Showing posts with label car audio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label car audio. Show all posts

6/07/2012

XACT COMMUNICATIONS XTR3CK Sirius Satellite Plug + Play Receiver and Vehicle Kit Review

XACT COMMUNICATIONS XTR3CK Sirius Satellite Plug + Play Receiver and Vehicle Kit
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I bought mine 1/8/06 (Bestbuy, $29.95 on sale) and also bought the home kit at the same time ($49.95). Got home, went to the Sirius website, signed up for service and had the sweet sounds of their programming in my home all within 30 minutes.
I opted to utilize the built-in FM transmitter to link to my home theater receiver, and was satisfied with the sound quality. I got lucky with my antenna placement because the window closest to my stereo faces North-West, exactly where it needs to be for reception at my Florida location.
Running the antenna in my car was a bit of a pain, but it was worth the hour I spent installing it. Again, I use the FM link to listen in my car.
As for user features, I must confess to being one of those lazy people that learns a few favorite channels, then uses the remote to directly access them. Over time I may actually read the manual and program the pre-sets.
Overall, I'm very satisfied. The unit fits in my shirt pocket, and I use it every day. I don't understand some of the complaints from the other owners. All I know is that I wanted a cheap unit to listen to Howard in my car & home, and the XTR3CK with the XS052 home kit got it done for $80.00. The bonus of all the rest of the great Sirius music & programming lets me easily justify the monthly subscription.


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3/07/2012

XACT Visor Sirius Satellite Receiver and Remote with CAR and HOME kits - BXTR3CHK Review

XACT Visor Sirius Satellite Receiver and Remote with CAR and HOME kits - BXTR3CHK
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I put a Visor in my car as a replacement for my other Xact receiver, which was moved inside permanently after I got the boombox for it.
It's a cool little unit that has a bright, readable, flippable display and it takes about 4-5 minutes to set it up in your car. I went with the cassette adapter instead of using the built in FM transmitter, due to volume levels as well as the chance for interference from other vehicles. The transmitter worked well when I had it turned on, and gives you the bonus of being able to broadcast the signal to second car (as long as it stays close). It's perfect for road trips, and can be easily hidden or taken along if you're in an area that you don't want it showing. The only reason I took off one star is the display is pretty small, and, even though I can see why they did this, having only one knob to set everything up is a bit of a pain in the [..]. Otherwise, this is a great starter satellite radio if you want to get the feel of what all Sirius has to offer. Dropouts are few and far between, but you can't go crazy with it and park under a bridge for any length of time, but driving under one isn't a problem for me at all.
I absolutely LOVE Sirius and will not go back to terrestrial radio even if you paid me Howard Sterns' money.

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2/13/2012

Kenwood KDC-MP345U In-Dash CD/MP3/WMA/iPod Receiver with USB/Aux Input Review

Kenwood KDC-MP345U In-Dash CD/MP3/WMA/iPod Receiver with USB/Aux Input
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I usually don't do reviews, but I am so happy with this purchase I had to. I searched around for an entire month trying to find the right receiver. I think that for the money this product is hands down a total score! It has an aux and a usb. Now, when I purchased this I was thinking on using the ipod with the aux input originally. While the usb port can be used for direct Ipod connection and memory stick media (memory stick media?!) I figured I'd only use it to charge my ipod once the bat was running low. I have heard such bad things about ipod/usb functionality in radio receivers that I never thought I would actually use it. I love my ipod, and with the 32,000+ songs I have on there, being able to quickly scroll to what I want is essential, and its pretty hard to keep track of the new stuff I put on because I don't have enough time in the day to listen to all the songs, so I do a lot of rating. trying to scroll through quickly using any receiver search button seemed like a joke and you can't rate songs when you can't use the ipods native click wheel. But i digress. The point is I looked in the manual and found "hands-on/hands/off". With the ipod plugged into the usb port on the receiver I can hit 1 and 3 on the radio and switch between the modes. Now I can use the benefits of the usb port (charging, quality sound) AAAAND use my ipods native clickwheel functionality at the same time. I don't even use the aux anymore! and whenever I decide I want to listen to the ipod on random i just push button 1 on the radio and my artist/album scroll across the screen and I am still happy. The only thing so far that is negative are:
1.the screen during the day is almost impossible to see with sunlight on it. it just looks pink.
2.when using the awesome usb mode i quickly mentioned up top.....for the first 30 seconds in either hands-on/hands-off mode you get a little song distortion because it is loading up i guess. Like i said i have over 30,000 songs and if i get 2 noise interruptions for a second a piece for the first 30 seconds of run-time and thats it, i'd say this is an outstanding product for all who love using there ipods in the car! buy it. u will be very happy. also, I have 4 polk audio db and they sound outstanding with all but a tiny fragment of songs in the hip-hop genre.

