iLounge

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Chris: Your car’s setup sounds very much like mine. Assuming that you did try 87.9FM (it sounds like you did, from your first message), I am -very- surprised to hear that you’re having issues. I’m not sure whether to attribute them to a problem with the iTrips, unrealistic expectations (you think it will be static-free, which no FM transmitter will be), some local issue, or improper usage.

My recommended course of action would be this, in this order. Tune it to 87.9FM by switching to INTL mode, and then switch it into mono mode (DX), and turn your iPod’s volume up to maximum levels. iTrip should decrease the volume automatically to a level only slightly above the “perfect” level. Then adjust your car’s stereo to a comfortable listening level, and _then_ tweak the iPod’s volume level.

If you’re still hearing a lot of static, connect the FireWire or USB cable that came with your iPod to its bottom - it doesn’t matter much if something else is plugged in. Ultimately, if this doesn’t help, my advice would be to try Kensington’s (car) transmitter instead.

Paolo: Ditto on the above. I can only say this - if you don’t hear a difference between DX and LX, and if you’re not hearing an improvement in DX mode from your old iTrip, something has to be wrong.

We’re going to contact Griffin on this for comment. Please do let us know whether the above steps help.

Posted by Jeremy Horwitz in East Amherst, NY, USA on September 4, 2005 at 1:51 PM (PDT)

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I am responding to Jeremy Horwitz post.  I did try it in mono.  I did try 87.9 station and it had a lot of static.  I was very hopeful this would work, but I was very disappointed.  I took it back to the Apple store.  They told me I wasn’t the only one that had brought it back.  They were not impressed with it either.  I did buy a Kensington Digital FM Transmitter.  The sound quality is amazing.  One more thing I did plug power into my iPod in the car using the iTrip.  I had read it would help.  In my opinion there was very little difference in sound quality.  I wish it would have worked for me.  The design and the screen are great.

Posted by Shawn Lane on September 4, 2005 at 1:51 PM (PDT)

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Jeremy: I tried your recommendations. I tuned it to 87.9, switched it to the intl mode, switched to DX mode, turned the volume up to its max, and… it WORKED!! The reception was 50x better than my previous attempts. Static is still there but the end result is more than acceptable for a FM transmiter. Thank you for your help

PS: there is no instructions on how to change the modes from US to INTL. Simply press on the dial for about 10 seconds. You will see the LX/DX modes within 5 seconds wait anothe 5 to get to the US/Intl modes

Posted by Chris on September 4, 2005 at 4:09 PM (PDT)

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ok so now i hear a difference between DX/LX at my home, but in the car it is still the same as i stated before. i still do not get why the signal keeps going off and on when i am at home…it is still almost exactly the same situation as i stated above.

Posted by Paolo on September 4, 2005 at 9:23 PM (PDT)

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after wanting to try one out for the last two years, i finally, after reading the review here, took the plunge to try it out.  i had some hope given the experience of a colleague who said it worked well at 87.9 in his girlfriend’s car which had an antenna in the door pillar like my own Honda Civic.  But then again, living in the SF bay area is also a major challenge like LA, chicago, etc since there are really no “holes” in the dial.

anyway, i picked up the unit this afternoon at the Palo Alto Apple Store (it was the only one left…there were tons of the early generation model) and quickly went to my car to try it out.

in short…
87.9 : unacceptable static and fading in and out
87.7: much better but still not as clean as the “best” FM broadcasts.
87.5: as good as the best FM broadcast…still some static when on pause, but quiet relative to road and wind noise in the car.

of course, i’m lucky that the Sony tuner for my MD deck goes all the way down to 87.5.  on my wife’s Honda Accord factory stereo, it only goes to 87.7.  her 87.7 performance is a little worse than 87.7 on my car, but still better than 87.9 by a long shot.

interestingly enough, i don’t see a huge improvement for her car or mine going between LX and DX.  i also didn’t see a huge improvement hooking up a wire or charger to dock end.

interesting complaints/critiques/tidbits:
- the auto volume worked wonderfully on my Sony deck, but not well on the Accord.  i needed to drop the volume another 15% to get decent sound on my wife’s car (at the default volume, it is heavily distorted)
- with the volume setting needed, the volume on the stereo has to be quite high (higher than MD or normal stereo) to get sufficient volume.
- i’m surprised they couldn’t build this thing to work just on the dock end of things.  i’m guessing (but may be wrong) that fidelity would be better using the line out)

nevertheless, overall, i’m pleased and will keep the unit.  i certainly won’t use it to substitute MDs (my car) or CDs (wife has 6 disc changer in dash) for every day use, but i think it will serve well when we travel (long road trip and don’t necessarily want to bring all the CDs or MDs, else when i get a rental car).  i actually bought this unit primarily to see how well the technology works as my dad is looking for some solution other than geting a new car stereo.  so the next test will be his car which goes down to 87.7 too.

