comments, like controlling MP3 playback when the wheels start/stop, etc.

[@CyrusChennault]

If it’d just fit in a dang cassette player I wouldve bought it. shame…

[@BisnesPyry]

"for crying out loud it's a flippin' Hitachi" made my day 🤣🤣🤣

[@PotentiallyAndy]

Same here :)

[@laurentitolledo1838]

envy scale "to the roof"

[@northof-62]

bless you!

[@BRTV-BRANDOA]

Congratulations once again for presenting these new developments in digital audio tapes. Your videos are so good that they should be shown on the BBC since their content is much better than the programming shown on TV.

[@Gadgetonomy]

TWO screen protector peels.... what a treat! It never gets old.

[@DeLorean4]

I'd need to listen to a 12 hour loop to make that determination.

[@jimfarrell4635]

It really does sound old. And creepy. I hate it.

[@ethanpschwartz]

Ooohhhh yeeeaaaahhhh.

[@Gadgetonomy]

​@@jimfarrell4635 Relax, it's a bit of fun, and it seems most people love it. Just FF over it.

[@stevecole90099]

Its weird how much effort it looks like the designer put into this device to end up with a product that has so many downsides or unfixed flaws. Pretty much all of the issues mentioned should be easy to fix. The volume buttons could have been placed somewhere else or designed to be flush with the case or touch controls instead of buttons to solve the issue with the walkman. The thing not fitting into a few of the players was likely a missing cutout or not enough travel designed into the playhead. The thing should have an RF remote with it to control the player without pulling it out of the device. It should have also had a sensor to flip the screen if the device is upside down. And as mentioned in the video the gears should have been connected to spin properly and prevent the auto stop function from activating.

[@johnd6487]

Must admit, as soon as he pointed out those buttons, I thought surely they're going to get caught in the surround.. I'm actually a bit surprised that half the machines didn't just hit the power button and turn the thing off. I'd have thought they could have been recessed or placed so they were flat to their surfaces

[@jk9554]

I didn't notice it at first, bun when he went to put it in the Walkman, I thought: "aren't the volume buttons where the write protect / tape type notches are?"

[@deaconblooze1]

But since this has its own headphone jack there's never a reason to put it in a walkman.

[@SumeaBizarro]

Yeah, the volume buttons are especially bad because anyone who spent a moment with cassettes knows about the holes for tape type and write protection detection, and to put the volume buttons EXACTLY WHERE THOSE are and not to the sides with most likely clearance of anything is weird thing to do with such flashy finished design.

[@endresutus124]

​@@deaconblooze1 Well in that case it would be smarter to use the internals in another shell which could be smaller with the same weight or cassette sized with a bigger screen, physical buttons and a much bigger battery. Sony Walkman, iPod (nano), Sandisk Clip, or just any no-name mp3 player from China

[@bsgtrekfan88]

Its not being a nitpicker - its recognizing things that we all do and notice the stuff that they do not weather they do it intentionally or not. Well done as always sir! Cape Cod, MA

[@StinkyBlack1]

Just wait until you can load mp3 on a cd. Then you’ll be cookin with 90s fire.

[@Mostlyharmless1985]

you...can.

[@Fraternizing_Cog]

@@Mostlyharmless1985 Whoooosh!😆🤣

[@labnine3362]

With the right Sony Discman, you can... :)

[@agevenisse3252]

What about a MP3 to vinyl adapter?

[@felipesancho]

Heh, not long ago "Technology Connections" did a video about that and it made me feel really old..

[@jaymartinmobile]

I used to have several Digisette devices that did all of that. It detected the reels were in fast forward and would fast forward the MP3 just as if it was a tape and rewind as well. I even had one model that actually recorded if you wanted to, making it a true digital cassette tape but the record quality was not the best. I did use it to record sermons at church since it could use an SD card for the recording so it was like have a 10 hour cassette tape for long winded preachers. It pretty much retained all the benefits of a cassette. And that was out probably 25 or more years ago.

