MP3 players forum: Do MP3 players need a FM Transmitter to work inside a Car?

iPod integration: I'm seeing this a lot in new cars. True iPod integration usually means that you connect the iPod to the stereo via the proprietary connector on the bottom of the player. By dock or cable. Only for iPod.

Aux input in the car stereo. Either the car already comes with it or an aftermarket stereo put in. Then cable from headphone jack on iPod to aux input in stereo. Can be used by all mp3 players.

3rd party connector kits: kind of do the same thing aux input does except you connect to the back of the stereo somehow. Might be just for iPods, but could be universal as well. I know Monster does these for iPods.

If your car has a cassette player, there are devices that fit in the player that can be wired to your MP3 player. They only cost arount $10 dollors and sound better that fm transmitters. Walmart has them.

You may want to try out the Monster Cable Cassette adapter at http://www.cellularaccessory.com/ipodcassette.html

OR even the FM transmitter with the ability to select up to 4 radio channels for a clear channel, at http://www.cellularaccessory.com/ipodfmtransmit.html

Hope it helps!

I have the same issue too, I bought a cheap FM tranmistter, the quality sucks really bad. I just ordered another one from www.belkin.com, they claim they have a better qualities. The one I just ordered costed 49.99, but with coupon code: "12345" it reduced to 29.99+shipping. You should give it a shot. The bottom line is not to use the cheap ones.
Another thing you could do is go to your car dealer and ask them, I think they can install something in your car to let you plug in your mp3 player. I wanted to do the same to my 03 Accord too, but I heard it's pretty expensive.

Thank you Gary for your input. I'm certainly interested in purchasing a better transmitter due to the fact that the one I have a is a piece of garbage. I not MP3 savvy, so I just bought an FM transmitter that was compatible w/ my MP3, not knowing how to determine what makes a outstanding transmitter.

By the way my FM transmitter is made by Belkin, and it's just a ****** transmitter period.

Hi Rudysky

The Belkin FM Transmitter is one of the beter ones! However it dose not come close to the I Scream Wireless Transmitter sold by HMV Record Stores. The same unit can be found on Ebay I will place a link to it here!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Wireless-FM-LCD-Transmitter-Car-Radio-for-IPOD-NANO-MP3_W0QQitemZ330074555160QQihZ014QQcategoryZ86532QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Thees are far beter than the 5 mm Stereo input/FM Stereo output, Satisfaction Guarantee for one they
Are not limited to certain chanels ie just 88.7, 88.5, 88.3 or 88.1 Insted you can set it to any frequency betwen 87.5 to 108.0 Mhz

Two they have the ability to be used in the home! and or car! they will power up from the USB port of any computer so that if you want to play your audio files mp3s from the PC to your Hi Fi you can!

And Three should you wish to run your own short range of upto 1.5 miles Radio Station with a very simple modification just involving adding a 2ft piece of wire to the earth of the audio plug on the transmitter you can do so!!!

I am not suggesting that the 5 mm Stereo input/FM Stereo output, Satisfaction Guarantee is not a good unit but it is purely only for the use of playing mp3s direct to a car radio / stereo, and dose not have the diversity of the module I have pasted the link too!

I have been in the transmitter field for many years having been involved with pirate radio in the UK and have built many transmitters over the years for both AM and FM use! So I do know the difference between the many Mp3 transmitters that are now on market place. Once again I do hope this information is of help to you and any one ells who is interested in these items and their use.

PS. You may need to copy and paste the link into your browser

Regards
Garry.

If you're goal is to listen to good music that sounds good you will opt for decent car stereo that either has or has been aftermarket wired to have an auxiliary line input.
One of the things that pleases audiophiles about the iPod is that they get better quality with Apple's proprietary sound codecs or with wave files than is possible with MP3. That said, I've met few sound systems and fewer people who can tell the difference. My daughter, for example, is perfectly happy with a 128-bit quality MP3 file played through the speaker on her phone.
Radio stations spend thousands of dollars to broadcast FM and buy all the wattage they can afford to do it. Still, FM radio has a limited Signal to Noise ratio of about 50-60 db. This means that a pure note of music will only be 60 decibels louder than the background noise. A CD (wave format) is 90 decibels louder than its background noise and remember that the decibel level is geometric, not arithmetic i.e.; 61 decibels is twice as good as 60, 62 twice 61, etc.
Another difference, the human ear can generally hear sounds (pitches) as low as 20 hz and as high as 20,000 hz. FM broadcasts in a spectrum mostly between 55-15000 hz. What you miss are the acoustic overtones that make live music such a great experience.
So what does all this mean? If you love your music you invest in a sound system that can play the entire audio spectrum with minimal distortion and an amplifier capable of a 90db signal to noise ratio. You will attach your music source by cable (copper or fiber, analog or digital) and code you music to best quality you can afford and will play pretty much anywhere.
Turn off the radio! Turn on some music!