Listen to Zune in a car, whats best way?

[phantomgrave]

I'm thinking about getting a Zune, just to be different and not have an Ipod :P
But I want to be able to use it a lot in a vehicle. I heard the FM Transmitters are crap and overpriced, so I need an alternative...
What other things could I use to be able to listen to my future Zune in a car?
I was reading through some posts here and came across this: http://www.amazon.com/iRiver-AFT-100.../dp/B00067LYFW Would this work? Thanks for all the help in advance, any other recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

~phantomgrave

[DaN]

If your car has an aux jack, that can be a Great and cheap way to listen to your zune in your car. A friend of mines does that in his Nissan and it sounds great.

[Zuneologist]

oh an iRiver..yeah it would definetly work.. LPX has one of those. you might want to run into him and ask a few questions as well.

well if your like me, with no money to spare other than for coffee..i've seen some on ebay for like $10.

[phantomgrave]

Originally Posted by Zuneologist

oh an iRiver..yeah it would definetly work.. LPX has one of those. you might want to run into him and ask a few questions as well.

well if your like me, with no money to spare other than for coffee..i've seen some on ebay for like $10.

Cool, thanks for the info. I'm gonna have to check ebay And speak to this "LPX" person

[lpxxfaintxx]

That would be me

I got the Iriver FM transmitter at Best Buy for $50 about a year and half ago. It's still alive so far. The sound quality is great--if you can find an empty station. The BASS is also transmitted very nicely, which is a definate plus for me. For the best quality, set your Zune volume to "10" and start adjusting the volume with your car speakers to fit your satisfaction.

BTW, if you're looking for great quality, all the time, I'd recommend a Car Cassette Adapter. Something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-CPA-9C-Mini...QQcmdZViewItem

[phantomgrave]

Originally Posted by lpxxfaintxx

That would be me

I got the Iriver FM transmitter at Best Buy for $50 about a year and half ago. It's still alive so far. The sound quality is great--if you can find an empty station. The BASS is also transmitted very nicely, which is a definate plus for me. For the best quality, set your Zune volume to "10" and start adjusting the volume with your car speakers to fit your satisfaction.

BTW, if you're looking for great quality, all the time, I'd recommend a Car Cassette Adapter. Something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-CPA-9C-Mini...QQcmdZViewItem

Hey, seems like you found me :P
Thank you very much for the info on the iRiver thing, looks like I'll be getting it when I purchase my Zune! Glad to hear it works good. And that cassette thing wouldn't work because I have no cassette player in the vehicle. Thanks for the recommendation though!

[Araskelo]

My brother had something for his iPod that had plugged into it, had a digital screen, and a silver knob on the side, which he set to a radio station, put the car at the radio station, and it played through it. It sounded great. Sadly though, I have no idea what it was called, how much it was, or if it even works with Zunes.

EDIT - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1138084940591
I think that's it. Is there anything for Zune like that?

[Mitch]

Just don't buy the zune fm transmitter. it's for the lack of a better word a piece of $hit. doesn't work like at all.

Originally Posted by Araskelo

My brother had something for his iPod that had plugged into it, had a digital screen, and a silver knob on the side, which he set to a radio station, put the car at the radio station, and it played through it. It sounded great. Sadly though, I have no idea what it was called, how much it was, or if it even works with Zunes.

EDIT - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1138084940591
I think that's it. Is there anything for Zune like that?

that comes in the zune car pack which is $80 and 100% not worth it...i'd pay 5 bucks max for that. what i said right above your quote is what i think of it.

i don't think there is anything better than an aux cable...next best thing would probably be cassette.

[Mammlouk]

Another option similar to the aux cable or cassette adapter is an FM modulator(not transmitter). It's similar in that it puts the music on an FM carrier, but the difference is that it connects inline with your antenna at the back of the head unit. It gives you a stronger signal with a much cleaner interface than an over the air signal.

