Ipod AUX audio cable

[Cornflake79]

Hey Guys, is there any cable out there for your iPod to AUX that will give it a better sound. The one i had was a simple one that plugged into the head phones port. Then i just bought the new Outkast CD and it was the first time i played a cd in my ride and the sound was 5000X better and the volume was only on like 7 and when i play my iPod its on like 30. any suggestions?

[ethlar]

Can you turn up the sound output on your ipod? Also turn off any EQ settings on your ipod because those arent the best tuned and are generally meant for the headphones they provide. AUX input is supposed to be nearly flawless sound.

[Mikey6p]

Its the Ipod. The thing is designed to put out a small amount of power to power a pair of headphones. This is why you have to turn your voulme up so high. Also, Ipod sound quality is not CD quality to begin with.

[windsurf7]

yes there are 2. you can use the belkin auto kit that has a line out on the plug. and the monster charger. (not the fm modulator models!)
you could also use an apple dock or do a search for "pocket dock with line out"

line out will sound 100 times louder and better than the head phone jack. (maybe not 100 but you know what i mean)

mike

[8thgenuser]

If you really want an ultra-high quality cable, check out the Silver Dragon ($65) cable in this thread: Ipod + aux input

Also mentioned in the thread is a cable that's produced by Cardas. I checked out the Cardas cable in GregM's car. We compared his cable to a generic cable. The Cardas cable really brings out the mids and highs.

There are lots of other quality cables out there that can be had for around $15 to $20 for a three to six-foot cable. Most cables are just generic copper wires that are branded with a well-known name.

[MacPrince]

The greater difference in sound quality will result not from a different miniplug to miniplug cable into the iPod's headphone jack*, but using the line level output built into the iPod's dock connector.

Some of the most popular ways:
Belkin Auto Kit for iPod

Monster iCarCharger

Sendstation PocketDock Line Out USB

And, of course, Apple's Universal Dock will do this, too, just make sure you've got some way to keep it from flying around your cabin.

*(Sorry, audiophiles. Plugging a $100 cable from headphone jack to aux will still sound like junk.)

[8thgenuser]

Originally Posted by MacPrince

*(Sorry, audiophiles. Plugging a $100 cable from headphone jack to aux will still sound like junk.)

100,000,000% agreed! Any incremental difference you get between using a silver cable and a copper cable will be negligible to most ears. Spending more than $10 on any mini-plug cable is going to be a waste of money.

But, if you like wasting your money, there are plenty of options out there for you!

The ultimate option would be if there was an adapter that took outputs the digital signal to an optical output and then using your optical cable to plug into a head unit with an optical input. Does anybody know if there is an accessory item out there that will send and optical out signal from an iPod?

[ryryninja]

So you guys are saying that these dock kits mentioned dont require any other extra wires to play the music? I have a mini plug and a car adapter for my ipod because I hate the FM transmitter to connect my Ipod to my car. My cousin has one and I hate to have to keep changing stations and crap due to shitty signal.

If this is true then I'm gonna buy me one....

[ethlar]

Originally Posted by 8thgenuser

Silver Dragon ($65)

$65 for a foot long cable! It better put out the dog, get the paper and play music.

Sorry i felt compelled to use a quote from my design professor there.

I use the Belkin unit and it works great, you would need a cable to go from the belkin unit to the aux jack in the car.

The monster unit intrigues me because it works to preserve the battery life, apparently its bad for the ipods to be plugged in all the time and that can destroy their battery life.

[8thgenuser]

Originally Posted by ryryninja

So you guys are saying that these dock kits mentioned dont require any other extra wires to play the music? I have a mini plug and a car adapter for my ipod because I hate the FM transmitter to connect my Ipod to my car. My cousin has one and I hate to have to keep changing stations and crap due to shitty signal.

If this is true then I'm gonna buy me one....

I clicked on some of those links that went to the product page of those docks. It appears that you still need to get a mini-jack cable. The difference with those is that the audio from the dock uses the line output, which is a cleaner audio than what the regular headphone output gives you.

Originally Posted by ethlar

$65 for a foot long cable! It better put out the dog, get the paper and play music.

Sorry i felt compelled to use a quote from my design professor there.

I use the Belkin unit and it works great, you would need a cable to go from the belkin unit to the aux jack in the car.

The monster unit intrigues me because it works to preserve the battery life, apparently its bad for the ipods to be plugged in all the time and that can destroy their battery life.

It's $65 because the cable is made of silver, which is a better conductor than copper and aluminum.

[ethlar]

on the stock system would someone really notice the difference between a radioshack cable and the Silver Dragon?

[8thgenuser]

I imagine there'd be a bit more clarity, but I don't have one to test out. Does someone want to send me one to test out?

[ryryninja]

alright awesome..... its cool cuz i already have a mini jack cable.... if its really better quality i'm willing to shell out the money..

i have a monster mini jack cable so ill get the monster car charger and i'll let ya'll know how it goes... good ol ebay!! =D

[windsurf7]

I have to tell you guys all the solutions have , in my own opinon, negatives.

Belkin-has a built in amp! "can add humm without a Ground loop isolator" Thing i do like is output jack is in the lighter plug part wich is 2" away from aux port which makes for a very clean install! once you plug the ipod into single dock wire you ready to go! (Search for the black version if you do get this)

Monster i-charger could be nice but the line out jack is in the bottom of the dock conector plug so it's like having two wires to drag around while fiddling with your ipod. You'll need a long patch cable for this solution. Also the dock connector is very bulky!

The Pocket dock and a usb charger is nice but, the dock is white and bulky for every day use. (this is a sweet thing to have around though) Also it's white and i hate apples white cables and dock.

the factory apple dock might be nice if you can mount it in a spot that you can use the ipod with out removing it or you dont change tracks often. (it's also white) dont remember if apple came out with a black dock?

Personaly I use the belkin because of the clean setup. I have a 4" patch cable so its nice and clean.

Mike c.

Ps. I laugh at the thought of spending $65 on a 6" cable!

[8thgenuser]

Okay, check it out guys. If you purchase a so-called high quality cable so you can use it for your digital audio player, you're still not going to get the best audio because you are listening to COMPRESSED AUDIO!!! "Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouf?"

Yes, you lose a lot of audio when playing compressed audio, unless you're playing a lossless file (even then you still lose some audio information when you convert the audio files). So if you get a high quality cable, instead of listening to crap with a crap cable, you'd listening crap with a good cable. In the end the audio is still crap!

[less]

Guys - listening to compressed audio is a choice!

I burn my cd's to my ipod using the apple lossless format and it is CD quality. It takes a lot less space than a wave file too. The new 80 gig will hold a lot more music than a 6-8-10 disc changer and the quality can be superb.

Not everyone uses MP3s...

Less