iTrip vs. Cassete adapter

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
1) Does the iTrip work effectively in large cities where most radio frequencies are filled as heavily as possible?

2) Is there a significant difference in audio quality between the two?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    messiahtoshmessiahtosh Posts: 1,754member
    I have the Belkin accessory and it sucks. My cassette adapter is sooo much better, but I dont have a cassette player in the car I drive now, so it sucks. I just burn CD's now instead of use the iPod, which defeats the point. I dont know what to do.
  • Reply 2 of 16
    homhom Posts: 1,098member
    I've tried both and in this small (NYC) city I had a hard time with the iTrip. Go with the cassette adapter.
  • Reply 3 of 16
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    Casette adapter. I don't use it often, but I'm glad my new car has a tape player (2003 Corolla LE).
  • Reply 4 of 16
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Agreed.



    A very nice Apple Store salesman let me try out the iTrip in my car before buying. ("Here's my driver's license, can I borrow this for five minutes?") The Sony cassette adapter I ended up buying for $20 beat it, hands down.



    Get a direct stereo in, if you can. Some stereos have direct in lines in the back, others have ports that can be adapted.
  • Reply 5 of 16
    stroszekstroszek Posts: 801member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Kickaha

    Agreed.



    A very nice Apple Store salesman let me try out the iTrip in my car before buying. ("Here's my driver's license, can I borrow this for five minutes?") The Sony cassette adapter I ended up buying for $20 beat it, hands down.




    I agree. Although the sales person didn't let me take it in my car for a test. But I didn't think to ask him either. The one I got had this high pitched squealing behind all of the songs. It was quite annoying. I live in a medium sized city (Raleigh, NC), and there were only a few stations that were empty enough to work.



    I returned the thing, and told them about the squealing. The salesperson said that it must have been a bad unit and offered to replace it. I said no thanks and got the extremeMac Get Connected Bundle instead. There are a few issues dealing with the volume, but I have found that if the iPod volume is at about half, and I adjust the volume with the car stereo, all is well.



    Go for the casette adapter.
  • Reply 6 of 16
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Kickaha

    The Sony cassette adapter I ended up buying for $20 beat it, hands down.





    Not sure if there is much difference in quality, but I picked up a cassette adapter at a dollar store for...well, uh a dollar.



    Adequate sound, but you're in the market for a new receiver, look for one with aux input jacks.
  • Reply 7 of 16
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    For sound audio quality, good cassette adapters win. For connivence, I use my iTrip. The iTrip is also good for bragging rights.8)
  • Reply 8 of 16
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Psssh.



    Just yank out your head unit and find the stereo inputs from the tuner. Solder on a female miniplug line and run it into you console. There are some additional electronics required, but. . . bugger. . .



    Not everyone here is a geek. my apologies!



    Anyway, I'm working on converting my tape deck into a unit that I just plug my entire mini iPod into, and it controls the unit via firewire via buttons on the console. I'm an electrical engineer and a product designer by trade, so I know where to start with this and I have a lot of stuff lying around the office that's good for making this sort of thing. It dawned on me the other day that so many people have iPods that I could actually sell tech licenses for this thing to a stereo vendor once it's done.

  • Reply 9 of 16
    sailfishsailfish Posts: 163member
    I use the Transpod, as it holds the iPod, keeps it charged and plays it through the FM, great for long car trips.



    Occassionally a adjustment is required and in populated areas with a heavy FM presence it can be a pain to find a clear station.



    A stereo input jack on the head unit will be the mandatory requirement in all new cars.



    You listening Detroit?
  • Reply 10 of 16
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Splinemodel

    Anyway, I'm working on converting my tape deck into a unit that I just plug my entire mini iPod into, and it controls the unit via firewire via buttons on the console. I'm an electrical engineer and a product designer by trade, so I know where to start with this and I have a lot of stuff lying around the office that's good for making this sort of thing. It dawned on me the other day that so many people have iPods that I could actually sell tech licenses for this thing to a stereo vendor once it's done.





