Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

randal

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 5, 2004
8
0
Can anybody recommend a good FM Transmitter for my new iPod?

I just made the switch to Macs - bought an iBook and an iPod, so I'm in shiny white plastic heaven at the moment. I'm looking to get an FM transmitter to use my ipod in the car and with my home stereo, but I'm not sure which one to get. There are the Tunecasts and also the iTrip by Griffin - has anybody used either one of these in North America? How are they?

Also, I've seen this one online: the
Audia X from Merconnet.com. It doesn't look so happily integrated like the iTrip :) but I've read some good reviews on it.

Has anybody tried out the AudiaX? Or any of the other ones?

Thanks
 

sinisterdesign

macrumors 6502
Dec 10, 2003
422
3
atlanta
i haven't tried the iTrip, but i have used the iRock in the past (don't know if they even sell it still). the main problem i had w/ it was that i couldn't get enough volume out of it. it got REALLY distorted when i cranked it up. part of that is due to the fact that i have a convertible and therefore needed it louder than normal, but still.

my guess is the iTrip is an improvement over the older FM transmitters, but if you have a tape player, the tape adaptor worked well for me (not for home, though).

also, check to see if your car's stereo head unit has an AUX IN jack in the back. some of the newer ones do. that's how i have mine connected. that way you're not sampling down to FM quality sound.

welcome to the wonderful new world of Mac and OSX (isn't it just a pleasure to use coming from Windows??) :D
 

LeeTom

macrumors 68000
May 31, 2004
1,581
291
I have an iTrip, and it works great. Tape adapters do sound a little better than FM, but I haven't had any problems with the iTrip.

Lee Tom
 

sigamy

macrumors 65816
Mar 7, 2003
1,392
181
NJ USA
Man, I can't believe that FM modulators work for people. I'm in the metro NY area and FM modulators are out of the question.

I agree with the above post on an Auxilary input adapter. This gives you a direct line into your factory headunit.

Go to http://www.logjamelectronics.com/ and see if you can get an aux input adapter for your car. If you car is less than 7 years old you could be in luck. They run about $80 and then a bit for installation (should be under $50, I got one installed at Circuit City for $10).

This is probably 2x the cost of an iTrip but it is a 10x better sound and solution.
 

TreeHugger

macrumors 6502
Jun 30, 2004
278
0
For your car I would recommend a tape input. I have not tried an fm transmitter but read some sketchy reports here.
 

dcslacker

macrumors member
Apr 23, 2004
44
1
i have the itrip and it works okay, except that it isn't very loud, as others have mentioned.
 

Horrortaxi

macrumors 68020
Jul 6, 2003
2,240
0
Los Angeles
I just hard wired my iPod because the FM transmitter just wasn't cuttin' it. It cost me about $100 to do it, but it's worth it to save on aggravation. In our other car we've got a tape adaptor, which I also like more than the FM transmitter.

The problem with transmitters, as has been mentioned already, is if you live in a big city all the frequencies are taken already--and they have more powerful transmitters than you do.

When you can get a clear channel the FM transmitters sound pretty good. So if you're going to go this way, get the one that has the most channels available to choose from. I believe that would be the iTrip.
 

randal

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 5, 2004
8
0
FM transmitters

Thanks for the advice guys.
For now I'm looking for a low-cost solution, so getting the aux-in hookup for my car stereo will have to wait.
A friend of mine just told me that he had ordered the Audia X from merconnet, so I think i'm gonna wait a bit to see how he likes it, and if he doesn't say something good then I'll go for the iTrip, since that seems to be the general consensus around here.
Thanks
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.