I have recently bought an ipod and i wanted to connect it directly to my car radio, not an fm transmitter, and i also want to be able to control it through the head unit. I have already purchased subs and an amp, and i am looking for a new head unit as well, so i can start hooking evertything up. And i was wondering if there was any special head unit avaible that you could plug your ipod in and be able to control it like a cd and be able to see the song that is playing.

and i was also wondering if the sound quality is good with the ipod and the headunit, or will my bass sound crappy?



scionlife89

 

well, i know for sure that pioneer has a set up that can do everthing you ask (and no it isn't the one that Scion has!), but im sure there are others.

and the quality should be excellent, but it all depends on how good the audio file is, if the rip isn't good then you will notice it A LOT more than listening through your headphones.

 

In such a small car, I don't know what you gain by controlling the iPod through the HU, and most systems limit your number of playlists that the headunit can control.

I hardwired mine into the stock with the PIE aux input adapter from Logjam, but you can get a similar unit from Crutchfield for $60 or so. Add a Belkin Auto kit (often ~$10 on eBay) to connect to the dock, provide iPod output, and charge it from the car battery.

I ordered the CM625 Universal PDA 15? Flexible Gooseneck from Arkon and installed it on the left front passenger seat mounting bolt, which puts the iPod near radio level on its own support next to the shifter. At night, I turn the backlight on.

In the xB, this is a sweet set up and wouldn't work as well in a larger car. Since the lighter circuit is switched, the iPod pauses when you cut the engine. The dock connector output is line level, unlike the iPod headphone jack, so you control the volume through the HU, which is similar to the CD and FM radio.

My next move is to make a custom cable with the Belkin kit so that I don't have to occupy the cig lighter and eliminate the Belkin preamp, which is not supposed to be necessary....I'll let you know.

 

There is a ton of info on IPOD installation into all of the Scion models. Please try to search first, this has been covered many times. Even in the FAQ:

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=41237

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