podfreq "high quality" fm transmitter review/impressions

[sbatth]

does anybody have any experience w/this? i'd like to hear about how it compares in terms of quality w/other FM transmitter. they just announced that it will come w/a car charger now at no additional cost (~$80). they claim it has better quality than other transmitters. is this really true?

http://www.podfreq.com/overview.html

 

[sygyzy]

For 3x the cost of a normal one, it better be good.

Tried a Belkin one and it's horrible. I hope people come up with a better solution.

 

[sbatth]

a guy commenting on the ipodlounge "review" (it's lame), reported "3xs the quality". lol

 

[Jahn]

i own this - bought it before i found out about the cheaper derivations, crap on me. it's pricey. but it does let you scope for better channels to send the signal to, and it's a pretty strong signal. the big problem is it has a nasty high frequency whine that no one but me and my dog can hear - my wife and other folks cant hear it, but it drives me crazy. i try to turn down the treble and hit the inadequate *treble reducer* eq on the ipod to no avail. ANNOYING. but it's far better than when i plug this thing into the car charger when it is sending a signal, because then it's unlistenable, being not grounded. but sometimes that's what you have to do because it sucks up the ipod's battery power like no tomorrow. it plugs into the dock connector, but has a firewire out for the battery plug to the car charger. so if anyone can make me a ipod battery pack with a firewire end, i'd pay good money for it! belkin makes a batt pack, but it's with a dock end bleh.

 

[Sledge]

I have yet to find an FM transmitter that does a halfway decent job.

I'm not that great with tools but I decided to get one of these instead and install it myself. Works great, is much better than FM, and I did it in under half an hour.

 

[sbatth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn i own this - bought it before i found out about the cheaper derivations, crap on me. it's pricey. but it does let you scope for better channels to send the signal to, and it's a pretty strong signal. the big problem is it has a nasty high frequency whine that no one but me and my dog can hear - my wife and other folks cant hear it, but it drives me crazy. i try to turn down the treble and hit the inadequate *treble reducer* eq on the ipod to no avail. ANNOYING. but it's far better than when i plug this thing into the car charger when it is sending a signal, because then it's unlistenable, being not grounded. but sometimes that's what you have to do because it sucks up the ipod's battery power like no tomorrow. it plugs into the dock connector, but has a firewire out for the battery plug to the car charger. so if anyone can make me a ipod battery pack with a firewire end, i'd pay good money for it! belkin makes a batt pack, but it's with a dock end bleh.

darn... i just got a new car and would love to be able to play music from my ipod... ugh! damnit, why couldn't Apple get behind an "iPod your Benz" campaign?!?!

 

[Spankypoo]

The signal quality from an FM transmitter is largely a function of signal strength, which is regulated by the FCC. Most (if not all) of the transmitters on the market are at the legal max.

 

[Mr.Radar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn the big problem is it has a nasty high frequency whine that no one but me and my dog can hear - my wife and other folks cant hear it, but it drives me crazy. i try to turn down the treble and hit the inadequate *treble reducer* eq on the ipod to no avail. ANNOYING.

This is because the FM Stereo specification has a pilot signal at somewhere around 18 or 19KHz. The reason you don't hear it on regular FM stations is because they cut off everything above 15KHz to keep the audio from intruding on the pilot signal. This is just my understanding of how this works, but I could be wrong.

 

[raisin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbatth darn... i just got a new car and would love to be able to play music from my ipod... ugh! damnit, why couldn't Apple get behind an "iPod your Benz" campaign?!?!

The soon to be available "ipodcruze" by Monster looks like the answer to your needs.

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbatth darn... i just got a new car and would love to be able to play music from my ipod... ugh! damnit, why couldn't Apple get behind an "iPod your Benz" campaign?!?!

if you can afford a new benz, you can probably afford some direct connection with ipod and reciever. for a few reasons, i don't think the ipod your bmw is the best anyway, and it costs for example twice alpine's system, which i think is better.
there are only two ways to go for good dap sq in your car:

1. direct connect to stereo (you can do this usually with stock factory head unit, but better to get a new hu and get a cable (turns the cd changer input into a digital audio player input). for example, pioneer's is called a cd-rb10.
i've actually got one lying on the ground somewhere

2. if, and i do mean IF, you want to control the ipod (or other dap) from your in-dash reciever, there are a few ways to go. look at ipodlounge.com. alpine has probably the best system. it will cost you $100, and you have to hide the box somewhere, but then you can control the ipod from your head unit. personally, i much prefer controlling the ipod on it's own interface, rather than a reciever (i.e. option 1). however, the big plus for me is that this method will allow you to keep the pod out of sight (say, in the glove box), and you won't have to put it away every freakin time you leave the car. it also charges your pod (albeit weakly, it mainly just keeps the pod charged)

fm reicivers and tape deck connectors, wired fm modulaters and all the rest are just ez-fixes. try one and if you have an ear for audiophilia, you will be dissapointed.

if you need help installing a new head unit, or picking one and where to buy, don't hesitate to pm me. also check caraudioforum.com

 

[uzziah]

oh, and by the way. make sure you get a cable like the sik imp (sik.com), which will allow you to use the ipod's line out. you don't need this if you get the alpine system, which once again makes it a value

you just don't want to go from the headphone out. trust me, please.