Belkin Auto Charger for iPod (White) Reviews

• PERFECT SOUND if you hook it up correctly.

  
  By A25DMZULPFMQRB on 2004-06-04
  This thing is great! This is basically a "dock" for the car. It powers and charges the ipod, while providing an audio jack to hook up to your car stereo without having to plug into the headphone jack of the ipod. Now to clear up a point from other reviews. A few reviewers were giving this product LOW rating, not because of problems with the adapter, but because of their own faulty hook up. Ever notice the hiss you get from playing a tape? Well guess what, if you hook up anything through a tape adapter, yeah, you're gonna get that same hiss. Did you notice that FM doesn't sound as clear as a cd? Well same thing applies here. It's gonna sound like FM if you use an FM transmitter. The noise is coming from the tape and fm adapters, NOT the Belkin adapter. If you have a line input in your deck, or buy an adapter to add a line in to the back of you deck, you'll get PERFECT sound. It's as clear as any cd i have (depending on the compression of the mp3). I simply spliced into my cd changer's audio (since i no longer use the cd changer because of my ipod), and now I get crystal clear sound from my ipod thanks to the Belkin Adapter. I was actually suprised at the clarity after reading some of these reviews, but I assumed it was because of the way they had it hooked up. I used to use the headphone jack before, but I had to turn it up almost all the way. With the belkin, I can now adjust the audio so that it's the same level as my radio. Once you have it set the same, you really don't need to adjust the adapter's volume ever again. It's nice and loud now! Hopefully you can hook yours up the same, without noisy adapters.
  
  

• Amplify & Power up.

  
  By A3RF8N1W0X8NSF on 2003-07-27
  Before I got this adapter, I was just using a cassette adapter and an FM transmitter in the car. In both cases the iPod was struggling to provide enough power output to provide clean undistorted sound, and still having to crank the volume control up all the way on both the car stereo and the iPod.

  This product solves that problem, and charges your iPod to boot. It uses the new line out capabilities through the docking connector. You then plug your adapter into a mini-plug jack located on the power adapter. Adjust the aplifier volume on the adapter as well. The built in amplifier provides enough power now so I don't have to crank the volume on the car stereo, making the sound to be fuller, richer, more accurate and eliminating all the hiss & noise caused by having to turn up the car stereo all the way.

  The only things that might need to consider is the mini-plug output for the amplifier and volume controls are on the side of the cigarette plug. While this wasn't a problem for me, people with resessed power plugs in their cars might have difficulty with it if your cassette adapter/fm transmitter doesn't have a angled plug (I have a MB that has a power adapter in a recessed ashtray and it's challenging to use that plug because of space requirements, but does work after some adjustment). Belkin should have put these on opposite sides of the device, but should only be a minor inconvience. I don't envision anyone having to adjust the output volume very often, after you set it for the first time.

  I highly reccomend this product to anyone wanting to listen to their iPod in the car.
  
  

• Works great, sounds great

  
  By A218MQSSMRCUWB on 2006-03-23
  I just bought a new 2006 Civic and like all new Hondas, it has a line input on the stereo. I have been using this Auto Kit for 2 months and I love it. It makes my 1 hour commute somthing I look forward to. When you hook up the ipod with the large connector on the bottom with the Auto Kit, the sound is so much more clear and free of distortion over using the headphone out. I have been a professional audio engineer for 25 years, so I know good sound. The review I read helped me choose, so I hope this will help someone else.
  
  

• Excellent!!

  
  By A9AZJGWMDJ7SR on 2004-08-02
  First let me say I've hooked up other MP3 players and a Pocket PC to my car stereo before while also having them plugged into the cigarette lighter for charging. In all cases I had a terrible hissing noise while charging. Thus I expected the same with the Belkin and iPod.
  
  To my delight it works perfectly!! I plug in the Belkin charger and run a patch line from it to the audio-in on my car stereo and I get perfect sound with no hiss (while also charging the iPod)!
  
