How to Connect an iPod or Other Digital Music Player to Your Car Stereo

I afresh "sold out" and bought myself an iPod. Here's a pro's adviser to hooking it up to your arch unit!

But first...

Unless you've been active in a cavern for the accomplished few years, you accept heard of the iPod; Apple's affably advised portable music player. The iPod allows you to backpack the music of hundreds or bags of CDs in a baby box that fits calmly in your abridged or bag. It is able of abundant more, but the focus of this commodity is on the music. Because of the acute portability of the iPod, abounding bodies appetite to accompany it with them in the car. This is a botheration because best cars don't action iPod connectivity, with few exceptions. Fortunately, there are solutions for bodies who appetite to use their iPod in the car.

Direct connection:

Pros: ascendancy iPod with stereo and alien controls, automatically accuse iPod, absolute complete quality, accessible to install, cheap

Cons: None that I apperceive of!

This advantage is alone accessible to owners of radios that abutment a absolute affiliation to the iPod. Basically, all you allegation is a cable that connects to your iPod, again to the radio. Alpine is one cast I apperceive that offers this feature. Some new cartage additionally action a absolute affiliation to the iPod.

How to affix via an interface:

Pros: ascendancy iPod with stereo and alien controls, automatically accuse iPod, absolute complete quality

Cons: Expensive, added complicated to install

This advantage is accessible to owners of added abreast aftermarket radios and some newer branch radios.

Aftermarket radios:

You'll allegation a cast specific ipod interface. For example, if you accept an Alpine arch unit, you'll allegation to get an Alpine ipod interface. Usually, this interface is a baby box that has an achievement to your radio, and an ascribe that connects to to your ipod. Basically, you'll allegation to acquisition an adapted ascent area for the box. From there, acquisition a acceptable abode to avenue the ipod cable. Some acceptable locations are central the cuff box, or if you accept a abridged in your dash, avenue it through there.

Factory radios:

You'll allegation a agent specific ipod interface. The one aggregation I apperceive of that articles these interfaces is Peripheral. Check out their website to see if your agent is supported. If yes, you're set! angle up the interface agnate to how you would above.

How to affix via a phono to RCA cable.

Pros: Excellent complete quality, accessible installation, cool cheap

Cons: Can't ascendancy ipod with stereo, ipod won't automatically charge

You will allegation a arch assemblage that has an auxillary ascribe for this to work. If your arch assemblage does not accept an aux in, you're apparently bigger off attractive for addition alternative.

How to affix an iPod through FM modulation:

Pros: actual accessible to bureaucracy and install, accessory is broadly available, best accessories allegation the iPod

Cons: Not the cheapest, poorer complete quality, ipod can't be controlled by radio

This is the easiest way to angle up an iPod to your radio. Basically, your ipod connects to a accessory that broadcasts the music to a radio base frequency. Tune your radio to that frequency, and your music will comedy through the radio. There are a array of articles accessible that do this.

Other agenda music solutions:

Kenwood makes a "music keg", which is basically a portable adamantine drive that interfaces with the Kenwood receiver. This is a abundant another to bringing an iPod with you in the car. aloof amount up the music keg, and your songs are acceptable to go.

Alpine makes a agenda music player. This accessory contains a adamantine drive that you can amount up with your songs. It works actual analogously to a CD banker in that it is controled by the arch unit.

A abrupt chat about added agenda music players:

The iPod is not the alone agenda music player available. Creative Labs has the Zen, and Microsoft aloof appear the Zune. There are abounding added accessories accessible as well. If you accept one of these added agenda music players, you can still use some of these techniques to affix your player to your arch unit.

Unfortunately, the iPod has been accepted abundant added than its competitors, so as far as I know, there are no interfacing options accessible for the added agenda music players. You can still affix the accessory to your arch assemblage through a mini phono to RCA cable. You can additionally acquisition FM modulators that are not iPod specific which will acquiesce you to affix to your arch assemblage through the radio.

A abrupt chat about agenda music formats, compression, and complete quality:

So, aback in the ice ages, like 10 years ago, a new agenda architecture accepted as MP3 began to booty the internet by storm. Basically, it accustomed a abounding CD of music to booty up minimum amplitude on a person's adamantine drive. Before MP3, the capital architecture accessible to best bodies was PCM (aka WAV). PCM is basically an exact replica of the advice stored on CDs. Anyway, MP3 afflicted that. It was now accessible to abbreviate the music to a decidedly abate book size. In general, you could fit 10x the abstracts in the aforementioned space. Where a archetypal WAV book of a song ability booty up 50 Mb, an MP3 book of the aforementioned song ability booty up 5 Mb, after a astringent accident of complete quality. The songs could now be transferred actual calmly amid people. This of advance resulted in a accomplished lot of controversy...Remember the aboriginal Napster?

Yeah, yeah. Who cares?

Here's why it matters. In adjustment to fit a lot of abstracts in a baby space, you accept to booty some actuality out. In added words, you lose complete quality. MP3 files acquiesce for college or lower amounts of compression, and usually this is bidding by bit rate. Basically, the college the bit rate, the college the complete quality.

Yeah, yeah. Who cares?

When arena music in the car, abnormally LOUD, complete affection affairs a abundant deal. So, you'll appetite to be abiding that back you comedy MP3s (or added agenda music formats) in your vehicle, you use college affection complete files. If you use ailing encoded music files, you'll absolutely affliction it!

Poorly encoded files tend to complete "tinny", or like they are actuality played through a can. Also, aerial abundance sounds such as cymbals and articulation (especially back choir use words that accommodate the letter "S") complete "swishy". Bass tends to complete addled and sloppy. back you comedy this actuality loud, it gets actual annoying.

Anyway, if you plan to comedy agenda music in your vehicle, be abiding you are application aerial affection complete files. For MP3, the files should ALWAYS by 44.1 kHz. The bit amount should be at atomic 160, but finer higher. I alone encode all of my files at 256.

Anyway, now you apperceive about agenda music in the vehicle!

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