ipod FM radio transmitter problem

[talon2nr7588 10+ year member]

i just bought an ipod and i also got the FM radio transmitter. but when i play the ipod on the radio it doesn't sound as loud as when a cd is playing. is there any way to get it to sound normal like when a cd is playing? i got the transmitter because the cd skips when the bass hits. could it be the head unit?

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[Rich00 10+ year member]

what kind of head unit? Why do you use FM transmitter to begin with that is the worst signal.

 

[djfillz1213]

A couple things you need to think about here when using an IPOD...

1) As stated above, FM is the worst way to transmit the signal. Unfortunatly, (at least where I live), most FM station have someting on them, so your transmitter is always going to fight that pre-existing signal. You might be able to "hardwire" your IPOD into your headunit via a cord and/or module. But this still may not help becuase of the quality of the music (see below)

2) Where did the music come from?

- If you downloaded it from Itunes, for the most part the quality of music is definatly less than a physical CD. Although, they now have the Itunes PLUS option for most major label CDS .. the quality is much better, but not complete CD quality.

- If you ripped the CD using Itunes, the program does not have the best ripping program. I always use another CD ripping program and rip at the highest quality and then I import them into Itunes. Itunes uses a little less of a quality so you can cram more music onto the IPOD. I sacrifice the space for much better quality. If this is what you do, then I would invest in a good ripping program. They are pretty ijnexpensive and are available all over the net and in stores.

 

[Rich00 10+ year member]

Windows media player lets you rip cd's if you have it on your computer. I use that and the quality is amazing. I would suggest the cord also for the ipod you could always buy a new HU that the ipod plugs into such as the pioneer premier 5900Ib or there is a regular one.

 

[jonnybusa 10+ year member]

The quality is never nearly as good from an ipod as it is from a cd.

The worst quality is the fm transmitter. The next step up in quality is having an auxilury port coming out of the head unit to hook the ipod right into. Its 5x cleaner output than the transmitter. The 3rd, and best is having the ipod interface for your particular head unit. Its by far the best quality.

I have the aux out that my ipod's hooked to. Some higher quality songs do sound better than some crappier ones, but thats what you get when you download music.

I'd def get a HU w/ at least the aux port.

 

[tapout 5,000+ posts]

I'd def get a HU w/ at least the aux port.

agreed.

 

[talon2nr7588 10+ year member]

so i would get the best sound quality with a HU that has the aux port and get the cord for the ipod? what a good HU that comes with the port? between $200-300. also how much is the cord?

jonny could you explain more about the ipod interface and how i could get one?

 

[Rich00 10+ year member]

Okay I was prob a little rude last night. Sorry bout that.

I would go with alpine HU cause the cord comes with most of them they also have full speed connection so it is fast. I have the older ipod stuff and love it. The ipod reads on the HU like a changer so you can go through either by artist, playlist, or album title. The pioneer premier I mentioned in the first post is a good HU also that has the same plug in for your ipod. PM if you have quesitons about my ipod setup see sig.

 

[Tonyguy 10+ year member]

so i would get the best sound quality with a HU that has the aux port and get the cord for the ipod? what a good HU that comes with the port? between $200-300. also how much is the cord?
jonny could you explain more about the ipod interface and how i could get one?

you should get any HU that has direct control of the ipod. They all plug in the dock connection on the bottom of the ipod. When you use the dock connector, you bypass the ipod's preamp, giving you a better sound than the headphone port. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[talon2nr7588 10+ year member]

so what would be the best HU within $200-300? i would like it to have a remote but not necessary, also the best ipod sound control. like tony said do any of the alpine HU's have a dock connector for best sound?

 

[Rich00 10+ year member]

most all of all of new alpines have the cord included. there is quite few in that price range

 

[talon2nr7588 10+ year member]

well i'm looking at this one right now.

http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=CDA-9885 what do you think? just to make sure if i get that HU, it comes with the ipod cable and it will sound just as good as with a cd? i don't want it to be not as loud like with the transmitter

 

[Tonyguy 10+ year member]

well i'm looking at this one right now.
http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=CDA-9885 what do you think? just to make sure if i get that HU, it comes with the ipod cable and it will sound just as good as with a cd? i don't want it to be not as loud like with the transmitter

Thats a good radio for the ipod, but i don't think that it comes with the ipod cable. It should only be like $20 or so for that ipod cable though.

 

[talon2nr7588 10+ year member]

but it will sound just as loud as with a cd correct? i dont want to buy it if it is gonna play like it does with the transmitter.

 

[Rich00 10+ year member]

It will sound very good. I am using the older stuff for the ipod and an alpine HU and it sounds every bit as good as a CD