Apple Ipod

[shugz]

Hi All,

As you may or may not have noticed, it was my birthday at the weekend (I'm gettin' too old man........!!). As I have been a model husband over the course of the year (!) SWMBO bought me an Apple iPod mP3 player for the car so I can store my music collection on it and get rid of those clumsy cd's.

It is a 3rd generation 30GB model and so far I am well pleased with it although it is taking a while to transfer my collection on to it!

Does anyone here have one and if so how do they find using it in the car and what accessories are essential etc? Any help and/or advice at this stage would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Hugh

[TaviaRS]

Must admit I am tempted, but I too want to know more ie how does it connect in etc

[Quinten]

By far the nicest way would be to use an AUX-IN adapter on the HU.

Joint last come the RF modulator and a Tape adapter.

Q.

[gunnie]

what you want is an ipod fm transmitter, see link for some examples...

http://www.envestco2.com/macwhispers/comments.php?id=P148_0_2_0

BTW, I can't vouch for the quality of these, just know that you can use them, other than that you can use a normal cassette adaptor in the tape player - for those who still have tape players

[redbaron]

checkthe older threads in ice... im sure paul (spc) had a long thread on these a few weeks back....

[mannyo]

If you have a recent blaupunkt HU get the 2nd aux in lead, then you can still keep your CD Changer and benefit from the MP3 player as required.

[shugz]

Thanks for all the help so far,my car was registered in October 2002 so I presume it is classed as recent.

Manny/Quinten how or where does the Aux lead connect to (sorry if this is a stupid question but not at the car to have a look!!) ?? Do you know how you control the signal when using this lead e.g radio,tape player?? Finally, where do I get one of these leads?

Cheers

Hugh

[Quinten]

An AUX-IN adapter plugs in the back of the HU (iirc) and enables you to select between the CD changer and AUX source (in this case the iPod), by pressing the CD button twice in succession (again iirc).

The tape adapter just acts like a tape, i.e. you insert the adapter in the HU casette slot and have a wire coming out which plugs into the iPod.

[Quinten]

Oh, and the AUX-IN adapters are

[robmawer]

Not much luck to date getting an MP3 player working through the standard head unit. IMHO, if you're moving to MP3 so you don't need a CD changer, you might be best using the 80 pounds to invest in a head unit with decent amplification and an AUX-IN...

Rob.

[shugz]

Thanks Quinten............still debating which route to take as I like the idea of a 'wireless' system but not if it makes the sound quality poor. It would be great to try all the different devices first and make a decision from there but the iPod is quite scarse so I doubt it if that will be possible.

Cheers

Hugh

[shugz]

Rob,

With regard to your suggestion concerning a replacement HU, what would you recommend to do the job for around the

[Dr Zoidberg]

Several Sony HU's have an Aux in , but they are all probably out of your budget.

[robmawer]

I think pretty much anything Alpine will sound up to the job. You'd need to decide whether you want tape or CD though - I went for a tape HU (TDM9501RM) and it sounds great, MCS Direct have these for just under 100 quid. I think it's got AUX-IN...

Even the cheapest Alpine unit will sound better than the Symphony though...

Rob.

[shugz]

Wouldn't be too hard for it to sound better than the Symphony, eh Rob?!

Cheers

Hugh

[TaviaRS]

Have a look at www.advancedmp3players.co.uk . They have a MP3 HU with 20GB head unit for

[robmawer]

Originally posted by shugz in this post

Wouldn't be too hard for it to sound better than the Symphony, eh Rob?!

Exactly - hence why I suggested putting the 80 quid towards an

aftermarket unit rather than an adapter for the existing one...

Rob.

[shugz]

That makes total sense Rob because I have been looking to bin the Symphony for ages but wanted to get a full CD changer/HU package.I now don't need the changer so I can go for a nice HU and thanks to the info from all the kind people here,I'll try to get one that I can plug the iPod straight in to!

By the way, the first question I asked when I opened my gift was,'can I plug it straight to the car hi-fi??!!',only to be met with a, 'yes, but you have to use these.....(fm,cassette adaptor etc)'. You learn something new everyday I suppose.

Cheers

Hugh

[robmawer]

What sort of outputs does the I-Pod have? Is it just the headphone socket?

Rob.

[shugz]

Yes, AFAIK it's just the 3.5mm headphone socket which is monted on the top of the unit above the screen.

[robmawer]

Hmm...that might cause problems with an AUX-IN actually. Well, nothing too serious, just it's an amplified signal coming from the headphone jack, which is going into a line-in which isn't designed for an amplified signal. So you might get a touch of distortion if the output from the 'pod is too high.

Just had a look on the Apple website, and they're doing a deal where you buy a Beetle and get a free I-Pod, and the means to connect them (not saying how they do this). Accessories all look geared around FM modulation and cassette adapters though... :(

Rob.

[shugz]

This is where things start to get confusing,Rob!!I would really like a new HU anyway so after work tonight I'm going to nip over to a local ICE specialist and see if they have any experience of installing an iPod in car. Iwill take it from there in terms of which HU to go for and if relevant, what device to use to get the ipod working in car.

Be prepared for more stupid questions from me tomorrow....................

Cheers

Hugh

[robmawer]

Let us know what the specialists say...

Rob.

[shugz]

Will do...........

Cheers

Hugh

[shugz]

Well, I went to the local ICE 'specialist' and was not really that impressed by their service to be honest. Maybe it's just me, but I thought they were just trying to sell me a HU regardless of what I asked for (and an expensive one at that) and this was after standing a good 10mins at the counter waiting to speak to someone (shop was empty,plenty of staff etc.....).

I now basically need an HU with either an AUX in or a front AUX in (JVC seem to be the only ones who do this) and these are a bit more pricey than ones without that require an AUX in adaptor.I have narrowed it down to a few suspects and the list is as follows:

Pioneer (will match up with my front speakers, TSE-1775's) DEH-P5500R/DEH-P3500MP

Panasonic CQ-DFX783N

JVC KD SX997R

All are coming in at the