Zune Car Pack Reviews

• Terrible Audio Quality

  
  By A1KODJ9T3WRS9N on 2006-12-08
  I received the Zune as a promotional gift and I have been very happy with it, however this FM transmitter that I purchased for it is terrible.
  
  It's primary function is to deliver radio signal via FM to your car stero on an unused frequency, it does have an auto seek to find an available frequency which is nice but it never delivers enough signal for my stereo to pick up decent sound.
  
  I am not expecting CD quality audio here, but it should deliver FM Broadcast quality audio at the least. In this case it isn't even close to AM broadcast quailty which is just silly. I tried putting the device in every part of my car with no real difference. I also tried every single frequency on the dial.
  
  I know this isn't a problem with my car stereo because my personal satellite radio (Pioneer Inno) has a built in FM transmitter that works perfectly well.
  
  Good Luck! Hope this helps you make your decision.
  
  

• Cover Your Ears

  
  By AA98GW5LPFBNC on 2006-12-28
  Yikes. This came in a "warehouse pack" so it was almost free. It's worthless even if it's free. I tested it in my Honda Accord and the sound was terrible. It might have been better if the Accord had one of the old-fashioned metal rod antennas, but mine is imbedded in the window. However . . .
  
  I tested it indoors using an AC adapter and a high quality Tivoli table radio and although the sound was better, it was still only fair. (Of course the point is not to get it to play indoors, but in your car.) One other thing to note: Although some Ipod FM adapters draw their power from the Ipod, the Zune FM adapter must be plugged into the bottom, into which you must then plug the power socket adapter. The adapter has one of those tightly coiled short cords, so you'd better have a steady nearby location to rest your Zune or its young life will end when it goes flying during a quick stop.
  
  The auto-station seek feature is totally worthless. It finds frequencies that have signals and tries to play over them. You're better off using manual seek. But you're better off not buying this at all. The Zune is a quality product. This overpriced piece of junk diminishes the entire Zune line.
  
  

• Not as bad as most are reporting

  
  By AELTCA95NQK2H on 2007-10-16
  Wasn't really planning on buying one of these, but found one at a decent price and thought I'd give it a try.
  
  First thing, this is a quality, well made product. Unlike a lot of car power adapters, this provides a clean, shielded source of power that doesn't put off a lot of interference. The FM transmitter, like most FM transmitters, isn't overpowering, but does an ok job when you aren't in an area crowded with FM signals.
  
  Any FM transmitter is going to get buried in the middle of a city. These things work best in lesser populated areas where there are empty frequencies. Belkin's website has a tool for their FM transmitters, that can give you an estimate of the best FM frequencies to try in any given Zip code.
  
  This transmitter has a great display and worked well in my local area and in several of the surrounding areas.
  
  A couple things I really liked about this. First, while the power adapter is engaged, the Zune will display the LCD so you can see cover art and song information while keeping the Zune charged. Secondly the FM transmitter has a great digital display that is clearly visible during the day and night.
  
  Only thing I didn't like is that the FM Transmitter just inserts into the player without actually locking. It stays put ok, but not if you have your Zune in a case. (At least not in the Silicone case I was using).
  
  Folks, if you live in a city, your not going to be happy with any FM transmitter. Also, different FM transmitters work differently in various cars. I've tested several, there is no rhyme or reason. Try one out, if it doesn't work ok, return it and try a different one. If you live in a big city, get an adapter to run directly into your stereo. No FM transmitter is going to work. FCC doesn't allow them to have enough signal to drown out the local stations crowding your local airwaves.
  
  
  
  

• Beware of Increased Traffic Accidents!

  
  By A25YHAWCM3WLTU on 2007-02-23
  The FM transmitter has about a 1 foot range (give or take a few inches) and static is the norm. To get a clear signal, you actually have to hold up the Zune in the air while you're driving, and even then your car might not pick it up. The charger also has a coiled cord, which means you have to fight against the cord's tension while you're holding up your Zune in order to try and get a clear signal while driving (see my point?). Another problem with the coiled cord: if you place the Zune anywhere in the car, the cord acts a slingshot to drag the Zune towards the charger, so forget placing your Zune on the passenger seat, or even the dashboard.
  
  On a positive note, the charger actually charges and the FM tuner has a very clear display. If that's worth the 80 bucks, then buy it!
  
  

• Garbage

  
  By A2LJJ4482V9LAW on 2007-08-05
  bought it for $15 more than this at a supposedly cheaper discount store. I guess I was duped. It's junk. Have had for 6 months and nothing on it works. Replaced with a "monster" car charger which works great...WHEN my Zune works. That's a whole other story. Anyway..don't waste your money.
  
