So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

[uv23]

I'm reeeaaally sick of connecting my iPod mini to the car stereo with a tape adapter. Right now I have an OEM cassette deck and an OEM in dash CD player. I looked at some of the custom solutions that plop the iPod (iPod mini in my case) into the ashtray but I decided I didn't want to have to look down at a tiny screen all the time.

After weighing my options, I'm thinking of ditching both of my OEM in-dash units and getting that Alpine iPod combo -- it's a deck that can display the name of the track and switch between playlists etc and a thingamabobber that routes a dock connector into the glove compartment, where you plug in your iPod. I think they have a color matched VW verison too if I'm not mistaken.

Does anyone have any advice on this? I'd get a shop to install it. Any idea of price or where to go or if there are better options out there? I also imagine having an aftermarket deck would make it easier to do a sub install down the road (something small, clean, and unobtrusive preferably)

[R_Ethug]

Re: So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

you can buy an adapter for your ipod from enfig http://enfigpics.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/index.html

and i beleive it hooks up like a changer

[Stonewall]

Re: So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

A shop to install it? baa i am insulted I could get it in there for you no problem. There are a couple options I have read on teh VWvortex about and most seem to use the enfig. Really I don't know alot about what it displays etc but I have only heard a couple complaints. DO a search there and read some more.

[uv23]

Re: So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

Yeah not what I'm looking for. I want a proper in-dash install. I believe with the enfig you just route a cable all the way from your cd changer to your console, where you plug in your iPod, and then control up to 6 of your playlists with the cd changer buttons. it won't give me the full control or display that I want.

[uv23]

Re: So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

A shop to install it? baa i am insulted I could get it in there for you no problem. There are a couple options I have read on teh VWvortex about and most seem to use the enfig. Really I don't know alot about what it displays etc but I have only heard a couple complaints. DO a search there and read some more.

I've searched and searched. There's actually too much info. I'd rather have the local perspective. And if you can hook me up, that would be great! If I don't need to go somewhere to do the install I won't.

[Stonewall]

Re: So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

I've searched and searched. There's actually too much info. I'd rather have the local perspective. And if you can hook me up, that would be great! If I don't need to go somewhere to do the install I won't.

Mine would be to kill the stock deck, more $$ but more options. More then likely it will sound a hell of alot better too.

[uv23]

Re: So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

Mine would be to kill the stock deck, more $$ but more options. More then likely it will sound a hell of alot better too.

That's what I'm thinking. Remove the in dash cd player and the in-dash cassette/radio and replace with one unit designed for what I'm trying to do, which is why I was looking at the alpine stuff. From what I've read, replacing just the head unit can make a world of difference to the sound quality. So, going down that route, any advice? When should I come over to your place for the install?

Edit: by the way, I don't need anything crazy. My budget is limited on account of other mods I need to do this year.

[Kor]

Re: So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

That's what I'm thinking. Remove the in dash cd player and the in-dash cassette/radio and replace with one unit designed for what I'm trying to do, which is why I was looking at the alpine stuff. From what I've read, replacing just the head unit can make a world of difference to the sound quality. So, going down that route, any advice? When should I come over to your place for the install?

Edit: by the way, I don't need anything crazy. My budget is limited on account of other mods I need to do this year.

Firstly, I would say Brent is the expert in the club on this, however Simon aka Boy Racer has a lot of knowledge (a lot) and others of us have done our own installations (including myself).

Changing the head unit can open up a whole can of worms, especially if you have the Monsoon OEM system in your car. Basically, the output levels of the stock headunit do not correspond to speaker-level or line-level outputs from most aftermarket decks. Therefore, routing aftermarket deck output into the Monsoon amp as input can distort the signal. It does work (I am doing it in my car) but it is not an idea solution. Although an aftermarket deck will provide a cleaner, clearer signal, and more features, you will have to deal with the extra distortion/problems generated by the Monsoon system. I am not certain my aftermarket head unit (which was the top Alpine deck last year) sounds much better (if at all) because of the remaining Monsoon system.

I am not exactly sure what your goals are in connecting your iPod, so I will stay silent on that issue.

However I disagree with your assumption that you would need to run a cable from your changer (rear) to the console (front)... that is totally not necessary, the changer signal has its origin in the front, you can just tap it from within the dash.

[uv23]

Re: So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

Thanks Kris. I don't have the monsoon so that's good news. As far as the iPod goes, I simply don't use my CDs anymore so I want a good in-car solution for listening to the tunes that i store on my iPod. My gf also has an iPod so being able to change them in and out and still have them charged and delivering good sound quality would be wunderbar.

[Kor]

Re: So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

If VW uses speaker-level output signals from the stock deck to the stock non-monsoon speakers, then definitely change out the deck.

One other thing I would keep in mind when picking a head unit is OEM Nav. If you've seen it in Chris's 20th or Bart's TDI, its pretty impressive as far as head units go, and also looks totally stock. However, obviously that would not offer any kind of direct ipod support.

[uv23]

Re: So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

Yeah not really intersted in the nav. Just something slick, simple, and low-profile.

[Aleks]

Re: So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

I'm having the same dilemna right now, and have been looking into the ipod AInet interface with Alpine....the nice thing is once you buy any AInet deck, you can get the Ipod interface off Ebay for half of what you pay retail.......And there are lots of AInet decks for sale in classifieds for reasonable prices....I unfortunately have Monsoon, so the enfig cable may be better for me (I'm using tape right now too, my Itrip doesn't work in the VW..).

[Smartiepants]

Re: So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

My sister has a radio transmitter thing for her car, a honda, and it works well, but you use the ipod remote to control it. The remote is something that you can get used to using very quickly, I use mine without thinking anymore, no looking kinda thing.

[Aleks]

Re: So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

Yeah, the Itrip works well in the Ambulance, just not in the VW...must be the shorty rear mount antenna...

[uv23]

Re: So who's the car audio expert in the club? Advice needed.

I'm having the same dilemna right now, and have been looking into the ipod AInet interface with Alpine....the nice thing is once you buy any AInet deck, you can get the Ipod interface off Ebay for half of what you pay retail.......And there are lots of AInet decks for sale in classifieds for reasonable prices....I unfortunately have Monsoon, so the enfig cable may be better for me (I'm using tape right now too, my Itrip doesn't work in the VW..).

From what I could see on the enfig site though, the cable doesn't provide any control. Did I misread that? I thought even the most basic adapter would let you select playlists with the cd changer buttons and ff/rwd through tracks.