What's the best thing to use to hear music from my S5 in my almost 10 year old SUV?

Bayarea13

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I currently use a cassette adapter however it's starting to deteriorate and I'd like something better than a cassette adapter cause I heard the music quality isn't as good with cassette adapters. Also I prefer something that is small so I can put it somewhere hidden when I leave my car cause I work at a place where car break ins are frequent.
 

B. Diddy

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Are you wedded to playing your music through your car stereo? If there isn't an Aux jack, then you're kind of stuck with cassette adapters or FM receivers (which also stink).

Have you considered getting a good standalone and portable Bluetooth speaker that runs on batteries (or possibly using the DC outlet in your car)?
 

Sergiusz Jasper

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Honestly I think ur best to get a new deck for ur car with a face off ..all have that now ..I got me a nice pioneer with USB port , auxiliary for under 80 bucks and with this set up all u will need is a USB stick works way better than cell plugged in .
Also some come with bluetooh for little extra as for installation it's easy with a harness adapter furthermore one can always place the deck in glove box with stock as is and use remote that 99% of decks come with ....just my 2 cents on this :)

sent from my S4 on Mars
 

Bayarea13

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Are you wedded to playing your music through your car stereo? If there isn't an Aux jack, then you're kind of stuck with cassette adapters or FM receivers (which also stink).

Have you considered getting a good standalone and portable Bluetooth speaker that runs on batteries (or possibly using the DC outlet in your car)?

Recommend me good bluetooth speakers for my car then I'll decide. Can they be removed easily and put in the glove box? Like I said I work at a place where car break ins are frequent and I don't want the speakers to be out while I'm away.
 

Bayarea13

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Honestly I think ur best to get a new deck for ur car with a face off ..all have that now ..I got me a nice pioneer with USB port , auxiliary for under 80 bucks and with this set up all u will need is a USB stick works way better than cell plugged in .
Also some come with bluetooh for little extra as for installation it's easy with a harness adapter furthermore one can always place the deck in glove box with stock as is and use remote that 99% of decks come with ....just my 2 cents on this :)

sent from my S4 on Mars

You mean remove my old radio/cd player thing and get a new one? I just watched a youtube video on that and I'm a super lazy person and I don't want to do that so that's not an option
 

Sergiusz Jasper

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Well if ur super lazy then go to best buy and with a purchase of a deck u can have it installed by them ...lol

sent from my S4 on Mars
 

Mooncatt

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I'd suggest looking into a new head unit first. It may be a little more expensive than other options, but you'll get better sound quality than a factory stereo, even when listening to CD's and regular radio. They also have more flexibility, like with aux inputs, USB connections, and Bluetooth. So the extra cost is worth it.

There are also FM modulators that hook inline with your antenna wire, and those give good sound quality. These aren't to be confused with the crappy FM transmitters that plug into your device and broadcast a weak FM signal. What I'm talking about hardwires in, so there's no signal loss or interference. They are kinda pricy, though, from what I've seen.

They come in two flavors. One would have an aux cable that connects the modulator to your device, much like a cassette adaptor. The other is a Bluetooth connection and can be 100% behind the dash with nothing exposed, except maybe a power switch for it. I tried a Bluetooth one before on a factory ratio with mixed results. I could pair my phone and listen fine when testing. I had planned to use it with my SiriusXM tuner, but that wouldn't pair right. I never could figure it out and eventually returned the modulator.
 

Bayarea13

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I'd suggest looking into a new head unit first. It may be a little more expensive than other options, but you'll get better sound quality than a factory stereo, even when listening to CD's and regular radio. They also have more flexibility, like with aux inputs, USB connections, and Bluetooth. So the extra cost is worth it.

There are also FM modulators that hook inline with your antenna wire, and those give good sound quality. These aren't to be confused with the crappy FM transmitters that plug into your device and broadcast a weak FM signal. What I'm talking about hardwires in, so there's no signal loss or interference. They are kinda pricy, though, from what I've seen.

They come in two flavors. One would have an aux cable that connects the modulator to your device, much like a cassette adaptor. The other is a Bluetooth connection and can be 100% behind the dash with nothing exposed, except maybe a power switch for it. I tried a Bluetooth one before on a factory ratio with mixed results. I could pair my phone and listen fine when testing. I had planned to use it with my SiriusXM tuner, but that wouldn't pair right. I never could figure it out and eventually returned the modulator.

So a head unit is what controls audio quality and or is there other things that help with quality?
 
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Mooncatt

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So a head unit is what controls audio quality and or is there other things that help with quality?

