I'm toying with getting an ipod with one of the main uses being in the car (used to have a CD changer, but getting it to work with the stereo in the new car requires a £100 adapter!)
What's the best way of connecting it to the cars stereo (cost vs quality vs convenience). Ways I've found so far are:-
- Using a tape adapter
- Using an itrip or similar
- Connecting it to the stereo's cd changer port using an aux-in adapter
- connecting it to the aerial port using an adapter (you can then switch between ipod and radio)
Thoughts / idea's / experiences???
Thanks
E.M.
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I've heard that iTrips give awful quality and I don't think they're legal in the UK.
Another option would be to get one of those iPod docks with speakers, or just get some cheap passive speakers and stick them in your car and plug them into the iPod
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I use a tape adaptor and it works really well.
Although the one I got from Maplins for about £4 didn't work with my Pioneer autoreverse unit. (Pioneer kept trying to turn the "tape" over).Luckily managed to swap it for my mate's Panasonic one as my Maplin one worked fine in his car.
I also tried an iTrip copy which I bought from USA via ebay (they are illegal here) and it was absolutely useless and a total waste of money.
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I've heard that iTrips give awful quality and I don't think they're legal in the UK. itrip is fine if you can find an empty frequency on the radio. It depends on how many stations are operating around you. Although my girlfriend can drive all the way into london with hers working.
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Buy the ALPINE-CDE-9850RI (there might even be a newer model out now)
It has direct iPod connection and charges the iPod at the same time too. You can control the iPod through the stereo headunit interface too very quickly (compared to the usual headunit + iPod adapter combo)
The cheapest I found this for when I bought it was £170 from pixmania.co.uk It's a very neat way to do it as my iPod sits in the glove compartment out of view, and you don't have the adapters and wires all over the place.
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Just got one of these, works really well was`nt expecting it too as friends told me they dont work but this really does. Needs rechargable batteries though as it eats em fast.
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I had an iTrip in the past as well and it was useless. Got shot of it pretty quickly.
Changed the standard head unit in the car to a Pioneer one with the extra iPod charge/connection unit and now I have perfect CD-quality sound from the 'Pod in the car.
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I use one of these from ebay, charges as well as sends out via FM. I find it very good as you can change the frequency it outputs to.
ebay product ID = 9706635161
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Unfortunately, changing the head unit is not a good option as:-
a.) the current one forms part of the dash
b.) I like using the stalk on the driving column to control it
Any other suggestions? Anyone else tracked down a solution for giving a philips radio Aux in???
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Unfortunately, changing the head unit is not a good option as:-
a.) the current one forms part of the dash
b.) I like using the stalk on the driving column to control it
Any other suggestions? Anyone else tracked down a solution for giving a philips radio Aux in??? The problem is your budget. Go to Dension.com and check out the "Ice Link". It will allow you to control your iPod through the headunit. There are two models - one that hardwires onto your aerial taking over an unused frequency (but there's no "transmission" so it's not variable like an iTrip), and another that uses the CD changer input which is much better. They have a configurator online which will tell you which one (if either) will work with your car. The aerial one is £100 all-in at Halfords and the CD changer one is £150 installed also at Halfords. It comes with a little cradle they attach to one of the air vents so there are no straggling wires. That's what I would do, and plan to in fact.
The iTrip it's true is very unreliable. One secret is to find where your aerial is and place the iPod as close to it as possible. In many cars now it's in the back window which is one problem. Of course if you put it on the rear shelf that might sound good but it won't be handy to keep it powered (the transmitters eat power) or to change tracks. If you live in the country it may be fine but in London with all the pirate stations it's hopeless.
I am trying to find a specific car stero compatible with the Ice:Link for my own car; in the meantime I am using a cassette adapter, which really sucks. Maybe my cassette player is too good, or not good enough - but I can't wait to junk the thing. Sometimes it's fine, but other times it's so dull you can barely make out words, and on others it distorts. It looks like it should be nasty and low-tech, and in my experience, it is.
So I think that leaves you with the Ice:Link if you want to keep your existing stereo. And then you're back to square one with respect to not wanting to pay £100 for the CD changer...
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Thanks for all the answers so far. I'm looking for the same solution, but haven't decided on which MP3 player to get. Does anyone know of solutions for Creative Zen or other MP3 players - or do I have to get an iPod?
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Thanks for all the answers so far. I'm looking for the same solution, but haven't decided on which MP3 player to get. Does anyone know of solutions for Creative Zen or other MP3 players - or do I have to get an iPod? Unless your stereo has an aux-in - and actually I hear more and more are going to - it really has to be the iPod. The car thing is already a pain with an iPod - I certainly won't replace my current car with anything that doesn't have iPod connectivity or at the very least an aux-in mounted either in the glovebox or on the face-plate, at the factory. (Lottery winners may be interested in knowing that right now that includes Ferrari, but not Porsche, Aston Martin, or Bentley. None of them are getting my money this year.)
But solutions for things other than the iPod are virtually nonexistent: don't forget it's not just about getting the sound in, but holding it steady, and powering it.
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Maplins sell a unit which plumbs into your aerial (I guess like the denison one) at £30, and there are others available around £20, but it seems quite an untidy solution, less flexible in terms of control than something like an itrip, but still succeptible to interference (I know the signal is stronger than an itrip, but it does state, if it clashes with an existing station it can't override it completely...).
AAAAHHHH, Why doesn't someone make a philips convertor!!!
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You could also try this:
Very good sound quality (like from a good quality cassette adapter) but obviously more advanced as it allows you to control the iPod using the built-in controls of your car's sound system.
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Maplins sell a unit which plumbs into your aerial (I guess like the denison one) at £30, and there are others available around £20, but it seems quite an untidy solution, less flexible in terms of control than something like an itrip, but still succeptible to interference (I know the signal is stronger than an itrip, but it does state, if it clashes with an existing station it can't override it completely...).
AAAAHHHH, Why doesn't someone make a philips convertor!!! Don't Dension, or is it just too expensive?
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Thanks alexjohnson We've in the process of buying a new Toyota Verso. The top of the range Prius has a MP3 plug-in but the Verso doesn't
The car stereo has a CD player but no tape deck. I'd like the best money-saving solution. So am looking at advice for both best MP3 player and in-car solution. I'm not too keen on the FM convertor, so the only solution seems to be an iPOd and the Ice Link - but both seem to be expensive choices.
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Is this an itrip???
I don't really understand much about these things but my OH wants one for our car and has asked me to look into it. Does anyone know if this one is any good?