(oh, if it isn’t obvious, i used the international mode to get to the lower frequencies.  thank God i read the review because at quick glance (i may have missed it), i don’t think the instructions say anyway about switching modes and the unit is spec’d as 88.1-107.9.)

anyway, thanks for the review.  not sure i would have taken the plunge if it weren’t for this positive review.

good luck to the rest of you.  i’d encourage those of you having difficulty to see if you can go lower than 87.9.

Posted by Derek87 on September 4, 2005 at 9:44 PM (PDT)

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Just ordered one. Love the new LCD screen so I don’t have to scroll through the iPod to find the channel.

Listened to the great review on the most recent Podcast and I’m really looking forward to trying this out.

Posted by podeluxe on September 6, 2005 at 6:48 AM (PDT)

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Just my two cents.  Picked one up on Saturday.  First impressions using it in a 1992 Honda Accord with an aftermarket Pioneer stereo were not so good.  Station was set on 87.9 in Raleigh, NC.  Moving the Ipod around at all produced severe static even when in mono mode.  Reception was only clear in a few certain spots, namely as close to the headunit as possible.  Seemed like it would be a wash.

However, by plugging in the firewire charging cord and simply letting it dangle, things change drastically.  Static disappeared, reception improved, and the sound popped.  Now I can move the Ipod all over the front seat with no problems.  Seems the “grounding” by the cord made all the difference.  Very pleased with the product.  Even switched the iTrip over to stereo mode with no problems.

Posted by Jeremy on September 6, 2005 at 10:19 AM (PDT)

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NEW DEVELOPMENT

as i stated earlier in my first post, i’ve been experiencing a drop in the signal, where the music would suddenly stop playing on the station, and then seconds later, start playing back, then stop again, etc. although the music is still playing on the iPod since it is not on pause or anything like that. for some reason, when i touch the ipod, it seems to correct the problem, but when i take my hand off of it, it reverts back to off/on music. this occurs in my house, where the itrip is only about 5-7 feet away from my stereo system. im not sure if it is just my unit, or what, but i am getting a little frustrated with this.

Posted by Paolo on September 6, 2005 at 11:39 AM (PDT)

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More follow-up

To those of you having problems: i cannot emphasize enough that you should try out 87.7 or 87.5 if your radio allows it…all the car stereos i’ve tried over the last few days have at least 87.7, and my one Sony aftermarket unit is 87.5 at the low end.  to access these freq. you’ll need to use the INTL mode which you can choose by holding down the side button for 5-10 seconds (beyond what it takes to get the LX/DX selection mode).  you’ll find much less noise at these frequencies compared with 87.9 or other stations, in crowded (ie urban) communities.

i have found that even with these frequencies. sound quality can range quite a bit depending on vehicle.  i personally, haven’t found a huge improvement hooking up an extra cable to the dock connector to act as an antenna.

i guess the bottom line is that if you need a boost in signal, the cable will help quite a bit, but it still won’t eliminate static altogether.
that being said, i did try it at home on my ultra expensive hifi syste (i’m an audiophile) and could see a double in signal strength using a cable attached to the dock connector.  of course, it sounded pretty awful.  and i do take back what i said: at 87.5 (which my home tuner can do), the itrip (with cable attached) does not equate with top notch FM.  i think in the car (unless you have an incredibly quiet one that is well insulated), the listening environment is more forgiving: ie, i’m willing to accept less since there is a lot of other noise around me.  but at home, the itrip would be considered atrocious.  for the car, it will be acceptable when i travel in rental cars, but it will not, as i indicated in a prior post, subsitute for the CD or MD use in our home cars as these two media blow away the iTrip due to the latters technological limitations.

Posted by Derek87 on September 6, 2005 at 1:23 PM (PDT)

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I picked one of these up at my local apple store this past weekend.  So far so good, I had a tough time at first picking a station (wasnt sure how to get to below 88.1 but I do now, thanks)once I found a station it worked great with very little static.  I have an older Alpine 7817 headunit and was able to use LX with great results.  I am very pleased with the new itrip.

Posted by BHenderson on September 15, 2005 at 9:38 PM (PDT)

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I know everyone is talking about the iTrip—but I have the Griffin RoadTrip—which I completely impressed by. Its bigger and more akward—but it works well! No messy wires or extra stuff—just plug in the iPod and the RoadTrip. My only question is—is do you all experience lower volume through your transmitters? How does one get the full capacity of volume while in the car?

Posted by Q on November 9, 2005 at 3:08 PM (PDT)