iPod with stock Monsoon head unit - Distortion?
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From: Hatboro, PA 19040
iPod with stock Monsoon head unit - Distortion? I'm going to add an adapter very shortly to the stock Monsoon head unit so I can aux in an iPod to it.
I find myself wondering, will the iPod source sort of "control for" the distortion in the head unit?
Is the distortion in the head unit more from the signal sources (the tuner and CD drive), or more issues with the amp that's built in to the head unit? Or both?
Lee
I find myself wondering, will the iPod source sort of "control for" the distortion in the head unit?
Is the distortion in the head unit more from the signal sources (the tuner and CD drive), or more issues with the amp that's built in to the head unit? Or both?
Lee
I put a jack in one car and bought the actual adapter that allows the full iPod integration. The audio quality is quite a bit different between the 2. The adapter kit is obviously better that the jack but even it didn't compare to an aftermarket head unit. Even the cheap ones are better than the monsoon
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From: Hatboro, PA 19040
But the dash looks SO sexy at night with the Monsoon. lol
Thank you for the input, will report back after I test the adapter.
The adapter I'm going to try out is the USA SPEC PA11-GM45 (discontinued), I got it on eBay recently.
Thank you for the input, will report back after I test the adapter.
The adapter I'm going to try out is the USA SPEC PA11-GM45 (discontinued), I got it on eBay recently.
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
The adapter will provide better sound quality than the AM/FM radio but about the same as the built-in CD player. The distortion from the Monsoon head unit is from the internal amplifier. In other words, it's the output rather than the input that produces the distortion.
A nice double DIN head unit with color matched controls and display looks pretty good at night as well. Pioneer and Kenwood are particularly good at making the display look integrated with the factory dash lighting.
A nice double DIN head unit with color matched controls and display looks pretty good at night as well. Pioneer and Kenwood are particularly good at making the display look integrated with the factory dash lighting.
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From: Hatboro, PA 19040
Thank you, that's exactly what I was seeking to understand.
Can't thank you enough for everything.
I saw on your stickys that the sub woofers in the TA coupe are wired totally different than in the Camaro coupe. I find this all very interesting!
I'm so old school. I kind of like the old Alpine 1.5 CDA-D857's with the spectrum analyzer. But of course still no MP3's, USB, Bluetooth, etc etc.
I'm going to start by upgrading the speakers and see what happens after that!
Can't thank you enough for everything.
I saw on your stickys that the sub woofers in the TA coupe are wired totally different than in the Camaro coupe. I find this all very interesting!
I'm so old school. I kind of like the old Alpine 1.5 CDA-D857's with the spectrum analyzer. But of course still no MP3's, USB, Bluetooth, etc etc.
I'm going to start by upgrading the speakers and see what happens after that!
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
There is a recent addition to the aftermarket of a 1.5 DIN replacement head unit that looks factory but includes auxiliary input, USB, MP3, Bluetooth, pre-amp output, selectable illumination color, and an iPhone interface. It's call the RetroSound Newport and is available at Crutchfield but at $400 it's not cheap - you can get a pretty nice double DIN for that kind of money.
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From: Hatboro, PA 19040
I saw those! That's a good point. I know an old school TV repairman and he thinks like the way that Newport is made. I like the less is more concept in a way where it's not much to look at but has all the needed modern features. But in a way I'd like to see more of a useful and colorful display. I note they do have amber illumination as an option, but I kind off feel like the face is actually TOO simple looking, lol. Again, some people like that less is more look. I'd like something in the middle, not a Christmas tree but something! (haha) It looks to me like they may be using a modular design where the guts are all the same and the guts plug in to the different faces/models. If that's the case I like that design concept. I think it might be eBay or somewhere I saw the Newport for about $329. As you saId, even at that slightly lower price point it's still kind of pricey when you consider all the other double din options.
I kind of like this bezel: https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...din-radio.html
I'm going to attach two pics below, the Newport for 93-02 Firebirds can possibly be had for $280 on sale, plus tax, but it does not appear to have a steering wheel control interface. I think that's a deal breaker for me.
I also looked at single DIN receivers now, they're not doing it for me either! I may have to look at double DIN, in case I ever want to add a backup camera.
I appreciate your thoughts!
Lee
I kind of like this bezel: https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...din-radio.html
I'm going to attach two pics below, the Newport for 93-02 Firebirds can possibly be had for $280 on sale, plus tax, but it does not appear to have a steering wheel control interface. I think that's a deal breaker for me.
I also looked at single DIN receivers now, they're not doing it for me either! I may have to look at double DIN, in case I ever want to add a backup camera.
I appreciate your thoughts!
Lee
Last edited by k3000; Aug 31, 2019 at 10:22 AM. Reason: touch ups!
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Brett Foote Thread Starter
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From: Hatboro, PA 19040
Also about the Newport Radio Newport will read only FAT32 formatted flash drives.
This radio will NOT read NTFS formatted drives.
Newport will read files placed in the root directory first before playing files in the
folder structure of the drive. Please note that files are read in order of creation
NOT alphabetically or numerically. Older files will get read first in a folder.
This radio will NOT read NTFS formatted drives.
Newport will read files placed in the root directory first before playing files in the
folder structure of the drive. Please note that files are read in order of creation
NOT alphabetically or numerically. Older files will get read first in a folder.
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Actually, I think you'll find that it reads files in directory order rather than file age. In other words the files will be played in the order they were saved to the flash drive. This is fairly common because the software doesn't have to read any details about the file - it just starts at the top of the unsorted directory and goes consecutively. There are several free programs that will sort the directory entries in the order you want so that even players that don't pay any attention to file metadata will still play in sorted order.
It is quite common for flash drive readers to support only variations of the FAT format and not NTFS. In fact, flash drives generally come formatted in one of the FAT formats out of the box. NTFS is a Windows only disk format while FAT, FAT16, FAT32 and even exFAT are much more universal (especially for Mac and *nix operating systems). For music players, there is no advantage to NTFS - you don't need the security capabilities and the error mitigation only applies to writing not the reading that a player does.
It is quite common for flash drive readers to support only variations of the FAT format and not NTFS. In fact, flash drives generally come formatted in one of the FAT formats out of the box. NTFS is a Windows only disk format while FAT, FAT16, FAT32 and even exFAT are much more universal (especially for Mac and *nix operating systems). For music players, there is no advantage to NTFS - you don't need the security capabilities and the error mitigation only applies to writing not the reading that a player does.
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From: Hatboro, PA 19040
You have a point about NTFS, that's true.
I didn't know there was a way to sort the tunes for the radio, may have to look in to that.
Still looking at a ton of receivers, including double DIN's, and nothing suits my fancy so far.
I didn't know there was a way to sort the tunes for the radio, may have to look in to that.
Still looking at a ton of receivers, including double DIN's, and nothing suits my fancy so far.