  This product works as advertised. One thing to be aware of is that Belkin tells you to turn the volume down on your stereo and iPod and use the volume control on the Belkin device. I found the sound quality to be considerably better when I did the opposite and turned the volume down on the iPod and Belkin and just used my car stereo volume control.
  
  

• Good charger, poor audio.

  
  By A43XD01XP9UT1 on 2004-11-16
  I recently purchased the Auto Kit so I could get line-out quality sound from my iPod and port it directly to the aux-input of my car stereo. At first blush it seems like a great product, however in practice it is sorely lacking. The amped line out on the Auto Kit picks ups the electrical interference from the alternator and other electrical systems producing a very annoying hum to outright buzz while driving.
  
  I investigated the problem and determined that the Belkin Auto kit lacks an appropriate filter to mute the interference. I found that if I plugged the RCA cable into the headphone jack and left the power adapter connected, I still got the whine. If I removed the power adapter, the whine, buzz and humming were gone. Had I known this was going to be an issue, I would have saved myself the $40 and just set things up to plug into the headphone jack.
  
  Belkin obviously thought that people would be using their product with their FM transmitter or cassette adapter which are noisy in their own right and thus the interference introduced through the Auto kit wouldn't be a problem.
  
  I would not put any money into this particular Belkin product and find another way to get line-out quality sound.
  
  
  
  
• One-third the features for three-quarters of the price
  By AH4G61RCDAAFD on 2005-12-13
  My wife bought this as a gift for me, thinking that it included an FM tuner. For ten dollars more, she could have purchased a product that does everything this one does (it is essentially a $35 car charger) plus the tuner. If you want to use this product to actually listen to your iPod in your car, you'll need to purchase yet another device: either the cassette adapter (old school! part F8V366-APL) or the FM transmitter (part F8V367-APL). Either one connects through a jack in the side of this unit. The FM transmitter is another $40 (you're now $20-30 over what the Monster iCarPlay, which does all of the above, would have cost you)...and, surprise! The transmitter takes AAA batteries! There's no way to power the transmitter through the Auto Kit. To power the FM transmitter without batteries, you must purchase yet a third accessory, the "Mobile Power Cord for iPod" (F8V7067-APL, just $15!)...except your car's power plug is occupied by the Auto Kit, so you'll need to buy a twin-plug adapter for that.
  
  Are we having fun yet? I'm not, and am wishing I'd skipped all this nonsense and just purchased the iCarPlay in the first place.
  
  
• Good in theory, Poor in reality.
  By A38KIYM97ATFNM on 2003-09-07
  So after purchasing the iPOD I wanted to know how I could fully integrate it into my life and take advantage of iPOD's mobility.

  The Good - The charger worked great, it is the one star, able to charge your iPOD while on the road and would reccommend this for people that use it while they travel. I do travel often and it's nice to have a fully charged iPOD for a morning run.

  The Bad - The Belkin TuneCast mobile FM transmitter runs through the charger so that you can listen to your iPOD through the radio without the annoying cassette adapter, however, it uses two "AAA" batteries, which after the first day of having this transmitter, the batteries were dead. I don't understand if it's plugged into the battery of the car, why you would need two puny batteries?

  The Ugly - Plain and simple the mobile FM transmitter didn't work. It gives you four band choices 88.1, 88.3, 88.5, and 88.7. After trying all four, the best that I could get was a very faint sound of the iPOD track, with a lot of hissing and crackling, kind of like when you're listening to a radio station and you just start to get "out of range".

  I think that this product is a good idea, and I'm a big fan of Belkn's product lines, but I can't believe that they would put something like this on the market when it simply does not work.
  
  

• Best adapter (and I've used them all)
  By A2DZ41QSL7LXPM on 2004-08-26
  Despite bemlar's assertions that all "hissing" is due to the user's faulty hookup or use of tape adapters and FM transmitters, many people have experienced a high-pitched hissing through their speakers with any audio accessory that uses the cigarette lighter adapter. This is not due to the user's faulty hookup, but due to poor factory electrical systems in the vehicle. It is usually more noticeable while driving (accelerating) and not so much when idling.
  
