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iPod recommendations for iPoding my car...

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proverbs

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 15, 2005
287
0
my car was recently broken into, so i lost all 200+ of my cds. on the bright side, i did have about half of my cds on my iPod, so i would like to use it in my car.

anyone have any recommendations on which head unit works well with an iPod? and whats the difference between using an aux port and having an iPod adapter? TIA.
 
GnrlyMrly

GnrlyMrly

macrumors 6502a
Apr 23, 2006
565
70
Atlanta, GA
Well from my personal experience I've found that using the aux port gives the best sound quality. FM transmitter and cassette adapter were about the same.
 
C

ColdFlame87

macrumors regular
Jul 23, 2004
175
0
Woodland Hills, CA
The Aux works well to connect your iPod into. They can be found on just about all 3rd party head units on the market. Get that and an adaptor, can be found for about 20 USD, that plugs from the aux ports and gives you a mini stereo plug to plug into your iPod, CD Player, etc.
 
baby duck monge

baby duck monge

macrumors 68000
Feb 16, 2003
1,570
0
Memphis, TN
ColdFlame87 said:
The Aux works well to connect your iPod into. They can be found on just about all 3rd party head units on the market. Get that and an adaptor, can be found for about 20 USD, that plugs from the aux ports and gives you a mini stereo plug to plug into your iPod, CD Player, etc.
Click to expand...

This is what I did in my car. Ran the cable out throught the pull-out ashtray so it could be hidden away when not in use (I'm not a smoker). I just used a cellphone holder to keep the iPod in place, and used the iPod's controls. Works like a charm, and you have no loss of sound quality.
 
iPhil

iPhil

macrumors 68040
Oct 4, 2005
3,061
39
A$$hat free location,and helping Mac bring back te
proverbs said:
my car was recently broken into, so i lost all 200+ of my cds. on the bright side, i did have about half of my cds on my iPod, so i would like to use it in my car.

anyone have any recommendations on which head unit works well with an iPod? and whats the difference between using an aux port and having an iPod adapter? TIA.
Click to expand...


This is the best car adapter on the market for the ipod .. ne thing else you'd hissing/pops during the music.. :eek: :eek:

thats imo and i do sell those @ work too .. :cool:
 
hayduke

hayduke

macrumors 65816
Mar 8, 2005
1,177
2
is a state of mind.
Alpine

Look at the newest Alpine head units. You can plug your iPod in and control it from the head unit. There is a nice dial for pick songs (similar to the click wheel) and the display shows the song name. This is much easier than fumbling with your iPod while driving and the sound quality is line-out.
 
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PlaceofDis

macrumors Core
Jan 6, 2004
19,241
6
Aux inputs are the easiest and cheapest way to go. and they give you no sound quality loss either.

Pioneer and Alpine have adapters that you can buy to go along with some of their headunits that then plug into the iPod and allow some functionality from the head unit. these however start getting pricier.

i went with buying a player that had aux inputs, ran a cord from the back of the unit, out through the side, has a mini stero jack on it, plug it into my iPod mini, and use the mini controls from there. simple and easy.
 
P

proverbs

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 15, 2005
287
0
i think the most convenient one would be iPhil's suggestion. all i have to do is plug one end on the iPod and the other in the car charger. one concern i had was that i heard using the FM transmitter eats up your car battery much faster than if i used the aux port. does anyone know if this is ture?
 
C

ColdFlame87

macrumors regular
Jul 23, 2004
175
0
Woodland Hills, CA
baby duck monge said:
This is what I did in my car. Ran the cable out throught the pull-out ashtray so it could be hidden away when not in use (I'm not a smoker). I just used a cellphone holder to keep the iPod in place, and used the iPod's controls. Works like a charm, and you have no loss of sound quality.
Click to expand...

Thats just what i did :D
 
B

Bakey

macrumors 6502
Oct 6, 2003
463
20
O Donny Boy
proverbs said:
ok...well, i have a Pioneer DEH-P9200R head unit.
would i use this...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Pion...ewItemQQcategoryZ38636QQitemZ8060429616QQrdZ1

or this...
http://cgi.ebay.com/PIONEER-TO-IPOD...718949944QQcategoryZ50552QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

do i just plug one side to my head unit and the other side to my iPod? is it that easy?
Click to expand...

I believe you could actually utilise this as you have a P series head unit, this is something I've been looking into my self as I have the 77MP and it's relatively cheap [about £65.00].

Good luck... ;)

EDIT : Whooah there! Scrap the £65.00 price tag; I've just found it for £49.99... bargain!
 
N

NicP

macrumors 6502
Jun 14, 2005
481
0
alpine cda-9857, avoid the pioneer stuff with headunit support, its awful for navigating music
 
N

NicP

macrumors 6502
Jun 14, 2005
481
0
proverbs said:
i think the most convenient one would be iPhil's suggestion. all i have to do is plug one end on the iPod and the other in the car charger. one concern i had was that i heard using the FM transmitter eats up your car battery much faster than if i used the aux port. does anyone know if this is ture?
Click to expand...

lol, false, fm transmitters have pretty average audio quality though
 
B

Bakey

macrumors 6502
Oct 6, 2003
463
20
O Donny Boy
NicP said:
alpine cda-9857, avoid the pioneer stuff with headunit support, its awful for navigating music
Click to expand...

Problem here is the chap has already got a Pioneer head unit; it's funny you make the comparison between the Pioneer and Alpine gear as I've read it's the other way around!!

To be fair I don't have the iPod adapter yet for my own Pioneer h/u, and I've never used Alpine gear so it's greatly unfair for me to make comments/comparisons here!!... ;)
 
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bucs79

macrumors newbie
May 5, 2006
9
0
Rochester, MN
For the best ease of installation/ sound/ price combo the TransPod by ELO is the way to go:

http://www.dlo.com/products/TP_Prod.tpl?command=showpage&cart=11468381144761085

It works in major cities and sound is fantastic. Charges your iPod while driving, keeps it where you can see it and in a stable position.

Probably the best iPod accessory I've bought.

BTW, I tried about 5 or 6 different FM transmitters and this one is by far the best.
 
nbs2

nbs2

macrumors 68030
Mar 31, 2004
2,719
491
A geographical oddity
I don't have one (I set up my car before it was released), but does anybody have an opinion on the HK Car+Play or whatever they call it?

Oh, and I have an Alpine head unit that has an M-bus controller (it's a CDM series, mine is four years old now), this has been adapted to take a 3.5, which plugs into a Belkin Auto Kit which plugs into my iPod which is suported by a radio shack cell phone holder.
 
N

NicP

macrumors 6502
Jun 14, 2005
481
0
Bakey said:
Problem here is the chap has already got a Pioneer head unit; it's funny you make the comparison between the Pioneer and Alpine gear as I've read it's the other way around!!

To be fair I don't have the iPod adapter yet for my own Pioneer h/u, and I've never used Alpine gear so it's greatly unfair for me to make comments/comparisons here!!... ;)
Click to expand...

The old alpine units were awful for navigating the ipod, the 2006 series is not

Didnt realise he had a pioneer headunit, I should read more closely next time :)
 
C

Cygnus311

macrumors regular
May 6, 2006
175
0
proverbs said:
since i have the pioneer deck, can i just buy this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/PIONEER-TO-IPOD...718949944QQcategoryZ50552QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

it seems like i just connect one end to he deck and the other to the iPod while i charge it with the car charger. i'm confused because i don't know if i need anything extra.
Click to expand...

That will work. I have the one from ipodcarparts.com but it's the same thing. As long as your Pioneer deck has a CD changer port, it'll work and it's all you need. Does your deck have an AUX source option? Just check your manual to see if it has the CD changer port (it plays through the AUX source that you select like you select between radio or CD input). It's called an IP-BUS port I believe. The square part of that cable plugs into that port on the back of your Pioneer deck. Then I just screwed the little ground wire into some random screw on the back of the Pioneer casing and spliced the 12v wire with the other 12v (yellow) wires in the harness.
 
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