Review – One of the best things about a new car is how quick and easy it is to pair a mobile phone with a car stereo. But what about vehicles built before Bluetooth? Diffuse flow Have you been by them Bluetooth FM transmitter adapter.
what is it?
The DESFLOW Bluetooth FM transmitter is a wireless Bluetooth device that acts as a bridge between mobile phone audio and car audio through the FM transmitter. It is powered by your car’s cigarette lighter socket, and the device itself includes 2 charging ports.
Hardware specifications
- Wireless fidelity: Bluetooth 5.0 FM
- 18W QC 3.0 + PD 3.0 fast charge
- FM frequency and voltage dual screen display
- Weight: 1.43 ounces
Design and features
The size of the DESFLOW Bluetooth FM transmitter is roughly the same as that of an ordinary cigarette charging adapter. The front backlit LCD display clearly shows the car battery voltage (usually about 12.8V) and the FM frequency you selected. Surrounding the display is a knob for selecting the FM frequency and operating the forward and reverse functions when playing music.
Finally, there are 2 ports at the bottom of the device, a fast charging USB 3.0 port and a USB-C PD 3.0 port. These two ports can be used to charge the device or power other accessories at the same time, such as Driving Recorder.
Set up
It takes about 5 minutes to set up the FM transmitter. After plugging the transmitter into the cigarette lighter port, it will be powered on and switch to Bluetooth pairing mode. After finding and clicking the device name in the Bluetooth settings of the phone, I paired everything.
Then I set my car stereo to FM and check the “blank” points between the stations to set the transmitter frequency. Depending on where you are, this may take some time if there are many stations around you. I managed to find a gap of 4-5 points, where there was not even a trace of static electricity, and set the frequency somewhere in the middle.
The plastic knob used to dial in the frequency is a bit unresponsive. It felt as if I turned it so fast that it couldn’t recognize the increase or decrease in frequency, but I finally brought it where I needed it.
Then all I have to do is dial the radio to that frequency (save it in my stereo for quick access later) and start playing some music on my phone.
which performed
About 15 years ago, I had a first-generation iPod nano, which was connected to a Belkin FM transmitter, and it used the iPod’s built-in battery to broadcast at a frequency of your choice. I remember it was so cool that I thought I could listen to music in the car (there was no AUX port in my car at the time), but I was finally disappointed with the audio quality. It sounds a bit dull and flat, almost monophonic, and honestly, it’s more troublesome than its worth.
Therefore, when I set up the DESFLOW FM transmitter, I am not sure what will happen. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality of this device. It’s almost magical, sending the wireless signal to a miniature adapter that broadcasts a separate radio signal to the receiver of my car, instantly and without static electricity, noise or interruptions.
My car is equipped with an AUX port, but all my efforts to play audio through it through a wired adapter sounded terrible. There are always pops or noises in the electronic system of the car… Maybe something is not properly grounded, or the cable or adapter I use is bad. This wired solution is simply frustrating and almost as expensive as this FM transmitter.
I let DESFLOW finish its pace, even if I didn’t the best My Elantra’s sound system from the George W. Bush era matched the quality of the CD and the same album played on Apple Music on my phone.
Honestly, this is amazing. I have to wonder if there will be a greater difference in quality if I have a better speaker setup, but as far as I know, it at least matches the fidelity of the CD.
I also enjoy the fact that as soon as I start the car, my phone will connect to the device, and a simple voice prompt will provide feedback to let me know that I am connected.
Pro type: You can set up shortcuts in iOS to run a series of commands when connected to a specific Bluetooth device. I let my phone turn the volume to 100%, turn on “Do Not Disturb” and automatically shuffle and play my favorite playlist for driving, just one tap…This is my wired AUX connection Unable to do it.
Not to mention that this transmitter includes 2 fast charging USB ports, so you don’t have to worry about not being able to power the device. I was able to plug my dash cam into the USB port of the transmitter and it worked fine.
The same knob used to dial in the FM frequency can be used for the forward/backward function in the mobile music player. However, depending on the location of your port in the car, it may be too far away to enter safely or comfortably while driving. Pressing the display is like a play/pause button, long press will invoke Siri. I mean, the function is there, if you want to use it, I just never found the need to use it.
All in all, if your old car (or even a boat) lacks a suitable AUX port or built-in Bluetooth connection, this cheap FM transmitter is the perfect solution for playing music and podcasts through your phone.
what do I like
- Extremely affordable solution
- Quick and easy to set up
- Sound quality is close to CD quality
- Maybe the best choice for old cars
Areas for improvement
- The adjustment knob is very sensitive and a bit unresponsive
- It cannot be repaired, but if you leave the area too far and another station starts to fade in, you need to change the transmitter station
Final thoughts
Perhaps the best part of DESFLOW’s Bluetooth FM transmitter is the price…this compact, seamless audio streaming solution only costs $22.it is Must have For those old cars without fancy CarPlay and built-in Bluetooth.
price: 21.99 USD
Where to buy: Amazon
source: The sample of this product is made by Diffuse flow.