  Like bemlar, I also have a direct line from my car's factory CD changer connector to my iPod, and can get crystal clear playback until plugging in the chargers from various accessories. The screeching is there through the speakers as long as the adapter is plugged in, even if the music is turned down or the iPod disconnected. Incidentally, this also used to happen with my old CD/MP3 player that I had wired up the same way. Apparently in some vehicles, the cigarette lighter's electrical is too closely associated with the audio system, and this inevitably happens when powering and playing at the same time.
  
  I have owned the DLO Transpod and the SiK imp for my iPod. They both created this high frequency makes-your-dog-wince hissing only when plugged in to charge. Both worked very nicely and sounded great as long as I was not charging the iPod. The DLO Transpod even worked well in FM transmitter mode, but with the direct line I had no real use for that. What I have wanted is a permanent setup that requires me only to "pop" the iPod into a dock when I get in the car and go. The DLO was the closest, but the hiss and inelagance of it's tinker-toy appearance finally made mt try something else. I have also owned an iTrip which worked OK, but of course provided no way to charge the iPod.
  
  The Belkin Auto Kit for iPod is the only one of the 3 powered adapters that does not create the "hiss" when charging, so finally I have a solution that works as I want. In combination with the Belkin TuneDok for iPod cup-holder mount, I can pop my iPod in and out of a secure, visible, and usable place, charging and playing beautifully without any annoying feedback/hissing. It seems the cigarette plug on the Belkin unit must be better shielded, and maybe it has something to do with the input control on the unit itself. I'm no electrical engineer, but clearly Belkin has done something that DLO and SiK have not for vehicles like my '98 New Beetle with this lighter-radio problem.
  
  Keep in mind that for this unit, its strength is also its weakness. Probably precisely because of whatever it is electrically that makes the Belkin work without creating the "hiss," it does not function using its own line-out at all unless it is charging. When I was using the DLO Transpod or the imp, I resorted to never plugging in the charger, just using the iPod's batteries on the road, in order to avoid the hiss. When the iPod's battery got low, I'd just listen to the radio. The Belkin needs to be plugged in to work. This is not an issue for me really, since now that I have no hissing I have no reason to not plug it in. But for people who are making long trips and/or swapping out their cell phones or other accessories with their cigarette lighters, realize that the music will come to a crashing halt if you are using this unit's line-in to play your iPod. Of course when you unplug it you can simultaneously plug your (FM transmitter, tape adapter, line-in) into the iPod's headphone jack, but the idea of devices like this is to minimize cord swapping, right?
  
  In summary, from a person who has owned an iTrip, a DLO Transpod, and a SiK imp, the Belkin Auto Kit + Belkin TuneDok combo is the closest thing you will get to a pop-in pop-out "dock" for your car that makes the iPod usable and sound great without the speaker-cigarette lighter interference hissing many have experienced. I just wish Belkin would combine the two into a cup-holder shaped powered dock with line out. Isn't that obvious?
  
  
• Better audio than FM transmitter
  By A31JDCJ3ECCX8C on 2006-03-09
  This device provides great audio. It does a much better job than an FM transmitter.
  
  I use this kit with a SONY cassette adapter, for my 4th Gen. iPod, and it works great. A few comments on this kit:
  
  * I get a full charge on my fully-drained iPod battery in about 1 hour.
  * If you plan on using a cassette adapter, then connect it to the cassette adapter plug on the kit, rather than directly on your iPod. It is a convenient way of shortening cables, and routing less cables to your iPod.
  * I experienced distorted music play-back when I set the kit's volume control on a high setting. I found that it's best to keep the kit volume control at a medium (or less) setting, with an iPod medium-high (or less) volume setting, and use the car's stereo for over-all volume control.
  
  
• A great item
  By A303QLU95M2U40 on 2004-01-24
  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!
  
  
• Electronics 101
  By A1SU8LXV2DDNZC on 2004-12-30
  If you get hum/whine/buzz, you need to add a Ground Loop Isolator, also called a Grounding Block. Some audio products include such circuitry internally, the Belkin evidently does not (shame on them). You can find one at any Radio Shack or local car audio/electronics shop.
  
