Cables To Go Port Authority2 MP3-to-FM Car and Stereo Adapter for iPods and MP3 Players
Filed Under (Car Stereo) by Admin on 27-04-2010
Product Description
Don’t spend hundreds of dollars for a MP3 car stereo or home media server. Listen to your MP3s through any car or home stereo with the Cables To Go Port Authority2 MP3-to-FM Stereo Adapter. Installation takes just second… More >>
$18.29
Cables To Go Port Authority2 MP3-to-FM Car and Stereo Adapter for iPods and MP3 Players
Like so many, we have no auxiliary input in our car to handle our (Creative Zen) hard-disk music player. We’ve been looking at using an FM converter for quite some time, but have been put off by the many negative reviews — and unwilling to fork over $40 or $50 for something that sounds troublesome at best.
When we had the chance to acquire one of these new Cables-To-Go units for a very reasonable price (…), we figured we’d give it a try despite the lack of reported user experiences. To our delight, we merely plugged it in to our car’s cigarette lighter port, adjusted the viewing angle of the unit, turned it on and just picked for starters the lowest frequency it supports — 88.1. We then plugged in the clever retractable cord mini-plug to the unit with the other end to our player, hit play, and away we went with absolutely no problems! A one time adjustment to the sound level of the source lets us listen at the same volume as other sources (CD player, actual FM, etc.) and we couldn’t be more pleased with the clarity and quality of this solution so far. We haven’t yet taken a long trip where competing FM stations might be a problem, but suspect all will be well given the outstanding performance of the unit locally.
Our only quibble might be that the bright white finish of the item clashes a little in the car — a neutral gray might have been preferred. (We plan to eventually hide it in our console anyway…) The lighted LED panel indicates what frquency is being used, and the auto-shutoff seems to work fine without doing something silly like shutting down during a quiet passage of music. Overall — so far, so good !!!
Rating: 4 / 5
I tried this mainly because the reviews of all the other transmitters I could find were poor. This one has been a very pleasant surprise. The sound quality is very good, and there is no static—it does its job. My only quibble is the fixed number of transmission channels, though I have not had a problem finding an open channel; the channel LED’s are a little dim and tough to see in daylight.
In general, I would recommend this transmitter; and it is a good value.
Rating: 4 / 5
I bought this product a few weeks ago. The main problem with the product is that there is static that interferes with the sound quality. I have tried most frequencies – and the thing is that on an empty frequency the signal is great as long as the engine is turned off. Once you start the car this leads to static. Given that some users have reported that they are satisfied with the product it might just be a function of the car you drive!
Rating: 2 / 5
I got this little gadget when my car’s cd changer broke. I use it mostly to listen to audiobooks on long car trips so I’m not picky when it comes to stereo quality. As long as the voice comes in clear, I’m happy. So, here’s what I found after 1 month:
The Good:
- Cheap! Got it for 15 dollars during the holiday sales. With that price the sound quality far outweigh the cost.
- Can power using 2 AAA batteries or plugged into car’s lighter jack.
- There’s a small retractable cord unit which connects an mp3 to the unit. It is separate and keeps cords tidy and out of the way.
- Has 16 FM channels from 88.1 – 106.7 at discrete pre-selected points (x.1, x.3, x.5, x.7)
The Bad:
- The way the plug is designed, it’s too chunky to fit into my car’s lighter jack (which sits inside a compartment in the middle console). The photo wasn’t very clear about this. I use rechargeables on mine and it’s fine.
- There’s only 1 button to select the station. It progresses only up the range. For example, if you want to set it at 88.7 and you’re at 88.9, you have to click repeatedly until the unit goes up to 106 and back to 88.1, etc. Wish there was an Up & Down button.
That said, I’m pretty satisfied with this unit considering I didn’t pay much for it. It does the job well in Southern CA where there are tons of stations crammed in my area.
Rating: 4 / 5
I wanted an entry level transmitter for my fiance’s car mostly, and this fit the bill perfectly. You get the option of 4 different major frequencies, and 4 subfrequencies (forgive the lack of technicallity), totalling 16 possible stations to tune into. Personally, about half of them work fine in my area. Now, the included cigarette adapter fit a little strange in my fiance’s Dodge Intrepid (adapter is really close to the stick), but you can move the adapters cradle around, and we found a spot that works fine. Also, it should be noted that my fiance’s car does not have an antenna, but this works flawlessly, and if I carry the transmitter around the house, it gets picked up by stereos at the other end of the house, For my area at least, the range is excellent. Granted you are not paying for top of the line, so don’t expect too much greatness, but for the money this was a great product. I’m planning on buying another down the road.
Rating: 5 / 5