Wiring, Stereo & Electronics Audio Components | Radars | Alarms - and things that spark when they shouldn't

ipod hook up?

Old Nov 2, 2006 | 07:47 PM
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is there a way to hook my ipod up to my stock stereo system? i heard from my friend that i can if there is an aux. in jack. can anyone help?
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Old Nov 2, 2006 | 07:58 PM
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ya dude check on like bestbuy.com look for the ipod roadtrip it plugs into ur cig lighter and u choose the radio station u want the ipod to play on lets just say 88.1 and then u just tune ur radio to the station 88.1 and u have ur ipod on ur sterio tahts like 100 bux i had it its not that bad.... i just bought a 200$ alpine deck n got the ipod hookup for like 20 bux n i can control my ipod through my deck i just hide my ipod in my shift boot n no1 knows its there
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Old Nov 2, 2006 | 08:30 PM
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Wow...was that English?

Depending on the model year of your car and whether you have a cassette or CD head unit, you can get an auxiliary input adapter that plugs into the CD port on the back of the radio. There is also an iPod specific model that has additional features but costs a lot more. In either case the radio has to be either a cassette unit or a 2000 or newer CD unit - the 98 and 99 CD units won't work (well, actually some late 99s will work but you can't really tell until you try it).
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Old Nov 2, 2006 | 08:32 PM
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i have one that i bought at best buy. i think its called ipod2car. hooks up to ur stock radio. and you control it with your radio. its awesome. i paid 200 now i saw it on sale for 150
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Old Nov 2, 2006 | 11:55 PM
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Originally Posted by WhiteBird00
Wow...was that English?

Depending on the model year of your car and whether you have a cassette or CD head unit, you can get an auxiliary input adapter that plugs into the CD port on the back of the radio. There is also an iPod specific model that has additional features but costs a lot more. In either case the radio has to be either a cassette unit or a 2000 or newer CD unit - the 98 and 99 CD units won't work (well, actually some late 99s will work but you can't really tell until you try it).
yea sorry I was rushing because I had to pick up my kid from school.
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Old Nov 3, 2006 | 12:02 AM
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Ya but isnt the sound quality of the radio gonna be less than a cd quality sound? I have always noticed that the radio sounds NOTHING like when i have a CD playing. Just get an aftermarket headunit with an ipod feature and call it a day.
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Old Nov 3, 2006 | 07:02 AM
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If you use one of the auxiliary input adapters (GM9-AUX, etc.) or the iPod2Car adapter then the sound quality will be the same as an MP3 CD player because it's a direct connection through the CD changer port. Note...this is not CD quality because MP3 files are compressed and aren't CD quality no matter what you play them on.

The next step down in sound quality is the cassette adapter. They work great if you have a cassette head unit but the sound quality is limited by the dynamic range of the tape head which is somewhat narrower than that of a CD.

Below that you have the hard-wired FM modulators. These are the ones that connect directly into your antenna cable. They provide sound quality equivalent to a strong local FM radio station - not bad for a noisy car environment. They have the advantage of cutting off the factory antenna when in use to eliminate interference from broadcast FM stations.

At the bottom of the pile is the wireless FM modulator. These should only be used in an emergency! The sound quality is terrible and they are subject to lots of interference from other radio stations. They're really only useful if you have absolutely no other choice or you need the convenience of switching between multiple vehicles.
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Old Nov 3, 2006 | 11:16 AM
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i have the 02 with monsoon. what does this hook up look like and how hard is it to take my radio out?
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Old Nov 3, 2006 | 11:32 AM
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The adapter is a simple plug-and-play device. Removing the radio is a little bit different between Camaros and Firebirds but basically you pull off the trim surround, remove the three screws, and pull the radio out. Then you unplug the existing CD changer connector (it's there even if you don't have a changer installed) and plug in the adapter. Put the radio back in, find a place to mount your iPod, plug the adapter cable into the iPod, and turn it on. For the generic auxiliary adapter (GM9-AUX) you will need a cable that has the mini-stereo headphone plug on one end for the iPod and a pair of RCA plugs on the other end for the adapter. This type of cable is available for a few dollars at any electronics store or even WalMart.
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Old Nov 3, 2006 | 11:57 AM
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Hey by any chance do you know a link were I can see this adapter you are talking about?
Thanks
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Old Nov 3, 2006 | 12:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Mike00ss
Hey by any chance do you know a link were I can see this adapter you are talking about?
Thanks
iPod2Car: http://www.ipod2car.com/
GM9-AUX: http://www.pie.net/store/index.cfm?a...ails&ItemID=18
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Old Nov 3, 2006 | 10:58 PM
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Theres also the Harmon Kardon drive + play.
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Old Nov 4, 2006 | 10:09 AM
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Originally Posted by krink85
i have the 02 with monsoon. what does this hook up look like and how hard is it to take my radio out?
Check out the USAspec model for your car. Can usually be had for 139 or less and adds another aux input. It is a very easy install..Pull off the trim piece remove two screws from the radio slide it out, unplug the CD changer control on the left side of the radio and plug in the adpter. Keep in mind most of these will not still allow the use of the factory CD changer...