  The product isn't defective, but it was skimpily engineered to be sure. Anytime you connect an audio input device to a car's power system, you need to add this filtering to keep the car's power system from feeding back onto the audio signal...
  
  
• expensive car charger with worthless feature
  By AMZETJOVI8JPL on 2004-09-08
  I had intended on directly hooking up my iPod to my car CD player and thought this would be a great device since its one cable for both audio output and power recharging. However, the device is faulty.
  
  First, the audio connector on the unit had to be fiddled around with to get the Stereo left and right outputs to work. Directly hooking up a line from my iPod headphone out to my car CD player resulted in perfect Left/Right output. Through the Belkin Auto Kit, more times than not only the Left output worked. I had to wiggle the audio cord a bit until the Right started to output.
  
  Secondly, the audio output of the Auto Kit was weak compared to the headphone output. Contrary to what Belkin says on their website about the headphone output and the amplifier of the Auto Kit, the headphone output is clearly superior and offers better quality output. Just use the volume control on the iPod itself, just liking using the volume control on the Auto Kit.
  
  The third bad reason is the final nail in the coffin for not using the product. Using the iPod with the car charger plugged in produces a whiney hum while driving and gets progessively high pitched as you accelerate. The reason for this is that most cars don't properly have their power port grounded. Normally there shouldn't be any reason whether it should or shouldn't. But when dealing with audio it does. Basically the whiney high pitched hum is an result of Ground Loop Interference. It's where two different devices with different voltages aren't independently grounded causing one device to ground through the other device instead of grounding away from it. So unless you open up your car's interior and ground the car power socket, you will experience this hum.
  
  So for me, this Auto Kit will only be used for charging my iPod when the battery is low. I will just connect my iPod directly to my car from the headphone output without any power connected. I'm pretty sure the 12 hour batttery will last between charges since I don't drive long distance much anyways.
  
  
• Works for a charger, but noisy for listening through...
  By A3P2I4A7VSVULK on 2004-01-04
  The headphone connection is of limited value. My first use of it was a bummer. The headphones had a pronounced whine when I plugged them into the headphone jack on the unit. I could 'drown the noise out' by turning up the volume, but obviously the unit needs a redesign to add some damping or filters to kill interference from the alternator and spark plugs...

  With the above issue, I'd rate this as an expensive auto charger with an almost worthless feature. (Are there simple car chargers for the iPod without the 'features' of this one?)

  With electronic filters it would get at least 4 stars, without gets it 2... (You can use the jack on the iPod for headphones and volume control)

  It does feel a little cheesey. Probably 'cause it's made in China... The bulbous end of the lighter adapter part glows and shows the 'Belkin' name... Self promotion is not needed or appreciated... Also the cable comes out of the side of the DC adapter plug. An interesting choice. At least that part is well thought out except for the running of 2 cables from the unit. One from the iPod to the adapter and one from the adapter to your headphones...

  Actually the more I think about it, the amplifier really becomes a fairly worthless addition, in spite of the noise... Just an ordinary car adapter would work because you could charge your iPod while listening to it through the iPod's headphone jack. The only thing that is easier with this adapter is that the volume control is on the DC plug and is a 'normal' rotating wheel... The cables kept getting caught on the seatbelt and my coat... Annoying while driving...

  Not a 'stellar' product, but maybe the only game in town...
  
  

• GREAT!!! but ONE drawback
  By A1ID0YR0L8SHAF on 2005-03-05
  I've found this to be one of the best accessories that I've purchased for my iPod mini. It works extremely well and for you people that have more than one item to plug into your cigarette lighter (i.e. radar detector), you can go to Target or an auto parts store to purchase a splitter for about 5 bucks. I've experienced no loss of performance from having both the iPod and my radar detector plugged into the lighter at the same time.
  
