How Play iPod In Car?

[jyl]

I want to get an iPod and play it through the 911's stereo.

Should I use one of those FM transmitters? Which one is best? I'd like to minimize the number of dangling dongles.

Or should I get a thingie that plugs into the head unit's antenna port, then lets you switch between the antenna and an aux input that I'd plug into the iPod's headphone output?

I'm in NoCal if it matters for FM frequencies, etc. Hi-fidelity is not a huge issue, my stereo isn't so great anyway (Becker CDR210 w/ OEM amp and nothing-special speakers).

[jyl]

Oh, one more thing, I'm not sure whether to get a current iPod (w/ the four buttons in a line above the control wheel) or a used iPod (w/ the buttons concentric to the wheel). Any reason to go find an old one, aside from cost? I'd be looking for 20GB or so.

[bell]

what kind of radio is in your car?
the antenne is what is used for fm modulation, you will lose some quality and possibly have a high noise floor (hiss).
alot of aftermarket radios have capability to adding an aux rca input, which will give you the cleanest quality in this setup

[BlueSkyJaunte]

My Blaupunkt Nevada (Reno? I don't rememeber...) has an AUX in that I plug my 'pod into. More worrisome to me is the fact that I just leave my 'pod on the seat. I need some sort of decent mounting setup.

[nostatic]

rant on:

I am a long time Apple fan. I actually thought the iPod was a dumb idea (I had played with other mp3 players). Then I got one. Then my world changed. Then I got a 2nd one when rev2 came out (solid state jog wheel and port cover). Then I got a 3rd one when the new 4 button models came out.

THE 4 BUTTON ONE SUCKS!!!!!

Yes, it is thinner and no longer has sharp edges. Yes, it has a bigger HD (I've got a 30gig one). BUT, it took a beautifully intuitive interface (the jog wheel with buttons surrounding in a circle) that could be easily navigated just by feel (like when it's in your back pocket) and replaced it with idiotic buttons put in a line and are so sensitive if you look at them the next song comes on. And no, the remote is not an acceptable solution...more crap to carry. AND, instead of a standard 6 pin FW cable, the new ones require a proprietary cable to charge and sync.

The screwed the pooch on this one. Find a 20Gig rev2 model and be happy.

rant off.

I use the iTrip FM transmitter...it is OK. If you've got an aux in though it will be much cleaner sound.

[bell]

one of the things on my "gotta get" list is an ipod.......nostatic can you download MP3s from windows to it? i haven't looked into it's details other than they have crazy memory

[Stanley]

A friend of my has an ipod and uses the FM transmitter and it doesn’t work that well. His first one broke after about a month and the second one he got sounds like crap and it is always canceling out. I would suggest getting a stereo with an audio in on the face or finding a way to wire it directly to the deck. I have a cheap Aiwa deck that has an audio in on the front and it works great with my ipod. I am thinking about going to the VW dealership and seeing if I can buy the ipod holder that the new Beetle uses.

nostatic-I agree with you on the buttons on the new ipods. It’s a pain to change songs without looking at the buttons. However, I do love the touch pad jog wheel. Everyone else I know that has the old one had a malfunctioning wheel thing. If you bumped it, the volume would change (very annoying).

bell- I am little confused on what you are asking. I'll try my best to answer it. Yes, they do make a windows version that uses the musicmatch software. I use this and it works OK, but there are some bugs when transferring and naming files. Apple is going to release a windows version of itunes in a few months. With that you will be able to download music to a PC using the Itunes music store. Try the apple website for more info, its very well designed and provides plenty of info. If your into saving some money on the price of the ipod sometimes Dell has some pretty good discounts of them (15 gig for $315). But its usally only oneday sales, so you have to be on top of things. This price was found on www.slickdeals.net

[jyl]

The only disadvantage I can see to the "old" iPod (besides the greater thickness, which I don't care about) is that it doesn't have a dock connector AFAIK. (is that right? Apple's webpage doesn't have specs for the old model anymore.) Is that a practical problem? Is the dock, or accessories that require the "new iPod with dock connector", a must-have?

