Car options

PsychoKat · 01-29-2008, 07:35 PM

Alright, so I'm trying to figure out how to use my Zune in the car. To the best of my knowledge, since my stereo doesn't have an auxillory jack, I have to get an FM transmitter, correct? I keep reading reviews on them, and all the reviews suck. So... what can I do? Am I stuck with this? Is there a better way? And if I have to get one, do you recommend one over another?

crochetgrl · 01-29-2008, 07:38 PM

You can get one that works just fine from Walmart for about $10. I would suggest one that plugs into your cigarette lighter, because then you won't have to worry about batteries.
It basically plugs into your headphone jack and transmits to the radio which picks it up.
But definitely, don't bother with the special Zune transmitter, cause you can't use that with your walkman and I think it uses the power from the Zune's battery instead of the cars.
Good luck!

Samo · 01-29-2008, 08:22 PM

my friend has one of those and we use it all the time, it works best when the zune volume is at 15. it does get a lil staticy when u get within a few feet of a transmitter but that doesnt happen rly on the road and all u do to use is push 2 buttons, tune into the frequency, and hit play

heezy · 01-29-2008, 08:49 PM

my uncle has this thing for his ipod that runs through the radio, I'm not sure if it works for zunes though...

jasonsplace · 01-29-2008, 09:40 PM

Do you still have your factory stereo or aftermarket? You might be able to install an auxiliary jack in your car. I installed one in my wifes car and she had an aftermarket stereo and then I installed one in my Mazda 6 with the factory stereo. The prices of doing this is actually comparable to most good FM transmitters but the quality is far superior.

Macgyver24 · 01-29-2008, 10:09 PM

what is the thing from wallmart called I could use that....or anything for my car....anything!

crochetgrl · 01-29-2008, 10:17 PM

Just go to the aisle where they sell headphones and ipod cases and the like. It should be there. Called an FM transmitter. There are different brands. I think we have a Garmin, and another one too, which brand I have forgotten.

Macgyver24 · 01-29-2008, 10:50 PM

is the sound quality any good?...I dont want to hook it up and find out the quality is bad. I need to be jamming in my car.

maka · 01-29-2008, 11:20 PM

sound quality varies with brand and also location. if you live in a place where there are tons of stations on different frequencies then you are most likely not going to have good quality. also, look for a fm transmitter that allows you to use any frequency on the fm range as opposed to ones that have 3 preset value frequencies.

theecigarman · 01-30-2008, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macgyver24

is the sound quality any good?...I dont want to hook it up and find out the quality is bad. I need to be jamming in my car.

If you are worried about quality sound, stay away from the fm transmitter if you live in a populated area. The transmitter will pick up all the other people using the same frequency so one second you are jamming away to your music and then some one drives by and you are now listening to a podcast about basket weaving because the little old lady in the car next to you has a more powerful fm transmitter.

I would say invest into a antenna adapter from your local stereo shop. They are more than ten bucks, but well worth the investment. This device plugs into the antenna and gives you a hard line into the headphone out put of your zune.

If you have a few bucks then I would go with a an aux input into your stereo. There are a few out there, but I am currently using one from PIE that works prettly well. It plugs into the headphone jack of the zune, but the sound is fantastic and I don't have to listen to grandma's basket weaving podcast........

mr.handsomeman · 01-30-2008, 06:23 AM

i bought one that was like 15 bucks, it sucks so much though, makes me sad.

jasonsplace · 01-30-2008, 06:50 AM

I bought a $60 FM transmitter a while back and it was decent but still nothing compares to my $20 and $60 auxiliary jacks.

Snackbar · 01-30-2008, 07:15 AM

If you have a cassette tape in it, just buy that adapter for about 3 bucks, sounds good, no static.

jasonsplace · 01-30-2008, 07:16 AM

Casette Adapters are better than FM transmitters but I was never able to get really good crisp stereo sound with of them either.