    I'm picturing something you insert your iPod into and it not only draws the iPod in like a CD, but locks it down so it can't be stolen. That would be a awesome gizmo. I have been known to accidentally leave my iPod in my car and using one of these would keep it safe. There would have to be ventilation, maybe a small fan, and full control from the dash. Maybe have an optional key to lock down the iPod vs a simple eject. Since the iPodmini have the same dock port you could build a simple adapter for those too.



    Or you could ignore my brainstorming and curse at me behind my back for bringing it up. Anyways, the project sounds good and I think you have a marketable idea here. Good luck.
  • Reply 11 of 16
    formerlurkerformerlurker Posts: 2,686member
    Sony Cassette Adaptor.

    Definitely.



    If you want a real nice exercise in musical irony, download the Steely Dan song "FM" onto your iPod, and turn it up real loud on a FM transmitter like the Belkin or the iTrip. Especially at he chorus - "FM... No Static At All"

  • Reply 12 of 16
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Splinemodel

    Psssh.



    Just yank out your head unit and find the stereo inputs from the tuner. Solder on a female miniplug line and run it into you console. There are some additional electronics required, but. . . bugger. . .



    Not everyone here is a geek. my apologies!



    Anyway, I'm working on converting my tape deck into a unit that I just plug my entire mini iPod into, and it controls the unit via firewire via buttons on the console. I'm an electrical engineer and a product designer by trade, so I know where to start with this and I have a lot of stuff lying around the office that's good for making this sort of thing. It dawned on me the other day that so many people have iPods that I could actually sell tech licenses for this thing to a stereo vendor once it's done.





    Actually, I realized that in my Jeep Cherokee that there's a space on the instrument panel that the old 1G iPod fits into *PERFECTLY*, facing out, buttons and screen visible. Cannibalize an auto adapter, hardwire the sucker into the wiring harness, mount the DC plug and audio out plug into the dash (okay, minor surgery required there) and voila.



    I don't need to see the idiot lights on that part of the dash anyway.
  • Reply 13 of 16
    I purchased both an iTrip and a cassette adapter. I like the convenience of the iTrip, but sometimes there are no FM stations available so I switch over to the cassette adapter.



    I have all of the iTrip "station preset" songs loaded so that I can change which frequency it broadcasts on... How do I prevent shuffle play from randomly selecting them as songs ?
  • Reply 14 of 16
    stroszekstroszek Posts: 801member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by heaven or las vegas

    I purchased both an iTrip and a cassette adapter. I like the convenience of the iTrip, but sometimes there are no FM stations available so I switch over to the cassette adapter.



    I have all of the iTrip "station preset" songs loaded so that I can change which frequency it broadcasts on... How do I prevent shuffle play from randomly selecting them as songs ?




    This isn't very elegant, but you could make a playlist that has every song except for the iTrip stations, and just shuffle play that.
  • Reply 15 of 16
    ipodandimacipodandimac Posts: 3,273member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Stroszek

    This isn't very elegant, but you could make a playlist that has every song except for the iTrip stations, and just shuffle play that.



    thats the only way to do it.



    here's my take on the itrip. i first bought the belkin tunecrap, and hated it. a friend said the itrip was great, so i checked it out. i've had nothing but trouble from cassette adapters in the past, so i didnt really consider one. also, when i'm with my friends, we pass my ipod around and select some songs to play, and this is very inconvenient with a cable stretching to the back seat. i chose functionality over quality (but the quality really isnt that bad).
  • Reply 16 of 16
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    I just came back from a trip to Yosemite. I used the iTrip all the time driving up and had to change the station 3 times. It didn't take long to do but I am so glad it has that ability. (vs. other products) As long as the volume is set to a good level, I get great sound.



    The playlist idea is cool and if you want to, I reccomend a smart playlist with "the last 25 played" or "Top 50 played". I have these and use them all the time.
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