  
• inferior in every way
  By A3932OGWVTEG12 on 2007-01-28
  As you can see, most people have found this as worthless as I have. There is one thing going for it. It matches the Zune players design. That's it, the rest is as bad as you could possible imagine. I've tried this device in an Acura Integra, Honda Civic, and a Saturn SL2(I think that is the model). The Saturn was better due to the cars antennae located in the front right region of the car, but was still bad enough to warrant a return.
  
  Here's the short version for this review immediately below, but read further below if you'd like to see how ridiculous of a solution I came up with just get this product usable, yet still not as good my wife's DLO TransPod (for the ipod, but has a audio in headphone jack) which CNET reviews as the best FM transmitter.
  
  CAR CHARGER:
  - cord to short (coiled which can stretch to a longer length, but doesn't want to stay that way
  - charger doesn't stay firmly seated in cigarette lighter hole, can work it's way out if you try to maintain the cord in a somewhat stretched length
  
  
  FM TRANSMITTER:
  - doesn't work. plain and simple. I can't believe this thing was actually mass produced. Yes it's that bad.
  - auto seek finds the strongest station instead of the weakest station for your FM transmitting needs! Talk about a defect! It's does the opposite of what it is supposed to do!
  - charger connects stronger to FM transmitter, but FM transmitter doesn't lock at all to Zune. There is some slight friction to hold it in, but not much.
  
  
  
  CAR CHARGER
  The car charger wiring is a little short (though it is a spiral-type you can stretch it to be longer, but it quickly wants to return to it's short length) In my car the charger doesn't quite stay secure either as it slowly works it's way out of the lighter hole due to the length I try and maintain of the charging cord. It has yet to actually come out all the way, but I always am able to push it back inwards (a bit) during my commute. This may just be an issue with my vehicle and where I am trying to place my Zune player, so this may not be an issue for you.
  
  FM TRANSMITTER
  Thought the above issue(s) may only affect a small percentage of you, the more important issue is the lack of reception/functionality of the tuner part of this bundle. I don't even see how this thing was approved for mass production. It is that bad! I wish I still had mine so I could post a video on You Tube because it is quite amazing how bad it is. I live east of San Francisco about 50 miles so it's not like anyone can say that I live in an area plagued with interference. I could not find a single clear station that actually would work with this device. To make sure this was not totally broke, I decided to walk my Zune (with the FM transmitter attached) towards my antenna to see when I actually would start to hear music. I was about 2 feet away when it started to come in, and I did not get a clear signal until I was 2 inches (YES 2 inches!!!) from the antenna before it was actually a clear broadcast. Mind you that I was indeed on a station that had zero interference/radio broadcast on my test station. I'd also like to note that after 2 inches is not a smooth introduction of interference, but like a light switch would instantly turn on a light, there would instantly be a great amount of interference that is enough to justify a return of this product. Yes it was that bad. As an example. 4 inches away would result in about 40-50% interference noise/hiss. Just to make sure this wasn't the case for this particular station, I tried a couple others with SAME results.
  
  At this point I should have just decided to package this item up for a return, but I decided to see what I could come up with to make this thing work for me. I have a commuter car that has seen better days, so I decided to see if I could do to improve reception. With the Zune still playing, I decided to plug it back into the car charger. I immediately noticed a reduction in the interference! So it seems the Zune car chargers acts as an antennae or there might be a small difference in power feed to the device that might have improved the FM transmission. Though there was a noticeable change, it is nothing to consider usable. :( I also noticed if you stretch the charging cord and move your Zune around the car, you can change the reception. Seeing how the coiled cord wants to stay in it's shortest length, it's near impossible to maintain your Zune in a position to maintain this slight increase in reception.
  
  Getting back to the story, my plan was have a second antennae which would run to the passenger seat (to give me that great reception I experienced when I placed my Zune right next to the cars antenna). I decided to pull out my Pioneer stereo to access the antennae connection. Once I had access to the antenna wire, I pulled it out.(while Pioneer was still powered) and PRESTO!!! Near perfect reception with my Zune! Oh yea! Well...sort of... I can now listen to my Zune, but I no longer have an antennae for my radio!! What I did was take some extra speaker wire and connected it with the original antennae connector when placing it back into the Pioneer. I ran this homemade antennae wire up to the passenger seat with enough to wrap around the Zune. This actually gives me a decent signal, but nothing to cheer about. Not to mention that it
  is simply ridiculous to have to resort to this to make it usable!
  
