Kensington LiquidFM Deluxe

Since many car head units lack a line-in socket, an FM transmitter is usually the simplest way to listen to an MP3 player while you’re driving. The problem is that finding a clear frequency in a built-up area can be a real challenge and even then, you’re likely to lose it if you drive any appreciable distance.

On-board memories for storing multiple frequencies certainly helps, but the LiquidFM Deluxe takes the idea a stage further. Kensington claims that this iPod-only transmitter’s ‘QuickSeek’ technology can automatically find a clear frequency in seconds.

In practice, QuickSeek didn’t work quite as well as we’d hoped and in our tests, it insisted on competing with the frequency of Radio 2. We managed to pick up a relatively clear signal after several attempts, but the sound quality is average, though still listenable. The use of RDS to transmit song information to a compatible head unit is a clever gimmick though, and together with the good-but-not-great QuickSeek feature, it’s enough to make the LiquidFM Deluxe worthy of a recommendation.

Specifications

FM transmitter for iPod’s with dock connector, automatic clear frequency finder, RDS track information, three memory presets, requires cigarette lighter socket Model number 33424 Warranty 2 years