  The only drawback that I've experienced becomes advice to the new purchaser of this item. Although it has been said that the battery cannot develop "battery memory" I found that my battery had lost some of it's life. I had been automatically plugging in my mini everytime I got in the car, even when the battery had only been used for about an hour. My battery now lasts for about 4-5 hours of playtime. I HIGHLY recommend that you do not use this device until your battery is almost depleted of it's charge, as this item charges the battery while you use it. I'll be replacing the battery shortly, and I now I know that I do not have to "freak" about having enough playing time and plan to follow my own advice !!
  
  
• Great Product
  By AIKDQDIZL4R4I on 2005-11-17
  You can trust this product. I bought it based on the fact that the mini stereo audio out is located next to the dash and not at the bottom of you iPod. I can tolerate a wire running to my iPod because I want it to be able to charge but I don't want cables running everywhere. As long as you set it up properly it will sound great. If you use a tape adapter or FM modulator you may get hiss, I don't know because I bought this so I could you the auxilary port on my Alpine receiver to avoid all that, and it sounds amazing. My newer CD's I rip at 320 so the bass and highs really come through, there is no way you could tell the difference between a CD and the iPOD. My older stuff like the Beatles get ripped at 192 so I save the space and it still sounds great. If you get any hiss its from something else beside this.
  
  
• Apple should bundle this with their iPod
  By ATZ9ZB57CAPO6 on 2003-12-01
  This is such a great addition to the iPod that I think Apple should bundle it in order to make their iPod a complete package.

  Here is what this little adaptor offers:

  1) Comparable style and quality as iPod itself. As if it was designed and made by Apple.

  2) Power charger (of course).

  3) Has an output within for direct sound (has higher quality than coming from the headphone jack) exactly as the line out from the docking station. For those who has the docking version, you know the sound quality difference between the docking station and the phone jack out. Major!

  4) Volumn control for the direct sound. While the docking station doesn't have volumn control, this little device does have it. Nice thinking.

  Conclusion, you gotta get one!
  
  

• Not a good fit for my BMW 325iX
  By A2C9ZXCUQC0WJI on 2005-01-19
  
  I've have two bad things and one good thing to say about this product:
  
  1) The plug is not a tight fit in my car's cigarette lighter (BMW 325iX) ... as such my iPod turns off everytime the adapter is bumped, which is very annoying.
  
  2) There is a high-pitched whining noise when I accelerate ... I've read that I can fix this by purchasing some additional parts, but please I shouldn't have to do that.
  
  3) The volume control / line out is a very nice feature ... without it the signal from the headphone jack is too weak and makes switching between my iPod and the radio dangerous (i.e. too loud), however with it the volumes are more similar ... nice.
  
  So overall I'm in the process of debating if I can deal with the bad in order to have the good. Bottom-line is that there is room in this market for a better product, but for now ... ?
  
  
  
• Still happy after several weeks of use
  By A2Y5B578O29XAN on 2005-03-13
  I am using this cable with a 20GB click wheel iPod in a 2004 Nissan Quest minivan. I plug a standard audio cable into the headphone jack of the Auto Kit, and connect it to the auxiliary inputs of the DVD player under the passenger seat. The sound quality is very good, and the Auto Kit cable works well routed through the TuneDock cradle in the driver's seat cup holder. I have no complaints about the Belkin Auto Kit so far. One nice bonus feature that I did not expect: when I shut the car off, the iPod automatically pauses. That way I do not have to remember to pause it myself, or miss part of a song while the car is not running. I believe it works this way because the power socket I am using is turned off when the van is not running. To sum it up, I recommend this cable, especially if you use it with the TuneDock cradle also made by Belkin.
  
  
• Creates almost no interference, amplifier cuts off signal when unplugged
  By A2IT7S59GSASN7 on 2006-03-08
  My car stereo has RCA cables in the back so I was able to plug my iPod into the AUX port using a standard RCA to 2.5mm pin cable.
  
  The problem was that that cable does not charge my iPod, of course.
  
  So I tried almost every single car charger out there and every single one created noise on the audio channel.
  
  Then I called Belkin and asked about this product. They told me that they put in an amplifier to handle that problem, so I bought the device.
  
  They are right, this is the first charger that allows me to charge my iPod and pass the audio signal to my car stereo with almost no noise. Maybe an audiophile could hear the noise, but it sounds like CD quality to me.
  