  I commuted with this solution for a week and still found reception to be sub par compared to the DLO transpod. (which I tried on the same commute prior to purchasing the Zune car pack) Needless to say, I returned the item. This item deserves 0 stars.
  
  
  
  
• Horrible!!!!!!!!!
  By ANBMHBAX7RUCW on 2006-12-06
  I dont know what Microsoft was thinking when they released this. It sounds terrible in the car. My ipod transmitter sounds perfect and this sounds the junk. You think for as much money as microsoft makes they could come up with somthing better. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!
  
  
• Skeptical
  By ARJ2R88C16PRV on 2007-01-01
  Just like everyone else who has bought this. I was skeptical about buying it. I was really afraid of having tons of static and having it interfere with my music. I've had the FM transmitter for 2 days now and finally sat down this morning and played with it. I was also getting lots of static. I continued to play with the radio stations to try and find something with clear sound. And finally i found one that was crystal clear. No static at all. My stereo showed that it was receiving a full signal. So you just have to find a frequency that isn't close to any other used frequencies in your area. So i do recommend this product. It's working flawless for me now and im 100% satisfied. Maybe later something will come out to find a station automatically with a perfect signal. Until then, this will do! I did give it 4 stars because it was a little difficult to get a good station and took some time.
  
  
• Can I give less than one star?
  By A2ROTB6ANNA3B5 on 2007-01-29
  Got this with my Zune for Christmas and I was so horribly disappointed! The FM transmitter just flat out doesn't work, and when it does it sounds like an old recording made from your 1980's tape recorder that you held up to the radio to record a song. For you young'uns, imagine constant static louder than your song. I have a 2004 VW Touareg and I have finally found the ONE place in my car where I get decent enough reception to listen but someone has to hold it there while I drive. The car charger seems to interfere with my reception because when I yanked it out in a fit of anger my reception was much better. DON'T buy this. Wait until better technology comes along or you can afford a car to go with your Zune! ;)
  
  
• Bought, returned and bought...
  By A1M7OV4IYIMUD0 on 2006-12-11
  I went to Walmart, bought this product, I didnt realize that the box was opened already... I tried it, tuned it... nothing but static. The next day, I had them get me a new unopened box, worked a bit better, I could actually hear music. However, the transmitter had to be really close to the antenna of the car and I still got static!
  
  Tried and tried different stations... my generic transmitter with 5 presets works better than this piece of crap.(kinda sad to say because it looks cool.) I wish it worked.
  
  
• Zune Car Pack
  By A392X0SV97FYXA on 2006-12-24
  I bought this and then read the reviews- I was scared to use it thinking I would have to return it- but I had no problem with it- I did have to change the pre-set 88.1 to 87.9 and it worked great- sorry to hear others were not happy, but I would suggest everyone who wants it to try it first- only 4 stars because I have not tested on a long road trip yet-
  
  
• Bad choice if you value sound quality!
  By A30CM3R9GCXJOY on 2007-01-03
  After reading several bad reviews about this transmitter, I decided to give it a shot anyways. What a bad idea. I searched through every channel to try to find decent reception. The best channel was far less than tolerable as far as I am concerned. I have over $1500 worth of sound in my car that I am not about to put to waste! If you value sound quality even a little bit, DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!
  I do have a suggestion, however. If you have an aftermarket CD player, this is your savior! Peripheral Electronics sells a cable that connects directly to the back of your CD player through the auxiliary jack.The other end connects to your headphone jack. IT SOUNDS GREAT!!! It is called Connex2car. NOTE: THESE ARE BRAND SPECIFIC TO THE CD PLAYER! Another great thing is that it works for ANY MP3 player! The only negative about this product is that it does not charger your player, which can easily be fixed by buying just the car charger for your player without the transmitter. HAPPY LISTENING!
  
  
• Zune Transmitters that will ruin your life
  By AN3FSI4YX3S8S on 2007-02-09
  Do not buy, do not install, do not attempt to use.
  
  This product is vastly flawed and does not perform as advertised. I implore you to learn from my mistakes, do not purchase this item. If you do some how come into possesion of one of these transmitters you will find that it performs very poorly and much of your signal is static, and its vaunted auto seek function will actually find radio stations already occupied by signals to ensure maximum static in its signal.
  
  
• Don't waste your time
  By A25T9H3MCTC061 on 2007-02-25
  I purchased this yesterday. After only using it for 30 minutes I have decided to take it back.
  1. It will stay attached to my Zune.
  2. It has too much static.
  3. When there is little static the sound is not clear.
  
