Monster A-IP-FM-CH-PS Wireless FM Transmitter
by Monster Cable
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List Price: Our Price: $57.58 You Save: $22.41 (28%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $45.59 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Monster A-IP-FM-CH-PS Wireless FM Transmitter
Customer Review: Works great if you can find an empty station
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, people are getting this transmitter confused with the previous Monster FM transmitter. You are NOT limited to only 8 stations. This transmitter allows you to program in ANY station you choose, and it's very easy to do so.
Pros:
You can program in any station! The stations are NOT predetermined so any empty station you find, just program it in and youre set to go, which makes this perfect for road trips.
Charges up your iPod while you go.
You can set three 'favourite' stations so you can switch back and forth between a couple if one goes out.
Very simple and easy to use. Not a lot of cords to get tangled up.
Cons
Every FM transmitter you buy for your iPod is going to have a loss in sound quality. It is NOT going to sound like youre playing a CD. It sounds like the radio.
No dock or anything to set the little station switcher on. I would've like even a double sided sticker mount so I could stick it to the dash or something instead of it hanging there, but I'm really just being picky here.
Finding a station in the surrounding Cleveland area was tough! There are hardly any completely static stations (I never realized how many darn country stations there are here, yeesh.) So far I have found 4 open stations. However, this is NOT the companys fault. Finding a clear open station is soley going to depend on where you live and where you are when you drive.
I found 3 completely open static stations starting at 87.5 and up. OF COURSE, this FM transmitter starts at 88.1. Grrr. But it wasn't a problem because in the end I was able to find 4 open ones throughout the spectrum. However, it would've been nice if it started at 87.5.
Okay this is COMPLETELY an aesthetic complaint but I dislike red LED lights. My car has blue so it doesn't match, but once again, that is completely nitpicking.
All in all, this is worth the money. It really is a must if you want to play your iPod on the road, but don't expect it to sound like your surround sound home theatre system. It is an FM transmitter.
Customer Review: The Monster A-IP-FM-CH-PS versus the iRiver AFT 100
Summary: 2 Stars
I recently bought the iRiver AFT 100 and the Monster A-IP-FM-CH-PS Wireless FM Transmitter and tested both of them in my car, an Acura TL. The Acura has the FM antenna embedded in the rear window which I understand makes using these devices more challenging than if the antenna was an external one. As I live in Tampa, there are a lot of FM stations and so finding an unused frequency without an active station right next to it is a bit of a challenge.
Findings: on both units, using a frequency in the middle of the FM dial or higher yielded better results than using one at the lower end of the spectrum (88 to 92). I used different types of music to test the units and found that quieter music was a more challenging test as the background noise was not masked during the quieter passages as it is with Rock or Rap. The bottom line: the iRiver unit performed much better than the Monster unit hands down. The iRiver unit put out a stronger signal limiting background hiss, had a fuller frequency response with limited high frequency clipping and a full rich low end. The Monster unit had a weaker signal and so as I drove there was intermittent audible interference that sounded like a weak FM station when it occasionally fades. The frequency response was somewhat abridged on the Monster unit but it was not very noticeable in the low frequency range and if I hadn't compared it to the iRiver unit, it would have been satisfactory.
Obviously, a direct connection between the mp3 player and radio head unit would have sounded much better but if that option isn't available to you, then the iRiver AFT 100 is the next best thing.
Note: You really have to experiment with finding unused frequencies on the FM band (they will have a loud hiss) and changing the frequency on the FM transmitter to match them. This process by the way is also easier on the iRiver unit. If you spend some time, you will probably be happy with the results. Don't expect the three preprogrammed settings to work well, in my test all three worked terribly.
Customer Review: Better than a cassette adaptor for me.
Summary: 4 Stars
I am using this with a 30G video iPod.
I have a cassette deck in my car, so I was using a cassette adaptor to play the iPod, but I had the problem of the adaptor constantly falling out of alignment with the player. When it worked, it sounded outstanding, but when I would hit a bump or whatever it sounded awful. So, while the other reviewers say that the ideal way to listen to an ipod through your car stereo is with a cassette adaptor, they are only partially correct.
