C.Crane Digital FM Transmitter
www.CCrane.com
Price: $69.95
 

C.Crane has been known for a long time for their superior radio and outdoor gear. They make some of the best radios you can find, plus have competitive prices with great service and support. Today I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of their Digital FM Transmitters for review here on TechIslands!

The Digital FM Transmitter is a small box that lets you broadcast any audio source to any FM radio within a few feet. This works great for sending music to your radio/stereo from your iPod, other MP3 player, computer, and endless other audio sources. This FM transmitter comes with a trick up its sleeve though, unlike many FM transmitters for your iPod, this one works with many different audio sources, plus it delivers the best quality audio I have ever seen from a transmitter, and at unbelievable ranges too (40-60ft in my tests!).

Coming in a standard card board box with a few pictures and specifications, the FM Transmitter brings a good first impression. Another thing you should note is that the FM Transmitter comes in three color flavors. You can buy it in Black with Red Buttons, White with Silver Buttons, or Silver with Silver Buttons. All these colors are the same price and it is really just personal preference, they all perform the same. For our review we received a white model (to match the iPod).

Upon opening the box you will find a few accessories and the unit itself all very well packed. In the box you will find:

• The FM Transmitter itself
• AC Adapter
• RCA Line Out Adapter
• Instructions

Firstly lets take a look at the main unit. The main unit is square in shape and about the size of the palm of my hand (Size: 3.1" W x 3.5" H x 1.1") this may seem rather large compared to some other units on the market, but compared to quality and range/features, this unit is well worth the extra size which is still very small. On the front of the unit you will find a small LCD that displays the station it is broadcasting on and when the battery is low. Next to the LCD are two buttons, one for up and one for down when tuning. Above the LCD is the on/off button and a small red led that goes on when the unit detects audio being input into it. At the top on the front is the antenna that swivels around and extends to around a foot long. This is one reason the range on the unit is so good. On the left side of the unit you will find the audio in cord which is none removable and about one foot long. It also has part of the cord that is coiled and extends the cord length to around three feet when you pull on it. It is very nice that the cord is attached as you can easily plug it into the headphone jack of any other device and get broadcasting instantly. Below that is the input jack for the AC adapter. On the four corners at the bottom of the unit are four rubber pads that make the unit stay in place when set on a counter or flat surface, there are also four rubber pads on the back to allow you to lay the unit down. On the right side of the unit there is a scroll dial that allows you to match the input volume and broadcast a clear sound. Finally on the back is the slide off door for the battery compartment.

(C.Crane Transmitter with iPod Photo in Contour Design Showcase iPod Case)

To get started using the transmitter you will need to find what you want to broadcast, in our case we used a 30gb Photo iPod. Next you will need to decide if you want to use battery or plug in power. We tried both and both worked perfectly, but since we also wanted to try the unit in our car, we used the battery option for now. Finally you will want to pick an open station that you can use. In our area (Midwest) we were able to use station 88.55 very clearly, but depending on where you are, you will want to find an open station that has nothing broadcasting on it. Amazingly, you can choose any station between 88.3 and 107.7 MHZ in increments of .05 MHZ, that's right, .05. That means that when using the tuning buttons, the transmitter will go to 88.3, 88.35, 88.4, 88.45, etc. all the way up to 107.7 MHZ. This is a great feature as it lets you really fine tune to a station and get the best possible quality. I was amazed at the accuracy and perfection of the sound quality when using the Transmitter with a Yamaha Digital Radio I have.

The sound quality from the transmitter was really jaw dropping. It was not like listening to the radio at all, it was extremely clear, no static at all, plus all of the sound spectrum was kept in tact with out any drop in low tones or high tones. It was really close to directly connecting your iPod to your stereo, unheard of in past transmitters I have seen/heard!

Another great feature is that this transmitter will automatically turn off after a select amount of time that you can set (when you set it, it is a one time setting), plus it turns off automatically if there is no audio coming into the unit after a set amount of time.

Now onto range, this is an interesting subject considering it can be effected by many factors. You need to remember that it can depend on what objects are in the way (walls, etc.), what type of radio you are using to receive the signal (some will pick up signals better than others), and even interference from other devices. C.Crane gives an estimate of 70 feet line of sight for the unit which is a huge distance for such a small unit and way more than any other portable transmitter I have seen on the market, so I thought I better try it out and see what type of range I could get. I setup my Yamaha radio and the transmitter with my iPod and started walking farther away from my radio with the transmitter. I got to the opposite side of my house (about 50ft) and set the transmitter on a wood desk. Then I went back into the other room where my radio was and was amazed to find that the sound quality was still just as perfect and amazing as when the transmitter was right next to the radio. The transmitter was 50ft away and through 3 or 4 walls including one brick wall!

In my mind, the range was the icing on the cake. This is the absolute best portable FM Transmitter I have ever seen or used as it has the best range (quadruple what most have) the best sound quality (it was almost the same quality as plugging the iPod directly into my 6.1 Yamaha surround sound stereo) and the best build quality from C.Crane.

One last thing I want to talk about in this review is the adaptability of this FM Transmitter. Unlike many other portable FM Transmitters on the market that are made to work with one device (like the iPod), or are made to work in one environment (your car for example), the C.Crane FM Transmitter works with any of your devices (even devices with out a headphone jack and only a regular RCA out thanks the the included adapter) plus it works in your house with the included AC adapter, or anywhere with its battery powered option. Some of the interesting other uses I thought of for the transmitter were:

• Hook the transmitter to your PC Speaker output and enjoy songs from your computer on your stereo that might not even be in the same room
• Hook the transmitter to your CD/Tape player in one room, and enjoy the sound on all the radios in your house for multi-room listening
• Hook the transmitter to your Laptop and send the audio to a radio in your office for presentations with sound

As you can see, there are many different uses for the Transmitter thanks to its adaptable design.

Overall this is the best portable transmitter I have ever used. It has an awesome range, awesome quality, awesome features, and is backed by an awesome company. There is really no way that you could not be impressed by this product, and I think anyone with a portable music player (or even other uses for a transmitter) should save up and buy this product. That is why I am proud to give this product our TechIslands Platinum Award. We have only given this to one other product as of the date of this review!

Pros

• Great Sound Quality
• Great Build Quality
• Awesome Range
• Everything is included, even the AC Adapter
• Easy to use instructions
• Backed by a quality company

Cons

• There are none that come to mind except it is a bit pricey, but in reality most other iPod transmitters are in the 40-80$ range and most do not include half the features or have as nice of sound quality

Thanks to C.Crane for the Review Sample!