The game doesn’t end when you bought an iPod, it just got started. There are a number of wonderful accessories you can buy that will enhance your music enjoying experience. Here are some that I like:
- The Shure E3C earphone – way better than the default earphone from Apple – if you like earphones.
- Bose QC2 noise cancelling headphone – if you go on an airplane these days, almost half the people are wearing those, amazing.
- NaviPot remote control – I hook my iPod to the main stereo in the living room, this not only allows me to control the iPod from a distance, but better yet, I can program iPod into the macros of the universal remote control. So now it is seemlessly integrated into my stereo system.
- iTrip – nice compact design, beam music to FM receiver, requires a good radio an empty channel.
- The BMW iPod interface – jokingly to be the most expensive iPod accessory – can’t tell you how it works yet as it is still not working. more later.
iTrip is a tricky one, especially when you are on the run. The radio frequency spectrum gets so crowded here in US that your selected FM frequency will almost certainly be occupied by a local radio station if you drive over a long distance, rendering your iTrip signal useless. I got so frustrated with iTrip during my commuting days between Pittsburgh and Princeton that I decided to use the old fashion way: through a cassette signal transmitter.
I agree. That’s why the car is still in the shop for the native iPod interface. You can get one from independent car stereo makers for a few hundred dollars. The benefit is better fidelity and the ease of control – hooked up to the car ’s on steering-wheel controls, for example.
In the meantime, turning volume all the way up on the pod helps boost the iTrip the transmission power.