Can a IPOD be ran through an amp to be used as a car stereo?. I`ve never looked at one, but it would be alot more convenient that a ugly stereo in the dash.
There are 2 or three posts on this. Do a search... one of the guys who responeded works as a designer and had a lot of input from what I remember. I know Django is/was going to do this and he had some ideas too.
yes it can. get a conection that runs to the dock connector. You can run an RCA to mini jack adapter and run it out of the headphone jack but then you are using the amplifier in the ipod you want a clean signal to the amp so the line out from the dock connector is better.
I bought some computer speakers for $11 at wal-mart. They run off 9v, so if you run them to the battery (6V) when the engine is running you produce about 8volts so they work great! I can hide them under the dash and seat, they even come with a sub. I ran the 1/8 inch jack out the ashtray and ready to rock!
for some in car installations heres a message board http://forums.ilounge.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=44
I started a post with this topic a month or so ago. I'm in the middle of using this set-up in my wagon. I had everything (ipod, amp and speakers) temp. hooked up. Sounded great!! I'm using the dock connector and hooking up direct to the amp. Only thing I could not figure out was volume control (ipod volume control did nothing). Should have everything installed by next week. There's a guy on the HAMB who works for apple. His name is Sean. He was very helpfull with all my ipod questions. You should look him up. -J
Ipod volume control will not work for the dock connector cause the connection in the dock connector is a line out. The volume control only works for the headphone jack. Thats the only output that goes through the ipods internal amp.
Steve - I also have the headphone jack/rca wires, but havn't hooked them up. I want to maintain my dock connection, but have some volume control too. Any suggestions? Would hooking up an EQ solve this problem? Thanks!
I would not buying an Ipod. There are many many others out there, that are leaps and bounds better than the Ipods!! My wife bought me this Ipod, WIth my "custom" graphic. Anyway, You have to use Itunes to load and unload your ipod. Which ****s.... I hear that winamp have a program now, but I have not tried it. I bought my wife a small 138Mg. It has a FM transmitter in it. Tune your stereo to one of 7 preset stations and your jammin' with your mp3 player. Ipod's have attachments but they are like 40 bucks or more.
adjust the gain on your amp i went to future shop,bought a 20 dollar headphone jack to rca adaptor.plugged my ipod directly into the amp input,and used the headphone jack on ipod.set the volume to 3/4 on the ipod,and adjust the gain to achieve a good sharp loud volume,without distortion,about the most you'd listen to for long periods.now you can adjust the ipod vol,up and down,and pound tunes via modern technology.all mine is hidden,and the amp is under the seat.all there is to see when i am driving is my ipod on the seat and a little 1/4 in dia cord out of it.but you hear it!
Uhhhhh... NO.... the iPod is leaps and bounds better than the other music players out there and iTunes is just as good, if not better than, the other players out there. Yeah it's not the cheapest but the best never is. Just stick to buying your cheap **** at Wal Mart and leave the nice stuff for the rest of us....
Zman, please don't refer to me as buying cheap ****. I buy inexpensive ****. Don't get my wrong I like my ipod, What I don't like is, the fact that you cannot "share" music with another iTunes user. You can't load your music onto an iPod without using iTunes. And the biggie, iPod does not have an internal FM transmitter like my wife's "iWalmartcheapie"
I thought you could load music from emusic to your ipod. I don't have one, but my wife does. I hooked ours up to my house stereo and it sounded like ****, so I'm having second thoughts on getting one for my car.
If you do not like using iTunes their are plugins for WinAmp, MusicMatch, and a bunch of other shareware type players that support data transfer to the iPod. But none of these apps support DRM'ed files (m4p) that are purchased from the iTMS. They are basically hack workarounds to handle the handshake, use at your own risk. If you really need to "share" your music with other people goto versiontracker.com and download "podutils" or "pod2tunes". Internal FM transmitters require constant power and take space inside the case layout design, plus add the cost of parts and R&D. That means the device would be larger, have a shorter battery life and cost a little more. Many users would find those as negatives. To add, an FM transmitter will never reproduce the sound quality of a direct connection from the device and amplifier.
You can thank the record labels for that one.... that's the only way they would let Apple sell music. Though there are workarounds...
