econman

The only Monster product I find under MP3 players/accessories is a wirelss hookup?

econman

LOL

That's funny. We're remodeling now and the new kitchen will cost something like $50k..... spent a fortune on new cabinets after which my wife suddenly thought she would save $200 by skimping on hardware for the cabinets

sasair

This is the product he got..

http://www.erwincomputers.com/127033.html

cab

Here is the Monster product that I use:

http://www.monstercable.com/productDisplay.asp?pin=2132

It isn't a wireless one. Amazon is probably the cheapest place to buy it.

sasair

That's the same monster product pacer got. slightly cheaper at erwin...

smithd

I ordered the 6" cable this morning. $14 + $10 shipping (yikes!) But worth it as decent shorty cables like this are very hard to find!

I passed on the powered cables from Belkin, Apple, & others as the batt life in my Nano is pretty good. Plus I don't want a bunch of cables & transformer plugs cluttering up the console.

jbinnyc

just a quick update, i got this cable & it works GREAT! now i am back enjoying my tunes. this forum rocks with great info. thanks.

mickie

I'm really happy with this choice. It's not black, but the retractable cord keeps it nice and tidy. The sound is just as good as the radio it's plugged into...just as good as a cd. Thanks craig and sasair

BTW got this ipod charger in black...looks nice, but doesn't fit the 12v in the rdx. sO STEER AWAY from this one. I'll keep it though cause it works in the truck

http://www.flexdeals.net/deals/forum...r-4-99-fs.html

c_hunter

This is turning into a real good source of info on all the different audio/iPod cables available.

I am surprised how many 12V chargers have a big obnoxious plug, which can be a problem if you want to use the dash outlet on the RDX. I saw this when looking for cell phone chargers too, and had to check 2-3 stores before finding a small one.

jbinnyc

i know, even though i like the simple one i got, i just ordered the Monster Cable Ultra-Low Profile iPod iCharger (AICHG2 IP) that cab posted early on in this thread. if you didn't see that, check it out.

Boostin' Girl

Does this setup work in the non-tech? I purchased a cable from BestBuy for about $20 but obviously I can't use my steering wheel or head unit contols. And it doesn't charge my iPod.

c_hunter

Yep, will work in the base RDX just fine.

emerald_lady

Okay I brought the male to male retractable cord from ebay and I used it today. It sounds horrible!!! It can clearly hear the vocals over the actual music. I thought it was my ZEN at first but I hooked my co-workers IPOD up to it and it sounds the same way. I hope its the cord and not the system. I'm going to try the wires in the house tonight. I'm hoping that it is the problem and I can go to Circuit City and pick up another cable.

sasair

Sounds like your plug isn't lined up properly or isn't plugged in all the way so you are only getting one channel instead of both.

c_hunter

Yep, another vote for a bad cable or poor connection. Make sure it's pushed in all the way on the radio end -- I recall my jack being a little snug the first time.

jbinnyc

No I think the problem is the setup. I did the same thing with a male to male cable. It was awful!! Then c_hunter told me about the 4ft iPOD® COMPATIBLE 3.5mm to DOCK CONNECTOR AUDIO CABLE. This works perfectly!! I got it at onsale.com for a bit cheaper, but it is well worth the $15-$20! Try it!

http://www.cablestogo.com/product.as...2002&sku=35508

sasair

You're correct that that dock connector cable is better, but there is no reason the male to male 1/8" plug cable shouldn't work just fine.

flar

With the male to male 1/8" cable the sound goes through 2 amplifiers - the headphone amplifier in the iPod and the RDX stereo amplifier. When you do that, you need to adjust both the volume levels on the iPod and the stereo to get the best sound. Typically it shouldn't be a "problem" unless you, for instance, have the iPod turned up to full volume where it is producing more distortion than at middle levels, and possibly overdriving the stereo's input. Depending on the tolerances in the RDX system, it could be more sensitive to this than most. If you were using headphones, the volume at that level would be louder than most people would listen to, but doing that through the aux in you can adjust the volume to a comfortable level and at that point the accompanying distortion seems out of place. So, play with adjusting both volume levels and see what happens.

Now, with the line level out used by the Neo there is only one amplifier in play (though I suppose the simple act of turning the digital bits in the MP3 file to an audio stream at the dock connector involves some kind of "amplification", it is a much simpler system than the headphone driver and produces levels that are compatible with typical "aux in" jacks). As a result, the sound is less processed and it is easier to get distortion-free sound out of it.

A nice non-Neo way to go would be to get a Belkin Auto Kit which powers and charges the iPod and has a 1/8" jack to connect to the stereo system. Unfortunately, even though that 1/8" jack gets its audio from the line out line in the dock connector, it also includes a small amplifier for that line out audio so you have the "2 amplifiers" problem again. However, I'm not sure whether that amplifier is better than the iPod headphone amplifier for these applications or not, but I've had good luck with being able to match the impedance of that jack to the stereos on rental cars. It probably differs from the headphone amplifier in that it only offers a small range of adjustability that stays within normal input tolerances on most Aux In jacks. The nice thing about this is that you can leave the Auto Kit installed in the power receptacle in the center console and just snake a (black for stealth) male to male 1/8" cable from the Auto Kit up to the aux in on the dash. The iPod then only has one cable coming from its dock connector which makes it easier to handle than if it has something plugged into its headphone connector.

mickie

OMG you do know a lot of what you know. Talk about tangents...and then again, I read the whole thing, and learned some things. you took us from 1/8 jacks with amps, to rental cars back to the trusty old dock connector with the male 1/8. cable. what a ride! I love your input.

jbinnyc

i am sure sasair & flar know what they are talking about, but from someone simple like me; i just know that dock connector cable is the only way to go. i played around for hours adjusting the sound within both my ipod & the rdx audio system. some songs played better than others, but all were sh**. then when i used the dock connector, they were incredible!! cd quality!

at the end of the day (in my simple view), the dock connector is the only way to go.

emerald_lady

Okay, after reading the forum, I gave it another whirl. All I did was twist the connectors and voila!! real sound and it was loud too!! I've been listening ever since.