[@trippmoore]

Wow for a religious person you sure don't have any problems with also being a liar.

[@penbucket]

While I'm charmed by the little touch-screen, not much else there to get excited about. Toss that Bluetooth adapter into a better looking tape shell... bases covered. Great video. I was only able to pick out the 2-XL from the locker. Retro paradise in there!

[@danoconnell1833]

This is why I love Techmoan -- I've been using devices to record and play back music since the Beatles hit the USA, and he still comes up with curiosities I've never heard of.

[@grahampaulkendrick7845]

I love your storage locker! I thought my record collection was insanely large! 🙂

[@enilenis]

I just love the fact that we now print antennas right on the PCB - the squiggly pattern. It's just crazy, that a device can be made able to communicate with no external hardware.

[@nikkiofthevalley]

That behavior can actually be quite annoying, since every single trace on the PCB will also act as an antenna, so if you want to pass EMC you have to shield everything to oblivion and back.

[@Damien.D]

It's called a microstrip . It's a gigahertz wave guide on a PCB. RF guys from the 50's, who've designed radars and deep space communication arrays requiring enormous installations, would be mad at what we have today, especially because we use space-tech stuff for futile uses.

[@EeekiE]

Missed a trick not having the spools have mouse wheel like sensors on to detect movement and speed. Then you could program the tape as you want it, and perhaps have it power up and start playing on a spool turning, and even skip track either direction if it detects fast spinning for a moment before going back to play, with perhaps a rewind over 3 seconds putting it to the start. No spool activity for 90 seconds powers it off etc. Wouldn’t need to get it going before putting it in then, and you could use the native controls. Perhaps even emulating fake audio and silence to work with machines that can detect tracks.

[@KatTheFoxtaur]

Yuuup! I had an iPod cassette adaptor back in the day which did exactly this, and I'm very surprised to see this device does not do that. "Play" on cassette deck = play track; pause or stop = pause playback; Fast Forward = Next Track (I think there was a timer where it'd keep going Next until you went back to Play); Rewind = Previous Track. And it had the Dock connector so there was no additional interface nor power needed.

[@jurjenbos228]

And charge the battery as well.

[@blitzar8443]

This might be a stupid gadget but the mix of modern and retro electronics like this looks so cool. It's like retro future cyberpunk

[@Randon_Tain]

The lack of linked spools is a bit of a problem, some cassette decks won't play if they detect a "broken" tape, this was why the old MP3 cassette you showed had the gearing and capstan roller. Alot of the old "Aux" input 3.5mm to cassette tape adapters back in the day had cross gears to fool the deck into thinking the tape was turning both spools. All of which you covered with the bluetooth adapter later in the video. Nice Job.

[@volvo09]

Yeah this thing won't work in lots of cassette decks.

[@rickmay1188]

My old Jeeps cassette deck has issues with tape adapters that don't have connected spools. It triggers the auto-reverse mechanism non-stop until you eject it.

[@AR-xy4jy]

wrote the same before i read your comment. The entertainment system in my old BMW 525 rejected cassette adapters without a gear system assuming the tape has snapped and protecting the tape mechanism.

[@SockyNoob]

Hence why those old designs are infinitely better.

[@HomeCinemaEnthusiast]

This looks like a great device, thanks for sharing John . You channel has been so inspiring to my KZbin journey over the years .

[@mx0r]

So many things just made for an effect, it blows my mind. The UI is terrible, the not moving/too fast moving spools, fact that it could just detect the movement and toggle play/pause, even rewind and forward, the fact it ignores the standard, as those buttons could have been inset… and the fact, that the head could have been a bit compliant, as the real tape is… what a shame. most of the things are not really that hard to do.

