ION Audio Cassette Adapter Bluetooth | Bluetooth Music Receiver for Cassette Decks

I installed the Cassette Adapter Bluetooth on my 2003 Lexus LS430. Prior to inserting into the cassette deck, i removed a clear plastic film head protector carefully with a box cutter as i learned from certain reviewers which reported sound quality issues. Very impressed with the sound quality of this bluetooth adapter - it is way better than the bluetooth radio adapter i previously owned as well as the wired cassette adapter [only the left speakers are working]. The downside is you can hear the rotating parts of the cassette when it is on but you can turn up the volume. Pairing to my iPhone 6+ is a breeze - it auto connects when turning the cassette on and an audible sound confirms the connection [Note that i had the manual on/off switch to off on the adapter]. Also, i noticed the bluetooth adapter automatically shuts itself off when turning the cassette deck off.Haven't tested the battery life but it seems i have to charge the adapter when not in used given the design of the cassette tape loading on my lexus' Mark Levinson. This is by no means shortcoming of the cassette bluetooth adapter in my opinion.Update #1: I removed all 7 screws, opened the cassette adapter and added lithium grease on all gears and rotating parts (2 main gears, 1 driving gear, and 2 small gears); put it back altogether and tightened the screws. This effectively minimizes the noise to a minimum when the bluetooth adapter is on. In addition, the lithium grease prolongs the life of the rotating parts.Update #2: A problem developed and the cassette deck now ejects the adapter for no apparent reason. Did some research but none specific to ION. However, removing the 2 small gears [see red rectangle in photo] seemed to do the trick (problem solved) and left the 3 main gears intact.Update #3: One day the adapter stop working, opened the adapter and noticed the auxiliary gear (the largest/middle gear) moved slightly up. Add a washer to prevent the gear from moving. Put it back together but the washer seems a little bit thick so it needs a little bit of pressure for the gears to rotate. The cassette deck sensed there's a problem with the adapter and wouldn't play. Removed all the gears but the cassette deck wouldn't like it either. Therefore, i concluded that my Mark Levinson cassette deck needs at least the 3 main gears on the adapter to function. The last resort was to swap the gears from my old Philips Wired Cassette adapter to the ION adapter. Fortunately, all the gears matched and swapped; put lithium grease on and a washer [i couldn't find a thin washer to hold the auxiliary gear in place so i made a washer from a notebook's spring wire]; put it back together and confirmed the gears rotate freely.. Insert the ION adapter to the cassette deck and it was a success! I noticed the Philips gears do not create an audible noise when it is on compared to the ION's.Update #4. The cassette adapter works flawlessly since swapping its gears from my old Philips Wired Cassette adapter. Also, i'm getting at least 4 hours of battery life provided i eject the cassette adapter before turning the car ignition off. It seemed the "auto-power-off feature" doesn't work on my car because of the cassette deck design.

I think a lot of people buying this buy it with the expectation that it will magically make a cassette radio sound like a modern radio. If you buy one of these with that expectation, you are going to be disappointed. Cassette players have a narrower audio band than newer formats.I am very happy with the functionality of the product, it was easy to pair to my phone. Once paired, as someone mentioned in another review, you have to leave the cassette in the off position for it to turn off when the radio is turned off, otherwise the battery will drain. So far, I have only been driving about 45 minutes at a time, and within that time I have not had the battery die on the cassette. I usually plug it in to charge after driving for the day with my phone's micro usb charger. If you leave the tape in the on position, the battery WILL die regardless of whether a phone is within range or not. The microphone on the cassette works, but the cassette player sits really low in my Dodge Shadow, so it is hard for people to hear me while the engine is on. I imagine in cars with radios that sit near the top of the dashboard will have less of an issue with this.Audio quality is crisp, much better than my wired adapter from a similar price point. Don't expect bass to be very good on any cassette player, other than that, 10/10 on audio. I was also able to insert the cassette in some old tape players to turn my favorite boom boxes into vintage bluetooth speakers. Build quality is about the same as a wired cassette adapter, so I wouldn't leave it in direct sunlight or somewhere it could get crushed.Another reviewer noted there is a plastic packing sticker (or assumed to be packing sticker) on top of the play head. I was able to remove mine with a flat head very carefully. I am not sure if removing this improves audio quality or not, but considering how easily it came off I would assume this is packing material.For the price this is the best way to get audio to your speakers in a car that has a factory radio. I try and keep the factory radio where possible in order to avoid hacking up wires and installing an eyesore of a single DIN radio. I have also yet to find an aftermarket head unit with an interface that actually makes sense.