portable mp3 player in a car?

Systems

is there a way to hook up a portable mp3 player to my car stereo? i have a Creative Labs Nomad MuVo nx, either hooking it up by the headphone jack, or somehow by the USB connection? i figured this would be nice cause it can hold so many more songs then a cd, and then i could always take it out when i get out of the car, any ideas? i know they sell something for cell phones that lets you hear it over your car radio, i think through an fm signal, maybe theres a way i could hook this up to work for the mp3 player? i need input...

Systems

and theres no tapedeck for the car adapters

mbdyer12

Well, your head unit will need some sort of input. Not very many do though. Some have a line-in on the front and some need some sort of adapter in the back. Look up information for your head unit and find out if it does. The other way is to get an FM modulator or something like that. I dont really know how those work other than you just hook it up and it lets you set your radio to a certain frequency and it picks up the signal from your device.

Systems

its an older jvc, i dont know the model number, theres only one set of preamp outs, and im pretty sure there is no input

neomagus00

you could just do a really dirty hack; if you've got an amp, you could wire it into the speaker-level inputs. if it has them. or, even dirtier, throw in a switch and a headphone jack (after horribly voiding your warranty) so you can switch from the mp3 to hu at will.

mbdyer12

Here you go http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/64fb/

Systems

i just found something like that yesterday while i was out, but the only thing i dont like about it, is the frequency response, i wont get the really low, or really high stuff....

exalted512

what does it cut off at?
if its extremely high, its not audible anyway
-Cody

SVT Pimpin

theres this thing called beamit or ibeam.. where you can plug it into the headphone jack on your mp3 player and then the music plays through your radio. its an fm modulator that uses an unused fm station like 88.3 or whichever one gets the clearest receptoin

SVT Pimpin

i work at a circuit city and we sell them in our roadshop area.. i'm not sure exactly what they cost however.

mbdyer12

50hz-15khz.. I didn't even notice that. That sucks unless you have an 88 Corolla with factory speakers, which in any case, would..well, suck. So yeah. It sucks. Is the one at Circuit City any better for frequency response?

SVT Pimpin

almost exactly the same range

MTXMAN

you're either gonna have to deal with the crappy response or get a new HU with aux inputs.... most of the pioneer decks have them and they're not to expensive for the lower level ones, just pick one with a P in the name (ex. DEHP-2600) those would be the least expensive that i can think of and they're good solid decks too

exalted512

welcome back mtx, long time no see
-Cody

MTXMAN

yeah, i'm back o renamed one, been realy friggin buisy... still daydreamin about my system to be constantly though, as i said in my thread i just started i'm finally getting the first in a long series of upgrades, that amp's gonna be bad ****!! i think i'm gonna cream myself when i get it hooked up

neomagus00

the 15kHz limit isn't that big a deal, but the 50Hz one may be. i just don't think radio is designed to handle frequencies that low - at least i've never heard significant sub-bass out of a radio tuner.

if you're getting a new hu, why not think about satellite radio? yeah, it's expensive to install, but it's only like 10 bucks a month after that, and it's amazing. great reception, quality that's nearly indistinguishable from CD, and you never have to search for a new channel. for me, this is the best part, cause i travel an awful lot. just thot i'd throw that in. btw, i prefer sirius b/c that's what i have, and because xm was the first (usually not the best), but that's just me.

exalted512

i have XM and am absolutely thrilled with it
10 bucks a month and no commercials on ANY of the music stations
-Cody

mbdyer12

Any obvious pros / cons to XM vs Sirius? Also is there enough "good" music on to justify paying for just a few stations? (Unless you like more than 2-3 genres, of course)

neomagus00

i don't know enough about xm to compare. um... for me, the lack of commercials is worth the $10 per month. i usually listen to only one channel, but i switch genres every now and then. at least on sirius, one of the cool things about it is that you hear songs you usually wouldn't on radio, because they don't have to worry nearly as much about ratings or whatever. they introduce you to new bands sometimes, it's cool.

the justification is all you, though.

exalted512

I know XM cuts out around tall buildings, but so does Sirius
XM also plays bands youll never hear on the radio
theres about 15 stations that i listen to regularly
XM comedy is hilarious...
-Cody

Systems

well after doing a bit more looking, because im not that happy with the fm transmitter thingy, i found something that happens to be made for jvc head units with cd changer controls, which what do you know, i have them.....

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-m858MtZNpeL/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=11&g=50900&I=105KSU57&o=p&a=0&cc=01&avf=N

but i get to wait until i get paid to get anything else for my car, i blew the last paycheck on the crap to build the box for my new dx12. Now when i get time, i can rearranged, clean up, and reorganize the mess i call my wires....

neomagus00

yup, that thing'll do it. have fun