I load my albums that are converted from flac to mp3 onto my ipod.
they are converted in dbpoweramp to mp3 256 CBR with a lame encoder, (which I hear is a good encoder).
I then connect my ipod through it's dock connector with dock connector adapter with a tape player adapter plugged into the dock connector, then with a tape player adapter playing in the car stereo, ( it has a cassette tape deck).
to help those reading understand what I am using:
I use this adapter to the ipod dock:
http://www.amazon.com/Micro-Adapter-...pter+connector
then into the micro adapter connector I plug this in:
http://www.amazon.com/GTMax-Cassette...ssette+adapter
I use these together to play the ipod music in the car stereo cassette deck.
what I noticed is when I turned up the volume load, (the car stereo volume knob, the ipod volume does not work with the connector in the ipod dock), the music sounded a bit tinny, muffled or distorted.
I have also noticed sometimes when playing my music through this stereo that I would get a grinding squeaking noise, like static interference, like old fashioned radios in the 50's or something like this, it is hard to explain in words.
I would try & pop the tape adapter out & then back in, sometimes this helped sometimes not, I even tried cleaning the heads on the tape adapter, but this did not work very well.
I am not quite sure where these problems lay, there are a few elements going on I know, the car stereo cassette deck is from the 80's or 90's am not sure.
I have played my ipod in a car rental, in a modern (21st century vehicle) with my little dock connector out, with an axillary cable plugged into the these stereos, & it sounded ok.