IPod Help - In Car Advice

Albert_32

Hi MoneySavers,

I am about to purchase a 30GB I-pod, I am a little confused about the alternatives regarding linking up my i-pod to my Audi A4.

1) What is the best to connect to the car.
2) Is the cassette link option better than i-trip
3) Any options to secure the i-pod in-car holder

Appreciate your time in answering the above questions.

Cheers,

Albert

yelac21271

couple of questions

What make of radio do you have in your car ??
wher abouts in the country are you ?? I ask this because i have read on other forums and thjat from my own experience that the Itrip does not work very well in major cities.

I leave mine secured in the glove box.

PeteW

i have an itrip and frankly it's rubbish, I found it virtually impossible to find a clean signal, so just stick to a cheapo cassette link now. Works fine.
As for holders, there's various different options - screen mounts, fan mounts, cup holder adapters... a quick search on ebay will give you some ideas as to what is available.

Zahc

The itrip is really only a small FM transmitter, legal to own but not to use. The problem encountered in Cities is finding a frequency that's not being used by any other radio station (more local stations in cities).

The cassette adaptors do the trick, but can be noisy. Most modern (3rd party) in-car head units have a way of plugging in mp3 players.

jenniferpa

In order of preference
1) Plug it in directly
2) Cassette adaptor
3) Itrip or similar. Actually, I've tried 3 different types at one time or the other, and none of them have been satisfactory long term.

Cassette adaptor work fine unless, like my DS, you want to have it on really LOUD! I would imagine, though, that that depends to certain extent on the quality of the tape unit you're plugging it into.

The best solution is the AUX in option on 3rd party heads.

musicboy

Or what I do is this ...

I have a Belkin ipod adapter which not only charges the ipod but has a built in amplifier and takes the signal from the "line" signal from the ipod - what this means is the volume level of the ipod makes no difference to the output signal level - therefore the quality is better. Also you can use the built-in amplifier dial to match the volume level to your head unit - so it's not mega quiet / loud compared to your other sources.

Then run the cable from the Belkin directly to your aux input if you have one, or I have a simple 2 input RCA splitter from Maplin - you plug a pair or RCA (standard red / white audio cables) into this from your Belkin, and the output from your CD changer as well, then the button switches between the two sources - ie your head unit 'thinks' it's playing a CD but your audio switcher is playing the iPod.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BELKIN-IPOD-CAR-AUTO-KIT-POWER-VOLUME-CONTROL_W0QQitemZ170004464791QQihZ007QQcategoryZ58350QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I know it's a long winded explanation but it's more flexible for me cos I have tried proper ipod to head unit connectors and they are just too slow to browse through the ipod.

Albert_32

A Big Thank-you to all of your comments.

I will pass on the I-trip and look for linking the i-pod directly to the car radio.

Thanks again

Cheers,

Albert

yeslek

i have an itrip and the only issue i have is when going long distances (ie from stafford to london) i have to change the station but there are two clean frequencies i know of so i just swap between the two a max of 2/3 times for the full return journey.

i found i have a really good sound from it a bargin IMO for a fiver