Can anyone that is happy with an FM modulator post their experience (and what make of modulator it is). I have an Omnifi MP3 jukebox on order but have a 350Z with the 2003 Bose audio system which lacks a line in.

I appreciate that the Bose is second rate but I'm reluctant to rip it out entirely in a car where engine noise (even if its a lovely engine noise) is prominent. If I can acheive the same quality as a good multipath-free local FM signal thats good enough for me.

Cheers

Eric

 

I have an alpine unit. I got it specifically because it had an on/off switch. Many people that installed modulators needed to put an inline switch so they could listen to the radio when not using the modulator. The alpine simply saved me a step. The nice thing about it is that is has multiple inputs for audio, XM radio, and it will even run an alpine multi-disk player. It has a nice looking remote (wired) unit to control everything. More expensive, but worth it in my mind.

I have a base radio and an S-Tune exhaust, so its hard to really judge the quality, but for my purposes, it works fine.

 

If you are asking about the plug into the cigarette lighter type RF modulators, the only experience I have had has not been all that great.

I am not entirely dissatisfied with my installed RF modulator but would get a different brand if I were to buy again. Mine is the Audiovox unit they sell at Circuit City. It comes with an on/off switch and only one set of RCA inputs. The sound is good but my issues are, 1) it has a non adjustable preamp so I need to turn my iRiver up to 35 (out of 40) for it to be loud enough to match the radio. 2) Because of 1 the radio needs to be turned up as well and it starts hissing all by itself. 3) The two frequencies it uses are both used by stations in my area so I am sure that has some affect as well.

I believe the Kenwood unit solves these problems by having an adjustable preamp and 8 different frequencies but I have not tried that unit.

Chris

 

I hate FM modulators with our car. I use one for my Ipod. I hate it so much I am getting an EQ with 2 inputs.

I forgot which brand it was, but it doesnt require me to turn it off to listen to normal radio, I dunno what the f is up with that.

 

I thought I'd do a little experiment.

I bought "the best" FM modulator that the card audio shop I normally use stocks (a Pyle - I've never heard of them).

I use an old 2Din Kenwood head unit as am amplifier for my desktop computer system. Tapped the FM modulator in between the PC line out and the Kenwood and played a few MP3s.

Result (compared with line in)
- Noise floor was raised quite a bit (bear in mind this is being powered by a low noise regulated 12V power supply)
- Dynamics and bass were seriously compromised
overall not too bad but not stunning. A straight A-B comparison leaves no doubt that its inferior but I could probably live with it.

A second try. Same Kenwood head unit and FM modulator but this time the source is the home bay of my wife's Neo35 MP3 car jukebox.
Result (compared with line in)
- the Neo35 (at the same volume that we use it in the car connected to a Blaupunkt head unit) is clearly overdriving the FM modulator. It's unlistenable, turning it down magnifies the lack of dynamics/bass referred to above.
- The noise floor rises considerably again. I don't know if this is due to RF noise thrown out by the Neo35 (which has a 3.5inch HDD in it) or noise it introduces on the supply line (the two units were powered by the same stiff 40 amp power supply).

The upshot is that I'm hunting around for a second hand Bose headunit with a satellite radio in; I don't want to take the risk of installing this thing and it turning out lousy. As I said I don't want to bother with the bother/expense of replacing everything from head unit to speakers (plus ergonomically I quite like the bose headunit) but I'm quite happy to replace it with a 2004 version and buy a satellite line in adapter.

Cheers
Eric

 

How do i tell if i have the 2003 bose or 2004? My car is registered Nov 2003 - as its so late maybe its the 04 version?

 

Just got done pulling out a JVC MP3 changer with digitally controlled FM modulator. Sold the whole thing on eBay after weeks of dissapointment in sound quality. I'd skip FM modulation altogether.

 

I'm using Belkin wireless tunable FM modulator. Works pretty good with an mp3 player.

Sound quality can be subjective. My recomendation is to buy it from someplace you know you can take it back to if your not happy with it.

 

Any pics of how well the Omnifi fit?

 

I can get one, leave it with me.

I will say that although the omnifi hardware is good the software/OS is much less user friendly than the Neo35's openneo software. And the developers seem entirely unresponsive to user requests (AFAIK they shut the omnifi forum down; how unresponsive can you get).