[@lydiagalantmotherf]

Yeah, at that point just get an AUX cassette

[@bosstowndynamics5488]

It does look like the head is spring loaded, not sure if it jams up or if it just doesn't move as far as the apparent travel

[@pepe6666]

but look at how sophisticated the PCB is. its crazy

[@EldritchFyre]

Good the Hitatchi leaves the head in the play position on pause - I seem to remember at least one or two of my cassette players would back the head away from the tape when pause was pressed. Thanks for another great video!

[@dashwerks]

The sound of the cassette door closing brings me back. I can almost the smell the brand new cassette tape.

[@BollingHolt]

13:08 Makes me think of a car with the front brakes locked doing a sweet, sweet rear-wheel-drive burnout 😆

[@TornadosBadNauheim]

I just now in the moment, realize that you created your own ASML p-word type background music and even voiced it. That is such a specific peculiar and weird touch. I absolutely love it. I’m going through your other videos to find this.

[@OldSonyMan]

I understand the word "background" after that i'm ????????

[@TornadosBadNauheim]

@ when he peels off the thin plastic wrap… the “unboxing” part. The music switches to “when a film for grownups gets to the action” and you hear a voice speak slowly. It’s basically tech P O R N and 100% selfmade. Not needed but absolutely beautiful. Don’t get me wrong I find ASML sound videos stupid. But this is art.

[@Gadgetonomy]

Huh?

[@Dapstart]

@@OldSonyManHe's talking about the RCVG yeah the boombox one where they play in the cassette is always beautiful

[@OldSonyMan]

@@Dapstart sorry, my point is that 'I dont understand' any of it !

[@indiana2096]

Thanks for the demo. My old boom box that I got for high school graduation, 40 years ago this year, the cassette hasn't worked for many years but still works with an adapter. I have been using the old adapter that I used in the car for my CD players, the speakers in the old machine still sound great and I use it in the garage and in the back yard, but the wired CD player or mp3 player is cumbersome. This device seems to be too much trouble for me, but the Bluetooth adapter seems like I good idea that I want to try. Long story short, thanks for the video, you may have given me a few more years to enjoy my old boom box!

[@TbM]

Your "update" already told what I was about to write, it just reads the file-system and doesn't sort anything. But to make the algorythm happy, I write a comment so this video will be seen by more people that are interested in retro tech and I really like your videos. Missing feature: Sensor to detect if the player is playing the tape, so play/pause will be automatic

[@Crazy_Borg]

Additionally, a speed sensor who detects which speed the wheels are spinning, so fast forward and rewind could be interpretated as "next/previous track". Also, no volume button lock? Shows how much (or better term: LESS thought went into the product before release. What a shame.

[@irtbmtind89]

This looks like its based on an Actions Semiconductor mp3 player-on-a-chip. I owned a few of what were basically disposable mp3 players based on these chipsets and they all had the same sorting problem.

[@povilasstaniulis9484]

@@irtbmtind89 I saw a Rockchip chip in there. It's likely not related to a specific SoC, but the software these things use as a base for their UI.

[@sapag83]

A few improvements that could make this device more useful: 1) Always make the "wheels" spinning in both cassette orientations: that would avoid the auto-reverse stopping problem 2) Provide a remote control, as you could control the device when it's inserted in the tape deck 3) Remove the buttons "outside" the case to make the device work in most Walkmans 4) Detect the cassette orientation and adapt the screen accordingly

[@pa5han]

- What if we put a cheap shitty Chinese mp3 player from 2005 into a cassette shell? - But we have no idea how cassette decks normally work! - Ah nevermind.

[@Reprint001]

Exactly what I thought. It's a beta product using existing cheap MP3 playback modules. That's why the track sorting doesn't work. It's never worked in any cheap MP3 player I've used either. Typical modern grift electronic device that ends up in a drawer. No one will bother to complain or return it.

[@DewtbArenatsiz]

​​@@Reprint001but it's got Bluetooth!!!

[@sonicstate]

Superb video sir! 👏 Shared on Sonicstate today!

