Soundfly SD WMA/MP3 Player Car Fm Transmitter for SD Card, USB Stick, Mp3 Players (iPod, Zune)
by Satechi
Our Price: $34.95
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $33.00 (click here)
Category: Network Media Player
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: SatechiBrand: Satechi
Edition: Electronics
Model: SoundflySd
Color: Black
Publisher: Satechi
Studio: Satechi
Music Label: Satechi
Product features:
- Transmits on all FM frequencies (88.1MHz-107.9MHz) - Memorizes up to 7 FM frequencies
- Simple plug & play - Powers on & off automatically or with button - Reads MP3 & WMA files
- USB port (reading data, not charging) & SD slot & 2.5mm stereo input - 3.5mm cable included for use with iPod, Zune, mp3 players
- Remote features: Folder shift - Fast Forward & Rewind - Repetition of defined Section- Shuffle - Bookmarking
- ID3-tag information via RDS: View song information on your compatible radio display.
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Soundfly SD WMA/MP3 Player Car Fm Transmitter for SD Card, USB Stick, Mp3 Players (iPod, Zune)
Customer Review: Works Well For What It Is Advertised To Do
Summary: 3 Stars
I have a couple of prefaces that must be gotten out first before going further.
First, I am a certified "Tube Head", and like good quality music. That's why I go with tubes and vintage quality gear.
Second, while I like quality, I am not a snob, and have no problem with MP3, if it is at 320 or the best VRB. I don't absolutely have to have everything in FLAC, or I won't listen, like some folks.
And Thirdly, I cannot help but like this product, in spite of it's shortcomings.
I have had more than my share of neat little devices, in my quest for the perfect music hardware. So, naturally I just had to purchase this unit, based upon all the wonderful reviews here. I have a 2002 Town & Country Limited, which has a very nice factory music system. I have added a custom JBL subwoofer, and a respectable sub amp to power it. But I was really using overkill there. So my system is quite nice to begin with.
My first impression of the unit is that the instructions are a bit incomplete, and a little hard to read, especially for older people, such as myself. So I went to the home site, in search of detailed instructions. Nothing doing. They don't have any. So much for that.
The remote control is the real hub of the input system for this device. Setting things up before backing out of the driveway, or working at a stop light, is ok. But I don't recommend taking one's eye off the road to work that loose little 'play pretty'. I also have an accordion style extension cord, which is plugged into one of my several 12volt plug-ins, and it is easy for me to use my right hand and read the device on the fly, because I can move it right in front of me. When I am through, all I have to do is just set it back down again. I figure the accordion extension to be a must for ease of operation.
I had to make one modification though. With the unit plugged into the extension cord, I could not swivel the unit completely downward for easy reading, like it would go in the other direction. So I had to take out an Xacto knife and trim away the plastic obstruction at the back of the device, allowing the swivel to move completely. That was an easy modification, and it now lies flat against my extension plug, and I can hold it effortlessly while I drive. I also have a piece of sticky velcro adhered to the left side of my dash, near my transmission shifter, and another on the back of my accordion extension, allowing me to adhere it to the dash where I can also see the controls when I am not holding it.
One other thing before getting to the sound part. the LED setup on the unit could be a bit more complex. A LED fixture is made up of several parts, in order to make up a various number/letter. With this unit, the height of the LED is not long enough. It only has four vertical segments, instead of the usual five. This makes it harder to read numbers or letters, because only the bottom two, or top two tend to be used normally. With the five segment LEDs, there would always be three segments, which makes the "U"s "L"s and other such letters and numbers higher and easier to read. I found the setup here to be a real pain. A slightly more complex LED setup would have been far better.
As for operation, it performed as advertised. I did not attempt to move the unit further than my front seat, so I have no idea as to the range. For me, it is good enough. The IC FM chip is probably the same one that has been around for years, and it is a good one, so the quality of the FM signal is bound to be more than acceptable. No problems with that.
