iPod FM transmitter - which one is best/cheapest?

ZForce915

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First off, I have to imagine that this thread has been done before but I couldn't find it. So if I'm beating a dead horse...sorry.

I'm looking for a good FM transmitter for my 4G iPod. I'm eying up the XtremeMac Air Play. Anyone hear anything good/bad about this?
 
Best one hands down is the Monster Icarplay Wireless PLUS.

Full FM frequency tuning, and it charges the Ipod as well.
 
If you have a tape deck in your car, you may want to get one of those adaptors instead. I find the quality to be quite good and I had an extra one in my room.
 
For sure go with a tape adaptor if you can. Otherwise, I recommend the Monster one as well, but it certainly is not the cheapest.
 
I agree about the tape deck adapter--it will provide the best sound quality vs. ANY fm tuner.

However the misses needed something to charge the ipod as well, so I went with the Monster unit--it has the best reviews that i've read and has been working flawlessly ever since we got it. I bought it from Amazon, and it wasn't the cheapest fm tuner available but I was scared to even try the others because of some of the negative reviews. Also, you can't beat full fm range tuning.
 
My 2 cents: if you want to go cheap, you can't get a built-in charger. Also, say you want to listen to music at home, I believe most of the chargers need to be used in the car. Tape is probably the way to go in terms of quality, though my only concern was whether or not in-car tape decks might be phased out in the future, though that is probably a good ways away. Now, on to FM transmitters.

Probably the 2 main ones are the Air Play and the iTrip. In all the reviews I read, the Air Play came out on top in terms of quality. I can say from experience that it's much easier to use, given that it has its own frequency changer, as opposed to the iTrip's somewhat annoying, albeit clever, iPod based changer. So, I bought the Air Play. Well, it worked extremely well in 2 of the cars I tried it in (an old Toyota station wagon and an old Acura). However, it also sucked ass in 2 other cars (an old Altima (my car) and a new Passat). So, my advice: buy it from a local Apple store, even if it's a couple bucks more. Test it out, see if you like it, and return it if you don't.
 
Just an update. I bought an AirPlay. I just got it last night and haven't tried it out, but I'll post again with my thoughts.

I do realize that a tape based player would be best for sound quality, but I only have a CD player in my car.
 
My CD player actually has an auxilliary input on the face of the unit, so I'm able to just plug a headphone jack cable from the iPod directly into the stereo. Aiwa built quite a few models with this feature and I'm surprised it's not more standard by now. It seems like a lot of people would want to listen to their iPods in their cars and this type of connection gives you the best sound quality.
 
I just bought the Kenwood iPod adapter that plugs into the back of the receiver and can be hidden in the dash, like a sirius receiver. I then routed the iPod dock to the glove compartment so I can lock my ipod in the glove box and completely control it through the dash receiver and remote control.

Pros
charges iPod battery
leaves iPod in hidden/locked glove box
controlled through dash reciever

Cons
controls depend deeply on preset playlists to be effective
installation
will require another 'switch' if you want to use sirius/xm also
about $100
 
[quote name='Quackzilla']The tape deck adapter doesn't need power.

Just putting that out there.[/QUOTE]


Yeah but the ipod does ;d

and well technically, yes the tape deck adapter needs power routed from the tape deck
 
hate to say it but wireless transmitters just suck if you live in an urban area like LA. All the stations are dominated and everything interferes. I got so fed up I just bought a new headunit for my car with aux in. It's very much worth it, esp for some of the prices of these fm tuners
 
bread's done
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