[BlueSkyJaunte]

I plug mine into my Dell 1.7GHz P4 running Win2k through a $25 IEEE1394 (FireWire) card. It works fine using Ephpod (www.ephpod.com). If you get a "Windows" version iPod, don't even bother installing any of the software that comes with it...it's absolute, complete crap. Just plug it in and use Ephpod.

I was very enamored of the "new" iPod when it came out, with the nifty "touch" buttons etc. Then I actually tried to use it in the store and realized what an interface/ergonomic disaster it was. Radially placed buttons with tactile feedback is one of the poster children of interface design. So I bought a leftover 20GB on the cheap.

I don't know that the "dock connector" is all that worthwhile, though I hear they're coming out with a remote for it. I guess you could then plug it in to your hi-fi at home and use the remote...not that you could navigate your library from more than 3 feet away, and then the remote is pointless anyway.

There are actually 3 generations of iPods now...moving wheel, touch wheel w/ radial buttons, and touch wheel with stupid buttons.

By the way, if you're looking for a decent pair of cans (closed circumaural headphones) that work with the iPod with no additional amp, try the Sony MDR-D66SL Eggo 'phones. They're light on bass but very clear and have good isolation. Plus they're compact. I had to buy mine through an importer -- www.audiocubes.com.

[turbo6bar]

How the heck does one fill a 5GB iPod much less a 20GB model?

I love my Grado SR-60 headphones. My pair is almost trashed after 5+ years of nearly daily use. I found nothing in the price range that sounded quite as nice.

Jurgen

[nostatic]

my 20gig is totally full. The beauty of the iPod is that they also serve as external firewire hard drives. I've got 10 gigs of mp3 files, and another 10 gigs of ProTools session files, video clips, word documents, etc.

rev2 also has the solid state jog wheel. imho, that was the best iteration. The "dock" isn't anything more than a stand that will remind you of a Palm Pilot dock. The first two revisions you just hook ANY standard 6 pin firewire cable and you're good to sync and charge.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

I've heard really good things about Grados in general (www.head-fi.org) but wanted a complete closed set of cans. Supraural phones hurt my ears (I wear glasses).

I've got maybe 8GB free on my 20GB 'pod. I've pretty much run out of music to put on it...even with all of nostatic's Voodoo Chile cuts in there. Mostly this is due to my disgust with the RIAA and my resulting unwillingness to spend any more money on CDs.

[jyl]

I ordered a refurbished 20GB old-style iPod from Apple's special deals page, $269 w/ remote, case, etc. Dunno if is rev 1 or rev 2 but I think probably the latter. Thanks for all the advice!

[BlueSkyJaunte]

All 20GB are rev 2, I think.

[jyl]

OK, I have my iPod (rev 2 20GB reburb) and love it.

Now, back to how to play it through my 911's stereo.

Stepping through the FM band, I find hardly any unused frequencies here in the SF Bay Area. So I'm a bit dubious about the iTrip and similar FM devices.

I checked, my head unit definitely has no line-in.

But I do have a separate amp (the factory Blaupunkt, under the seat). Suppose I just connect the iPod's headphone output straight to the amp's line-in terminals? Is this likely to fry anything?

[Jack Olsen]

I tried the FM tuner thing, and hated it. My Jaguar has a cassette deck in it (remember those?) and so I got one of the cassette adapters. I'm very happy with that.

In the 911, I use a set of the Bose noise-cancelling headphones. I look a little like the guy who directs planes on the runway at the airport, in them, but the sound is great.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally posted by JackOlsen
In the 911, I use a set of the Bose noise-cancelling headphones. I look a little like the guy who directs planes on the runway at the airport, in them, but the sound is great.

Headphones in the car? Isn't that illegal??!

[nostatic]

it is in California. Bad moderator...you're setting a terrible example for the kids.

Won't somebody think about the children?!?

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally posted by nostatic
Won't somebody think about the children?!?

Ba-dump. I think he just ran one over!

[turbo6bar]

Are there any other brands worth considering besides the iPod? Something between 1-10GB would be good.

Who has a good deal on the iPod? I browsed Ebay, and there don't seem to be any deals. Maybe the iPod is still hot?

Jürgen