Hi-fi sound for car-bound iPod users
Using a wireless gadget and car radio to play what's on your iPod has its tradeoffs. Sure, everyone gets to hear the tunes over the speakers, but it doesn't take an audiophile to notice the weak signal transmitting the music to an open FM channel, the distortion that comes from boosting the volume on the iPod, and the static and interference that results when you drive through towns that use the frequencies you're borrowing.
Then there's the safety issue: Fiddling with an iPod while you drive on narrow, winding back roads probably isn't the smartest thing to do.
For those who don't have iPod adapters built in to their car consoles, one solution comes from Maxxsonics. Its MM-1 model links to iPods, cell phones or other devices through a mini-plug cable. Another cable connects the MM-1 to most after-market amplifiers. The company says the device gives you a far cleaner, stronger sound with no radio waves involved. It has a suggested retail price of $99.95 but will likely sell for less when it officially launches this month at car stereo dealers and mobile-electronics distributors.
Maxxsonics already does a serious business in car stereo components under the MBQuart, Hifonics, Crunch and Autotek brands it acquired and revived in the past five years. The MM-1 was born because Maxxsonics saw a need in the market.
"We won't be an accessory company," CEO Alden Stiefel told me during a visit to New York, but "when we see a niche or need, we won't hesitate to develop it."
Pushing out the MM-1 makes good business sense, since it could drive iPod users who seek high fidelity from their car stereo systems to Maxxsonics' amps, priced from $200 to $15,000, along with its speakers and headphones.
Maxxsonics has worked hard for its street cred. On MTV's "Pimp My Ride," it equipped tricked-out cars with bass-booming subwoofers and high-powered amps. The company did $5 million in sales in its first year; 2006 is expected to bring in six times that amount.