The Coby-745 is in my opinion, the all-around best buy in the wireless FM car transmitter market. At $17.99 on Amazon, it is roughly half the price of most of it's competitors, but what's amazing is that it provides additional features! The cap on the built in car charger flips off to reveal a spot for another charging plug (like for a cell phone for example). The springs hold the device in tightly while in use and the charger unit is hinged to the transmitter, providing for a 360 degree+ rotation of the unit. The light up screen in blue shows the full frequency channels you can select from with the lighted dial, in increments of 0.1 MHz.
This unit doesn't just look pretty and have nice features, it also performs extremely well. On a 40 minute commute through back roads, highway and city, the unit didn't lose signal once and I heard ZERO interference, yes, that's right, none! Compare that to other reviews.
Downsides? All the downsides are common to most other transmitters: it doesn't have an on/off button, so you have to unplug the unit if you want it to stop drawing power. To get the sound just right, you have to crank the treble on your car stereo a tad (although this just may be a personal preference). And, you have to crank the volume on your mp3 player and/or stereo (and remember to turn the volumes back down when you use your stereo or mp3 player without the transmitter or else risk blowing out your eardrums). There was some static noise when handling the unit initially although I found this went away quickly as the static charge (coming from the user) dispersed.
The sound quality amazes me- very near CD quality sound- and I was very pleased there was no interference- in the 40 minutes driving, I never had to switch channels. As long as it holds up, I don't plan on switching transmitters anytime soon either. The Coby-745 rocks. Coby CA-745 Wireless FM Car Transmitter with Digital Display and DC Car Cigarette Lighter Adapter
Right off, the price. If I paid double or even triple and it performed as it does, I would have been satisfied. FM transmitters by definition are supposed to be the last resort for sending audio through car speakers from a portable device, given their many potential downfalls. But I've used the Coby CA-745 daily for over two months now and I couldn't be happier. I even made sure to wait this long before posting a review, in case it worked well but broke quickly.
A few major points to consider regarding this model: first, this is not an iPod-charging device. For me, that was OK. Everything I plug my iPod into at home charges it, so I was purposely looking for a transmitter that would fit the iPod's 3.5mm headphone jack.
Second, it allows for selection among the full FM frequency band including the almost-never-taken 87.9. I set it there on Day 1 and never changed it. But it's nice to know that I am not limited to four preset tunings if I need to change it.
Third, it is designed thoughtfully. I didn't want a battery-powered transmitter, but my lighter jack is situated in a recessed part of my lower dashboard, so the tilting display helps. The coiled connection cable keeps things neat, as does the flip-off cover that exposes a piggyback lighter jack, so you can still plug in a cellphone charger or whatever. Funny that you don't see any of these options in the high-priced FM transmitters.
But none of the above would matter if it didn't sound good. I am a critical listener, though aware that I cannot expect my car audio system to sound as good as my home system. Three aspects of this unit's audio quality stand out: its output level strength is terrific, there is actual discernable stereo separation, and no noticeable coloration in frequencies. I tried all the preset EQ settings on my iPod with this and found that it sounded best flat, no EQ at all. To me, that alone spoke volumes about the quality of its transmitted stereo signal.
Background noise is virtually non-existent and I never get those bursts of static anymore. I can make out a very slight constant high-pitched whine, which I know is my car interfering with the signal (having the wipers on causes the whine to modulate some), but note - this is just one component of an overall VERY LOW LEVEL background noise floor. Unless you crank it up between songs or during very light musical passages, you're not going to hear any artifacts produced by this unit. And for you purists out there - try cranking up your built-in car CD player when a song is paused - with factory units especially, you may be surprised by how much low-level garbage is percolating back there that you'd never really notice.
My Ford Taurus was tricky for getting an iPod to play through it. The factory audio system is configured in such a way that adding an audio input would have been expensive and complex to install. The in-dash cassette goes into auto-forward when trying to use a cassette adapter, so I'm really stuck with the FM transmitter method. My antenna is a standard fixed-pole antenna at the back of the car, and the cheap no-name FM transmitter I was using before this could only be placed in certain locations to work at all, and even then produced constant light static that was annoyingly audible, plus regular bursts of loud jarring static. Yet I put up with that for a long time since I knew from researching online that no matter what model or price, there was nothing that was consistently lauded as working great, and every unit seemed to have the ability to work as poorly as the piece of junk I already had.
So again, the price. There are no guarantees, but a lot of people are having good luck with this unit. If your situation is like mine, the price alone should make it worth the gamble.
I have gone through four of these types of FM Transmitters. One was powered by the iPod. I don't recommend that type as it sucks your battery dry quickly. The one I am replacing this time worked alright, but was bulky and finally stopped working correctly. I was happy when I plugged this one in and effortlessly synced FM stations and got CD quality sound. Another nice feature is that you don't have to switch it on. When it is plugged in it is live when the radio is tuned to that station and does not affect any other stations if you are listening or scanning other stations. The only thing I wish someone would add is a bit of amplification. Every transmitter I've used requires you to turn your iPod volume up almost all the way and then you still have to turn your stereo volume up much higher than normal. Obviously, if you forget to adjust both volumes down before using either next time, you will blast your eardrums or speakers. - Transmitter - Mp3 Accessories - Ipod Accessories - Mp3 Player'
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