But here is what I discovered. There is a difference in quality with the different means of inputing signals into the unit. The analog plug, which can input any MP3 player, or a CD player in my case, produced a fairly decent, but still less than expected, quality sound. I purposefully tried the SD card, and it too did about the same quality job. I have not tried the standard USB drive. I have several, one on my key chain, but they are bulky and I would not really go there under normal circumstances. But I do have one of those USB drives, which uses the "Micro SD" card, and I tried it out. The results were much less than satisfactory. The sound quality was like I was using an MP3 at it's lowest quality.
And here is the real indication as to the shortcoming of this unit. And keep in mind that it's not the fault of the unit, but the way the electronic world seems to works. There is a saying that the best signal is only as good as it's worst connection. Here's an analogy which is also easy to understand. Picture an interstate highway. Regardless the number of lanes, vehicles(think electrons) are moving speedily down this highway. But over time, there are more and more electrons moving down the highway, and the traffic slows down. At a given point, the traffic almost comes to a halt, because there is only so much highway to accommodate traffic. That is how electrons move along circuits. If there is not a good conection, the highway will bottleneck the flow of electrons, be it analog or digital.
I have always been told that the digital signal cannot be degraded, or it will not be converted. But I am finding that there have to be certain conditions which can also degrade the digital signal. There are lots of "zeros" and "ones" moving around, and if the signal cannot get to it's designated location when it is supposed to, then obviously something has to be lost. That it the only thing I can think of here. The Micro-SD, when inserted into the USB holding device is less thatn what you would find in a complete SD chip, which has all of it's circuits soldered, and a free flow electron highway.
So we have to be talking some sort of bottleneck, or series of them, here. I find it really to be the only answer here, because the Micro-SD chip is very warm to the touch, after I have used it to play music. It is unusually warm. This means friction/heat from a signal that just cannot get it's pants on and get from point A to point Z on as it should. No matter what I do, I just can't get the signal quality to even come close to the sound I can hear across my computer, into my Dokorder 800x, and out of my Sony MDR-V6s. And all from an MP3 file.
I have gone back, and tried enhancing the sound quality of the songs, and also used a higher quality signal. But the quality of certain signals just do not come up to the high quality test. While SD cards are good, they still don't convey the subtle highs and deep lows, or even complex midrange sounds, that can be found on the highest quality MP3s, such as 320 kbs. It's just not able to leave the storage device, navigate across a less than permanent connections, and then endure the FM broadcast/reception/conversion, and come out sounding great. There are just too many bottlenecks.
So, I will still use this device, and enjoy it, knowing that it is less than the best solution. And what do I consider the best solution? To me that is easy. Use the Laser signal, and let it convert effortlessly and work within your system. In other words, stick to the CDs. It's probably the only way to get a super good signal, which will bring out all the highs, and punch out all the lows, along with the best mids.
I am going to replace my factory head unit, in the future, with an MP3 CD player. Either that, or pick up a good CD changer, which can also play MP3s. That way I can have a lot of music available and be able to enjoy great quality, while on the road. I like this little unit, but it just can't carry the weight of producing good quality sound. It just can't do it. Reliance of a laser, with no less than perfect connections between it and the speakers, is the best way to go IMO.
The search for perfection goes on, darn it.
More Soundfly SD WMA/MP3 Player Car Fm Transmitter for SD Card, USB Stick, Mp3 Players (iPod, Zune) reviews:
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Description of Soundfly SD WMA/MP3 Player Car Fm Transmitter for SD Card, USB Stick, Mp3 Players (iPod, Zune)
Soundfly SD lets you listen to sound files such as MP3 & WMA file stored in portable memory devices like USB flash memory & SD card, etc through your car radio speakers. It supports RDS (Radio Data System), so while listening to music, you can see the song and artist's name displayed on your car stereo. Soundfly SD transmits to all FM frequencies (88.1MHz-107.9MHz) and memorizes up to 7 FM frequencies. It comes with fully functional remote control. You can also transmit music from other Mp3 players such as iPod, Zune etc. Just plug USB or SD card in Sound-Fly & Enjoy music!Digital Cameras & Photo Categories
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