MattMc Posted August 19, 2005 Share Posted August 19, 2005 Hi everyone. I'm fairly new to these forums, mostly lurking around in the background. Like many others I have been searching for a way to get MP3's into my '05 Legacy 2.5i. A friend at work said he bought a "VR-3 MP3 FM Modulator" from Walmart. He highly recommended it so I thought I would check it out. I picked one up for $29.43 at my local Walmart. This is an FM transmitter, not a hard-wired FM modulator. It plugs directly into a 12-volt outlet, no batteries. The unusual feature is that it has a USB jack on it so that you can connect a USB memory stick with MP3's on it. There are buttons for "Play", "Track Increase", and "Track Decrease" that you can use to control the MP3's on your USB memory stick. The manufacturer's website says you can connect up to a 1GB memory stick , but the manual that came with the unit says "compatible with Flash Memory Drives 512 MB or smaller". There is also a 2.5mm stereo input (the manufacturer's website says it's a 3.5mm input but it's really a 2.5mm input) that will accept any portable's audio output (a 3' 2.5mm to 3.5mm cable is provided). You can choose from 7 preset frequencies to receive the audio on, 87.7, 87.9, 88.1, 88.3, 88.5, 88.7, and 88.9 MHz. The FM transmitter is a dark grey color with silver buttons. It really blends in well with our interiors. The buttons feel pretty solid. Overall I was more impressed than I thought it would be with the quality of the unit. I started out plugging the unit into my dash mounted 12-volt outlet and connecting my portable MP3 player into the audio input. On 2 of the 7 frequencies I had perfect reception, but on both of those I got a moderate hum/static when the interior dash backlighting came on. Also note that if you plug the unit in "right side up", the bottom of the unit rubs on the open ashtray door. I had to insert the unit upside down so it wouldn't rub. Up to this point I wasn't too impressed with the sound or mounting, so I moved the FM transmitter into the center console and plugged it into the 12-volt outlet there. The moderate hum/static was totally gone and I think the volume actually improved a little. I will definitely be keeping the FM transmitter plugged in inside the center console. I have only had this thing for one day so far. I will post again once I use it out on the road for a little while to report how it sounds on the road. So far I can tell that it's volume is lower than the factory radio's volume. When I turned up the volume on my MP3 player to match the factory radio's volume, there was a horrible "clipping" sound to the music. I had to keep my MP3 player at about 2/3 volume to eliminate the clipping sound. Sound quality was about what I expected, which is to say, FM quality. Don't expect CD or satellite quality music. I listen to audio books about 95% of the time so this will work out perfect for me until I can make my semi-permanent, hard-wired FM modulator, in-dash cubby mounted MP3 player. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask. Tomorrow I'll try and post some in-car shots of the connected transmitter. Does this site host pictures or do I have to just provide a link to my images? Manufacturer's Website: www.vr-3.com Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiener2 Posted August 19, 2005 Share Posted August 19, 2005 do you happen to work for either walmart or vr-3? My Mods List (Updated 8/22/17) 2005 Outback FMT Running on Electrons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMc Posted August 19, 2005 Author Share Posted August 19, 2005 Nope. Just thought I'd try and be helpful. I haven't seen the VR-3 mentioned here before so I thought I would describe it a bit and let people know how it performs in our Legacy's. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMc Posted August 20, 2005 Author Share Posted August 20, 2005 Here are some photos of the FM Transmitter installed in my Legacy. I listened to it plugged into the center console 12-volt outlet for about 1 1/2 hours today. The volume is very low. I had to turn up the volume on the stock stereo to about 30-35 at highway speeds to hear it real good. The sound had a slight "tin can" echo to it. This is the first FM transmitter that I have tried so I don't really have anything to compare it to. No problems with static or the sound dropping out at all. Images of installed transmitter Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prelude Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 I just return mine to costco today after one week... Frustration! It does not remember the last workable frequency. Every time you start the car you have to push the frequency button to the right one... Sound quality is not good. Let's say CD sound quality scores 10 FM station 8.5 AM station 5 this fm modualator probable scores 6.7 Just my personal opinion... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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