I'm looking for a way to play my ipod in the car but I dont want to get a new deck.
What gives you the best sound quality, either a cassette adaptor or an fm modulated hardwire?

I don't want to go the acm route because I don't want to spend that much on a unit although I know it would be the best.

Do you guys know of any other things that might work?

Thanks

 

the cassette adapter would have much better sound quality. the fm transmitter tends to lose some quality and also is very prone to 'white noise'
i have an inbuilt transmitter in my N97 but can't stand it!

 

My Belkin cassette adaptor was rubbish compared to the FM Griffin iTrip transmitter I now use. If your FM radio is not clogged up with loads of channels, I would recommend it.

 

I do have cassette adaptor and sound quality is not going down which is good .I suppose I-pods only available with 5mm sockets for some unknown reason unlike what the rest of world uses .All other MP Players, earphones are made for 3.5 mm socket .

 

I completely understand not wanting to spend that kind of money on an iPod interface. Mine cost me $345, including shipping. However, based on the way I tend to keep my cars - self-maintained, well-kept, and typically holding them somewhat past the ten year old mark - I figured I'm probably going to have this car for another five years, at least. And when I sell the car, I can always pull the ACM out and sell it via E-bay for $100. That will leave me with a $245 investment in good sound, spread out over 5 years, working out to a whopping $49 per year for the premium sound quality that I want in my car.

Now factor that into the overall cost of ownership over that targeted five-year period - fuel, depreciation, insurance, tires, brakes, etc., maybe totaling $15000 over five years - and that $245 becomes pretty insignificant pretty quickly.

 

Very very true, thank you for your insight. How much better is the sound quality though?

 

Well, it's a direct connection. Depending on the quality of your source material, it can sound as good as a CD. No tape hiss, and never any interference from FM stations or other car's FM modulators.

You might want to get a look at the write-up that I did here:

http://www.jimrothe.com/jaguar/acm-bluetooth.html

In deference to the other posters, though, I've used cassette adapters and FM modulators, and both can be quite good. But I hated having a wire getting tangled up with everything - I keep buying manual tranny cars - so that isn't a good long term solution for me. And here in NJ, we have a pretty crowded FM dial, probably not unlike your California market, so interference concerns might not be insignificant.

Ultimately, though, I wanted a Bluetooth stereo solution in my car, and the ACM gave me a means to install something. I had an Anycom BAR-10 (a discontinued audio-only bluetooth receiver/adapter) on my home stereo, and have since installed that in the car with a 12v adapter that I added inside the center console. So my MP3 player transmits bluetooth stereo audio to the BAR-10, which in turn is plugged into the ACM. FWIW, the sound is indistinguishable from a direct connection, and it's wireless and totally hidden in the center console. I'm sure that another Bluetooth device can be used in the same manner.

 

While obviously the ACM would be best, I have used the cassette adapter for years and there is no tape hiss that I can detect and the sound quality is quite good (note: i do have a powered sub in the trunk and aftermarket door speakers though). I can understand as well the wires getting on your nerves. I don't use mine enough to justify the ACM, I'm too lazy to even put new songs on my IPOD, and I listen to Sirius talk and sports 99% of the time anyway.

Soooo, if you are looking for the quick and dirty cheap fix, I'd go with the tape. I have my Sirius and a 6 disc Sony changer hardwired to the FM cable and the sound quality is worse than the tape for sure. I should also note that the hundreds of rock concerts and thousands of rounds of ammo that my ears have experienced might also be a factor YMMV....

 

The MP3 compression schemes used in i-pod render the so-called music to something well within the bandpass limits of a cassette adaptor and interface to the tape head in the car. So there is no way you will hear a compromised or degraded sound using a cassette adaptor. I agree with those who say an FM modulator might not be optimum depending on the RF spectrum availability in your town. If you were to spend the big money for the direct connection upgrade, it would sound maybe 10% better than a cassette adaptor and 25% better than a FM transmitter. But that would be only perceived as increased noise floor mainly and not any kind of roll-off of bass or treble.

 

I use the cassette adapter, about $20 almost anywhere (even Walgreens!) works purrfect!

 

I had the cheapest possible cassette adapter ($6) in my previous car with 8 JBL speakers and amp. It was like being at a rock concert! The hiss is not noticeable above a certain volume. I would say its on par with a CD for quality

 

Well I have noticed the sound has slightly more treble with the adaptor but I'm getting used to it. I think I'm just going to keep using the adaptor for now but thanks for all the help guys!