Car Audio – From Your Computer to Your Car – Part 2 – Connecting Your Mp3 Player
Once you have made sure your audio files can be played on your car stereo system, you have a choice of ways to transfer the files over. There are several solutions available. Your mp3 player or iPod can be connected with a cable or wirelessly via FM signals or Bluetooth.
Connecting your iPod or mp3 player to your car audio system is relatively simple, if you have the correct equipment. Auxiliary input cables are readily available on the internet and in car audio stores and they are relatively cheap. However, these only work if your stereo system has a built in iPod jack, which looks similar to a headphone jack. There are more complex cables available for connection as well, if your stereo does not have a direct jack. In these cases, most leads to connect mp3 players into your car are brand specific, meaning you will have to know what you are looking for.
An alternative is to use an FM transmitter to wirelessly transmit the music from your iPod to the nearest FM radio: your car stereo. This, again, requires you to buy an FM transmitter suitable for your iPod or mp3 player. One flaw with this method is that sound quality can suffer, but if you have not got a specific iPod jack in your audio system, then this is one of the easier ways to listen to your music files in your car.
A similar idea, but with higher quality output, is a car stereo with Bluetooth, which is gaining popularity. Just like with your phone, a Bluetooth car stereo can connect with other electrical items in your car that also have Bluetooth. This can include mp3 players, making it possible to easily connect your audio system to your mp3 player with no fiddly pieces of equipment or extras. Of course, this does require both pieces of equipment to have Bluetooth, which is rare. On the other hand, Bluetooth stereo systems can be purchased easily, and there are brand specific adapters available, not to mention that it can help integrate other electrical items in your car, not just your mp3 player.
The most complete option, if you are willing to spend a little more money, is to get a stereo system with mp3 player built in. This will still need to have an adapter cable or USB port but, with an internal hard-drive, files can be stored directly in your car, meaning you only have to transfer files once instead of every time you want to play them. This is the more expensive option but, if you are serious about your music, this might well be the way to go. All the quality and, once the files are uploaded, there is very little fuss and no trailing cables getting in the way.
For more information about mp3 players in cars and the brands and options available, have a look at http://www.caraudiowarehouse.co.uk.
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