[@myleft9397]

"Closed casket for the tape" that was great lol

[@Moonlightshadow-lq4fr]

Why would anyone want to skip any part of any video you make, they are so interesting!?

[@montynorth3009]

Any type of cassette adaptor which uses head to head transfer can suffer from reduced frequency response due to imperfect alignment. For playing external music into units that don't have either Bluetooth or aux-in, then an FM transmitter can be used.

[@t.adamcollins2162]

It's funny how the tiny screen on this one is brighter and more legible than most of the modern smart devices this channel looks at.

[@piratetv1]

I like the Bluetooth cassette, but now im imagining one with a tiny generator powered by the take up reel and an audio visualizer screen. As long as it was playing it'd be also charging.

[@volvo09]

The reel isn't very powerful, you can stop it with a gentle squeeze. Resistance on the reel also triggers the auto stop, if you've ever played a tight tape it'll constantly trigger the auto stop... Doesn't take much.

[@fischX]

​@@volvo09true, but Bluetooth doesn't need much power either you probably could induce that by a magnetic tape

[@noscwoh1]

I like it! Power through a pinch roller, though. More oomph than that little belt-driven reel.

[@SenileOtaku]

I've wondered how you could build a Bluetooth 8-track adapter. There had been those old cassette to 8-track adapters back in the 70's, so there must have been some play-through heads made at one time. Heck, if you had a working one of those, just put the bluetooth cassette in it and have Paprika-level layers in play ("Paprika" did the 'Inception-thing' before "Inception" did). The idea is if you have a classic car with a factory 8-track player, you can keep the car factory-original for your car shows.

[@piratetv1]

@SenileOtaku that'd work. A play head is just a coil, it can record just as well. Now i want to make one. An 8 track also gets power from the track change sensor most times, and there's plenty of room on the edge for next, pause, and last buttons

[@juanignacioquiroga4379]

Damn. Prizm and Techmoan crossover is something I'd never thought I would see.

[@TheMegaNanometer]

that's a major design flaw i noticed immediately - the fact that the other reel is not spinning will trigger auto stop on some devices, as they rely on sensing the movement of it to do that. and also, while it's not a must that the take-up reel's speed is limited, the fact that it spins at full speed constantly can create noise. i have one of this type of adapters and have experienced all of this.

[@NorthernerInSpace]

I had a similar device 20 years ago. I drove around Australia in a campervan that only had a tape deck and it was really useful! My version only had a tiny internal storage, but it had a line in socket which allowed me to feed it with another device.

[@iainb1577]

I love the idea of the bluetooth cassette adapter. I am now in the market for at least 2.

[@surkh]

I just want to say, I love your channel, and appreciate your content 🙏🏽

[@jonirons]

Quite creative use of film-peel music (times two!) to turn it into a miXXXtape.

[@LloydDunamis]

Indeed! I had giggles on tthat one (x2) xD

[@Petesplaceunboxing]

I honestly love things like this! I decided to buy one myself 😅 The $79.99 price tag was a bit more than what I was expecting but if anything it will definitely be something to have on display in my studio. Awesome video as always!

[@SpacePatrollerLaser]

Speaking of adaptive devices, I remember when, in the late '70's they sold FM radio carts for 8-tracks and in the 1980 timeframe, they sold cassette playback carts fo 8-tracks

[@volvo09]

I think he actually showed an 8 track to cassette adapter years ago

[@marcseclecticstuff9497]

The dead supply reel will cause issues with auto-reverse decks as well, causing them to flip back and forth between sides. A very simple work around for the auto-stop/reverse issue is to do what Techmoan inadvertently did, simply pause the player. When in pause, most players still have the head electronics active so you'll be able to hear it, but because the tape transport isn't running, the Auto-Stop/Reverse mechanism doesn't come into play and will happily play until you hit Stop or take it off pause.