As far as these adapters not being CD quality that depends on how you rip your music. I rip mine with Apple Lossless and they are the same quaility as a CD. Yes, if you compress your CD's they will be of lower quality but then nothing in a car will sound as good as a quality home system anyway especially if you are using the stock HU/Amp/Speakers so it does not really matter.
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Old Nov 4, 2006 | 11:11 AM
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Originally Posted by WhiteBird00
If you use one of the auxiliary input adapters (GM9-AUX, etc.) or the iPod2Car adapter then the sound quality will be the same as an MP3 CD player because it's a direct connection through the CD changer port. Note...this is not CD quality because MP3 files are compressed and aren't CD quality no matter what you play them on.
This is not exactly correct. The quality of an MP3 file depends on the bitrate selected. If you select a higher bitrate (192 is the audible threshold) it will sound as good as your CDs. If you go down to a lower bitrate (128 seems to be the most popular) then the human ear can perceive the difference.
These facts come from tests at my company, which worked on the MP3 specs as well as MP3Pro.
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Old Nov 4, 2006 | 07:48 PM
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Originally Posted by koolaid_kid
This is not exactly correct. The quality of an MP3 file depends on the bitrate selected. If you select a higher bitrate (192 is the audible threshold) it will sound as good as your CDs. If you go down to a lower bitrate (128 seems to be the most popular) then the human ear can perceive the difference.
These facts come from tests at my company, which worked on the MP3 specs as well as MP3Pro.
You're right. I was refering to the common level of 128K which won't be CD quality regardless of the player (aftermarket or factory). If the compression level is low enough then the difference will be inaudible to the human ear (although still present). This is especially true in a relatively noisy environment like a car where even 128K can sound pretty good.
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Old Nov 4, 2006 | 10:41 PM
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well, i didnt read all the replies so if this has been said disreguard.

i work at best buy in the ipod section and the car audio section. the best solution(most economical) to using a stock headunit with an ipod is a hardwired fm transmitter. a box plugs into your radio jack in the back of the headunit and the box has an a/v input and a plug for the antenna. the hard wired fm transmitter is about 45 bucks, and will require installation if you dont know how the do it yourself. go to the back of best buy, ask them for it, and they will probly giv eyou a run around saying they dont know what your talking about b/c some of them dont know what their doing. but its called a hard wried fm transmitter. and best buy makes it. the box has the best buy logo on it.

i dont tell this to customers b/c it takes too long. i just piont them the the wireless things, which suck

edit, a tape adapter and the ipod2car will have about the same sound quality since they both use analog cables to transmit the sound. it will never be cd quality but you probly wont be able to tell. and the tape adapter is 21 bucks. if you want to get fancy, harmon kardon makes an ipod external interface which is lovely. its 150 bucks and you mount a sleek screen on you dash and control the ipod through it.
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Old Nov 5, 2006 | 11:43 AM
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Originally Posted by bradmb
well, i didnt read all the replies so if this has been said disreguard.

i work at best buy in the ipod section and the car audio section. the best solution(most economical) to using a stock headunit with an ipod is a hardwired fm transmitter. a box plugs into your radio jack in the back of the headunit and the box has an a/v input and a plug for the antenna. the hard wired fm transmitter is about 45 bucks, and will require installation if you dont know how the do it yourself. go to the back of best buy, ask them for it, and they will probly giv eyou a run around saying they dont know what your talking about b/c some of them dont know what their doing. but its called a hard wried fm transmitter. and best buy makes it. the box has the best buy logo on it.

i dont tell this to customers b/c it takes too long. i just piont them the the wireless things, which suck

edit, a tape adapter and the ipod2car will have about the same sound quality since they both use analog cables to transmit the sound. it will never be cd quality but you probly wont be able to tell. and the tape adapter is 21 bucks. if you want to get fancy, harmon kardon makes an ipod external interface which is lovely. its 150 bucks and you mount a sleek screen on you dash and control the ipod through it.
I'm sorry but I must disagree with you. Whether hardwired or over the air an FM tramsitter wil NEVER sound as good as an adapter hard wired to the HU. You are still sending the signal to an FM band which has limited frequency range. Will it sound better than an FM modulated hooh up? Probably but at the end of the day you are still broadcasting via FM thorugh the factory antenna and it will be prone to noise and the same other general sound quaility issues that FM radio has.

As far as the quality of the recordings on the Ipod, That depends on how they were encoded. Using a lossless technology my CD's are the same size as they were originaly and sound quality is the same as on the CD. As I said not that it matters much as your always going to have noise in a car that you canot avoid which will affect the sound quaility of any recording whether CD, Ipod etc...
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Old Nov 5, 2006 | 11:48 AM
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Let me qualify what I said in that the hard wired FM transmitter might be a good choice if you on a budget and don't care that much about the sound quaility. I will agree that the hardwired non FM transmitters are more expensive. They WILL sound better than any FM transmitter though...
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Old Nov 5, 2006 | 12:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Mike02Z
Let me qualify what I said in that the hard wired FM transmitter might be a good choice if you on a budget and don't care that much about the sound quality. I will agree that the hardwired non FM transmitters are more expensive. They WILL sound better than any FM transmitter though...
I agree on both points. I don't like listening to the radio on my DD because I can hear the drop off on the high end. Most FM receivers only go to about 14KHz, and the bottom end is muddy. Whereas a CD (or hardwired input) can go 20-20KHz. As long as your speakers can approach that range, of course.
If the headend has the CD Changer input (must be a cassette model with a tape/aux button, the single CD headends do not have this input), that would be the way to go, for sure.
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Old Nov 5, 2006 | 12:45 PM
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Originally Posted by koolaid_kid
If the headend has the CD Changer input (must be a cassette model with a tape/aux button, the single CD headends do not have this input), that would be the way to go, for sure.
For 98's this may be true but for 99-02 these all have the changer port whether they actually have the changer or not. Even the HU's with the single CD player have the changer port post 98 I believe.
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