Car MP3 Player

Music in your care has been an American tradition, and with the proliferation of media players it’s no surprise that playing back music from your own personal jukebox in your sweet ride has become increasingly popular.

Getting that music to play through your car speakers, however, can range from exceedingly simple to exceedingly difficult. Most modern car stereos are equipped with an Auxiliary port, which allows you to attach most media players with a simple and cheap cable. If you purchased your car a few years ago, or if your car didn’t come with an auxiliary port, then things become a bit more complicated.

If you have an older care with a tape deck you can purchase a tape adapter that will plug into your media player. If you lack a tape deck you can try using an FM transmitter. Some media players come with an FM transmitter built in, but this is not the norm. Generally you will need to purchase an adapter that you plug into your media player and then broadcasts the music from your device to your car radio over an unused FM frequency.

The problem with this solution is that large cities and built-up areas that have a lot of traffic on FM frequencies will make it difficult to find empty space on the dial. As such you may end up with a lot of static and interference instead of your sweet tunes. If you don’t live in a large metropolitan area or if you just want a stop-gap solution for a cross country road trip an FM transmitter can work, but it often turns into a frustrating dial-jiggling exercise.

For a more permanent solution you’ll need to add an Auxiliary port to your car stereo. This can involve purchasing an auxiliary port that can be plugged into the back of your existing stereo, if it has the right connections, or replacing the stereo with one that has an auxiliary port built in. If you are buying a new car stereo and have an iPod, look for one that is advertised as being iPod ready, and investigate how much the optional kit that allows you to connect your iPod costs to buy and install. Either way you’ll want to be sure to research the matter thoroughly to make sure you get the right parts and we recommend that you have a professional do the installation.