iPod, iPhone and MP3 Integration

There's nothing like taking your iPod, iPhone or MP3 Player on the road and playing your music through the car stereo. There are a few ways you can accomplish this and they range from the best sound quality, but more complicated, to lesser sound quality but easy to do. We can guide you through the selection process and show you all the options available for your vehicle, plus show you where all the equipment will be installed. So stop by and let us show you why Baltimore Magazine chose us as the best Car Stereo store in Baltimore!

GOOD
The easiest and most popular way to get the iPhone or iPod's audio signals to your car stereo is to use an FM transmitter, sometimes called a wireless FM modulator. The FM transmitter will turn the music from the iPod into a low strength FM radio station that surrounds your car's interior. Your car's FM deck will pick up the signal and play through your speakers. The hardware itself is powered by your car's cigarette lighter and plugs into either your iPod's headphone jack or docking port for a line out.

While the wireless FM modulators are inexpensive and need no setup, they are not well suited for the automotive environment. Their signal quality is usually very poor and they can get a lot of static as you get closer to a radio station transmitting on a similar frequency. The hard wired FM modulator listed below is a much, much better option if you can not get a direct line in on the radio in your vehicle.

BETTER
A better option for FM modulation is the hard wired FM modulator. This allows you to connect the iPod or iPhone into a car stereo that only has an FM radio. If your car stereo doesn't have an auxiliary input you can get better sound quality than a FM transmitter, but not quite as good if it were using an auxiliary input. The FM modulator is a box that is easily connected to the iPod using a headphone jack to RCA connector. The modulator box is then hard wired into your car stereo's antenna input giving you sound quality about as good as a local FM radio station with a very strong signal. The modulator box itself would have to be mounted somewhere behind the dash with a cable that is easily accessible to connect it to your iPod. This option is popular on vehicles where there is no direct iPod interface available. Our solutions come one of two ways; a 3.5mm mini jack that can be connected to any device with a 3.5mm output, or a dedicated iPod docking plug that will even charge the iPod's battery while it is connected.

BEST

The best option is installing a dedicated iPod/iPhone interface into the original radio or replacing the original radio with a new unit that has direct control for your iPod/iPhone. An iPod interface is a device that allows you to control your iPod using your original radio's controls and gives you the best sound quality as it docks on the bottom of your iPod and will also charge your unit while it is connected. We have these available for most vehicles made in the last several years. Please email, call, or stop by for more information. In many cases we can also replace the existing radio in your vehicle with a new radio that will control your iPod. One of the biggest advantages here is that the new radios are designed from the ground up to control an iPod so they are the easiest to operate and can access files faster. If you are replacing the radio you also open yourself up to the option of Bluetooth connectivity to give you hands-free cell phone use. Click here for more info;

Check out more infomation on Bluetooth Hands-free Kits here >>

One common question when using the iPod in the car is where do I put the darned thing? The iPod must be within reach by the cabling you're using for the sound method you've chosen. Whether you have a docking port plug that's wired to your car stereo's head unit or you have a mic jack to plug into the iPod's headphone jack for a line out, it needs to reach. Make sure you're taking necessary connections into consideration twhen you're putting anything into the dashboard that will secure the iPod. If you would like to keep your iPod/iPhone out in the open we can supply and install custom mounts that will hold your unit securely.