iPod connected directly to an amp

[ssmike]

Chuck, I going to be right behind you on this........so take some good pics for me!

[strtlegal]

Yep will do...

I ordered the kick panels from Classic Audio, the 80 Watt Pioneers, Im ordering the Ipod adapters today. If I could find a cheap amp and decide on rear speakers I would order those right now. I think by the end of next week Ill have it all in and up in running..

Im not going to order that additional noise suppressor Jon ordered. I will try it out first. Im hoping that I dont have that issue.



I am thinking about making my Ipod mount to the dash since I was going to cut my dash out for a radio anyways plus its just a cheap Covans one anyways.

Any suggestion on an amp? No sub yet, just 6.5 fronts and 6.9 rear's.

[strtlegal]

Oh and Jon I think you should sticky this.

[strtlegal]

Jon where did you mount your amp? Im just making sure the cords coming from the Ipod are long enough to reach the amp..

Thanks

[ssmike]

Yep will do...

I ordered the kick panels from Classic Audio, the 80 Watt Pioneers, Im ordering the Ipod adapters today.
Any suggestion on an amp? No sub yet, just 6.5 fronts and 6.9 rear's.

Chuck, can you send me the link to the kick panels you ordered....? Thanks

[parsonsj]

I mounted my amp under the package tray. The output of the PAC AV2 is an RCA connector, so I just used an extension to make the connection.

jp

[my72vette454]

Or... snag the XM Sirius app for your iPhone, and play that. I can listen to Pandora and MLB.com just fine while driving down the road.

jp

I just have an ipod touch right now but yeah, good idea! We bought our two boys (ages 14 and 16) each an ipod touch for Christmas and those things are freakin amazing, all the things you can do with them. I recorded one son's entire basketball game on his for him last night on his. After seeing all the things they will do I really want an i phone now.

[FirstGenZq8]

slight thread divergence here...

i can't attest to the quality, but this might be an option for some of you. http://www.oxygenaudio.com/363-o-car.html

[strtlegal]

Chuck, can you send me the link to the kick panels you ordered....? Thanks

It's from Custom Audio Sound...I just got them on Friday. Has some decent Pioneer speakers, Im not digging the black color they came with so Im going to flatten it out a tad.

I will post some pictures and do a small write up. I went to Best Buy yesterday to pick up some rear speakers. I would have bought my AMP then but everything in a 4 channel was around $200.00. Ill find one cheaper.

Thanks again guys

[ssmike]

It's from Custom Audio Sound...I just got them on Friday. Has some decent Pioneer speakers, Im not digging the black color they came with so Im going to flatten it out a tad.

I will post some pictures and do a small write up. I went to Best Buy yesterday to pick up some rear speakers. I would have bought my AMP then but everything in a 4 channel was around $200.00. Ill find one cheaper.

Thanks again guys

Chuck:

Any update on your audio project?

[1969sschevelle]

I am planning a similar installation and I have a dumb question:
My amp has a 12v power and another lug for what is usually the power antenna off of the head unit, but without a head unit how do you wire it up? I was planning on using a switch for the power, so do I just use a jumper from one lug to the other?

[CRead01]

I am planning a similar installation and I have a dumb question:
My amp has a 12v power and another lug for what is usually the power antenna off of the head unit, but without a head unit how do you wire it up? I was planning on using a switch for the power, so do I just use a jumper from one lug to the other?

If you use a jumper from one to another the amp will stay on because the 12v power is directly to the battery. your best bet is to hook it up to either a key on 12v power source or that with a switch if you don't always want it on when the car is on.

[1969sschevelle]

I will have to see if it is a key hot circuit, I was planning to use the circuit already in place normally used for the electric fuel pump, since I am mounting the amp in the trunk. (I installed a painless kit in my 69 chevelle.)
I was trying to avoid another long cable run to the battery. I already have too much stuff on the positive from the electric fans and the MSD box.

[strtlegal]

Chuck:

Any update on your audio project?