[@NumptyMcNumptyface]

My guess is that the device doesn't sort the files by metadata (filename, MP3 tag etc.) but simply lists them in the order they are stored in the filesystem. Which is of course a small issue when compared to, well, everything else. The worst of which is ignore the cassette's form factor, which hasn't changed since its inception. Surely having the controls slightly recessed would have fixed most of the clearance issues?

[@SomePeopleCallMeWulfman]

Yes, that is, unfortunately, standard behavior for many (cheap) MP3 players.

[@pirateofms]

@@SomePeopleCallMeWulfman I've had car audio head units that did the same thing. Thankfully there's utilities out there to sort them back into order.

[@ksavage681]

I was thinking the same. Recessed buttons.

[@Sb129]

drives me crazy when music isn't listed right, sometimes it goes off ID3v1, other times the composer or artists messes it up, sometimes it sorts by track name instead of track number

[@worldtraveler930]

I have to agree with you the Bluetooth option seems to be the Best option!!! 🤠👍

[@bobbymelbourne4502]

Did anyone else take a good look at the locker room footage for any clues of future videos?

[@FourDollaRacing]

NO

[@OldSonyMan]

no, but i did think, I've got a storage locker I should have a bigger channel !

[@terryostype9099]

I didn't but I'd love to have a couple of hours rummaging around those shelves...I reckon there's some absolute gems in there

[@vielebny2000]

I bought this white MP3 cassette right after I saw it on your channel and I've been using it successfully to this day - the best purchase based on a recommendation from YT :) This also looks interesting, especially because of the screen that's missing there, but I can see that apart from that it's worse designed, unfortunately.

[@AndrewGamblin-go5oe]

Wouldn’t it be better if the cassette adapter had a concave face to its "tape head" to mate more closely to the convex face of the player's tape head? Another intelligent review of an interesting product. Keep up the good work, Matt.

[@MikeDS49]

Good question. But, the spot where the actual reading takes place is near the top of the head. The face is curved to aid the tape moving across the head.

[@BrianRonald]

Even if it made sense, they'd have to manufacture that part. Four track heads like this thing has, already exist.

[@iamfuturetrunks]

Man oh man. When I saw this I thought it might have been the solution to my problem. A relative of mine loves audio books, and is actively trying to get them... on tape. They don't really make tapes anymore. Plus I have access to SOO many audio books online in digital format. So I was in the process of trying to find a very simple MP3 player that could play them without being to complicated for them to use. It's been a lot of work and so far I haven't really found something that would work. Needs to be simple enough for them to be able to take audio book files downloaded on their tablet/laptop and plug in an MP3 cable to transfer them over then to easily be able to navigate it in order to play them when they want without to many menus or stuff. When I saw this I hadn't even thought about having a tape that could play in the player. But as you pointed out not having a remote to go with it requiring them to open it up and pause it manually wouldn't work to well for them. As well as needing to mess with memory card may be a no go. That bluetooth one was interesting but then they would have to mess with their smart phone which they already don't like all that much, plus that will drain their smart phone battery even more and require a new smart phone later on when the battery gets worse over time. I will have to be on the hunt once again, but this was an entertaining video showing something I didn't even realize was possible because I thought they needed actual tape which can't really be edited in real time.

[@carlpollington5059]

I had something similar with a Sansa Clip MP3 player a few years ago. When I looked into it the files were listed in the order they were added to its memory (and if you copied a load all at once the smaller files are likely to be added and therefore played first). Instead of going to Library, Folder view may list them in a different order - depends if it's sorting off the ID3 tags or filenames.

[@greatquux]

Yeah I had to use a FAT sorter program that rewrote the FAT of the filesystem to play stuff in order! But other devices are also finicky, need to make sure ID3 track numbers have leading zeros and disc numbers are set too.

[@MultiGravin]

I always knew you had great taste in music but a billion bonus points for an appearance by The Pharcyde 👌

[@mynameisearl4170]

bro i was hoping someone else noticed that lmao. great album

[@bubba99009]

This product is only 25 years too late. It reminds me of the cassette tape 3.5mm aux adapters we used to use in cars to connect a portable cd player or something back in the early 90s. I haven't even thought about those for 30+ years now.