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Kenwood's KDC-MP345U is a great replacement for that factory CD receiver, giving you both a USB port for simple connection of your iPod/iPhone or a thumb drive, an auxiliary input for other audio devices, playback of MP3/WMA files (via burnt CDs or from the USB port), and room to grow your system with dual preamp outputs.

Removable Faceplate The faceplate of this model can be removed and taken with you, to help deter theft. The control panel is equipped with an easy-to-read, one-line, 13-digit flourescent display for easy control and navigation.
CD and WMA/MP3 Playback Enjoy your favorite CDs and CD-Rs, or burn a disc of WMA or MP3 files and enjoy hours of music on a single disc, along with ID-3 tag display for artist and title info.
Front-Panel USB Port Plug in a thumb drive or other USB storage device for playback of your favorite MP3/WMA files, with easy folder navigation. The port will also charge portable devices, and offers control of some music phones via the receiver.
Enjoy Your iPod The USB port also provides simple connection of your iPod/iPhone allowing you to listen to your favorite music with your car stereo. Then you'll get the added benefit of advanced search features designed to let you spend more time listening to your favorite songs instead of hunting for them:Alphabet Search, Reverse Browsing, and more.
FM/AM Tuner When you feel like letting someone else control the programming, switch to the radio. Store your favorite stations as presets for instant access--mixed preset tuning allows both FM and AM stations to be preset on the same preset band.
Front Auxiliary Input Listen to external audio devices like MP3 players using the front auxiliary input.
Room To Grow The KDC-MP345U's 50W x 4 MOSFET amp is plenty powerful, but it also features dual 2V preamp outputs (front and rear/subwoofer) for system expansion. It includes a rear/subwoofer switch with a subwoofer level and adjustable low pass filter, so you can send just what you need for your system.
System Q Sound Control Five factory pre-set equalization curves (Rock, Top40, Pops, Jazz and Easy, plus a flat setting) and three speaker matching curves (OEM, 6x9, 5/4 plus a flat setting) can be combined for extreme sound-shaping flexibility. The preset curves include midrange contouring, giving music more clarity and presence. The preset curves can also be combined with the unit's bass, midrange and treble controls allowing users to personalize the sound to their particular taste.
Bass Boost Handy for listening at lower volume levels (or for those who just like a lot of low-end).
What's in the Box Kenwood KDC-MP345U, Remote Control, Wiring Harness, Installation Tools and Hardware, Owner's Manual, Warranty Card

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1/25/2012

Kenwood Kdc-Bt945U CD/AM/FM/USB Receiver with Bluetooth Review

Kenwood Kdc-Bt945U CD/AM/FM/USB Receiver with Bluetooth
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Like the previous review (which I didn't read), the bluetooth audio will only play on the front speakers, and the second tech support guy I spoke to gave me the same answer as in the previous review. Oddly enough, at first the unit worked great, with full sound for almost two days, when it switched to front speaker operation only. The first tech support guy I spoke to was unaware of the "front-speaker limit", and provided me with a long list of things to try to correct the issue. After trying them, without success, I called back and I was connected to the second tech guy who told me it shouldn't have worked in the first place. So buyer beware, but I'm hoping to return it.
EDIT: The above is my original review. It DOES work will all speakers, for BT audio and hands-free. It's just that the settings for this are somewhat hidden. After spending some more time with Kenwood tech reps, I was told that there must be a defect, so I was referred to a local repair facility. This was an authorized retailer/repair - Suburban Audio in NJ near Philly - and the repair guy there knew exactly what setting was off and I had it fixed within minutes.
The proper setting can be found only while the radio is in BT hands-free mode (page 48 of the pdf manual). The setting to adjust is "Bluetooth HF/Audio", where you can select "Front" or "All". Even though the manual describes this for voice, is applies to both voice and audio streaming.

