I have an Alpine cd head unit which is now 7 years old and still sounds great but it has no connection for my ipod.

I bought a FM transmitter for my ipod but there's quite a bit of interferance and can't get good quality sound from it.

Is there anyone here who deals or knows about car stereos as in recommending me a new head unit or should i stick to another Alpine unit which has the ipod connector on it.

whats the model of stereo?

If you like Alpine, then nothing wrong with getting another Alpine with the iPod connector. I've heard a few good things about them on here. It depends on what you want it to do. Some have the ability to control the iPod from the head unit itself, but might depend on the iPod you have and can often be fiddly. Personally I have a pretty cheap Pioneer head unit with both Aux in and USB in connectors, but I only use the Aux in and it sounds great. This means I have to control everything using the iPod itself, but I prefer it that way. Other people use the USB connectors and wire everything up so the MP3 player can live in the glovebox and be controlled from the headunit. Both methods work well and miles better than those rubbish FM transmitters (unbearable sound quality). But if you want to be able to control your MP3 player using the head unit, then make sure you do some research before you buy, as it won't work with some MP3 players and different generations of iPod may not be compatible. With Aux in, you can pretty much use anything (but have to control it via the MP3 player itself). Hope that was somewhat helpful.

The stereo is an Alpine CDM-7856R

Edited 15 May, 200917 yr by gallego1968

The stereo is an Alpine CDM-78566

Do you have a link cant seem to find it :confused:

Sorry i wrote it wrong, it's an Alpine CDM-7856R.

It doesnt look like you have to get rid of your HU if you dont want to, the manual states you can use your existing HU with an adapter for auxillary audio in (KCM-122B) the only downside to this is that its audio only, so no ipod control from HU, but its a direct wired audio input (standard 2xphono or 3.5mm jack), so no interference like an fm transmitter.

You may be able to get control via an mbus adapter & emulator so your HU thinks your ipod is a cd changer (The Dension Ice>Link Plus seems like it may work) this would give you cd changer controls but will be more expensive. And depending on the emulator and HU the amount of tracks accessible on your ipod may be limited. (Some, not all, only allow a max of 99 tracks or multiples of 99 depending on how many discs it supports e.g. 6 discs of 99 tracks)

Manual:

http://www.alpine.com.au/downloads/web_owners_manuals/cd_owners_manuals/CDM-7856R.pdf

(Page 7 )

Plain Audio Input:

KCM-122B, Consumer Electronics, Cars, Parts Vehicles items at low prices on eBay.co.uk

Icelink (CD Changer Emulator):

Alpine M-Bus Dension ice>Link Plus Adapter | Dension ice>Link Plus iPod Car Kit | iPod Car Kit Direct

(Check the compatability tab)

But before you buy anything double check with seller that it is compatible with your system. It will cover you if it doesnt work (Theres no reason it shouldnt)

And shop around for an ice>link, you might get it a lot cheaper.. Maybe even on Briskoda

Hope this helps

Edited 15 May, 200917 yr by Rhoobarb

Thank you very much for your help.