Head unit is synonymous with radio/stereo/"deck", only it's more specific to the receiver unit itself. "Stereo" could also mean the entire system, including speakers and amps. Just phrasing I got in the habit of using when I dabbled some in car audio years ago.

For your direct question, the short answer is yes... And yes. In a head to head comparison between a factory and aftermarket radio with the same audio settings, the aftermarket will usually sound better and have more power. Most mid-grade aftermarket head units will also have equalizers and other sound settings typically not found in factory units that can vary from model to model that help improve the overall sound quality. Depending on the quality and arrangement of the speakers, you may or may not see a ton of benefit from getting one with all the bells and whistles. A good 5 to 7 band EQ will be suitable for most people and is common on many radios.

There are other devices that can control the sound after the head unit too, but those are generally for high end systems. If you're curious, I'll go over them, but suffice it to say, I'm not seeing anything in your posts that seems like you are interested in going that high tech. You could easily sink thousands into external audio processors, but there's many other things you'd want to consider first before even thinking about getting into those.
 

raptir

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The head unit option would give you the best quality but is obviously the most difficult to implement.

A cassette adapter or FM transmitter are the easiest solutions. They have the same potential audio quality but you run into fewer interference issues with a cassette adapter.

A bluetooth speaker (or even a portable speaker with an aux in) would give you better quality in terms of the audio signal but you drop from your car speakers to a smaller speaker. My personal recommendation would be the UE Mini Boom. It has great sound quality for the size/price and is small enough to fit in your glovebox easily.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Wire...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU3812532

The volume is high enough that I can't turn it up all the way at pool parties, so you'd be fine in your car.
 

dgcorn

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I have a 10 year old SUV and I have a Jabra Cruiser II which I use to listen to podcasts. It can play music, but the sound quality isn't very good. It also has an FM transmitter, but again the sound quality isn't very good. If I want music in the car, I listen to the radio or CDs.
 

Bayarea13

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The head unit option would give you the best quality but is obviously the most difficult to implement.

A cassette adapter or FM transmitter are the easiest solutions. They have the same potential audio quality but you run into fewer interference issues with a cassette adapter.

A bluetooth speaker (or even a portable speaker with an aux in) would give you better quality in terms of the audio signal but you drop from your car speakers to a smaller speaker. My personal recommendation would be the UE Mini Boom. It has great sound quality for the size/price and is small enough to fit in your glovebox easily.

Amazon.com: Ultimate Ears MINI BOOM Wireless Bluetooth Speaker/Speakerphone - Black: Computers & Accessories

The volume is high enough that I can't turn it up all the way at pool parties, so you'd be fine in your car.


Thanks for the recommendation. So just put that somewhere in my car like front center by the window, turn the thing on then go to my S5 and do all that stuff and it should play music on my phone? How is the audio quality? I never used any type of bluetooth device before. Also what do the rest of you think about that speaker?
 
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Mooncatt

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I don't know anything about Bluetooth speakers like that, but Bluetooth audio streams themselves are high quality. Just as good as a direct aux connection, at least.
 

JeffDenver

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I currently use a cassette adapter however it's starting to deteriorate and I'd like something better than a cassette adapter cause I heard the music quality isn't as good with cassette adapters. Also I prefer something that is small so I can put it somewhere hidden when I leave my car cause I work at a place where car break ins are frequent.

Bluetooth FM Transmitter.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU3815298
619Rd7Zn+fL._SL1500_.jpg

I bought the one in the link (this is my review of that one), but there are tons of them on Amazon. It will receive music from your S5 via bluetooth, and transmit it immediately to your FM radio. It is all wireless and instantaneous. Once paired, the devices will remember each other so you don't have to pair them each time, even after you turn them off.

Some FM Transmitters are smaller than others, so look around. If your stereo does not have native bluetooth, these are about the best option you have.
 

JeffDenver

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Are you wedded to playing your music through your car stereo? If there isn't an Aux jack, then you're kind of stuck with cassette adapters or FM receivers (which also stink).

FM Transmitters are actually quite good now. The one I bought is almost as good as native bluetooth. Definitely prefer it to any stand-alone speaker I have heard under $50.

Also...he's looking for a minimalist solution. A speaker is just more moving parts.
 

B. Diddy

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Yeah, a separate speaker would probably also be a hazard in an accident. Good to know about the FM receivers. The last I time I tried one was around the Eisenhower administration.;)
 

JeffDenver

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The Bluetooth ones are fairly recent...like the last 12 months. The wired ones are as bad as you would think (still better than nothing, but heavy static...it's like adjusting rabbit ears on an old TV to get them working). But the new ones are almost as good as native bluetooth IMO.