  
  
  
• Is Microsoft serious?
  By A2QL4PNW7AWUOF on 2006-12-13
  First, let me say that I have really enjoyed my new brown Zune! I didn't hesitate to purchase the car pack as my first accessory. What a disappointment. I cannot believe that Microsoft is trying to take over the ipod when their in-house accessories work so poorly. The product, when it is working, has some of the poorest sound quality I have heard for any FM transmitter. Honestly, I found the unit unusable. There are a couple of third-party FM transmitters now available including units from Monster and Belkin. I do not know how well they work, but I would recommend either one over this.
  
  
• Worth it after tweaking a bit
  By A1DK9ZDJ1LDOT5 on 2006-12-29
  I read the reviews and was skeptical as well, but decided to give it a try. At first I was disappointed with the signal, but after manually finding a station--the signal was MUCH clearer. I tried to use the autoseek function, but it did not find the best station. My advice is to go through every station that does not have programming in your area and find the best signal. The charger doesn't fit exactly into my cigarette lighter adapter, but it works fine. The look of the FM transmitter is very cool--it's made of the same material as the Zune casing and the display looks good. Despite the reviews posted below--I found the transmitter DOES work without the charger plugged in, but the signal seems to lose quality somewhat. Overall I would say this is a 3.5 out of 5 and it does work as stated. I am however left wondering if there is a better transmitter on the market that's available, or if this is the same quality I would get with any FM transmitter.
  
  
• It works, but not as well as expected
  By A1M331W0NP5S6I on 2007-01-18
  I picked up the Zune Car Pack today. My initial impression was that this thing is a piece of junk. The power was quite low and the auto-seek didn't work as I expected.
  
  After taking some time to fiddle with it, I found several frequencies that worked quite well. It was very surprising that some frequencies that were clear of local stations did not work at all, while others worked just fine. The auto-seek was essentially worthless.
  
  So while I'm not thrilled with this product, it does work acceptably for me.
  
  
• Superior player, Inferior accessories
  By A2KET3EAFAPJNT on 2007-01-26
  I have little to no problems with the car charger at all. Keeps my Zune charged fine. I bought this primarily for the FM transmitter. It is very temperamental. If I set it on my dashboard where it has a line of sight to my antenna it's ok. But take a turn and the whole unit goes flying. I put it somewhere where there isn't line of sight to the antenna, and the reception dies off or is non existent. I can't wait till they have the hardwire for my Zune to wire it into the car like iPods do. When that happens this kit goes in the trash the next day.
  
  
• Another Paperweight Transmitter.
  By A38T1JFRUIG19W on 2007-02-01
  I've been looking around for an FM Transmitter for my Zune and after being disappointed with my first purchase, I decided to buy this car pack offered by Microsoft. What a mistake. Not even 5 minutes after I bought this was I back in the store to return this crap. First off, the auto seek feature is completely worthless. It couldn't tell the difference between good and bad channels. After using it manually, I was able to find some decent stations, but there was ALWAYS mild to sever static. The only way I was able to get some decent sound was if I held it in one place.
  
  The charger works fine, but the transmitter is a paperweight. For $86 bucks (bought at CompUSA w/tax) I excepted something decent. Save your money for something else, because this isn't worth it.
  
  
• useless pile of junk
  By A3LNGWC69Q03RA on 2007-02-20
  do not buy this product or any other fm transmitter for your zune or ipod.
  sound quality is terrible.
  cord isn't long enough for most cars.
  why microsoft would put it's name on such a product is a mystery to me.
  
  
  
• Money to burn....
  By A3JXPU6OVO3TH3 on 2007-04-22
  Please do not waste your time or money on this item, unless you have money to burn. Don't get me wrong, the car charger part of the kit is great, but the modulator for radio frequency is horrible. It provides substandard sound, no matter what format you have your audio in. I tried multiple frequencies, multiple formats, and every setting on the zune itself, it's just horrible. I am returning mine ASAP. I cannot justify spending 70 bucks on such a terrible item. Hope this helps someone else.
  
  
• Wish I had read the comments here first!
  By A3LWPDUEH8QDJP on 2007-06-14
  I can certainly understand why the `image is not available'...this product is an embarrassment to Microsoft Zune. I unfortunately did not get it as a promotional product as some did....
  I have had exactly the same problems as the other consumer comments listed.
  First I blamed it on my car antenna being installed into the windshield..(I have a Scion XB) but ruled that out.
  I love using my Zune in the home and at the gym, and was so excited by the possiblity of listening to it in my car.
  This is the 2nd car unit I have purchased--I gave away my Monster unit with hopes that this one would be better.....Do not waste your money!
  I have learned that reading the Amazon reviews is a great soundboard of information.
  
