There's nothing like taking your iPod, iPhone or MP3 Player on the road and playing your music through the car stereo. There are a few ways you can accomplish this and they range from the best sound quality, but more complicated, to lesser sound quality but easy to do. We can guide you through
the selection process and show you all the options available for your vehicle, plus show you where all
the equipment will be installed. So stop by and let us
show you why Baltimore Magazine chose us as the best
Car
Stereo store in Baltimore!
GOOD
The easiest and most popular way to get the iPhone or iPod's audio signals to your car stereo is to use an FM transmitter, sometimes called a wireless FM modulator. The FM transmitter will turn the music from the iPod into a low strength FM radio station that surrounds your car's interior. Your car's FM deck will pick up the signal and play through your speakers. The hardware itself is powered by your car's cigarette lighter and plugs into either your iPod's headphone jack or docking port for a line out.
While the wireless FM modulators are inexpensive and need no setup, they are not well suited for the automotive environment. Their signal quality is usually very poor and they can get a lot of static as you get closer to a radio station transmitting on a similar frequency. The hard wired FM modulator listed below is a much, much better option if you can not get a direct line in on the radio in your vehicle.
BETTER
A better option for FM modulation is the hard wired FM modulator. This allows you to connect the iPod or iPhone into a car stereo that only has an FM radio. If your car stereo doesn't have an auxiliary input you can get better sound quality than a FM transmitter, but not quite as good if it were using an auxiliary input. The FM modulator is a box that is easily connected to the iPod using a headphone jack to RCA connector. The modulator box is then hard wired into your car stereo's antenna input giving you sound quality about as good as a local FM radio station with a very strong signal. The modulator box itself would have to be mounted somewhere behind the dash with a cable that is easily accessible to connect it to your iPod.
BEST
Other options for connecting your iPod or iPhone are getting more popular since car stereo manufacturer Pioneer created their own iPod car stereo solution. The best possible sound and control is available through this aftermarket option but at the maximum expenditure. The adaptor is compatible with Pioneer's own line of high quality decks and includes an adaptor cable and an interpreter box that will connect directly to your iPod. Not only does the iPod charge and have a direct line in on the car stereo offering the best possible sound reproduction, you also have full control of your iPod through your car stereo deck. From the Pioneer head unit you can now shuffle songs and select playlists while your iPod is tucked away out of sight.
One common question when using the iPod in the car is where do I put the darned thing? The iPod must be within reach by the cabling you're using for the sound method you've chosen. Whether you have a docking port plug that's wired to your car stereo's head unit or you have a mic jack to plug into the iPod's headphone jack for a line out, it needs to reach. Make sure you're taking necessary connections into consideration twhen you're putting anything into the dashboard that will secure the iPod..
