I personally find the car stereo to be highly musical. Whether it be casstte or CD. Let's take a moment and examine why that should be. Why the car stereo can actually sound better, more musical that whatever monster audiophile system one has assembled back at the ranch. Well, first of all, there is he issue of power, it's battery power, which one suspects is most likely more stable than the house AC, more regulated. There is also the the speakers, cheap though they may be have no crossover or a very minimal one. And the car soeakers are very efficient. Furthermore, there is no real listening room inside the car. So no requirements for tube traps, diffusers, absorbers, etc. The space approximates near field listening. In addition, the tires act as Isolators, the old mass on spring in action. For Walkman Car CD players the news is even better what with the buffering of the data, the player is relatively immune from shocks and vibration. and if you're lucky enough to have a cassette player in your car, you get to enjoy the more dynamic and musical advantages inherent in that format.

Geoff Kait
Machina Dynamica