How to listen to your iPod/Zen/Zune/MP3 player in your car

Got an Apple iPod, Creative Zen, Microsoft Zune or other MP3 player? Want to listen to music and podcasts in your car? Obviously you shouldn’t drive around with earbuds in your ears that might prevent you from hearing the sounds of drivers and environment around you.

I originally wrote this from the perspective of a commuter who spends a lot of time in the car. But it works great too for playing kids music when hauling the family around.

Here’s some simple steps to get you hooked up to play your digital media through your car’s built-in speaker system.

1. Late model cars have started to ship with an auxillary input plug on the stereo or dashboard. All you need is a Mini-Stereo Audio Cable with two male ends to connect your MP3 player to the stereo’s Aux input. I recommend a short 3ft length rather than standard 6ft.
Audio quality: High
Cost: $6-10 USD

2. If car has a cassette deck, simply buy an old-style Cassette Adapter. The cassette has a wire to plug into your MP3 player. I’m using a 15 year old one that came with a Sony Car Discman I once owned.
Audio quality: Medium/High
Cost: $10-15 USD

3. A wireless FM Transmitter, such as iTrip, can send output your songs/podcasts wirelessly. Simply select a lowband frequency on both the transmitter and the car’s stereo.
Audio quality: Low/Medium
Cost: $35-50

Note: Signal interference can occur while passing stronger radio signals or traveling in cities. Some transmitters exclusively use the MP3 player’s battery as sole power source, which will drain the battery quicker.

If you don’t like any of the above options, you can always burn your music to audio CDs, but your limited to roughly 70 minutes of playback.

Another option is get a car stereo that can play back MP3 and WMA files. That way you can burn a larger number of audio files on a data CD to listen to in the car.

Personally, I used the Griffin Technology iTrip Nano LCD/FM Transmitter for iPod Nano, Black for awhile. But I’ve switched back to using a simple cassette adapter. It works and sounds fine with no additional power drain on the iPod’s battery.

I hope you found this useful. Good luck and enjoy the ride!
-Roland