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12/28/2011

EZCUBE FM TRANSMITTER + HANDSFREE (BLACK) Review

EZCUBE FM TRANSMITTER + HANDSFREE (BLACK)
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This FM transmitter is good with good sound and little interference. It's really easy to set up and use. The only negative aspect of it is that it doesn't have a dock or something to attach it. It's just the cube and the cable that connect to the power and the mp3 player. I highly recommend this

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11/14/2011

JVC KT-HDP1 Transportable HD Radio Tuner (Black) Review

JVC KT-HDP1 Transportable HD Radio Tuner (Black)
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Unit connectors have intermittent connection. Unit gets very hot and then the display becomes impossible to read in daylight. Remote has very poor range and doesn't respond off axis. The HD Jump I have is bigger than the JVC, but the quality is so much better, both in quality and performance.
This unit gets so hot, that I can't believe the electronics and display will last very long.
I am returning the unit.

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10/14/2011

JVC KV-K1017 Professional Car Installation Kit for KT-HDP1 Transportable HD Radio Tuner Review

JVC KV-K1017 Professional Car Installation Kit for KT-HDP1 Transportable HD Radio Tuner
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I bought the HD tuner in a package that included the DIY car kit (KV-K1018). Reception was poor and would fade in and out especially when travelling into a new area that had strong FM stations near the broadcast frquency I had the HD tuner set to. This then necessitated changing the frequency setting on the HD unit to reduce interference. Overall I was unhappy with the experience and didn't think the HD tuner was going to work out.
Then I got this kit, marketed as the Professional kit. If you can get to your car radio, you can do it yourself. I had to google to find out how to get to my radio. It was simple from there.
The difference with this kit and the DIY one is that this kit uses your car's existing antenna for a signal and uses your car radio's antenna input to feed that signal in. Of course if your lucky enough to have an aux-in jack on your car radio, better yet. Conversely, the DIY kit uses a separate antenna for reception and another antenna (if you don't have an aux-in jack) to broadcast the signal wirelessly to your radio. Both of those antennas must be adhered to your windshield or rear window. A windsheild antenna does not get as good reception as the external antenna installed on my car.
The biggest advantage with this setup, in addition to a stronger signal by using your car's antenna, is that by intercepting the antenna signal to your car radio, your car radio receives only the HD unit's signal thereby eliminating interference which in turn means never having to adjust the HD unit's broadcast frequency. And when you turn off the HD unit, your car radio will receive the same reception it always did.
As for the HD tuner, I wish it had an aux-in jack for an MP3 player like some other brands have.

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9/19/2011

Belkin Bluetooth Car Hands-Free Kit for Apple iPhone, iPod, Blackberry and Android Smartphones Review

Belkin Bluetooth Car Hands-Free Kit for Apple iPhone, iPod, Blackberry and Android Smartphones
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This is one of the easiest blue-tooth gadgets to use, and one of the handiest. Unlike most other hands-free add-ons, this one does NOT use an FM transmitter to broadcast over your car stereo- it uses a 2.5mm jack (mini-headphone size - same as an iPod.) This of course means that your receiver has to have an available jack to plug into. Assuming your vehicle is so equipped, then this is probably the best hands-free add on you could find. One large button controls it all (It also houses the microphone.) There's a plate that gets stuck to your dash - the dash side is foam adhesive tape, the other grabs the button with a magnet.
At one end of the cable is that button/mic combination - this attaches to the dash. At the other end is a standard cigarette lighter style plug. Stick this in the auto's outlet (I guess they are no longer called lighters.) This end also has the plug that sticks into your sound system's aux jack. That's it. Since it's blue-tooth, your phone can be in your pocket, on the seat, where-ever. You can play music via your phone (I use my Droid X) and answer/make calls.
Since the button attaches via a magnet, you can remove the Aircast and store it in the glove compartment when not in use.
One handy feature is the built-in USB charging port. This is located on the end of the outlet. So while it's plugged in it powers the Aircast, but can also power and charge your USB device (phone, etc.) Also included is an extension cable for the stereo jack.

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8/29/2011

Griffin iTrip FM Transmitter with Auto Dock Connector Cable for iPod and iPhone (Silver/Black) Review

Griffin iTrip FM Transmitter with Auto Dock Connector Cable for iPod and iPhone (Silver/Black)
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I have used many different FM transmitters in my iPod history, and this one is no different than the others: if you can't find a weak FM station in your area, it's not going to work.
I originally and accidentally purchased the iPod-only version of the iTrip Auto (which oddly seemed to work with the iPhone, but I didn't want to take a chance so I got the proper version). Both of the devices worked fine on the FM transmitter functionality side of things. But all the FM transmitters I have used have worked fine (my previous model was a Kensington Pico for the iPod).
The sound quality to me is no different than the Pico, and as good as any other Griffin FM transmitter I have used. In general the sound quality of any FM transmitter just isn't going to sound as good as a wired connection, so I am basing my opinion relative to the technology. I think it sounds great, with the limitations of the technology in mind.
Cool iPhone features: when a call comes in, the music fades out so you can answer the phone and resumes when you're done (just as it does when using it without the iTrip). You can use the iPhone's features to do anything else you normally would, the iTrip does not hamper any functionality.
The cord is plenty long enough to place the transmitter or the iPhone just about anywhere you want.
I didn't test the Smart Scan feature as I already know which station I use in my area. Manually tuned it to the frequency and worked great.
I am sure the other negative reviews are valid from the experience they had with the product, but unless they were able to get another FM transmitter working for them in their area, my guess is that it's just the nature of the technology, and your experience will vary depending on how many FM stations are broadcasting in your area and how strong the signal is from those radio stations. The FCC puts limits on the signal strength these personal FM transmitters, so at least to some degree the manufacturer is limited to those restrictions.
For me, this was the perfect car audio/charging solution. In the past I opted for the super-mini FM transmitters that were powered by the iPod battery, but with needing a car charger for the iPhone anyways and realizing over the years that I really never used the FM transmitter outside the car, this all-in-one solution fit my needs perfectly.
I bought elsewhere, getting a much better price on this which added to my satisfaction with the iTrip.

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riffin brings exclusive SmartScan technology to its precedent-setting iTrip FM Transmitter/Charger. Griffin-exclusive SmartScan automatically finds the clearest frequencies wherever you are, making setup and operation as easy as two button presses (one for your iTrip and one for your radio).Designed specifically for use in the car, iTrip Auto's large, easy-to-read backlit LCD screen affords quick status at a glance.iTrip Auto plugs into the dock connector of your iPod or iPhone and automatically optimizes output volume. Control speaker volume from your car stereo controls so that you won't have to touch your iPod to adjust the volume level.iTrip Auto brings with it all the innovations of its iTrip lineage--including selectable stereo and mono modes for best-quality audio under real-world conditions--Griffin's trademark world-class industrial design, and SmartScan, the easiest-to-use FM transmitter ever.

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8/19/2011

Planet Audio PFM2 Wired FM Modulator Review

Planet Audio PFM2 Wired FM Modulator
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I get great quality with my unit. Only the tiniest bit of hiss, no more than any other radio feed. There is a high pitched whine on AM when in underground parking structures, but that's where my AM reception is dying anyway.
Make sure you properly ground the device during installation to minimize interference. If you don't like the sound quality, just flip the 4 jumper switches to a different frequency to find one you like! This lets me use my mp3 player in Los Angeles, where the cigarette lighter FM modulators with wireless transmitters are absolutely useless.
For the money, it's wonderful. Doesn't come with many cables, though. You'll have to buy your own RCA-stereo mini plug cable.

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8/01/2011

Belkin TuneFM Transmitter for iPod (Black) Review

Belkin TuneFM Transmitter for iPod (Black)
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First I purchased & went through (3) Belkin TuneCast II that were DOA from Walmart (yea, I know). The transmitting range for the F8Z179 is roughly 1 & 1/2 feet, I attempted 50 non broadcasting stations with listening to static more than music. Five minutes after I plugged it in the display for the stations only displayed half of the digits. I will never buy a Belkin product again! Oh but It does work if you are holding the transmitter and not moving in a vehicle...Barely.

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