[Mitch]

Originally Posted by Mammlouk

Another option similar to the aux cable or cassette adapter is an FM modulator(not transmitter). It's similar in that it puts the music on an FM carrier, but the difference is that it connects inline with your antenna at the back of the head unit. It gives you a stronger signal with a much cleaner interface than an over the air signal.

Yeah I've heard of those, I think I'm gonna get one for my Sirius Satelite Radio.

[Mammlouk]

That'd be my choice if I didn't have an aux input.

[Araskelo]

Originally Posted by Mitch

Just don't buy the zune fm transmitter. it's for the lack of a better word a piece of $hit. doesn't work like at all.



that comes in the zune car pack which is $80 and 100% not worth it...i'd pay 5 bucks max for that. what i said right above your quote is what i think of it.

i don't think there is anything better than an aux cable...next best thing would probably be cassette.

Is it all of them in general, or just the Zune licensed one? My brothers seemed to work fine, and I don't want to do something through my stereo, on the account that I plan to buy a new car soon.

[Wmc90]

Quality wise it goes like this;

- AUX Cable
- Cassette Adapter
- FM Transmitter

Just as a general rule of thumb: Wired > Wireless, always.

Some FM Transmitters are of good quality, but the ones I have personally tried, and the Zune Transmitter are rubbish. I've heard the iRiver one is pretty good but if can, go with wired.

[David]

Originally Posted by Wmc90

Quality wise it goes like this;

- AUX Cable
- Cassette Adapter
- FM Transmitter

Just as a general rule of thumb: Wired > Wireless, always.

Some FM Transmitters are of good quality, but the ones I have personally tried, and the Zune Transmitter are rubbish. I've heard the iRiver one is pretty good but if can, go with wired.

That's somewhat true, at least with a wired setup you can always be sure to get the best quality possible.

[wright013]

Anyone know if you can splice the usb cable to have an audio out?

I Was thinking of screwing around w/ either the home dock and/or extra usb cable in order to be able to charge my zune and get audio out using one cable for my car. I could open up my home dock, but i'd rather use the extra usb cable I have laying around.
I have a dc/ usb converter that I use to charge things, and an aux jack, but having any mp3 player with a cord at the top and the bottom just doesn't work as well... and it looks like sh!t.

[Wmc90]

Originally Posted by wright013

Anyone know if you can splice the usb cable to have an audio out?

I Was thinking of screwing around w/ either the home dock and/or extra usb cable in order to be able to charge my zune and get audio out using one cable for my car. I could open up my home dock, but i'd rather use the extra usb cable I have laying around.
I have a dc/ usb converter that I use to charge things, and an aux jack, but having any mp3 player with a cord at the top and the bottom just doesn't work as well... and it looks like sh!t.

You wouldn't be able to do it with a spare USB cable, simply because only the cables for USB (+5V ,VD+, VD-, GND) are soldered onto the connector.

Using the official Dock would do all of this for you anyway.

[Javiert92]

I want to buy one, and now I thank everyone in here for saving me from buying the Zune fm transmitter. lol. So the Iriver one in the first post is an aux cable or what?? So that would have the best quality after a cassete adapter?

Thanks

[Sermario]

I was looking to buy the zune car pack, but now I guess I'm going to check out the iriver one...

[spitt]

I don't know, I really wish I had a Aux or cassette deck in my car, But I have to say, I disable my actual car antenna and having it running into the car and It sounds pretty good. I've had a few stations interrupt when I've jumped to a different city and that became a nuisance cause I did not know what stations they had there.
For $80 it works... I would like to mod it, but I don't have any dremal tools for the extra antenna.

[kap1184]

Originally Posted by Wmc90

You wouldn't be able to do it with a spare USB cable, simply because only the cables for USB (+5V ,VD+, VD-, GND) are soldered onto the connector.

Using the official Dock would do all of this for you anyway.

Would the dock be practical in a car situation? I am totally down for this solution or a cable that would. Because you only get so much sound out of the headphone jack(2db i think), and prob much more through the usb then right?