Nope its been in paint jail...In a few weeks Ill get it wired up..I have a good grasp on it now..

[ssmike]

Nope its been in paint jail...In a few weeks Ill get it wired up..I have a good grasp on it now..

[andrewb70]

I know that there have been a number of threads that deal with the direct connection of an iPod with an amp. I've actually had this way back in 2002 when I hooked up my original iPod to my Xtant amp.

The problem is that the audio jack on an iPod of iPhone doesn't give a very powerful or for that matter clear signal to the amp. Couple that with the fact that mp3s aren't the best quality to begin with and the results can be a little lackluster.

One way to get the best quality out of an iPod is to take the digital output from the dock connecter and pass it through an external digital/analog converter (DAC). There are plenty of good head-units on the market that have built in DACs and high voltage RCA outputs for external amps. However, I really don't want to install a head-unit in my GTO so I am looking for other options.

Some previous posts suggested using this JL Audio device:

CL-RLC

It is basically a pre-amp that will take the fixed level input from the dock connector and send a solid 7 volts to an amp for a good clean signal. Nice.

Then I started looking around some something that might serve as a pre-amp AND an external DAC. I actually haven't been able to find exactly such a box for automotive use, but I did find this:

http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/ido/index.php

That box will take the input from the dock connector of an iPod (or a computer for that matter), but in digital form, via a USB connector. It has a built in DAC, volume control, and a 2 volt RCA output for an external amp.

So aside from figuring out the required power input (it needs 6.5V, 2.3A DC) can anyone tell me why I can't use this in the car as a pre-amp and an external DAC?

Andrew

[andrewb70]

I did some more digging around and I came across this product:

http://www.highresolutiontechnologies.com/istreamer/

It seems that the HRT iStreamer is the only DAC maker that is actually working with Apple. This is an external DAC that take the digital signal from the dock connector and sends it out via RCA cables. Since I do not have a head-unit, I would still need to use the JL audio CL-RLC as the pre-amp. I see no issue with doing that because the RLC will send a nice, clean, 7V signal to my amp.

The bonus is that the iStreamer can be used on home systems as well. I happen to like listening to Pandora from my old, g2 iPhone and this device should make it sound great through my old Adcom gear and Polk speakers.

Your comments and opinions are all welcome.

Andrew

[Yelcamino]

Andrew, this probably isn't the direction you want to go, but for not a lot of money, this looks like a nice unit to easily integrate an ipod/iphone into an automotive sound system...

Sony DSX-s310btx

I have a Pioneer head unit in my Elky but it's about 10 years old and doesn't have any way to connect with an ipod/iphone. I was thinking about replacing it with a modern head unit and happened across this Sony unit in a Crutchfield catalog. I like the idea of inserting the ipod/iphone into the head unit so it's not bouncing around inside the car while you're driving.

[andrewb70]

Andrew, this probably isn't the direction you want to go, but for not a lot of money, this looks like a nice unit to easily integrate an ipod/iphone into an automotive sound system...

Sony DSX-s310btx

I have a Pioneer head unit in my Elky but it's about 10 years old and doesn't have any way to connect with an ipod/iphone. I was thinking about replacing it with a modern head unit and happened across this Sony unit in a Crutchfield catalog. I like the idea of inserting the ipod/iphone into the head unit so it's not bouncing around inside the car while you're driving.

Thanks for the input and link Herb.

The problem is that I have a custom dash and there is no place for a head-unit, nor do I really want to make room. Here is my dashL



I like the clean look and I can easily install a little knob for volume control. The iStreamer looks like a really neat product and will really improve the quality of the playback from any "i" devices. Everywhere I read how crappy the onboard DAC is on all iPod devices. This really isn't surprising or a bad thing when the listening is done with earbud headphones. But when you start pumping the music through a good home or mobile system the onboard DAC and the minimal output strength of the phono jack become a huge limiting factor I think.

Andrew

[Yelcamino]

No problem Andrew, just thought I'd throw it on the table.

Did you see this thread?