[@7o177]

ive been looking for one of these for about five years now to stick in my old ass car stereo

[@uncle-keg]

@@7o177 They still sell them at Walmart for like $10-20

[@terryostype9099]

There was also the FM transmitter/receiver solution that always seemed like the sort of idea that someone came up with at three in the morning!

[@Gadgetonomy]

Is that where the wire used to poke through the cassette hatch?

[@bobsaget8791]

Well not everyone buys a new car every few years, so these make quite a lot of sense, especially for early 2000s cars with cd and Cassette playback but no aux in

[@gumboe2007]

Always enjoy this informative content, thanks

[@ImInterestedInApathyII]

Finally, a youtuber who uses a lapel microphone as a lapel microphone

[@gwishart]

Now I'm curious which other KZbinrs you're watching and where they're putting their lapel mics.

[@Spookex166]

@@gwishart A lot of the younger KZbinrs have just started holding them in their hands

[@ImInterestedInApathyII]

@ correct

[@KittyMeow1984]

@@gwishart I read somewhere that KZbinrs hold their lapel mics in their hand because they believe it makes them look more casual and spontaneous. They are the internet equivalent of people who spend a bit too much time in front of a mirror fixing their hair so it looks **just** the right amount of disheveled to make people believe that they don't care about how they look, while still looking presentable enough.

[@jub8891]

instead it makes them look like they dont read manuals

[@r3p3ntiv3]

It's insane how much I feel the need and want to get this cassette tape even though I haven't used a tape deck or own one in over a decade or two. This wouldn't fix any of my current problems although, it is something I would have paid anything to acquire in the year 2000.

[@neongrey333]

Honestly that storage locker looks just as magical as the criterion closet to me

[@AtheistOrphan]

Criterion closet? What’s that?

[@S500-]

"Lets take it off ooh " Song when removing plastic is perfect 😂 , Like your sense of humour

[@aimeeaaw]

19:17 certified Dankpods moment for the freakish ears on a stand.

[@aaronthompson5691]

It took me a moment to remember where that music was from, and then came here to say something about it, but you beat me to it! 🤣👍

[@palladen1933]

Great idea but you need a remote, or to get to the LCD screen you can remove the see thru glass front from the tape player, then you could touch the screen..keep them coming, nice one, enjoy your day 😊

[@Longplay_Games]

Excellent video!

[@Techmoan]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@strehlow]

For this unit, a magnetic or optical sensor on each spool to detect their motion would let you use the tape control buttons to control the playback. It would be easy enough to detect slow forward, fast forward, and reverse of the mechanism to tell the mp3 player what to do.

[@middlesbroughmike1027]

No, you're right. The lack of both spools moving at the correct speed is very frustrating indeed. Also, would the lack of movement from the feeder spool not just keep activating the auto reverse mech (along with the auto stop on some decks as you illustrated)?

[@vanCaldenborgh]

Yes, why take so much effort to look like a real cassette and then leave this dynamical visual aspect out, which everybody from the targeted customer base will notice immediately ?

[@chrisbartram3034]

If they were being really inventive you'd use the spool to drive a generator and charge the battery 🙂

[@FutureChaosTV]

Isn't auto reverse based on the resistance when the end of the tape is reached and it can no longer be moved by the cassette player?

[@Tomsonic41]

@@FutureChaosTV Some cheaper cassette mechanisms had a little arm that poked into the cassette shell. When it reached the end of a tape, it would become taut and push the arm down, triggering the auto stop. But with this system, if the tape snapped or got tangled up it wouldn't stop!

[@NBSV1]

@@vanCaldenborghBecause it’s much cheaper to wedge the guts of a basic MP3 player into a cassette shape. To make both turn requires gears or belts that take up space and require more parts and supports. To me I’d rather have it fit all tape decks and both spools turn over the screen. Would be extra amazing if they could design it so the regular buttons on a tape deck also did the functions on the player.

