Where to buy CD3 adapter?

Any idea where I can get a couple of CD3 adapters? I'm referring to the ring a 3-inch CD fits into so that the CD can be played on equipment designed only for 5-inch CDs (like my iMac).

 

I can't answer your question, but I'm going to sound a killjoy note of caution about using 3" CDs with an adaptor on equipment that isn't expressly designed to handle them. I've seen a few instruction manuals that warn against such behaviour.

Not your kind of Mac, I appreciate, but this came up from some random Googling:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1169302?start=0&tstart=0

 

I have never seen a 3" adaptor. I thought that every CD player just played 3" CDs without an adaptor.

 

Here you go:

http://www.amazon.com/Memorex-3-Inch-DVD-Adapter-18-Pak/dp/B000PD89WI/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Early CD players manufactured prior to the launch of the 3" CD (I saw my first in 1987) would require one of these, not having the appropriate indentation in the tray. Clip the 3" CD into the adapter, place the 5" adapter/CD combo in the tray. Man, they were fiddly.

 

Hi there,

I am not sure if you can buy the CD adaptor separately these days . You would have to buy a 3-inch single with the CD adaptor.

 

yup. I don't remember seeing a CD player that needed an adaptor; including CD/DVD players/burners for personal computers

 

Early CD players couldn't play 3" CDs. I got my first CD player in 1987 and I needed an adaptor.

 

Nowadays, you are better off in this case to buy an external CD burner to play these discs in a computer or you may have to buy one of those 3" CD singles on eBay to get the adapter.

 

I'd join the chorus advising against using these in your iMac. My (then young) daughter stuck some card/CD thing into our old slot loading iMac, I had to bring it to a shop to get it out.

MAYBE it could work, but is it worth $100 or more to find out? I think I still have the adapter like in the picture above, but I ain't gonna try it ...

 

I can appreciate the caution about not putting an adapter into an iMac disc slot. Any suggestions as to an external CD drive that will accept a 3-inch CD without an adapter?

 

You could always take it somewhere that has a computer CD drive with an extending tray, rip it there, and save the files to a thumb drive. I have a MacBook Pro so I took the few 3-inch CDs I have to work and ripped them there.

 

I have a couple T Rex 3" CD Singles with an adapter like this.
I'm gonna try to see if I can rip them.
Don't know why I haven't tried yet.

Darryl

 

You should be able to find one on eBay, but you will probably have to buy a 3inch CD with it...not that that's a bad thing.

 

I probably have an extra one I can send you. PM me your address.

 

I would say pretty much any external CD/dvd/etc drive currently made will be able to play a 3" cd. I haven't seen one that could not in ages.

 

they usually have a little indented area on the tray for such discs. One thing to note, even with the indent, don;'t mount it vertically. at least, I have had pcs with internal drives that could play 3" cds fine when horizontal, but when vertical, the disc could fall out of the tray while it was closing.

 

I would only try to play a 3" CD in a horizontal tray-loading transport that has a separate indentation for the 3" CD format. Don't use the adapters at all. I've had them come off inside the transport, and it's a bitch-and-a-half to open up the machine and take it out.

The 3" CD format was cute, but I think it was impractical for a lot of reasons.

 

These things were never designed to be spun at CD-ROM drive speeds. If the thing comes off inside the drive you could very easily trash the transport itself, slot-loader or not.

I love how ridiculously overengineered Sony's adapter was.

 

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