iPods and such in car??

kaiser715

kaiser715

Doing hard time
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Location
7, Pocket, NC
I have been running XM radio for 4 or 5 years now. Mostly listen to the bluegrass station. XM costs more and more, and the service gets worse and worse. The playlist is shorter, and there is more and more talk instead of music.

My subscription is up in a few weeks, and I am thinking about dropping the XM, and dumping all my CD's to MP3s, and put the money I was spending on XM into more music, CD's or downloads.

Rather than deal with swapping cd's in the truck, I'm thinking about an iPod Touch, or other MP3 player to i/f to the truck stereo. I've never had an MP3 player, but have dumped many of my CD's to my laptop, more for backup than anything.

How's the sound quality of an iPod Touch thru car stereo (P.I.E. interface to my radio)....say compared to a CD? Worse...about the same...? There are some MP3 players (like the J3)that are supposedly 'way better' quality than the Touch, but that info is from audiophile sites...would I notice a difference?
 
On an ipod, there is a noticeable difference in quality of the sound that comes through the headphone jack as compared to running the sound from the dock connector through a separate sound processor.

With that said, I was o.k. with one of the run of the mill FM modulator setups (in-line in the antenna, the wireless ones don't work worth a crap), but it would fade in an out.

I was MUCH happier with the $2 aux input jack I soldered to the board in the factory BOSE radio on my 03 GMC.

But again, I could notice a significant difference between that, and the Kenwood X794 headunit I installed in my 01 that used the dock connector and controlled the ipod.

Honestly, I think you will be satisfied with the headphone connector setup, unless you hear it compared to the dock connector setup and notice the difference. It is still very clear, I would put it halfway between CD and radio, and equivalent to CD through the dock connector.

But honestly what I hated about the headphone aux in setup, was the hassle of changing play lists, skipping, pausing etc on the touch since it has no buttons. Turning on the screen, unlocking, etc got to be a hassle. The Kenwood HU I have now is so much nicer to control the pod, with it tucked neatly in the console.
 
I recently dumped XM in the work car in favor of a laptop mount.
Now I can listen to my entire CD list burned at highest bit rate, stram web casts, instan downlod podcasts and listen etc. I go straight from the line out on the laptop to the aux in on a newer GM radio.

Not exactly what you asked but wantd to offer another suggstion.

Oh yeah storage imits are viturally non existent compared to an ipod.
 
Your iPod is only as good as the quality of the music you put into it. I don't have anything below 320. You can hear the difference from the downloaded 128 music. Especially if you are an audio freak like me. Don't run an FM modulator. I had and audio store use and adaptor made just for XM OnStar systems and it has worked out great.
 
I have a 2005 Ram 2500 with factory stereo. I ordered this to hook up my iPod Touch and love it.
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_17564_iSimple-iPod2Car-PXDP-Peripheral.html
Just note that there is a vehicle specific harness you have to buy too and depending on where you order from, you may have to order the harness separate. I didn't know that until after I had the adapter, so then I had to wait another week to put it in because I had to order the harness.
 
Just a heads up.

About 6 months ago I was going to cancel the XM in both the trucks and online and just use my iPhone with the XM app.

When I called to cancel they offered me a discounted rate to not cancel. I countered with a lower rate just being an ass...and they took it.

I have 2 receivers and an online account for like 3 bucks a month now or something...I paid up for 3 years I believe...



So...haggle with them on the price...it might work...?
 
Indy Will said:
Just a heads up.
About 6 months ago I was going to cancel the XM in both the trucks and online and just use my iPhone with the XM app.
When I called to cancel they offered me a discounted rate to not cancel. I countered with a lower rate just being an ass...and they took it.
I have 2 receivers and an online account for like 3 bucks a month now or something...I paid up for 3 years I believe...
So...haggle with them on the price...it might work...?
Click to expand...

I had another XM receiver for the shop. When the contract ran out back in November, I tried getting a cut-rate several times. They wouldn't budge off the price (and this was a second radio). Really ended up getting pizzed at them anyway, they called me several times a week for about six weeks afterward, never would deal. Finally quit answering.

I might try again when I cancel this radio.

I'm leary of a 3 year sub...I'm not sure they'll be in business by then.
 
If you go iPod go with the thin flat connector. The sound will be much better! These connections are often more expensive, but the sound quality is vastly better also!
 
IMO, unless you are really sold on IPods, it's alot easier to just get a radio that has a USB input on the front (almost all do nowadays), buy yourself a 8-16gb flash drive, load your music on that, and just play off of it. It all stays digital, no 2nd device to mess with etc.
 
RatLabGuy said:
IMO, unless you are really sold on IPods, it's alot easier to just get a radio that has a USB input on the front (almost all do nowadays), buy yourself a 8-16gb flash drive, load your music on that, and just play off of it. It all stays digital, no 2nd device to mess with etc.
Click to expand...


x2 I tried a few ipod set-ups and found that the flash drive is much easier. Holds just as much music as an ipod (depending on flash drive you get) and cost a fraction of the price. My kenwood has a cable for the usb connection that comes out of the back of the reciever so i can easily run the cable to a descreet spot under the dash. Great sound quility as well, plus you can organize music into files on the drive, just like playlists on an ipod.
 
hard to make a playlist on a thumb drive...

I cancelled XM and they continued to bill me.
I sent a certified letter.they continued to bill....one day they will stop...I hav refused payment on everyone so far.
 
Update: Ended up ordering a P.I.E. interface, iPod cable, and an iPod touch this week. Did the install today (why did ford make it so difficult, had to pull the dash).

So far, I really like it. Subbed to slacker radio, too, that lets you cache to the iPod, and you update the cache with new music when you have Internet connection. Sound quality is pretty decent.
 
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