[@zoranzoranowski280]

So COOOOL Hitachi. Greatings for Techmoan and all retro Boombox Lovers :) // Once upon a Time,in 80's I had one...Sanyo, model M9923L.

[@JuiceJive]

A remote or Bluetooth control on your phone seems like a no-brainer requirement for something like this. If it has the head for use in a tape player, it's almost necessarily going to be captive behind a door with the screen unreachable.

[@robertrenato]

My goodness, I did not expect to see Tessa Violet featured here hehe. She was one of my favourite early youtubers long before she started her music career. The idea of modern tech in such an analogue package is very intriguing, even if not very useful. There's something about it...the concept of yearning for the past. Maybe I'm just sentimental.

[@janosnagyj.9540]

16:36 On this particular boombox, you can remove the casette compartment plexiglass cover by undoing those two fancy looking screws, and so you can have access to the control touchscreen. 🙃

[@equinoxe3d]

Was going to comment that, it looks like the plexi part removes itself rather easily on that model as well

[@kaitlyn__L]

The simple solution of keeping your AV equipment partially disassembled at all times!

[@TestECull]

9:03 I daily drive my grampa's 1971 Chevy pickup every day. Grampa ordered it radio delete, so I had to put a radio in it, and I went with a new-old-stock AM/FM/Cassette head unit from the mid 1970s to put in there as it was the correct shaft mount form factor. If I was to buy this, it would be so I could stick it in that deck. Goes in end-first so, conveniently, I'd still have access to the USB-C port and could have it plugged into power while in use. Battery life isn't a concern. Its primary use would be to ket me jam out to what my local classic rock station won't play and what I can't find on actual tape.

[@volvo09]

It might not work in the car... Test to see if the tape deck keeps running when the tape comes to an end... If it does then this should work, as long as it fits. That Bluetooth tape adapter he showed momentarily that you connect to your phone would definitely work in that radio though.

[@TestECull]

@@volvo09 I currently have, alongside a few actual tapes, one of those corded adapters in my glovebox that plugs into a headphone jack. It works pretty good, problem is, when I try to stream music I inevitably get a bunch of buffering problems. I also end up with a bunch of wires running all over the damn place. The appeal of this device is that I can play music from a local source WITHOUT my phone being involved.

[@markanne54]

Hah, nice shout out to Tessa Violet, one of the better KZbin musician/singer/songwriters out there (along with her mate Dodi). You should check out her seminal track 'Haze', it's an absolute belter!

[@HomeCinemaEnthusiast]

Great upload , love these older audio systems. I’ve just bought an old plasma for watching DVDs and gaming . Definitely better than using a 4k tv

[@JanielMcGuitarAndTea]

It's the future!!! ... that's pretty much blown my mind.. a blooming touch screen!! On a tape! .. I think that's pretty amazing tbh. And the first iteration of this tech blew me away too, thinking about it now 😂

[@noyb7920]

Touch screen takes space from the mechanism that would normally be used to keep the tape movement detection systems happy, and also can't be touched in most cassette players... Might as well just get a cheap MP3 player and a cassette adapter. Too many tradeoffs just to look good on a website.

[@ph4z_]

Every time you show off the storage box, it’s a huge cure for my GAS 😂. Bloody hell, what a space 😮.

[@tmofee]

the peeling off music always cracks me up

[@pglagowski]

To me, this is the type of product that would have made sense in the early 00s. I can’t think of any car that still has a cassette player and if you’re connecting this to a bluetooth speaker, you can achieve the same thing from your phone.

[@MoonSha]

This would have been amazing in those early mp3 days, everybody had a tape deck in the car, nobody had bluetooth and only the lucky few had a 3.5mm input. But we all had plenty of ill-gotten mp3s we wanted to listen to.