Macgyver24 · 01-30-2008, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theecigarman

If you are worried about quality sound, stay away from the fm transmitter if you live in a populated area. The transmitter will pick up all the other people using the same frequency so one second you are jamming away to your music and then some one drives by and you are now listening to a podcast about basket weaving because the little old lady in the car next to you has a more powerful fm transmitter.

I would say invest into a antenna adapter from your local stereo shop. They are more than ten bucks, but well worth the investment. This device plugs into the antenna and gives you a hard line into the headphone out put of your zune.

If you have a few bucks then I would go with a an aux input into your stereo. There are a few out there, but I am currently using one from PIE that works prettly well. It plugs into the headphone jack of the zune, but the sound is fantastic and I don't have to listen to grandma's basket weaving podcast........

thanks I2 think I might do what you did. I just want to use my zune in the car I dont want any cds...i cannot buy the cassette because I dont have a cassette player in the car

JTM · 01-30-2008, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snackbar

If you have a cassette tape in it, just buy that adapter for about 3 bucks, sounds good, no static.

Yeah! I got mine from Best Buy. Sadly it wasn't 3 dollars, more like 10-15. Works great and works with any MP3 player with a headphone jack!
-JTM

mr.handsomeman · 01-30-2008, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTM

Yeah! I got mine from Best Buy. Sadly it wasn't 3 dollars, more like 10-15. Works great and works with any MP3 player with a headphone jack!
-JTM

basically any mp3 player then....LOL

PsychoKat · 01-30-2008, 02:29 PM

Thanks for all your help. I actually decided to upgrade my stereo (turns out the old one has an auxillory jack... in the back, where I can't reach it.). I figured if I was going to spend around $60-70 to get a transmitter and have so many problems, I'd just get a new stereo. I wound up buying a Dual CD player/HD receiver for really cheap ($77 with shipping) and I can install it myself, so it ended up not costing nearly what I thought a new stereo would. Since my old one is also an after market player, I don't even have to buy anything else. Thank god for that!

Macgyver24 · 01-30-2008, 02:49 PM

I think i will just buy a radio/stereo system that is mp3 player ready. .

faceofbass · 01-30-2008, 03:00 PM

I have the V2 zune car transmitter and here it goes

Pros
Charges zune wilst driving
you only have one plug to plug in before you can get on your way

Cons
Transmitter sucks really crackly but I just unscrewed my antenna from the back of my car and it works like a dream now, and if I want to listen to the radio(never) I can use the radio tuner on the Zune

You can't control the volume coming out of the zune and on my stereo it is really quiet if the original encoding on the file you are listening to is too quiet

Branco Hut

01-29-2008, 07:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
PsychoKat Zewbie Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 6 Reputation: 10	Car options Alright, so I'm trying to figure out how to use my Zune in the car. To the best of my knowledge, since my stereo doesn't have an auxillory jack, I have to get an FM transmitter, correct? I keep reading reviews on them, and all the reviews suck. So... what can I do? Am I stuck with this? Is there a better way? And if I have to get one, do you recommend one over another?

01-29-2008, 07:38 PM	#2 (permalink)
crochetgrl Zuner Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 65 Reputation: 10	You can get one that works just fine from Walmart for about $10. I would suggest one that plugs into your cigarette lighter, because then you won't have to worry about batteries. It basically plugs into your headphone jack and transmits to the radio which picks it up. But definitely, don't bother with the special Zune transmitter, cause you can't use that with your walkman and I think it uses the power from the Zune's battery instead of the cars. Good luck! __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-29-2008, 08:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
Samo Jr. Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: New York Posts: 263 Reputation: 15	my friend has one of those and we use it all the time, it works best when the zune volume is at 15. it does get a lil staticy when u get within a few feet of a transmitter but that doesnt happen rly on the road and all u do to use is push 2 buttons, tune into the frequency, and hit play __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-29-2008, 10:09 PM	#6 (permalink)
Macgyver24 Jr. Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 335 Reputation: 12	what is the thing from wallmart called I could use that....or anything for my car....anything! __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-29-2008, 10:17 PM	#7 (permalink)
crochetgrl Zuner Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 65 Reputation: 10	Just go to the aisle where they sell headphones and ipod cases and the like. It should be there. Called an FM transmitter. There are different brands. I think we have a Garmin, and another one too, which brand I have forgotten. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-29-2008, 08:49 PM	#4 (permalink)
heezy Zuner Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 96 Reputation: 10	my uncle has this thing for his ipod that runs through the radio, I'm not sure if it works for zunes though...

