Car Audio Technology
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Car technology has come a long way over the past few years. We have cars with more power and better fuel efficiency. Cars now are run by computers monitoring everything from speed to tire pressure. Other electronics in the cars are rapidly changing, such as the stereo. Keep reading to find out the musical options for your car today.
You are no longer going to be stuck with at best a six-disc CD player for $600, as my parents were many years ago. The excuse of "there isn’t anything good to listen to" doesn’t work anymore. You can connect to nearly any kind of media with which to listen to music in your car. Let’s take a look at what that crappy old radio is missing with the hi-tech possibilities that are possible now.
Connections
For any car that you can buy now, the standard is pretty much an AM/FM radio with a CD player. This will satisfy some people, but leaves a lot to be desired. The newer cars come with a 3.5mm audio jack. Most people know this connection as the same one that is used for headphones.
This turns your car speakers into basically a pair of headphones. This is great, because it will work with any device that has a headphone jack. This is by far the most universal way of connecting devices.
The down side to the 3.5mm connection is that it doesn’t charge or power any devices. This could be a problem when traveling long distances. To beat this, many manufacturers have added a USB port to the radios. This can be used to connect USB flash and hard drives, making the car radio into a massive MP3 player. Using this port, you can throw all your music onto a USB hard drive and take it with you wherever you go.
This is great, but not all of them work the same; the option varies depending on the stereo you have. If you search around, you will be able to find some that even have SD slots. This can provide a mini hard drive that is practically built in, yet easily removable. As we continue to see storage increase and prices drop, I think more and more receivers will start to incorporate SD slots. Some can use both 3.5mm and USB to play music and charge.
So now most of the world reading this it wondering, "What’s the best way to connect my iPod?" There are many different ways to connect your iPod to car stereo. Many of the ways to listen to music I have mentioned so far will work, but what is the best way?
Going with the stock stereo won’t leave you many options. At best you ‘ll get a 3.5mm input; other than that, you have an FM transmitter. Aftermarket stereos, on the other hand, offer many different methods.
There are custom connectors from the stereo that interface with the iPod. They offer many benefits. First, they usually charge and play the iPod while connected. Second, the iPod is often controlled via the stereo interface, instead of forcing you to scroll through the thousands of songs on your iPod while you’re supposed to be driving. This also keeps the music digital while going to your stereo, making the quality a little better for those who notice it. Some stereos offer you a combo 3.5mm and USB plug to deliver the power and audio to the stereo. Most, if not all, of these ways will allow you to play songs, albums, artist and playlists.
Next: Digital Media Receivers >>
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