ipod in 99 outback?

[ploutos]

I have a '99 limited outback with the oem stereo with door tweeters,
subwoofer under the seat, etc. It is not a mind blowing system but
better than the stock (not limited) oem. I would love to lose all
those cds that sit in my passenger seat and have an ipod but the stereo
has no input jack. What would be the best sounding (i.e. no tape deck
insert through the headphone jack), cheapest (relatively), cleanest (no
wires going everywhere) solution to get my audio system ipod based.
The FM transmitter thingie has not received great reviews for the sound
quality and seems lame from an engineering perspedtive. Do I just get
a new stereo? Ugh.

P.S. - I play .wav thru my ipod as mp3, depening on bit depth, can be
noticeably lesser quality.

Thanks!

 

[Todd H.]

I have a '99 limited outback with the oem stereo with door tweeters,
subwoofer under the seat, etc. It is not a mind blowing system but
better than the stock (not limited) oem. I would love to lose all
those cds that sit in my passenger seat and have an ipod but the stereo
has no input jack. What would be the best sounding (i.e. no tape deck
insert through the headphone jack), cheapest (relatively), cleanest (no
wires going everywhere) solution to get my audio system ipod based.
The FM transmitter thingie has not received great reviews for the sound
quality and seems lame from an engineering perspedtive. Do I just get
a new stereo? Ugh.

P.S. - I play .wav thru my ipod as mp3, depening on bit depth, can be
noticeably lesser quality.

A good quality cassette adapter actually sounds quite good. Better
than the RF modulators through the radio, and easier than tearing up
your car or modifying equipment to try to provide a line input to a
system that lacks one.

Cassette adapter therefore is by far your best tradeoff of
sound/effort.

If it makes any difference, I say this an electrical engineer,
musician, audio geek, and someone whose been the route of my own
custom stereo installations.

Best Regards,

 

[JohnO]

A good quality cassette adapter actually sounds quite good. Better

than the RF modulators through the radio, and easier than tearing up
your car or modifying equipment to try to provide a line input to a
system that lacks one.

Cassette adapter therefore is by far your best tradeoff of
sound/effort.

If it makes any difference, I say this an electrical engineer,
musician, audio geek, and someone whose been the route of my own
custom stereo installations.

I'd agree, especially if you never use the tape deck anyway. Because, after
a while those adapters magnetize the carp out of the tape heads, which
destroys (audibly damages) any tape you play thereafter. Who plays cassettes
anymore?

I recently swapped out the same stock deck for a cheapo Kenwood, and the
Kenwood sounds far better. A different sound/effort ratio, however.

-John O

 

[e]

I have a '99 limited outback with the oem stereo with door tweeters,
subwoofer under the seat, etc. It is not a mind blowing system but
better than the stock (not limited) oem. I would love to lose all
those cds that sit in my passenger seat and have an ipod but the stereo
has no input jack. What would be the best sounding (i.e. no tape deck
insert through the headphone jack), cheapest (relatively), cleanest (no
wires going everywhere) solution to get my audio system ipod based.
The FM transmitter thingie has not received great reviews for the sound
quality and seems lame from an engineering perspedtive. Do I just get
a new stereo? Ugh.

An FM Modulator works for me. Around $50 (u.s.d.) and an hour to install.

See this: http://www.scoobytruck.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=387

e

 

[Todd H.]

An FM Modulator works for me. Around $50 (u.s.d.) and an hour to install.

See this: http://www.scoobytruck.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=387

Your happiness with it I can't argue with, but with the other options
out there now, it's a flawed solution. With FM modulation, you have
the audio detriments that going through FM modulation and having to
rely on the FM tuner, while also having the installation effort of
having to pull the radio out of the dash to install something fixed.

An FM transmitter for the ipod costs 30% less, and installs in about
half a second versus an hour, and has the benefit of making your ipod
audible over any radio you get yourself near, not just your car.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...O0VEj/1.0.0.11.1.0.6.9.3.19.0.1.0.1.1.0.1.0.3

Fidelity wise, though cassette adapters are superior, install in one
second, are portable to other cassette players, and cost all of $20.

Best Regards,

 

[B a r r y]

Fidelity wise, though cassette adapters are superior, install in one
second, are portable to other cassette players, and cost all of $20.

It's too bad nobody makes an aftermarket aux input for Subaru radios.
While it costs ~$60 vs. $20 for a cassette adapter, the sound quality is
as big a jump over the cassette adapter as the cassette adapter is over
the FM modulator.

I recently installed a PIE input into my '05 Toyota truck, and it was
well worth the 30 minutes of work and dealing with the input cable.

 

[e]

Your happiness with it I can't argue with, but with the other options
out there now, it's a flawed solution. With FM modulation, you have
the audio detriments that going through FM modulation and having to
rely on the FM tuner, while also having the installation effort of
having to pull the radio out of the dash to install something fixed.

An FM transmitter for the ipod costs 30% less, and installs in about
half a second versus an hour, and has the benefit of making your ipod
audible over any radio you get yourself near, not just your car.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...O0VEj/1.0.0.11.1.0.6.9.3.19.0.1.0.1.1.0.1.0.3

The FM transmitter for the iPod is a viable solution if you like static,
distortion (especially over bass), and or fading in/out. I have yet to
find an FM transmitter that doesn't have these issues. Certainly the
transmitter is an option, but it just didn't work out well for me and
probably doesn't work out well for anybody that lives in a large city
where just about all frequencies have a station.

Certainly the modulator is not a perfect solution.. Perhaps I should
have spent a few hundred and purchased a new head unit with aux input
(or even iPod connectibility), but I like to keep the stock look as lame
as that may sound.

e
(anybody want to buy my iTrip?)

 

[Mike]

I hard wired an FM modulator into my WRX... the 2xAAA powered wireless one
was pure shite, even in the rural areas... and if I were gunna put a head
unit it, I would have to get the one I really wanted by Apline that has the
Aux iPod input that allows the head unit to charge it and you can pick songs
off the iPod through the head-unit itself... but that is well over $500 for
parts and pieces... in the meantime the $30 hardwired version is discrete
and sounds fine for my humble tastes....