I'm considering getting an Ipod for my truck, but was wondering how the sound quality is when playing through the FM Modulator. Does it sound as good as a CD?

What about playing through the A/V inputs of an indash DVD? Do you think anything would show on the monitor or not.

Hope someone can help.

Greeny

 

Not sure about the IPod FM modulator but my satellite radio FM modulator sucks. I'm waiting to install my satellite radio until PIE comes out with an AUX adapter for my 05 fx4.

FM modulators are not worth it in my opinion.

 

ipod works great with the fm transmitter i use . you can buy adaptors to wire it in direct with some after market stereos like pioneer alpine and so on

 

JCC,

I'm glad to hear you like it, but how does the quality sound compared to a CD? Is it the same, close to the same or noticeable difference?

 

close to the same it depends on the dead radio station you pick , but when i coneect it to my home sterio useing my headphone to rca jack it sound just like a cd,
it depends on what type of transmitter you use i have the one from griffin technolgy for 30.00 its pretty good you can get more exspenive ones that im sure work better

 

My friend had an FM modulater and had nothing but complaints about the quality of music. Does your deck not have an AUX input?

 

Say away from the FM Modulator!!!!! They suck. I used one for about 3 week then purchased the kit to sync to my Alpine head unit. It was the best investment I ever made for my system. I would check to see if you can get a kit to sync to your Jensen HU before you buy an I-pod. If you can't I would get a new DVD HU first.

Goodluck

 

personally... I hated the FM modulator...

if you drive in a city... you might have to change the frequency several times in the course of one drive...

in a suburb or something like that you wont have to change as often... but if you were going to do something like that... might as well get a cassette adapter (sounds ALMOST CD quality) or the Direct Connection is the BEST of the BEST quality... sounds even better than CD in some cases (depending on bit rate of the files)

also...
FM wave lengthes can only handle so much sound information... they are good with higher frequencies but anything with low bass doesnt sound very good...
just fyi

 

I agree with everyone, definitely do a direct connect if possible. If not, then I suggest the iCarPlay from Monster Cable. It charges your ipod while you use it and seems to have the strongest signal. It won't work with the iPod Shuffle by the way.

 

The sound quality with the FM transmitter is ****. It really sucks. I'm waiting for the P.I.E. unit that connects the ipod directly to the 2005 head unit and allows you to control it through the radio buttons.

 

I think it really depends on the worst component in your system.

If one's running stock speakers, stock radio, anything will sound great!

If you've got high-end speakers, HU, amp, etc, the same "anything" you add could sound like crap!

Going from digital source in the ipod to an analog signal, and then modulating it to FM to send to your radio, and then finally demodulating it back into an analog signal to feed your amp by definition messes up the original signal fidelity.

FWIW, the frequency range of FM modulation is 50~15KHz. It won't matter if you have speakers that run outside that range, especially if the modulator bandwidth rolls off sooner. OTOH, if your hearing is about as bad as mine, you won't be able to hear anything beyond 15KHz anyways...

 

Dear Greeny,

The IPod will not sound as good as a CD because the compression rate for an MP3 will lower the quality of the playback. However, as an audio expert, I feel that well compressed MP3’s sound really good and comparable to a CD (if you are not an audio snob). The in dash DVD that you reference: Whether or not it will show on the monitor is specific to that unit, and the sound quality should not be affected much. The sound quality has a lot to do with the source.

Good Luck!

Mr Subbox