Ipods And Hus

06-27-2005, 09:03 AM

I'm looking for a HU that will let me control the iPod through it. I know both Alpine and Pioneer have HUs that will control the iPod with the addition of an iPod module. Looks like both manufacturers provide a dock cable for charging, audio and control.

My question for you folks is, do any of you have an iPod connected to your decks, and if so how are you doing it?
I found a few postings here with recommendations for decks, but no reviews or personal experiences with any of them.

Thanks.

TheSoundDemon · 06-27-2005, 12:05 PM

I have the Alpine 9827 with the Ipod adapter...I love it...it's very easy to use, however it does depend on how you have your songs sorted on your ipod as to how quickly you can find the song that you want to hear...for instance the songs on my ipod are sorted into folders of band names...except for my soundtracks which get a folder all there own...anyway...I enjoy the Ipod adapter and it's a lot better than a cd changer, because I only have to bring the small Ipod versus a huge book of CD's...any other questions

06-27-2005, 01:14 PM

I think you covered what I was looking for.

I'd like to hear from people with other decks as well. Just trying to figure out whats available, and how people find the different options.

TheSoundDemon · 06-27-2005, 01:39 PM

I know with the newer decks that Pioneer has an Ipod adapter, and I think Kenwood now makes one as well.

06-27-2005, 02:19 PM

Yeah, Clarion has an adapter as well. Cant find any decent reviews for it though. They've got one unit that is a dvd player with lcd touch screen which looks decent.
I've heard mixed reviews about the newer Alpine 9853 and 9855 with the glide path thing, and I havent seen any decent reviews on the ipod interface for these. The few I have seen said that navigating the songs was painful and that the controls on the ipod itself wont work when connected to the interface.

Havent found much good or bad for the Pioneer decks with regards to their ipod interface either. I dont know if its just because nobody had connected the ipod interface to the decks I did look into or what.

I mean, realisticly I could go fairly low-tech and buy the aux-in cable for my current pioneer and connect the ipods headphone jack to that, but that means I get no charging and it doesnt satisfy the new toy itch I have right now.

TheSoundDemon · 06-27-2005, 02:38 PM

Honestly I don't know why people would have such a hard time with the alpine unit...it really is a cake walk to use, and they are right that you do lose control on the Ipod once you plug it into the adapter...but that's because you don't need to control it from the Ipod anymore...I don't understand why that would be such a huge thing...it's up to you though...I'm just giving you everything I know about the alpine adapter I give it a

06-27-2005, 02:54 PM

I appreciate your input. I was just passing on what little I had read about some of these decks. I think the complaint regarding the ipods controls not working after connecting it to the interface was that the person posting the review was having difficulty navigating the Alpine menuing system for the ipods songs.

I think what I may have to do is see if I can find a car audio shop with the decks and ipod interface connected. I know... wishful thinking but maybe I'll get lucky.

Thanks!

TheSoundDemon · 06-27-2005, 03:34 PM

Sometimes you get lucky...I used to work for Ultimate Electronics/Soundtrack here in Minnesota and we had one on display for people to bring their ipods in and play around with...so the possability is there...but you are welcome for the input that I was able to give, and good luck with your decision.

06-27-2005, 04:41 PM

I've got an Alpine CDA-9830 with the iPod interface. I'll agree that it's not hard to use, but it is time consuming when you want to look for something.

The interface is controlled by the function buttons at the bottom of the display, and through the wheel on the HU, but unfortunately, it doesn't scroll through the titles particularily fast. If you're looking for an album that's somewhere in the middle of the listings, you'd better be ready to scroll through the names for about 2-3 mins. That's my only beef about the system, is that you can't jump through the letters as quickly as I'd like, and end up spending a couple of mins carefully adjusting your HU while trying to watch traffic...

mikegett · 06-27-2005, 07:08 PM

From what I have seen and heard, I think the slow interface is a Ipod issue and not the HU. I tried a pioneer and alpine at a store with my friends ipod and they both lagged in response. The same problem was seen with the belkin usb adaptor. The ipod hardware limits it to a very slow transfer speed. Granted, my friends Ipod is a first generation. The newer versions may have fixed this problem.

TheSoundDemon · 06-28-2005, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mikegett@Jun 27 2005, 06:08 PM
From what I have seen and heard, I think the slow interface is a Ipod issue and not the HU. I tried a pioneer and alpine at a store with my friends ipod and they both lagged in response. The same problem was seen with the belkin usb adaptor. The ipod hardware limits it to a very slow transfer speed. Granted, my friends Ipod is a first generation. The newer versions may have fixed this problem.

Quoted post

I don't think they have because mine is a 3rd Gen and it's still slow to scroll through the song list.

06-28-2005, 09:32 AM

The scroll speed could be a problem... dont exactly want to be driving down the road staring at the display trying to find a song and end up in a ditch, or wrapped around a telephone pole.

Guess I'll just need to see if my local shops have any HUs and iPod adapters available for demo so I can see what its like.

Thanks for all the input, I appreciate it.