Can anyone tell me what sounds better TAPE or MP3 ?

Acura TL offers the first true 5.1 surround sound system.
The stereo does not accommodate MP3s, because the company felt that they don't offer high enough sound quality to be worthy of this superior system.

But why did they install TAPE ?
does tape provide better sound quality ?

any thoughts on this would be appreciated.


I got the sourse of it here in top 10 lists on Edmunds.com
Top 10 Sound Systems in Cars Over $30,000 for 2004 --- ACURA TL took 6th place


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Good point!

You'd be amazed how many people still buy audiobooks on tape. Maybe thats part of their reasoning?

 

I don't mind having tape in the car stereo, but why not make CD/DVD-A MP3 compatible as well ? I am amazed how many people have thousands of MP3s on their computers and would love to listen to them in the car. Or they could have made USB port somwhere in the dash board so you can connect your digital MP3 player with 40GIGs of music like iPod - APPLE sold almost 1,000,000 iPods allready (SOURCE)
I bet there are more people with MP3s then with audiobooks on TAPE

And I personaly think MP3 sounds better then TAPE

Thanks.

Anyone else has a comment on that issue ?

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It depends a lot on the tape and on the source quality of the mp3, but mp3's have a distinct advantage in sampling rate and in lack of inherent noise (tape hiss, wear degradation, etc.).

Look at it this way - mp3's are digital and will be the same "forever", while tapes stretch, the oxides flake off, their mechanical nature (tape being dragged over heads and guides by electric motors, etc.) will introduce noises and distortions.

I'd say a good mp3 (sampled at 192 or better) will always sound better than anything a car tape player can deliver. Tape is dead big time for music.

Mike

 

Translation: Cheap.

If this were true, wouldn't they want to rip out that stone-age AM reception?

 

My answer is this: a top-notch MP3 (320kbps sampling rate with a good encoder) will sound nearly indistinguishable from the original source in the TL with its inherent high frequency rolloff. A low quality MP3 (160 or 128kbps) will sound like garbage.

The thing you'll hear with a tape that you won't hear from a CD or MP3 is hiss, and that's what drives me nuts about tape.

Mike