  
• Buy it if you like Static, Return it to get your money back!
  By A29AON3O4LD5SS on 2006-12-17
  I have a 30gb ipod with fm transmitter and it works great. I bought the Zune and the Car Pack FM Transmitter. I bought the Zune to use in my car, but can't because the FM Transmitter sucks. In order for it to work, I have to position it in my hand and wave it around in the air to the "perfect" spot, but then of course I can't drive at the same time. So, because the FM Transmitter did not work, I had to return the FM Transmitter Car Pack plus the Zune.
  
  Zune got my hopes up for something better than the iPod but let me down over an accessory that Microsoft should have been able to master with their $$Billions in annuals sales - but I guess not after all..
  
  
• Warning: Do Not Buy. Honestly!!!!!
  By AHOQOZWYIW1AQ on 2006-12-18
  I live in South Dakota where radio interference is not a problem at all and still this thing was terrible. Not bad, terrible. I bought this, and a Zune together and took both of them back. This project would not work like it should. You could hear the music, put w/ static! Not just a little static either, a lot. Tried this project in two Cars and on my Sony reciever in my house. Sucked on all three. So, go out and buy a third party FM Transmitter over this thing. I seriously wouldn't buy this thing for $5 bucks....I can't believe M$ would but there name on such a terrible project so early in trying to get into the MP3 business..Wow....
  
  
• DO NOT spend $86.00 on this thing
  By A3JH5X92K3A356 on 2006-12-19
  I bought a brown zune a few days ago and it's worked great, I love it. Now pretty much everyone one of my friends has an iPod, 30gb, 80gb, nano, shuffle, whatever.. and most of them have one of the FM transmitters put out by iPod or by Belkin, or Griffin, or whatever other companies, and they look and work great! But when I bought this one for my Zune, I tried it out right when i got in my car, and I couldnt get it to sound good without static..! I tried everything, and I just got so frustrated I ended up turning my car around, driving back and returning it to get my 86 bucks back.. I was so disappointed. I was looking forward to listening to my zune in the car with this great looking accessory, but it was horrible.. not just bad, horrible. Don't buy it!!
  
  
• I cant believe they would mass produce something like this
  By A1QM5KT6T4S7I2 on 2006-12-25
  I bought one and then returned it because Its just hard for me to believe that microsoft would produce and sell something of this quality. I had an ipod with an fm transmitter which worked great in my car. I couldn't get this to work near what the ipod did. Like the zune, not the accessories.
  
  
• Horrible- stay AWAY far AWAY
  By A3AWWA2BRMWTES on 2006-12-29
  Static, static, and more static in both a high density radio area as well as a low density radio area. At first I thought it was interference from my XM radio, nope tried it in a different car as well as a radio in side. The auto seek likes to find the strongest broadcasting station in the area and attempt to play over that. I tried going through EVERY station. I could get it so there was less static, until you moved either the Zune or the car. Drive 2 miles down the road- have to find an another station- and go through it again. HATE it.
  
  Oh it does power up and do the same thing without being plugged into the 12V power outlet.
  
  I just returned it and am waiting for the Belkin one to be out to buy another one.
  
  
• Don't Buy
  By A2DDKKD4J1W4X4 on 2006-12-29
  Do not buy this. I had to hold it right up to the antenna to get clear sound. I called Zune support and they said it has to be within 2 feet of the antenna to get the best sound. That is a little difficult with my car antenna outside and in the back. Microsoft should recall this product.
  I used to have a Mr. Microphone that worked better.
  
  
  
• Don't waste your time.
  By A1W3N5H3ZJC2XE on 2006-12-31
  Bought this item today and 5 min after opening , decided to return it. Very poor reception. Seems to have a range of about 3 feet. Really not worth $80.
  
  
• Do not buy the FM adapter...
  By A3CAG3N6O9JCP8 on 2007-01-06
  ...unless you really like static and noise in your music.
  
  I just went through every location on my radio dial that's not a local station and the best signal I got was garbage; at best. I cannot believe that someone would release something that is so obviously horrible.
  
  My girlfriend's iPod FM adapter works flawlessly in this area so I know it's not just busy FM radio signals.
  
  This is a joke. I'm returning it tomorrow. I'm going to have to figure out a way to hard wire the Zune into my car stereo now.
  
  

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