Kensington 33185 Digital FM Transmitter/Auto Charger for iPod – Customer Reviews
It keeps, going, and going...
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I have had a Kensigton for about two years now and it has left me wanting nothing more.The sound is as good as you'll find for FM transmitted tunes, and the signal is strong enough where you can often overpower fuller frequencies.The one thing that I am most impressed with is its range in remote places on clear frequencies.On roadtrips I have before had three other cars at once listening to my music, all with reportedly good reception.In the most desolate places, I have driven probably over 200 yards away before the signal is entirely lost!During the summer I work for a company setting up tents, and we have surrounded our work area with our big trucks and all tuned them to my station - an effective ghetto rigged surround sound.I certainly didn't expect this quality when I purchased the Kensington.
10/23/2006 12:00 AM | Rating:
Just Terrific: So much better than others I've tried.
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TRANSMITTER RELIABILITY: EXCELLENT
Having tried several others here in the SF Bay Area, I'm totally amazed to finally find a unit that consistently holds a station with ZERO fading or interference.
SOUND QUALITY: EXCELLENT
It's not a direct connect, but its surprisingly close for an FM transmitter.
FEATURES and DESIGN: EXCELLENT
- A Charger and an FM transmitter with one cable, one plug: Totally clean and convenient
- Digitally tune to any channel, rather than just a few. (Owners: Note this Hidden feature. You can extend the lowest frequency available by pressing and holding the two rightmost presets)
- 3 user definable Presets are very convenient.While, I NEVER have to change my station, the convenience here is in the ability to do quick A/B comparisons for choosing the one station with best overall sound in a variety of locations.
- LCD is very clear, very easy to read, and easy to position, based on the good design.
- Will work with any ipod in ANY SKIN or CASE. (As long as your iPod has a Dock Connector) If you use a skin, this can be a big advantage when compared to a Transmitter Cradle combo (like DLO's) where you'd have to remove that skin (or put it on) each time you take your iPod to (or from) the car.
As a point of reference, I use a direct AUX-IN in my own car, and use the Kensington in loaners and rentals.10/21/2006 12:00 AM | Rating:
An Excellent Choice Among iPod Transmitters
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Having read many reviews of many units with mixed results, I was a little worried about trying any of them but this one seemed to work for quite a number of people in its reviews so I gave it a try.
This is an excellent unit with good sound quality and ease of use.There is, however, a trick that you need to know to ensure satisfaction.They normally recommend tuning to an unused station.Typically these stations have a no audible station on them but a lot of static.These work but the invariable result is that the music has a noticeable amount of static present in the background that I find unacceptable.I was going to return the unit until I discovered this trick!Rather than tune to an unused station, you tune to a very weak station that has very minimal static present.You might think that the station would compete with the iPod signal to be heard in the background (which does happen when you choose a channel with a strong signal).However, when the station's signal is weak, the iPod transmitter easily overwhelms the station's signal to give you not only clean and clear music but practically no static whatsoever in the background!I have found several channels like this that work very well so it is clearly not an anomaly.You should select several weak channels to store on the presets and try them out while driving around to ensure that the weakness of the channel is due to the station being far away and not just being blocked by an object between your car and the station when you first picked it.You should almost certainly find a couple that suit you.
On the negative side, I worry a little about the flimsy nature of the buttons on the unit. They seem cheap and could break if not handled gently but once you settle on a good station for your local area, you shouldn't have to play with them much.Overall, I give this unit high marks for the quality of the sound received and its versatility (i.e., the ability to tune to any station on the FM dial, not just a couple of preset ones).The location of a car's antenna in different models could give different results for others so I can't speak to that but on a Subaru Sport Wagon, I am quite content with the performance.10/13/2006 12:00 AM | Rating:
AWESOME - FIRST CHANNEL WORKED LIKE A CHARM...in Detroit, anyway...
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I, too, read a lot of the online reviews and did my research on FM transmitters.This seemed to receive the best reviews.I was currently using an old Belkin TuneCast II which was absolutley worthless.
So, I read the reviews and made my purchase.As soon as the Amazon.com box arrived, I ran to my car and plugged this in, picked one station and it was PERFECT!NEVER have changed the channel since!First channel worked!And I drive ALL over metro-Detroit, including outskirts of Jackson - the same channel works EVERYWHERE.
Highly recommended...:)10/8/2006 12:00 AM | Rating:
What a relief!!!!
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This is the 3rd FM transmitter I have purchased for my Ipod. After buying the itrip from Griffin, I was close to tossing the whole works out the window, it worked like [..], tons of static, on road trips I had to constantly try to find static free stations. So, I read as many reviews on as many websites as I could possibly find on any and all FM transmitters. After weeks of shopping and reading conflicting reviews, I settled on the Kensington Digital FM Transmitter 33185. I overnigted it becuase I was leaving on a roadtrip in two days. I was first surprised when it arrived by noon the follwing day, I was then even more surprised when I plugged it in and it sounded great....then for the test, the trip to PA from Virginia, WOW!!! Not only was the sound excellent, but I never had to change the frequency once all the way there and all the way back. I was and still am blown away by how much better this works the the other two I bought! This thing works as advertised, I am proof of that. FINALLY, WHAT A RELIEF!!!! Can't go wrong here folks.
10/3/2006 12:00 AM | Rating: