Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!

[GregWhelan]

Help needed please. I have a 60GB iPod. I have a Vauxhall Corsa car, with the standard stereo, which has no aux output on it.

I desperately want to be able to play my iPod through the car stereo with perfect quality - I have an iTrip but the sound quality is so unreliable, and for some reason the Metrodance shows play really boggy on it (Must be something to do with the sound quality it's recorded in?)

I went to a Halfords store thinking I could just get it wired through the stereo - but was told it can't be done on my vehicle, without completely changing the stereo.

Can anyone help - surely it's just a case of putting a wire from the stereo into the iPod and hey presto?!

I tried www.ilounge.com but that just made me more confused, they are real geeks over there.

[toasty]

Re: Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!

If your existing car stereo doesn't have any available inputs, I'm not sure what you would be wiring to. Assuming that to be the case, you're looking at adding more inputs, and of course you'd need to add something to the faceplate to allow you to access that input's source material. For all that effort, it's probably easier and cheaper to just get a new unit.

Short of that, you are looking at a workaround like an FM modulator. Sounds like you haven't had much success with the iTrip, but you might try the Monster unit. I had one and my wife has one now, and it works pretty well for us -- of course, the use of an FM modulator is going to depend in large part upon the amount of interference where you're trying to use it, so YMMV.

[feather]

Re: Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!

I'm assuming your new car stereo doesn't come with a tape deck else you could use one of them old stereo jack -> tape adaptors.

Check out ilounge's subforum for in-car solutions, they'll probably have what you need.

[FlashLight]

Re: Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!

hehe, i was thinking the same thing...
i remember when we all had tape plaxers in the cars, and used those adapters
to play music from portable cd players.

those were the happy times, until someone broke in my car, and took everything...

cheers

[feather]

Re: Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!

Tape decks

[Corven]

Re: Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!



thats what i use

[maddlingo]

Re: Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!

I use the Alpine CDA-9856 with the ipod wire adapter. Best way to go imo to play your ipod in your car. Whole system cost me less than 300 bucks. Money well spent and I've had no complaints. The head deck even charges your ipod while your car is running.

[GregWhelan]

Re: Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!

Good advice lads.

Corven - that suggestion I looked into - it has really mixed reviews at amazon - some people loving it but some people absolutely slating it, so I'll steer clear I think.

I will put up with my tempremental iTrip I think until I get a new car in 18 months time

[Corven]

Re: Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!

its decent imo for that price only problem i have with it is that the audio levels are too low ... i have to turn up my car stereo level up to above 50-60% for some of the new mixes that i've downloaded to be of decent audible level

[FlashLight]

Re: Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!

i have tried this road trip, but european cars are likely to have some materials in the cockpit, which block fm signal from it

it is heard like a VERY BAD radio station, so tape adapter is beter and cheaper.

.

[feather]

Re: Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!

Yeah the itrip is very flaky. I've heard anything from mono-sounding audio to great sounding streo transmission (but that was in a Beemer ). The weird thing is when going into a tunnel, my itrip's transmission gets affected too even though it's in the car and the nearest source of transmission. Also, finding the right frequency for your city helps due to each city's airwaves being cluttered differently. I've since ditched it for a tape adaptor

[GregWhelan]

Re: Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!

My iTrip unfortunately has only 5 options 88.1, 88.3, 88.5, 88.7 and 88.9FM to choose from. So if none of them are clear you're screwed. So far I'm doing okay though!

[beanzncheez]

Re: Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!

Just modify your head unit to use a hard drive and you're set.

[FM]

Re: Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!

Before CD MP3 players were made...
(actually now some cars are coming built in with hard drives)

http://skylab.org/~chugga/mpegbox/

[feather]

Re: Aarrggh! ...Playing my iPod through my car stereo?!

My brother just bought this Harmon/Kardon drive + play system for his new Lexus and it looks fucking sweet!



The knob thing is the control unit that and the display is, well, a display. He's got the display installed at the top of the driver side's interior. The system comes with a control box to interface the iPod with the car's stereo, and it uses the iPod's line-out for sound.