Belkin Auto Charger for iPod (White) by Belkin Components
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Digital camera reviews of Belkin Auto Charger for iPod (White)
Digital camera Review: A great item
Summary: 5 Stars
I was kind of miffed at what I perceived as "price fixing" on the part of Apple accessory makers when I bought this, since I thought it was just a power adapter. But it's a lot more -- you have the audio plug in the adapter right there, so you can plug just one thing into the iPod for instant music. The sound volume on the adapter is nice too, and the knob isn't cheap, it feels comperable to the iPod. Finally, when you stop your car, the adapter pauses your iPod's music for you. It's da bomb!Digital camera Review: ATTENTION: TO MAKE IT LAST MUCH MUCH LONGER...
Summary: 4 Stars
By using this in your car, you may be moving it, twisting it, setting it here and there and ultimately really giving it some wear and tear... specifically the cable itself. The greatest point of weakness is where the wire goes into the plastic piece that clicks into your iPod. This item works great, but upon first purchasing and receiving it, place a few drops of superglue on the wire right where it leaves the plastic plug for the iPod. Otherwise your wire could/will fray and short out.Digital camera Review: Adapter produces noise exclusive from audio connection
Summary: 1 Stars
Some of the reviews here have tried to excuse noise from this adapter by stating that cassette decks and FM transmitters cause hiss/static on their own and that it shouldn't be attributed to the Belkin adapter. While it is true that these input options can cause hiss due to the lo-fi nature of those input, this does NOT account for all of the hissing and static produced by the Belkin adapter. Additionally, the adapter itself causes hissing even when not using the mini-audio jack to connect to the car stereo (regardless of connection input). At first I thought my adapter was defective and I returned it to Belkin (paying the shipping myself) -- the adapter I received in return performs in the same flawed way.
My tests:
1) Plugged the adapter into the car's power outlet and connected a 3.5 mm audio cable to the adapter itself (as described by Belkin as a key product feature) and ran it to the AUX input for my car stereo. This produced both hiss and varying levels of static (depending on the volume setting on the adapter itself)
2) Plugged the adapter in the power outlet and connected a 3.5 mm audio cable to the headphone output of the iPod and ran it to the AUX input for my car stereo. This eliminated the static (since the volume was now dictated by the iPod not the adapter) but the hiss remained (note that I am NOT connecting to a cassette adapter or an FM transmitter).
3) The problem could still have been the audio cable rather than the Adapter so I connected a 3.5 mm audio cable to the headphone output and connect to the AUX input. I ran the iPod off its own batteries. There was no hiss or static at all. This isolated the problem to either the adapter or my car's power outlet.
4) I then used a second (non-Belkin) company's power adapter in conjunction with the 3.5mm audio cable plugged into the iPod headphone output and plugged into the car's AUX input. There was no hiss or static at all. This eliminated my car's power outlet as the problem.
After this testing and eliminating the AUX input, the car's power outlet and the 3.5mm audio cable as problems in those 4 steps, the only remaining variable was the Belkin power adapter (whether using its including audio output or not).
I personally don't understand how other companies can make cheaper power adapters that work perfectly fine and Belkin can't get this correct. Even if you are willing to pay more for this adapter because it has the audio output (theoretically allowing better quality sound than using the headphone output) and you try to use the adapter without using this feature (and reason for the additional cost) it still produces hiss.
So what is the point of buying the adapter at all? It has no benefit over the cheaper adapters and, in fact, has a huge deficiency. If I can't use the dock connector for my audio output and am going to have to use the headphone port anyway (and have two cables to connect every time I use my iPod), I might as well not only save the money but also in turn get an adapter that won't produce hiss.
Of course, I have already wasted the money on this auto kit (as well as the additional expense of shipping my first one back to Belkin) so I don't really have that option. But perhaps the testing I performed will help someone else avoid wasting their money and keep them from falling for Belkin's theoretical claims of perfect sound. Yes, it is better to get your sound from the dock connector, but that is only desireable if the product carrying that sound to the stereo doesn't pollute the perfect sound on the way.
Digital camera Review: Adds noise to iPod's sound
Summary: 1 Stars
Despite the iPodish design, this car connector adds noise to the sound. I connected the iPod to a cassette adapter through the iPod's headset connector. Even with the egine stopped, you will hear a shhhhhh sound over the original sound. I now either charge the iPod, or listen to it in the car. I don't know if other chargers do the same, but I am dissapointed with the performance of this product.Digital camera Review: Alternator whine.
Summary: 3 Stars
Nice little unit, I really like the way I can have only one cord going to my iPod as the audio is tapped off at the unit plugged into the power socket. I have been thinging about semi permanently mounting and wiring it up, so that all that is visible is the cord to the iPod.
The reason I only gave two stars on the sound quality is that it has introduced alternator whine, I assume because there is a little amp built into it for the level control. I dont have this when the audio is plugged into to iPod directly, even with a power cord plugged inot the unit.
In my thoughts about semi permanently mounting it, I am thinking about adding a fairly large capacitor to the power to see if that gets rid of the alternator whine.
It's pretty pronounced when the iPod isnt playing and the volume is up a bit. The music will drown it out completely, but you know it's still there, and it shouldnt be. Thinking about also trying the Monster unit like this, to see if their amp is designed better and cuts the alternator whine.