After reading the other reviews, I didn't have high expectations for this product. But I was sick of trying to push the cassette adaptor into the perfect position with my finger as I drove, so I decided to give it a shot. I knew Monster as a good brand, so I figured of any FM transmitter, this should be the best.
The trick is finding an empty station. It seems like every frequency has a station broadcasting on it, or has an adjacent frequency bleeding into it. My car stereo goes to 87.9, which is empty, but this transmitter only goes down to 88.1.
But, it does work. No, it does not sound amazing, but it does do the job and I find that listening to your ipod through this imperfect method is still better than listening to the idiotic DJ's and the same 40 songs over and over again on the radio. It is a mit muddy, and noisy between songs. If you listen to your iPod with headphones you will hear sounds that are missing when you listen through the transmitter. So if you listen to classical music or a lot of music with a lot of subtlety to it, you probably will be disappointed. But, to paraphrase John Mellencamp, it's good enough for a little rock n roll.
The IDEAL way to listen to an iPod in the car is with a radio that has a direct input. However, I am not planning on keeping my car for more than another year, so this wasn't an option for me. If you don't want to buy a new car stereo, and don't expect incredible fidelity, this FM transmitter will do the job for you.
Customer Review: You're paying for brand premium, not quality
Summary: 2 Stars
Monster Cable products are typically more expensive than products by other popular brands that do the same thing.
With audio cables, for example, you at least get a product that looks and feels higher quality than generic cables.
With this product, however, I have not experienced anything that makes me think this is worth paying a premium just to get the Monster Cable brand.
Pros:
It functions as well as can be expected from a FM transmitter. I was able to find a reasonably empty station in the greater Seattle area (105.7) and the sound quality is decent. For me, the versatility of being able to access my entire iPod outweighs the better sound quality I would get from my CD player.
Cons:
The station picker / display unit thing is located about twelve inches down the cord from where it plugs into your iPod. This means whenever you move the iPod, that unit is sliding around and bumping against your center console or gearshift or whatever else is in the middle of your car.
Since the buttons for picking the station stick out from this unit and are very easy to press, it's quite easy to accidently bump the unit against some part of your car and have it switch channels on you unexpectedly.
When using this unit, you basically will find a station that works and leave it there, and only fiddle with it again if you drive to an area with too much interference on that station. I don't see why they put the picker/display unit in such an annoying place in the middle of the cable. They could have put it next to where it plugs into the lighter socket, or even just merged that into one unit.
So basically, it works decently as any FM transmitter. This unit has its own set of annoyances and does not strike me as being unusually high quality or innovative. If I were buying an FM transmitter again, I would probably go with something cheaper that does the same thing.
Customer Review: Junk... but better than ITRIP...
Summary: 2 Stars
There are those that will say that Static and poor quality is a given with any FM transmitter. While I WILL say that an Fm transmitter can NEVER sound better than FM radio, and certainly not CD, I found this device not to perform, even to a minimum level of acceptance.
Perhaps it's because my Antenna is on the BACK of my car, and not on the front, but the output of this device(and the ITRIP as well) apparently isn't strong enough to reach my antenna. Because I see others happy, I suppose that they may have a windshield or front mount antenna. This is the ONLY reason I give the device 2 stars.
HOWEVER, I've used a Sirius Sportster, XM2GO and Sirius S50 in my car, and their FM transmitter comes through on the frequencies loud and clear. I MAY get some occasional static in certain locations, but overall, their quality is more than acceptable.
This is not the case with the Monster and ITRIP, I was unable to get a static free on any channel I tried... and it was so bad, I could hear it over the music. The XM and Sirius perform flawlessly on the same frequencies (and yes, I turned them off before using this device). Knowing that XM and Sirius can provide built in FM functionality with so much more signal strength, I don't understand why such an expensive stand-alone solution could perform so poorly. (I paid as much for this unit as I paid for my XM2Go (...))
I've returned the Monster AND Itrip... next, I'm going to try the ROADTRIP or TRANSPOD. Their reviewers seem to indicate that they are more powerful transmitter. If they don't perform to the level of my XM2GO or wife's Sirius unit, then I'll probably have to invest in a receiver with an aux input... you can get one for $99... and it's probably worth it. However, I would actually prefer a decent FM Modulator to take my device between vehicles.
Personally, I would avoid at all cost, if for no other reason, for the weak signal.