Customer Reviews

Cables To Go Port Authority2 MP3-to-FM Car and Stereo Adapter for iPods and MP3 Players

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Like so many, we have no auxiliary input in our car to handle our (Creative Zen) hard-disk music player. We've been looking at using an FM converter for quite some time, but have been put off by the many negative reviews -- and unwilling to fork over $40 or $50 for something that sounds troublesome at best.

When we had the chance to acquire one of these new Cables-To-Go units for a very reasonable price (...), we figured we'd give it a try despite the lack of reported user experiences. To our delight, we merely plugged it in to our car's cigarette lighter port, adjusted the viewing angle of the unit, turned it on and just picked for starters the lowest frequency it supports -- 88.1. We then plugged in the clever retractable cord mini-plug to the unit with the other end to our player, hit play, and away we went with absolutely no problems! A one time adjustment to the sound level of the source lets us listen at the same volume as other sources (CD player, actual FM, etc.) and we couldn't be more pleased with the clarity and quality of this solution so far. We haven't yet taken a long trip where competing FM stations might be a problem, but suspect all will be well given the outstanding performance of the unit locally.

Our only quibble might be that the bright white finish of the item clashes a little in the car -- a neutral gray might have been preferred. (We plan to eventually hide it in our console anyway...) The lighted LED panel indicates what frquency is being used, and the auto-shutoff seems to work fine without doing something silly like shutting down during a quiet passage of music. Overall -- so far, so good !!!

I tried this mainly because the reviews of all the other transmitters I could find were poor. This one has been a very pleasant surprise. The sound quality is very good, and there is no static---it does its job. My only quibble is the fixed number of transmission channels, though I have not had a problem finding an open channel; the channel LED's are a little dim and tough to see in daylight.

In general, I would recommend this transmitter; and it is a good value.

I bought this product a few weeks ago. The main problem with the product is that there is static that interferes with the sound quality. I have tried most frequencies - and the thing is that on an empty frequency the signal is great as long as the engine is turned off. Once you start the car this leads to static. Given that some users have reported that they are satisfied with the product it might just be a function of the car you drive!

Considering this adapter is on the cheaper side in comparison to the many others out there, I thought it was really quite worth it for the money. Yes, it's a little bulky and it takes a lot of force it to pull it out (I'm assuming that will get a little better with time), but the sound is good and I love being able to listen to my iPod in the car.

I've read some other reviews, so I thought I'd include this little tip: Your iPod/mp3 player should only have its volume up to about halfway. After that, you need to use your car's stereo to increase the volume. If you have your iPod's volume turned up all the way, it will cause a lot of static and won't even really make the songs any louder. Hope that helps some people!

I got this little gadget when my car's cd changer broke. I use it mostly to listen to audiobooks on long car trips so I'm not picky when it comes to stereo quality. As long as the voice comes in clear, I'm happy. So, here's what I found after 1 month:

The Good:
- Cheap! Got it for 15 dollars during the holiday sales. With that price the sound quality far outweigh the cost.
- Can power using 2 AAA batteries or plugged into car's lighter jack.
- There's a small retractable cord unit which connects an mp3 to the unit. It is separate and keeps cords tidy and out of the way.
- Has 16 FM channels from 88.1 - 106.7 at discrete pre-selected points (x.1, x.3, x.5, x.7)

The Bad:
- The way the plug is designed, it's too chunky to fit into my car's lighter jack (which sits inside a compartment in the middle console). The photo wasn't very clear about this. I use rechargeables on mine and it's fine.
- There's only 1 button to select the station. It progresses only up the range. For example, if you want to set it at 88.7 and you're at 88.9, you have to click repeatedly until the unit goes up to 106 and back to 88.1, etc. Wish there was an Up & Down button.

That said, I'm pretty satisfied with this unit considering I didn't pay much for it. It does the job well in Southern CA where there are tons of stations crammed in my area.

I am using this to play MP3 files in my car to learn new music for our band Frantic City. It works so well I bought another for my wife our drummer and she really likes it as well. The big thing to remember with this device is to have the level on the output device thats feeding this(MP3 player etc..) up high enough. If the input level to the Port Authority2 is too low the signal to noise ratio is too low and there will be a lot of hiss. This is easily fixed by turning up the volume on the MP3 player or other device.

Thanks
franticcity@att.net

I wanted an entry level transmitter for my fiance's car mostly, and this fit the bill perfectly. You get the option of 4 different major frequencies, and 4 subfrequencies (forgive the lack of technicallity), totalling 16 possible stations to tune into. Personally, about half of them work fine in my area. Now, the included cigarette adapter fit a little strange in my fiance's Dodge Intrepid (adapter is really close to the stick), but you can move the adapters cradle around, and we found a spot that works fine. Also, it should be noted that my fiance's car does not have an antenna, but this works flawlessly, and if I carry the transmitter around the house, it gets picked up by stereos at the other end of the house, For my area at least, the range is excellent. Granted you are not paying for top of the line, so don't expect too much greatness, but for the money this was a great product. I'm planning on buying another down the road.

I have a Sony Walkman for an MP3 player so buying components for my player is difficult since everything is made for I-pods. My last car had a radio with an audio input jack so I could directly input my Walkman into the car's stereo. But that car died and I bought a new car without an input jack. That is why I bought this.
Most people complain that the sound quality is not good in transmitters. And it is true that you get better sound when you directly input your player into your stereo. But if you are like me and that isn't an option, a transmitter is the best way to go.
For those who do not know what this is, essentially it creates a short-length FM radio in your car over which you broadcast your MP3 player. You are making your own private radio station and broadcasting on a frequency of your choice. This transmitter is a good product because it allows you to choose from 12 frequencies so you can find one that works best for your geographic area.
The drawback to this technology is that you are only broadcasting on a radio wave. This is not a digital signal so you won't get digital sound. But the sound quality is good for the price of this unit.
Drawbacks: it is radio waves, not digital; you do have to turn your volume up quite a bit to hear the music (but that is true of most direct input jacks too, so don't think you're getting screwed); the unit is quite bulky and might getting in the way depending on where your cigarette lighter is on your dash.
Positives: Easy to use; good sound quality for the cost; can run on batteries if the cigarette input is not convenient for your car (just get a couple sets of rechargable batteries and rotate).

Has good sound quality that's the good point.
Now the bad:

it's bulky so when you place it in your car lighter it takes up alot of room. My car lighter is next to the cup holder so it's a tight squeeze. Also after only a few uses of taking it out of the lighter the wires broke apart. It requires a bit of strength to plug it all the way into the lighter and also to take it out and when I took it out the wires broke.

This is the best transmitter I have tried, and I have tried several. You don't need to have a clear channel. I actually have mine tuned into 88.1 which is a station in my area and it still works without static or anything. I love the retractable cord too. A lot of other transmitters I tried, if you didn't have a clear channel, you got static or worse yet, the radio station. This one you just get your music - great