Car cassette adapter vs. fm transmitter

Question

I have a cassette adapter for my ipod. It stinks. The sound quality is poor, and, the cassette gets stuck in the cassette deck. The wire from the cassette adapter gets tangled and caught in the ashtray. Having had such a bad experience with the cassette adapter, I plan on purchasing an fm transmitter. I also like the idea of being able to play the ipod through an indoor stereo system when I'm at home or at someone else's home. I want a wireless, reasonably priced model with a car charger, but not one that requires the car charger itself to transmit. I've looked at a number of them. Maxell looks promising as does Belkin, Griffin, xtrememac and xtremeplay, but which one. I don't even want to hear an argument for another cassette adapter and I don't want to pay an arm and leg for something that I will probably replace in a year or so when the second or third generation of video ipods comes out. I've read the info in this and other forums but they are cluttered and people tend to promote what they have. Any helpful information would be appreciated.

Answer 1

b Various Methods to Connect to a Car Stereo System, or Listen to Your iPod in the Vehicle
b Best:
Direct connection via the dock connector or headphone jack of your iPod, to the mini-jack input (or AUX RCA input jacks) of your car stereo. Not many low/moderate-end cars have this feature yet, but it is becoming more popular. Some aftermarket auto stereo units may have this feature.
There are also some after-market, moderate to fairly expensive direct interfaces, that hook into your existing car stereo to provide a high-quality, direct connection. Most will also power/charge the iPod. Pretty slick, but can be pricey ($80-$300). If money is no object, a clean way to go. Not very portable from car to car – if at all.
http://logjamelectronics.com/ipodproducts.html
http://www.myradiostore.us/auxadapters/blitzsafe/blitzsafe-m-link-ipod-interface .html
http://www.theistore.com/ipod2car.html
http://www.mp3yourcar.com/
b Better:
Connect your iPod to a cassette adaptor and play your tunes through your car's cassette player. Some new cars no longer come with a cassette player, so it may not be an option. It will provide even better audio quality if you can run the audio feed out of the dock connector (see the SendStation link below). Can be portable between cars that have a cassette player and also be used in your home cassette system.
b Good:
Attach an FM transmitter to your iPod and play the tunes through an unused FM station. Convenient, but wireless FM transmitter signals are susceptible to static and outside interference, and can vary in strength and quality depending on your location. Some noticeable degradation and distortion, depending on the quality of the transmitter, the sensitivity of your ears and the airwave congestion in your area. Highly portable between cars, and may be used in a home system. FM transmitters that need to be plugged into a DC auto jack may not work in a home environment (without some sort of adaptor).
b Marginal:
Attach an external speaker system to the iPod and play it in the car. Workable, but not too good - unless you spring for a $300+ Bose (or similar) system. But why? Only if your vehicle has no Stereo system, perhaps.
b Brave Techno-Geek:
This site gives some direction on adapting your own car stereo by yourself: http://www.whatsmyip.org/ipodrx8/ . Risky, but it has been successfully done by a forum member.
Whichever you choose, power the iPod through your car’s DC power -- either from a power adapter, or as part of the combined audio adaptor. Have a method to secure the iPod to the dash/console/etc. See the reviews for all the various accessories at the iLounge
You will also get better audio output if the dock connection plug is used, rather than the headphone jack. See this URL for a novel adaptor: https://www.sendstation.com/us/products/pd_lousb.html. Others types are also available via this site.
I have read positive and negative reviews of each method, and within method there are great variations in performance of different manufacture's systems – and peoples’ opinions of their performance. Some cassette adaptors/FM transmitters work poorly, some better.
FWIW: I have the iTrip Mini & the Newer Technology RoadTrip!+ FM transmitters, a Belkin cassette adaptor (used both with & w/out the PocketDock) and two vehicles with the BlitzSafe direct interface. Using the same song in the same car, I found that the FM transmitters worked, but not as good as the cassette adapter via the headphone jack. Using the PocketDock on the cassette adapter resulted in a significant audio quality improvement. As expected, the Blitzsafe direct connect was exceptionally better than everything else: less tinny, a more warmer/richer sound, and close to true CD quality.