  The only problem is that if I unplug the charger, it shuts down the amplifier and the audio signal. This is the only reason that I am giving it 4 stars. It would have been 5 stars if the charger had an amplifier to cut down noise (as it does), and a pass through channel for when the charger is unplugged.
  
  
• Solved a big problem
  By A2AEZQ3DGBBLPR on 2003-10-29
  This device what was I needed for my car and my iPod.

  I have a car stereo with 3.5mm MP3 device input, so once I obtained a male-male 3.5mm cable, I hooked it directly from the adapter to the stereo, and I was good to go.

  I only have one wire extending from the iPod itself, which while driving I don't have to worry about tangling my hand up on a power cable and a sound cable.

  Reviews which mention the FM transmitter not working properly, have nothing to do with this device, and are misleading. This power cable works well. Now if I can only obtain a 9 inch 3.5mm cable, instead of 6 feet, I'll be happy.
  
  

• Decent product
  By A338R9BE4S1604 on 2003-11-18
  I've had my Auto Kit for almost two months now, and I find it sturdy and reliable. The cable snaps easily into the docking port on the bottom of the iPod and the sound from the iPod's line out via the Auto Kit's amplifier is superior to what you'd get using the iPod's headphone port. I connect the unit to the auxiliary port on the front of my CD player (I know not all car CD players have this feature) so don't have to worry about messing with FM transmitters, which in fact seem to be the source of many of the problems rather unfairly mentioned in some of these reviews. The only problem I've had with the Auto Kit is some ground loop distortion, which may or may not be the fault of the Kit itself. I solved that using a ground loop isolator.
  
  
• Great idea - Poorly executed
  By A20PKYFJ75YEI2 on 2004-02-15
  I was excited when I first saw this product, as it promised to reduce wire mess by connecting my iPod to both my car's DC source and its cassette adapter through a single cable. As others have stated, the DC adapter works OK, but the pass-through sound is terrible. The built-in amplifier picks up a severe alternator whine off of the DC line and amplifies it, along with the audio from the iPod. Why Belkin didn't include a simple, effective, L-C line filter is beyond me, but its absence renders this product useless. Save your money. By the way, there's nothing wrong with my car's wiring system - my late model Volvo V70 T5 Wagon's radio plays flawlessly and noislessly, even on the AM band, so there's no reason that Belkin shouldn't have been able to design a suitably quiet product.
  
  
• Does the Job...Charge!
  By A1517476XFOC7A on 2004-10-15
  This kit connects easily to the bottom of the iPod, and does what it advertises. The cord is long enough that people in the backseat can manipulate it without pulling it out of the lighter socket. If that much cord is not needed, there is a Velcro strap that can be used to keep the excess coiled up.
  
  When it's charging the iPod, there is a green light that shines through the plastic at the end of the adapter that plugs into the lighter socket. It makes it very easy to tell if the connection is made successfully.
  
  Also, the whole device has a very small footprint in terms of the amount of space that it takes up when putting it into a bag with the iPod.
  
  
• Sounds Fantastic...
  By A1MNU14AQGX89H on 2004-11-25
  This product is the best way to go - sounds clean in my car. I tried that FM crap and forget that...
  
  1. Plugs in clean on the bottom - no audiojack needed at the top plus the cig adapeter on the bottom.
  2. They cleverly put the 1/8" out back down where the cig adapter plugs into the car. Ingenious for my setup which is in the console - all wires nearly hidden.
  3. Saves you $ 200 ish dollars for the BMW like IPod line in car kits...
  4. I work in the audio industry - so I have no idea what the other people are complaining about - it's a quality piece. All you need is an aux in - or jack into the line out wires of your CD Changer - this gives you 40 Hours of Ipod Car Music Bliss....
  
  
• How do people do without it?
  By A3D03P6CPF7PUL on 2006-08-29
  This is by far one of the most useful accessories i have for my iPod. In addition to everything else, once you turn the car off, it allows the iPod pause your selection, so you don't come back to the car an hour later with your playlist having run out on you. Not all car chargers w/ audio out will do that. This device is worth much more than $30, especially if you use your iPod daily in your car.
  
