I've heard very mixed reviews on FM Transmitters. It depends greatly on the area you live in and the radio traffic and corresponding availibility of an open frequency.

I also heard the self powered FM Transmitters are not as good compared to a powered unit.

www.epinions.com and www.amazon.com actually had some good consumer feedback.

I had bad expierence with FM transmitters (gave it to my friend for free)
I didn't have bad one (i-Rock)

Supposely Apple one (with ability to specify frequency you need - opposite to preset frequencies in most other units) should be better one.

I have MP3 Changer and never regreted it. It works really good for me and this is most economical and clean solution. You can always sell your factory changer for a hundred or more and offset some cost.

6 mp3-filled CD's roughly equal to 70-100 regular CD's

Not convinced yet?
Ok...

I then had my CD Player with AUX-in (old car) and used straight cable. Sound was good. But you get wires and Pocket PC laying around. Not clean...

Steering wheel controls doesn't work, blah, blah.

Trust me, it's not convinient.

I just got an ipod last christmas and went out and got the Belcan Tunecast II transmitter. It is mediocre at best and I have had a hard time finding stations that stay "quiet" when travelling around. My original plan was to purchase the Aux Input kit from the dealer (~$35) and install that in the glovebox but I think I am going to go with the Dension IceLink Plus because it supports ID3 tags now. If you want a wealth of information/reviews/and opinions on how to connect the ipod just search on e46fanatics.com. Also if anyone wants to go with me and get an Icelink and do a mini install day let me know. I don't think the install is too terribly bad.


-D

the MP3 playing CD player is ok, but the problem becomes you cant get the MP3's off the Ipod if they came from I-tunes. so its not like you can just burn whatever MP3's are on your Ipod to a CD and go that route...

Actually you can, there are many different pieces of software that allow you to rip songs from your Ipod or Itunes. Check out ipodhacks.com and ipodlounge.com for more info.

The main problem I had with my mp3 CD changer was skipping through all the songs to get to what I wanted. I hated hitting "next song" 50 times just to hear one song. Plus there was no song title... etc.. it wasn't bad but it wasn't great either.

Where are you getting this DSP stuff? Is it from the icelink page?



I'm still debating. I like the proclip but have seen some really interesting other options emerge... observe...

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=223804

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=222554&highlight=euro+tray



Yes, the BMW controls work on the ipod and also there are many other features the iceLink has that the ipodyourBMW doesn't have. There are two install options for the icelink... Trunk and head unit based.. I believe if you have a changer you can do the head unit based install and still retain the use of the changer. You can contact Dension with specific questions though, I hear they have good support. One of the Dension guys is a constant poster on e46fanatics.

Let me know what you decide to do!

-D

The only thing I know is that your car cannot have fiber optic audio I believe. Just contact the Dension guys they should be able to help you out.

I listen to my iPod in both BMWs

On my 2002 E-39 ( DSP)I tried a cassette adapter. It was the SONY product. It sucked. The contact with the cassette deck heads was never the same twice. This means futzing with the cable in hopes of approving the contact and/or alignment.

I have the simple Aux-In adapter for my 04 E-46. This is not the iPod kit. I just set up a nice long playlist and enjoy the music. Around town there are more than enough red lights for changing playlists safely.

The next time I make a long trip in the E-39 I'm going to try a battery powered FM transmitter.

Willie