Sony headunit and ipod install

Anonymous · June 1, 2004, 23:51

Just finished installing my new Sony CDX M800 headunit and my ipod in my car, with help from my brother. Probably wouldn't have been my first choice of headunit but i got it for a bargain price so i can't complain. Thought i'd share our neat ipod install with you.

We drilled a hole in the back of the din pocket and poked the 3.5mm jack through, so there aren't loads of horrible wires trailing around. My ipod sits nicely in the din pocket and we've lined it with non slip matting so hopefully it won't fly out. I'm looking for a nice cradle for my ipod, to sit below by stereo. Does anyone have Belkin Tunedok? Looks a bit chunky and nasty to me, anyone got any better ideas?

I used to use an iTrip with my old Panasonic stereo, the sound wasn't too bad but it does distort, even at low volumes, this is 100% better.

There are a few more photos here.

m http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~jamesg/gallery/stephmr2/ m

Anonymous · June 2, 2004, 00:01

the ipods gonna need recharging every 8 hours so are you gonna have it powered through the cig lighter?

ive got an ipod too, and been meaning to connect it up.

also, its gonna be a bit of a pain when you want to change track/album etc with the ipod tucked away under there...

Anonymous · June 2, 2004, 00:16

Yep, I've got one of those nice little Powerpods for charging in the car.

I'm planning on setting up some playlists so i won't have to twiddle with it while i'm driving. Will be easier when i get a proper cradle.

Anonymous · June 2, 2004, 00:19

think ive seen (on a post on here) a little circuit board that you can actually make yourself that transfers the ipods display onto your headunit!

Anonymous · June 2, 2004, 00:23

That would be very cool. I think that uses the cd changer input and i'm just using the standard aux input. I'll have to make an electronically minded friend.

Anonymous · June 2, 2004, 00:43

Ahh, the ipod would have to send the track details so it would have to be from the bottom/firewire connector, rather than the headphone socket. I think that would be very complicated.

Anonymous · June 2, 2004, 01:19

couldn't you use the standard cradle and use the line out?

Anonymous · June 2, 2004, 08:49

Nice Supra s:oops: :oops: s:oops:

dave

Anonymous · June 2, 2004, 09:48

Hi,

I believe Alpine are releasing head units in the summer that can control an IPod, display track information and charge it as well. Should be quite cool me thinks s:)

s:)

Heres a little snippet of whats to come:
m http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/alpines ... system.php m

Anonymous · June 2, 2004, 10:14

brilliant! hoe it comes out soon! s:P

s:P

crankshaft · June 2, 2004, 14:30

Hi;

I developed a prototype sony unilink - ipod convertor, allows you to control the ipod from your sony head unit and the ipod sends back track number and tracktime, but not track title or artist as this info is not sent to the ipod's remote connector.

It worked great but did not take it any further as have now switched to alpine and have been unable (as yet !) to fully crack the alpine AiNet protocol !

If there was enough interest, I may consider developing it into a production model, my biggest headache though is the proprietry earphone / remote connector !

Crankshaft

zud · June 7, 2004, 14:58

I've been thinking about doing something similar with my ipod.

My current thinking is to swap the stock Sony for a Kenwood mp3 head unit that's lying around in my garage. I can't remember the exact model, but it was £200+ and puts out about 47W per channel, so should be a good improvement over the Sony.

Next, I'm thinking about a Dension ice>link, which should plug straight into the multichanger connection on the Kenwood. It would allow me to control the ipod from the HU, and handles charging of the ipod as well. There's a review here... http://www.ipodlounge.com/reviews_more.php?id=2692_0_6_0_M. I haven't looked for a while but I think they're less than £90.

A couple of other thoughts...

I was intending to leave my iPod in a pocket below the HU. With reports of increased muggings for iPods, I'm not sure I want mine mounted on the dash when the roof's down. Seems like it might be tempting fate.

And finally, I was using the iTrip in my wife's Focus last week. We found that the position within the car affected the sound quality... and that the optimum positioned changed!! So we were driving through Devon/Cornwall with the passenger holding the iPod, and moving it about whenever we got interference!! s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Anonymous · June 7, 2004, 15:08

forget the itrip, too much interference and not enough sound quality. the only route worth going down is what you said which is to have it plugged into the cd changer port.

or wait until alpine release thier new headunit that is capable of conrolling your ipod from the H/U. you can then hide your ipod wherever u like! s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

zud · June 7, 2004, 15:35

Yeah, my only reason for buying the iTrip was that I might want to use the iPod in either of two cars and/or our boat. So three hard-wired solutions would get expensive, and 2 wouldn't be used that often!

But it's poor for day to day use. I haven't found a frequency that stays crackle free, and it's too fiddly to keep changing about. So, I've given up on the iTrip in the '2, but it was OK for a long trip through Devon/Cornwall in my wife's car. The quality was similar to FM and we got to listen to what we wanted without adverts! Similarly, it's not too bad on the boat.

But for the '2, it's got to be a hard-wired solution... just a matter of finding time to research/order/install!

MRMike · June 12, 2004, 00:30

Just noticed in the latest Car magainze that a place the Dension Ipod link is now £79.99 from Dension directly..

w www.dension.com w

Anonymous · June 12, 2004, 00:45

dont think it puts the ipods display on your h/u does it?

think ill wait for the alpine h/u... s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Anonymous · June 19, 2004, 14:43

Quote from: "Tomr2"forget the itrip, too much interference and not enough sound quality. the only route worth going down is what you said which is to have it plugged into the cd changer port.

I was wondering if this was possible. Can you buy a cable that will plug into the back of the Sony stereo instead of a CD/MD changer with a jack plug on the end?

markiii · June 19, 2004, 14:44

you can buy a sony adaptor box, steve J has one, that lets you plug phono connections into a sony changer port.