  
• Great product for use with AUX-in or Cassette adapter
  By A21W357J9PKA6F on 2006-12-06
  If you're in need of an FM transmitter, I'd recommend the Kensington DIGITAL FM transmitter (a great transmitter / charger combo)
  
  If you have an AUX-IN or a cassette adapter, IMO this Belkin is absolutely the way to go.
  
  Here are some of its benefits:
  
  NOISE
  I've found far less noise using the Belkin than I have using other chargers. In fact in the MANY cars where I've used the Belkin I've had no noise at all, vs. a great deal of noise with my other chargers (due to ground loops, engine noise, and mismatched impedance or volume). Isolation provided by the built in amp is a contributor to noise reduction and the volume control eliminates noise problems related to mismatched impedance and mismatched volume requirements. The noise mentioned by some other posters is most likely due to a ground loop problem originating with the car's own wiring. It really is a fairly common problem with any music player used along with a car charger.
  
  VOLUME LEVEL MATCHING
  With the Belkin's volume level control I've been able to get a perfect match on the iPods volume and the radio volume, as well as a perfect volume setting for any aux-in or cassette adapter. Note that with most units providing line out you can't adjust the line-out volume via either the ipod or the unit. This makes a nice difference when switching back and forth between radio and iPod. (With other units, in some cars, you'll be blown out by the volume each time you make that switch) You can set the volume once on the Belkin's base and its perfectly matched thereafter, unaffected by the ipods own volume settings, (which you're always changing when using headphones.)
  
  AUTO POWER OFF
  The Belkin pauses the iPod when the charger power is shut off, which means that if your car's power outlet is turned off when your engine is turned off (most cars do this), the iPod will (within a few seconds) automatically turn off whenever you shut down your engine. That's a big plus IMO, and means you'll never leave your car with the ipod running, and return to find a dead ipod. (Just when you were planning to take your ipod to the park) Thats the way car audio is supposed to work, but few chargers do that.
  
  CLEANER INSTALL and QUICKER CONNECT/DISCONNECT
  JUST one wire to the ipod supplying both power in and audio out, means you'll have a very clean look and a very quick setup when you take your ipod to or from your car.
  
  Pete
  
  
• Adapter produces noise exclusive from audio connection
  By AD2Z9JLRSEJXF on 2007-01-04
  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.
  
  
• Great idea, but flimsy.
  By AM3FH1Q8Q9TW7 on 2003-11-13
  After a month of usage, the protective insulator came loose from where the cable enters the Ipod Dock connector, exposing bare cable. Three days later, the built-in amplifier blew out. It's a great idea, but I at least got a serious lemon.
  
  
• Light up your iPod!!!!
  By ADK6XWZTNAOE on 2004-04-11
  Get this product right now. The lighter part is cool, but what lights me up is the amplifier. Simply put, the iPod is louder with this kit. I used to have to crank the volume of both my iPod and car stereo to get a modest sound. Now, with this product, I have to turn it down-it is that loud! Go get it now!!
  
  
• Think of it as an ipod car dock...
  By A3U3X4YWI73BTJ on 2004-07-29
  This is a cool product if you set it up correctly, which may not be the intuitive thing to do. I was only using it as a charger and running a jack from from the top of the Ipod to the axillary input on my car stereo. I did get some hissing but adjusting the jack took care of most of it. Somehow it seemed like I was missing the something... until one day I pulled the unit out of the cigarette lighter and realized there was a jack for output and a volume control!
  
  Duh! Light bulb clicks on...
  
  Using full feature set of the charger unit, I have much better control over the volume coming out of the Ipod. It is a vast improvement. The cords store neater too since you don't have cords coming out of both ends of the Ipod. The location of the the output jack and the volume control is close to where the unit slides into the cigarette lighter so it is hard to see. You just have to feel for it by realizing it is to the outside of the output jack. You can rotate the unit in the cigarette lighter position it suit you best.
  
  

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