Have any of you guys installed heard or used this type of system? I saw a system last weekend by Audio Retro its a Amp with an MP3 player hooked to it so the only piece of equipment that you haveto install other then the amp is your speakers. wondering if anyone has one or has an opion on one here. cost is about $250.00 minus speakers. So whats your thoughts?
ipod and a pair of amplified computer speakers? there are lots of ways to do mp3 in a car, some of the ways we do it in our various cars are to use an in dash CD/mp3 player with mp3 songs recorded on a data CD (about 15 albums fit on one CD this way), or use an ipod (or equivalent) thru a radio transmitter, or you can just plut it into a normal car stereo amp connected to speakers (like what you're suggesting but without the "Audio Retro" name). and my kid's truck really has a pair of computer speakers under the seat, with a plug that goes in the cigarette lighter hole to power them.
over here in the UK you can buy a standard head unit that is mp3 compatible...it costs $98......i`ve got one in my glovebox in my belair monkey heres one similar to mine
I've got ipod through the head unit in my cars. Only complaint is that whenever you want to select new music it takes you all the way back to the begining.
Depending on what you're driving, I usually wouldn't mess up a beautiful traditional dash with an aftermarket deck, especially something as Buck-Rogers-looking (and I mean this in a bad way) as most of the stuff at the big box store. Most portable MP3 players do FM, so my plans on ALL of my projects are to put an amp under the seat and run $10 worth of Radio Shack adaptors to get my MP3 player plugged into it and hiding speakers where I can. My MP3 player was $140 at Costco and holds 8gb. The solobaric plexigl*** enclosure in the back of an otherwise cool custom pisses me off as well - thanks Mini Truck people. The nice thing about the amp solution is that they have a regular power wire and then a 'rem' wire that you apply 12v to on ANY switch that looks right to power it on. Also, thanks to people who get in contests to see how much b*** they can get, those of us who don't listen to hip-hop can get a power-amp that's easily loud enough to hear over almost any exhaust for a couple hundred bucks. Those expensive 'rod sounds' decks and solutions are for ****ers...
I also think Ipods are overpriced compared to other good MP3 players on the market, but that's just me. They're good, for sure, just pricey...
I was just reading in make magazine about building your own open source mp3 player.. if you really want to geek out and get super cheap.
Bottom line, there is no MP3 player on the market that is even close to iPod. nothing. The device is the easiest to use, iTunes is the best program around for organizing and playing music, as well as ripping CDs. They're the leaders and the originators, and the iPod is the benchmark for all other MP3 players. Not to mention Apple quality. I bought a Pioneer AM/FM/CD head unit for my Mustang. The iPod navigation tools were a $50 upgrade, which made the grand total around $220. I can navigate through the iPod from the head unit, not to mention it charges the iPod as I go. Traditional or not, I gotta have tunes when I'm cruising. This setup allows me to have 2800 songs at my disposal at all times
I have an insignia player, got it from best buy I think for $100. it's super easy, works with my mac at work and my pc at home. I use itunes and windows media player and I can also just drag mp3s from folders... it won't play video, but you probably don't want that while you're driving anyway.
uh, yeah.... I got my ipod for free, my wife gave it to me when it started acting up, she bought a new one. And I set up a computer just for her to put that itunes **** on so it wouldn't be on my computer, I get tired of apple trying to take over windoze computers (like ms tries to take over apple computers). btw, use itunes 6, it seems the current version won't let you have an ipod set up to work with two computers....probably a drm issue.
Depending on how nice you want your system, you can just buy a 4 channel amp (www.sonicelectronix.com has them for cheap) and some mids/highs. They make a cord that has the male 3.5mm plug on one end for your mp3 player, and RCA cables on the other to plug into your amp. That's all you need to play any mp3 player in your ride.
I use my mp3 cel phone. Screw Apple and their propietary software. I like their ideas, but not the locked-down batteries and software. I have a $12 cable running from the front seat of my 74 Nova to the small amp line input back in the hatchback area. Suits me fine. It's pretty easy to navigate songs on my Nokia 5300 and I like all the songs I put on it anyway! I have the Nova on ebay now, and it's funny how many people ask me about the mp3 hookup already. Line input is line input, regardless of device, unless it's encoded like Apple.
