i'm trying to upgrade to Ipod setup for my car....but I never owned an ipod or never changed out my headunit so..i'm pretty clueless... I've been doing some researching and something like Kenwood DPX-501 that has a USB wire directly on the font plate seems nice so i can just directly plug ipod....and I want to use Ipod as my primary unit so this seems pretty nice... and I guess going with AUX setup is pretty common.... Q1) what would have the best sounds quality and the worst? Q2) what are some of the other setups that are out there?? and keep in mind that I have to buy an ipod unit and a headunit...and i'm a college student with partime job...so i want to keep my cost lowest possible*** also keep in mind that I will be using the Ipod as my primary at all times so I would need a charger for the Ipod in the car....so I would need that component in the car too suggestion on nice cheap headunits would be nice too... The cheaper the headunit the better....aslong as I can hook up an Ipod to the car thank you for your help
You might want to look into the clarion head units. They have some really nice looking ones for decent prices with the direct ipod feature. It has a hookup in the back that will let you run a wire to somewhere inconspicuous like your glove box. You would hook your ipod up to this wire, and from there your ipod can be directly controlled through the head unit. You wouldn't have to fumble around with the ipod at all... It also keeps it charged so you wouldn't have to remember to take it inside at all to charge it... This is the one that I have: http://store.mauromotorsports.com/sp5co3inha.html Its just under 200$, plays mp3's has the ipod hookup, 700 something colors so you can match the color to whatever one you want etc, etc.... I'm doing the same thing that you speak of so if you have any questions please ask...
I've got the Alpine adapter hooked up to a really old alpine HU. It's kinda laggy but I've heard the newer models are much quicker.
I have a PC in my car now, so I can't help. But if you need help hooking up the HU when you get it let me know. It is a peice of cake.
Are you looking for a complete stereo system or just a new headunit and an ipod? If you are planning to do the complete setup, think about the future. I like to look for a head unit that has front, rear and subwoofer pre-amp outs. This way you have the option of doing front and rear amps as well as one for the sub. The front and rear pre-amps can also be run to a single 4 channel amp and then have the sub on a seperate amp. I like this setup and it is what I have done with my ride. I think the first speaker upgrade anyone should do is component speakers with a decent sized amp and a mono amp with a sub. Not cheap to do, but just replacing speaker with something that is not going to be much better than factory seems like a waste of money to me. The factory speakers can handle most head units' power output for a while...head units really don't put out that much. My recommendation for a full system: Head unit: whatever flavor you like that allows the use of I-pod Front: Component speakers with a four channel amp Rear: Decent set of high RMS speakers-run thee off the 4 channel as well Sub: single hard hitting 10" or 12" with a good quality mono amp (clean power) You can find some deals out there on ebay. I bought the entire stereo for my boat with decent head unit and 4 marine speakers for under $200 and installed it myself. The car luckily came with some very nice front speakers and a 4 channel amp. All I had to do was hook up a better mono amp and sub as the one they were using was kinda crappy. Don't forget the cost of wires, etc. It adds up. I spent $150 on a capacitor and wiring components for just the amp then another $40 for the hookups for the head unit.
The answer to number 1.... The best sound quality will come from any device that plugs into the bottom of the iPod. If you buy something that plugs into the headphone jack or use an FM tuner, it will not sound as good.
I am still waiting for someone to write an app that allows Rockbox for IPOD to communicate with my ALPINE HU. Thats would be the ulitmate in flexibility...one of you computer guys get on this!!!