Aux jack sound issues

What made you pick the above upgrade combo?; happy with the results?; how much coin did it take? I'm laughing because I'm pushing 50 and still contemplating upgrading my car's sound... like I'm 17 again again. No matter what you listen to, I just gotta have good sound!

I ended up figuring out what I really wanted/balanced against my budget and space considerations. Love the results when it works. Some irritating issues - a "pop" from the speakers when I turn the car on and off; time - lots of it wasted. I think both are a function of the lack of familiarity with the Prius.
Then again, I've got pics of my car alongside a $180,000+ Aston Martin in the bay next to mine. The guys I used certainly understand how to put together a decent system.

My suggestion is to go to where the guys with Astons/Ferrari/etc. go. You'll get the best installers and gear. I cut corners by buying from a mail order place and ended up getting an amp that needed to be returned. Then there was the installers lack of familiarity with the gear. Then the installers wouldn't negotiated on labor since they didn't make any profit on the gear. Save yourself some of my headache and (more importantly) time and money - get it all for a great installer.

Gear cost me about $700. Labor is about that. But given that they've spent over 12 hours on my car, I'm coming out ahead. Dubious benefit.

 

Yep this is the way to go. I purchased the one from Monster. At Amazon it is the Monster Cable Ultra-Low Profile iPod iCharger (AICHG2 IP) and they sell it "better together" with a good 1/8" plug/cable. I also purchased one of these... a PAC SNI-1/3.5, it eliminates the ground loop noise between the audio source, in this case an iPod, and the radio/speakers (which also may cause distortion). All the files on my ipod are ACC (ie mp4), and with this little setup, the sound is AMAZING.

iPod/Monster Charger Line Out ----> PAC SNI-1/3.5 ------> Aux Input Jack = Excellent

 

Thanks Platypus,
I just purchased the 4ft dock cable. I will let the rest of you guys know how it sounds once I get it.

 

Dumb me, I have a Belkin Line out Power in and did not realize it. I was using it only to power my I-Pod. I connected from the mini jack on the I-Pod to the cars Aux jack for sound. After reading these posts I looked at my Belkin power source and there it was. What a difference, I can finally control my sound the way you should be able too. I purchased my Belkin at WalMart but do not remember the price. I still have a noise filter connected in line. It pays to read a lot of the threads on PC.

 

The sound is AMAZING. I used it all last weekend and this past weekend. And the thing I like most about it is the fact it doesn't charge my ipod while playing. I knew it wouldn't though.
Thanks again

 

I agree with Biggdogg - it sounds great. I just got my 4ft docking cable from Amazon this weekend and I love it. I A-B'd the same same song (MP3) on CD in the car against the iPod and I could not tell the difference.

However, it did take a little bit of tweaking on the iPod to get the sound right:

1. I put the Soundcheck to On (to keep volume close to same as the CD) and
2. I have found the the "Electronic" EQ setting on the iPod sounds best to my ears, whether playing through my home stereo or car. I know that some have suggested turning EQ off, but the sound comes off as "flat" to my ears (even after adjusting stereo EQ). The Electronic setting boosts the base and treble response relative to the midrange, which is the sound I prefer.

Also, it should be noted that I compress all of my MP3 files at 256 kbs or 392 kbs (192 kbs sounds fine as well, but 128 kbs sounds horrible to my ears).

In any case, I am very happy with this product!!!! eace:

 

I know it's an old thread but I felt it necessary to post in case someone came looking to get some info. The audio sent through the dock connector is not effected by any sound settings on iPod, including volume, SoundCheck and EQ. I'm not sure what this person was hearing.