We actually make them.. We've sold about 30k units to Bose this year for their store displays.. The blinking red touchpanels you see at Sam's etc... Anyway we are in the process of developing a system for cars right now. One will be going into my '54 panel truck. The bose units use a compact flash card to load the music, but we have one that uses a USB, so you can use one of those 1 or 2 GB USB keychain drives or even bigger drives. Right now we are trying to figure out an easy control system that retains the look of the car, but is easy to use, and isn't gonna cause you to run off the road trying to figure out what song you're on. We've thought about using audio (users record their own catergories or whatever with a mic and you go through them as it blurts out what group you are in) A display.. we can do it, but it drives the cost up and plus they don't look good especially if you are trying to hide it.. and last of all.. a sort-of hidden display that puts everything behind a smoked plexigl*** or mylar sheet. even the ****ons would be behind it since the ****ons don't have any moving parts. I guess i'll chose some sort of control to use and put in the panel truck and start testing. If you guys are interested or have suggestions send me a PM. We hope to have something to show at PNP.
I paid $100 for my 20 gb on ebay with a 2 year warranty. I disabled itunes and run Media Monkey. All my library is on Mp3 like Squirrel mentioned. I'll open up the specific Mp3 CD in Media Monkey, pick what I want, right mouse click and send it to the Ipod. I have 3000 songs and this includes 10 -15 complete concerts or albums each as an single file. I'm running a c***ette adapter and my system is all swap meet or junkyard parts, I'm ready for a change. The only thing I'm keeping are the speaker covers I spray bombed and let a buddy do some three colors stripes on them. This thread is a great help. I figured I could wire an input line under the dash. Not trying to heist, but it is audio system tech - I found that Lowes has 6" ductwork wall caps that are curved and the ID is the same as the magnet on your common round speakers, just cut a notch out for the speaker wire connection, sheet metal screws and make some brackets to mount them under the dash.
LOL... I just finished reading that lengthy thread started by a teen who got royally ripped for wanting to have Olds valve covers on a SBC and now what do we have? MP3 players in a traditional hot rod. Whats wrong with a AM radio,4 track or 8 track player?...Sorry I just couldn't resist this remark. Go ahead and rip me if it makes you feel better. .....love 47bob
4 track and 8 track are kind of modern. AM would be fine, IF they were still broacasting what they were 50 years ago...but sadly that ain't the case.
I've found if you want to listen to AM like we did years ago, you have to go to XM channels 5,6 or 7 Thats the case in Tucson anyway
be carefull which fm transmittor you get. some really ****. woot.com has had a harddrive mp3 car unit for sale a few times. It comes with wireless adapter and software. basically you pull into your driveway and it connects to your network. you go to your computer and can load it up with mp3s that you bought legally (yeah right). now, with the mp3 portable players coming down in price I want to build a setup with a line input under the seat coming up with the seat belt. have the amps under the seat and and speakers behind the seat/hidden. should be fairly simple to do. run a mini to rca adapter to an amp. run the sub out on the amp to another amp. run from the amps to the speakers. no deck needed.
so If I go to radio shack to buy an adapter what am I asking for that the sales people would understand? are Ipod adapters differnt then the mp3 players? lots of interesting info
There are two types of cables, one that goes into the headphone jack, 3.5mm and splits into two rca connectors. This one is everywhere and will work for all input sources. If you have an ipod, another option is getting a cord with their dock plug on it and rca out plugs and a 12v lead for battery charging. This will give you true line out from the pod so you will need an aux volume controll as well.
i have a head unit in my glove box that is i-pod compatable and an i-r repeater mounted under the dash by the column which allows me to operate all head unit by remote with the glove door closed. totally under cover
Nobody rides with me, so I've actually used the p***enger seat & belt to buckle up my laptop for tunes...Kinda weird, but it works!
Easiest and cleanest thing to do when you don't want a stereo to be seen or cut your cl***ic dash is to hide an amplifier (which I sell from Bubba Tunes) and run a headphone cable to where you want your iPod or other MP3 device at. Then hide your speakers and you're golden. Generally speaking the RF modulators and FM tuner devices sound like **** and hardly ever work as they are supposed to work.
I would say $250 is a bit steep in price unless you're looking for high end name brand products. Not saying that there isn't auidophiles here who want that kind of sound in their hot rod, but it can be done for much cheaper and still maintain good sound quality.
No radio here....listening to the motor purr while goin' down the hi-way is the only music I need to hear!
The Jalopy Journal