01-29-2008, 09:40 PM	#5 (permalink)
jasonsplace Jr. Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Provo, Utah Posts: 309 Reputation: 21	Do you still have your factory stereo or aftermarket? You might be able to install an auxiliary jack in your car. I installed one in my wifes car and she had an aftermarket stereo and then I installed one in my Mazda 6 with the factory stereo. The prices of doing this is actually comparable to most good FM transmitters but the quality is far superior.

01-29-2008, 10:50 PM	#8 (permalink)
Macgyver24 Jr. Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 335 Reputation: 12	is the sound quality any good?...I dont want to hook it up and find out the quality is bad. I need to be jamming in my car. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-29-2008, 11:20 PM	#9 (permalink)
maka Experienced Zuner Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 207 Reputation: 10	sound quality varies with brand and also location. if you live in a place where there are tons of stations on different frequencies then you are most likely not going to have good quality. also, look for a fm transmitter that allows you to use any frequency on the fm range as opposed to ones that have 3 preset value frequencies.

01-30-2008, 06:23 AM	#11 (permalink)
mr.handsomeman Expert Zuner Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 3,494 Reputation: 26	i bought one that was like 15 bucks, it sucks so much though, makes me sad. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Written by the love of my life...thanks Brittany. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-30-2008, 06:50 AM	#12 (permalink)
jasonsplace Jr. Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Provo, Utah Posts: 309 Reputation: 21	I bought a $60 FM transmitter a while back and it was decent but still nothing compares to my $20 and $60 auxiliary jacks.

01-30-2008, 07:15 AM	#13 (permalink)
Snackbar Experienced Zuner Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Biloxi, Mississippi Posts: 167 Reputation: 17	If you have a cassette tape in it, just buy that adapter for about 3 bucks, sounds good, no static. __________________ "If you're going to be stupid, you'd better be tough!" "Living is easy with eyes closed!" "If you were a booger, I'd pick you first." To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-30-2008, 07:16 AM	#14 (permalink)
jasonsplace Jr. Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Provo, Utah Posts: 309 Reputation: 21	Casette Adapters are better than FM transmitters but I was never able to get really good crisp stereo sound with of them either.

01-30-2008, 02:29 PM	#18 (permalink)
PsychoKat Zewbie Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 6 Reputation: 10	Thanks for all your help. I actually decided to upgrade my stereo (turns out the old one has an auxillory jack... in the back, where I can't reach it.). I figured if I was going to spend around $60-70 to get a transmitter and have so many problems, I'd just get a new stereo. I wound up buying a Dual CD player/HD receiver for really cheap ($77 with shipping) and I can install it myself, so it ended up not costing nearly what I thought a new stereo would. Since my old one is also an after market player, I don't even have to buy anything else. Thank god for that!

01-30-2008, 02:49 PM	#19 (permalink)
Macgyver24 Jr. Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 335 Reputation: 12	I think i will just buy a radio/stereo system that is mp3 player ready. . __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-30-2008, 03:00 PM	#20 (permalink)
faceofbass Squirt Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 14 Reputation: 10	I have the V2 zune car transmitter and here it goes Pros Charges zune wilst driving you only have one plug to plug in before you can get on your way Cons Transmitter sucks really crackly but I just unscrewed my antenna from the back of my car and it works like a dream now, and if I want to listen to the radio(never) I can use the radio tuner on the Zune You can't control the volume coming out of the zune and on my stereo it is really quiet if the original encoding on the file you are listening to is too quiet Branco Hut

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