Car-Fi

One of the most dramatically effective music systems you can buy has comparatively small and inexpensive speakers, an amplifier that by most standards is woefully underpowered and uses as a sound source slow-speed tapes--a source not noted for its fidelity. Furthermore, the acoustical environment in which you listen to this system is relatively noisy, with the music constantly interrupted by outside sounds. Most people who have purchased such systems, however, swear by them: They're relatively cheap, easily transportable, the variety of models is almost unlimited and they're far and away the most popular means by which to listen to four-channel music.

The systems, of course, are based on the cartridge and cassette units designed for your automobile and the secret of their success is simple: The small volume of air that your car speakers have to move (when compared with that in your living room, for example) makes for a musical effect that is sometimes almost overwhelming; it's as if the driver and passengers were literally inside the speaker enclosure.

Certainly, there are few more effective or less expensive ways of listening to quad sound than in your car. For one thing, the position of the driver and the passengers is fixed, which means there's little danger of soloists' or instruments' shifting their relative positions as the listener shifts his. And since you're listening to quad tapes, you're listening to four separate, discrete channels--the best possible way of presenting four-channel sound. Furthermore, there's little difficulty in "threading" a cartridge--just plug it in and away you go.

Without slighting car radios--and the selection this year is enormous, including models (ideal for boat or camper) that will give you an instant weather report at the push of a button--car tape systems have certain advantages all their own. One of the more obvious is that they're not subject to the limited range and, consequently, constant fading of stations of your car radio; in addition, the music is sans commercials and of your choosing.

The range of in-car tape models runs into the hundreds, with practically every major hi-fi manufacturer fielding a line of cartridge and cassette units for the road, plus several dozen other manufacturers who specialize in nothing else. Essentially, the variety of models breaks down into stereo eight-track cartridge units, quad (four-channel) eight-track cartridge units and cassette units. Each model has its advantages and disadvantages, so it's up to the individual purchaser to weigh the pros and cons of each, not forgetting to take into account what sort of system you might have in your living room. Compatibility between your music system on wheels and the one in your den just might double your pleasure from your stock of cartridges or cassettes.

A stereo eight-track cartridge player, sans speakers, may cost you less than $40 or--depending on the features you want--close to $200. The simplest form of cartridge player includes a slot into which you slide the cartridge (which also turns the unit on), lights that indicate which of the four "programs" is playing and a push button to change programs.

As the units go up in price, more features are apt to be included. Among them might be a fast-forward button, in case you want to hasten the end of a particular program, a repeat switch in the event you happen to like a certain program very much and want to hear it again immediately, and a fine-tuning dial to adjust for tape wear (more of a problem with cartridge units than with cassette models). Extras might even include a headphone jack for the benefit of passengers who want to continue to listen when you find the strains of Jethro Tull or Alice Cooper more of a handicap than a help while searching for that freeway exit. Another handy extra is a built-in head cleaner so you don't have to clean the tape heads with Q-Tips and isopropyl alcohol every 40 plays or so.

Flexibility is the hallmark of the automobile tape unit. Some models are miniature units designed to fit into the dash, some have mounting brackets so they can fit underneath it and some are designed to mount on the transmission hump. Some will include speakers as part of the price, while others come equipped with built-in FM-stereo or AM/FM-stereo tuners. A few even have home adapters so they can double in brass in your living room when not being used in your car.

While both cartridge and cassette units have their strong points, if you're interested in quad sound, you're automatically restricted to a cartridge model. As of this writing, four-channel cassettes simply don't exist. Again, there is a wide variety of four-channel cartridge units available, some of which come equipped with the same extras as the standard stereo eight-track models--program-repeat switches, manual program selectors and fine-tuning dials.