[@alliejr]

Yup. I had something like this in the late 1990s for exactly that purpose-- in car. It had a power lead that fed out the front of the deck and into a cigarette lighter. However, unlike this device, play/pause/stop on the cassette deck did exactly what you wanted on the MP3 player. (I think I still have it)

[@MrEdrftgyuji]

I remember at that time, it was more desirable to have a tape deck rather than a CD player, as you couldn't put an external signal through a CD player.

[@joshuarosen465]

Only very old cars still had cassettes when MP3 came along. Cars from the 70s and 80s had cassettes. Cars from the 90s had CDs.i don't see the point of this device now. Cars with cassettes were scraped decades ago. Boom boxes were terrible quality devices, there is no point in using them now when you can get an Alexa or a Bluetooth speaker for almost nothing. Even if you have a vintage stereo system there are a million better ways to stream to it.

[@schaffiourketaris2691]

@@joshuarosen465 Some top spec luxury car models had CD players, plenty of base model cars and most industrial vehicles, vans, utes etc had cassette players as standard well into the early 2000's. And loads of people still use them because they don't want to cut a big hole in the dash of their classic car, to fit a new stereo.

[@KevKlopper]

We had those cassettes that had a 3.5mm jack that would be fed from our MP3 players.

[@growingup15]

I love little devices like this because they are in a way keeping many old tech alive. in a way its helping keeping old cassette players out of the landfields

[@robinbrowne5419]

I really like the look of a circuit board in a clear acrylic case.

[@kevinjokipii4260]

It looks like a "from the far future" prop in a low budget 1970s sci-fi TV show, doesn't it? Like the larval form of ORAC

[@RubixB0y]

Matte black solder mask definitely has a vibe, but yellow solder mask has stolen my heart

[@endymallorn]

This definitely looks like a slick prototype. I look forward to further development.

[@trippmoore]

Unfortunately this is note even close to a prototype. I had an earlier version of the Mixxtape 6 years ago. It was actually better than this newest version. The volume buttons were touch sensitive spots on the shell and they also served to navigate the menu as the display was not a touch screen (and slightly smaller). And the older model was a bluetooth receiver as well. I honestly am surprised that the product still exists but I'm even more surprised that after 6 years of development it got worse.

[@victorhugotoledocofre1366]

An ingenious solution for a problem no one ever really had. What good does it having a touchscreen nobody can touch behind a door, a no remote control to operate it? The vast majority of cassette players engage that auto-stop function if both spools are not spinning at the same time, so that vast majority of cassette players don't enter this equation, and so forth. The old white device of 8 years ago wins the competition, hands down!! 🏆🏆

[@Lucasbpc]

19:30 I started looking for a pair of Sennheiser HD 600 when that song came up

[@rtechlab6254]

My old Akai and Sony desks would kick off with the supply spool not turning

[@volvo09]

Yeah this thing won't work in an auto stop deck... They didn't take that into account.

[@bloemundude]

I still have my old wired 1/8 inch plug to fake cassette adapter, and it works perfectly. Also, you can just plug it into any device with a headphone socket. 1990 suddenly looks more technologically competent.

[@cemmy410]

17:17 I used to watch a KZbin channel that used this track and it's driving me crazy trying to remember what it was 😩

[@touringwagen]

19:17 something to listen with the huh duh six hunge-os

[@Mevi]

Once again, I see Techmoan's excellent taste in Hip Hop 😎

[@0saintsfan0]

It would be interesting to see what the head is doing magnetically with your little magnet viewer thingy

[@opraiderman904]

Bluetooth cassettes are rare these days , nice to see another option. Folks with classic cars want to keep the factory stereo but have the additional functionality.

[@PaulTaylor1]

Sounds like a simple Bluetooth receiver with a sprung head would have been more useful. Just turn any boombox into a Bluetooth speaker, and do that one thing well. 😊 Edit: 20:15 I should have waited another 2 minutes before commenting lol! 😅