Ipod in the car ?

[packmanuk]

I want to get my ipod working in the car. I've seen the cassette player adaptors but was wondering if there were any other options. If so what is the best option ? I've got a 30gb video.

[lazymatt]

If you've got the money, the Harmon Kardon Drive & Play kit is probably the best out there...about £150 for the kit, and then it needs to be installed.

http://www.harmankardon.com/drive-1/

[blisteringblue]

Stay clear of all the cassette adapters and also the FM transmitters there is just too much interference. I have a Griffin iTrip for Ipod but only use it when in the wifes car.

The only FM versions that are acceptable are those that actually plug into your car head unit's aerial socket, but even these I would say is a last resort.

I personally am a fan of the Dension ICE>Link Plus (although I only have the older ICELINK). They have versions for most of the major car manufacturers. All for around £100.

I have the BMW version and it plugged directly into my head unit (care needed if you have the bluetooth phone system) and my head unit thinks my Ipod is the CD Changer.

Sound quality is amazing !!

[Uridium]

Originally Posted by blisteringblue

Stay clear of all the cassette adapters and also the FM transmitters there is just too much interference.

?? Casette Adaptors are a great cheap an easy solution for in-car connectivity. Jusy stay away from cheap ones

Sony or philips adaptors are both excellent quality and are available for around £10

[blisteringblue]

Originally Posted by uridium

?? Casette Adaptors are a great cheap an easy solution for in-car connectivity. Jusy stay away from cheap ones

Sony or philips adaptors are both excellent quality and are available for around £10

OK Point taken, but there are not many modern cars with tape drives these days?

[Uridium]

You'd be surprised how many there actually are. Many cars that come with an autochanger in the boot have a cassette head unit. Both my Nissan Primera and my wife's Vauxhall Zafira for example

Also remember that not everyone drives new cars.....

A large proportion of MP3 player owners are in the late teen/early twenty age range, many being students who drive older cars due to financial restrictions.


I agree the tailor made solutions are generally better and will give a higher quality audio experience; however many MP3 player owners use their players for portability and are just after a quick and easy solution

[blisteringblue]

Lol, all very true, maybe I'm a little spoilt as a Company Car driver

I'd certainly be lost without my in car setup as I do drive a lot through work. I did put up with the iTrip for around 6 months but got fed up with the interference. To be honest I've never used the tape adapters since I had an old version for a portable CD several years ago and that really was hopeless, I guess they too have moved on a bit these days.

Never looked back since the Ice>Link and iPod connection will be a must when I swap my car later this year and it must be direct into the Head Unit for me, not the FM sort. But again this is just my preference.

[alancolledge]

Originally Posted by packmanuk

I want to get my ipod working in the car. I've seen the cassette player adaptors but was wondering if there were any other options. If so what is the best option ? I've got a 30gb video.

What kind of Car Stereo have you got?
My solution was to buy a Pioneer head unit and a Belkin charger/Aux out lead. Most Pioneer HU have an option to change the CD Changer control into an Aux in with the right pins. I then just have the dock connector to plug in and away you go.

If you have a factory unit then this can be achieved with a Connects2 box (so long as it's not a Vauxhall IIRC.

[Autopilot]

I have been using a Belkin Tunecast FM transmitter constantly for almost 2 years. It's been faultless and far better sound quality than any of the (some expensive) tape adaptors.

Although the best option is to get a head unit with a phono in, you know it will work with any future devices you might buy too. You cant beat a good old fashioned phono link, they just work

[Tejstar]

My sister has a Denison Ice Link in her car and it is superb - much better than FM transmitters and cassette adaptors she tried before hand!

[rowbos]

BlisteringBlue which BMW do you have?

I have a 2006 model 5 Series Touring with the standard stereo and a BMW Bluetooth Car Kit.

BMW have just released an option to support and charge an iPOD but it costs around £300 fitted.

I did see the Dension option online - how good is it? Does it support the iPOD Video 30GB? Does it support large numbers of tracks/large playlists? What information is displayed on the central colour LCD? Is it integrated with the iDrive and the steering wheel controls?

If anyone else has any pearls of wisdom to offer for this car/iPOD variant I would appreciate it.

Cheers,

Steve.

[pemberto]

Anyone used a Monster Cable Icruze Ipod interface. I have one for my discovery but have yet to get it fitted.

[blisteringblue]

Originally Posted by rowbos

BlisteringBlue which BMW do you have?

I have a 2006 model 5 Series Touring with the standard stereo and a BMW Bluetooth Car Kit.

BMW have just released an option to support and charge an iPOD but it costs around £300 fitted.

I did see the Dension option online - how good is it? Does it support the iPOD Video 30GB? Does it support large numbers of tracks/large playlists? What information is displayed on the central colour LCD? Is it integrated with the iDrive and the steering wheel controls?

If anyone else has any pearls of wisdom to offer for this car/iPOD variant I would appreciate it.

Cheers,

Steve.

I have a 2004 3 Series with the BMW Business Head Unit.

I actually have the old ICE>Link for Ipod 2G but I still use it for my new 80G 5G Video (but with a firewire (female) to Ipod dock cable to charge it)

I'm not at all sure what the new ICE>Link Plus varients do and how they fit with the idrive etc on the 5 series? You would be much better advised asking that question on a BMW Forum such as BMWLand

Basically the issue I had was that to install the ICELink I removed the CD Changer Cable from the headhunit to install the icelink cable, but this lost the sound to my bluetooth phone system (it is integrated into the CD Changer head unit cable block), so I had to manually move the bluetooth cables from the CD changer block to the Icelink cable block, it was a bit stressful at the time but it all works now.