As might be expected, some units have built-in tuners and others have matrix circuits incorporated so that the unit will synthesize a four-channel effect from a standard stereo eight-track cartridge (provided the unit is hooked up to four speakers). If the model seems unusually low in price, make sure it will play quad tapes as well as synthesizing a four-channel sound from standard stereo tapes. As enjoyable as matrix music can be, there's a large, audible difference between matrix and discrete sound. One built-in extra: Any true quad unit will play both quad and stereo cartridges interchangeably (it doesn't work the other way around, incidentally). Insert a standard stereo eight-track cartridge and the left channel is handled by both left-hand speakers and the right-hand channel by the right-hand speakers. This can be a welcome audio enhancement at no extra charge. One minor drawback to four-channel players: Quad cartridges cost somewhat more than the standard stereo variety. A standard eight-track cartridge has four programs made up of two tracks each; a quad cartridge has two programs of four tracks each. To get the same playing time from a quad cartridge as from a stereo eight-track involves doubling the length of the tape; this, plus the smaller number of copies made, contributes to the increase in cost.

Which brings us to the newest entry in the in-car entertainment field: cassette players. Unlike cartridges, cassettes do not consist of an endless loop of tape and when you come to the end of the miniature reel, the cassette will either stop or automatically eject. To hear the other side of the tape, you have to manually turn it over and reinsert it, a procedure that can be both an annoyance and a hazard in traffic. Some of the newer and more expensive models, however, have automatic reverse to circumvent this. Extras may include fast-forward and rewind switches and, like cartridge players, a number of models include built-in FM-stereo or AM/FM-stereo tuners. A few will even enable you to record your own cassettes--in stereo--from the built-in stereo FM tuner; others provide a microphone for dictation while driving. Home adapters and built-in head cleaners are also available and at least one enterprising manufacturer has included a built-in Dolby noise-reduction unit to reduce the hiss in your tapes and tuner.

The combinations and permutations available in the in-car cartridge and cassette field are almost endless, including units that will play both cartridges and cassettes via separate slots. Some of these will even record the cartridge you may be playing onto a blank cassette in the accompanying cassette slot. In addition to those cartridge models that we've mentioned as having built-in matrix circuitry for synthesizing a four-channel effect from stereo eight-track cartridges, other models will play both stereo and quad cartridges and, in addition, have a built-in matrix circuit.

If you have a cartridge model and would like to play cassettes in it, that's possible via an adapter. You can also purchase an FM tuner in adapter form and insert that in your cartridge slot. Finally, it's obvious that if you have a cartridge or cassette recorder at home, you can record your own cartridges or cassettes for play while driving.

Depending on the unit you purchase, it's possible to get some of the same features you may already have on your more elaborate home-entertainment system, including slide controls for tone, balance, volume and the like.

Installation of most units is relatively simple if you're handy with power drills and screwdrivers and know your way around the electrical system of your automobile. (Almost all models are designed for a 12-volt negative ground; if you own a pre-1967 Volkswagen, you may have problems.) If you're not very adept with tools, there are specialists in most cities who will install your unit for a nominal (concluded on page 195)CAR-FI(continued front page 114) fee. Models usually include installation instructions and suggestions regarding placement of speakers, whether in kick panels, under the dash, in the doors, under the rear deck or simply sitting on top of the rear deck it they come in their own enclosures.

A number of cartridge and cassette models come with quick-release mountings, which allow you to easily remove the unit from its bracket and lock it in the trunk or (if small enough) in the glove compartment--or simply take it with you indoors. Other units have theft-deterrent bolts, which make it difficult for a thief to jimmy the set out of your car. Others will sound the car's horn if any of its mounting bolls are loosened.

Some words of caution before you go zipping off to the strains of Eugene Ormandy or Sly & the Family Stone: Quick-release mounts will be of no help if you forget to take the unit out and lock it in the trunk; for the safety of other cars on the highway, the passenger headphone jack was designed for the passenger; and almost any combination of features you would like in an in-car entertainment system already exists in one of the many units available. Seek and thou shalt find.

Playboy's Capsule Guide to Car-FI

Cartridge Units