Just a quick note for anybody wondering how to use TZX WAV files on a ZX Spectrum +2

I love my Spectrums, the original rubber key version is just beautiful. The Spectrum+ professional keyboard is very ‘modern’ and sounds like a proper computer 😉

However, what both of the above machines lack is decent picture quality. RF is so… well… 80’s! and although it might be ‘authentic’ it is a bit of a strain on the eyes.

Old Clive and his band of merry Men and Women fixed this issue with the +2 models onwards, by giving us the wonderful clarity of RGB out. A modern scart cable on a Spectrum gives such a beautiful picture. Whilst it still isn’t HDMI 1080p, it’s a million times better than RF.

So I prefer to use my +2 for this reason. Games are a joy to play.  I do own a lot of original cassette based games and if I really want a game then I am happy to pay ebay prices for them; however, I don’t own every game. So if I want to play something that isn’t in my official library then I download the TZX file and convert it to WAV.

Her lies the biggest problem with +2 Spectrums: they do NOT have ‘audio-in’ capabilities. What a shocking oversight by Mr. Clive. Tape deck breaks and you are knackered, tales of woe can be found all over the net, quite a little industry sprang up in the repair market.

So, where is this leading? Well, in order to get the best of both worlds you have to upgrade to a +3 for full audio options and RGB out. they cost about £60-£90 on ebay at the moment.

With a bit of digging around I came to a simple, quick and above all very very cheap solution. For a mere £1.70 from Amazon I spotted one of the old car audio cassette adapters, the type with a 3.5mm input jack. Blimey I thought, that might just work!! and it does! it works bloody well!

Proper chuffed I am  🙂