I recently did a story on iPods. In my truck, I used a Kenwood head unit with External Media control (I think pretty much all new Kenwood units have that option now, along with most other major brands) along with an iPod interface. The iPod plugs into the interface and is then controlled through the head unit. That's not the "cheap" or "inexpensive" way to go, but it's pretty *****in. For that route (in my '53), I bought a Monster Cable iPod to RCA converter cable ($20) and run straight through the amp. All controls are through the iPod itself (I use the internal equalizer for adj sound), and so far it's worked perfectly. As for the iTunes deal, you can get SoulSeek for free. It's pretty much a modern Napster where you "share" music.
I kjnow its been hashed already but I bought a headphone to rca jack for my ipod to go into my home stereo. Also a headphone to headphone jack for a different radio. Easy as pie. Best Buy also has head units for pretty cheep that read and control the ipod.
Can you get a device that becomes basically a volume control for using the iPod hooked directly to an amp? Something like a rheostat-style knob that would either go between the iPod and the amp, or between the am and the speakers? (Which?) I could see wiring something like that to the dash with a "trad" knob on it, but still control which song/playlist/etc from the iPod itself. And sean is right on about the FM transmitter deal. They only work acceptably in very limited situations, and they'll never sound any better than the best FM broadcast on the dial. If you mean FM receiver, I'll just say that the reason I have an iPod is because radio programming reeks so bad.
Ok before this gets closed which at this point it really needs to be. Yes you can get music off or your Ipod. I do it all othe time! No Apple does not endorse file sharing that is why you need to find a 3rd party app for it. Do a search and you will get a bunch!
Why's that? What about this post is "Off Topic"? As for a volume control device, what's wrong with using the iPod's volume control? I don't understand the need for a secondary control if you're using the iPod for song management already.
If you are using the line out connection (via the dock connector, not the headphone jack), you do not control the volume from the iPod itself. The volume is dependent on the amp or head unit you're p***ing it thru. Also, since the dock connector and headphone jack are at opposite ends of the iPod itself, and the fact that you can charge the iPod's battery (during playback, even) thru the dock connection, it would be cleaner to have all the connections on one end, with one plug. I am currently using the headphone jack connection to play through an older Kenwood head unit. It's connected where you'd normally connect a CD changer to the back of the head. It works real good if I run the iPod's volume up to max, and then use the volume control on the head unit to adjust volume as necessary. I was simply considering a different setup in case I move the head unit from my 52 to a daily beater (that is if I ever get a daily beater!) and then put just an amp in the 52.
You got me real confused. My old lady runs her iPod through her Tahoe's stock stereo via a c***ette adapter (which I'm sure is similar to the CD deal you have) and has volume control through both the head unit and the iPod. As long as the iPod's volume is set high enough, the volume through the Tahoe won't distort. But how would another means of volume control make any difference (maybe that's not what you meant)? My Kenwood uses the interface, which like you said, disables any control through the iPod itself, but that's good, as the music is played through the system rather than straight from the iPod, so again, no secondary means of control would ever be necessary. As for the method of running through an amp "without" a head unit (like I did in my Bel Air), the iPod is the control for everything, as it's the head unit now.
Sorry for the confusion. When you use the line out, you're getting the clean, unamplified signal straight from the music source (in this case the iPod). The line out is a cleaner signal (though one could certainly argue that the increase in signal quality is negligible when you are in a car with road noise, wind noise, and loud mufflers like we do), but it needs to be amped and the iPod's onboard volume control cannot control this. In the case of the iPod, the line out function is in the dock connector. If you are using the headphone jack to connect to your stereo (or just an amp), the iPod's click wheel will control the volume of the sound coming out of the iPod. This would be true no matter if you are connecting to the back of the head unit or using one of those c***ette adapters. My main beef is that if I want to both charge the iPod and play music, I'd hafta have the charger plugged in the bottom of the iPod, and the music coming out of the top. Call me ****, but I don't want cables coming out of both ends of the iPod. I want one connection to do both. Keep it simple for daily usse, even if it's a bit more complicated behind the curtain. BTW, RF, I picked up the issue of Street Rodder a couple weeks ago just for your article, and thought it was well done. I'll likely be using some of your advice for a future project. All that said, my question of a volume control for the line out stands. Anybody???
That's what the "interface" is for. They're proprietary to their own head units (ie a Kenwood iP500 for a Kenwood; Alpine whatever for Alpine). They relay all info from the iPod to the head unit with a single feed. When hooked up, the iPod's disabled, but it's being charged. Basically, the head unit treats it like a CD changer. This is the purest input possible. My Kenwood interface cost me $50 on eBay. I think we're finally on the same page, yeah?
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