sasair

Well I finally got the Neo iPod adapter in the mail today. I got the Acura Musiclink for iPod disconnected and the Neo adapter installed in about 30-40 mins. The installation, as you can imagine is very similar to the installation for the Musiclink. It is completely plug-n-play. No additional wiring needs to be done other than plugging the wiring harness into the back of the head unit and into the Neo adapter. Then run the iPod cable wherever you want it.

After the installation, it was time for me to go play hockey, which is a good 40 minute drive. The perfect oppportunity to test the Neo and put it through its paces. I didn't even open the manual that came with the Neo. Operation is simple. Plug the cable into the iPod, the iPod comes to life and the screen lights up. This is when I noticed the biggest difference between the Neo adapter and the Musiclink adapter. I have total control over my iPod! The Neo adapter doesn't lock the user out of the controls on the iPod like the MusicLink does. You can access playlists and artists and even play games on the iPod if you want to. The way it should be! No MusicLink TTS software to slow you down. In addition to the controls on the iPod, you can also use the track up/down controls on the head unit and the steering wheel to advance or retreat to neighboring tracks.

At this point everything is working great! Sound quality is perfect, controls are working as expected. Now comes the tests that I wasn't so sure what would happen. What happens when HandsFreeLink is activated or the headunit is switched to XM radio or CD changer? Will the Neo adapter recognize this and pause the iPod or will the music continue to play even though I can't hear it? When I am done with HandsFreeLink or when I switch back to the iPod will the music resume play normally or will I get the "skipping" that many MusicLink users have reported? The Neo adapter passes this test with flying colors. The iPod pauses and resumes as expected. No missed music, and no "skipping" noises.

Is there anything wrong with the Neo adapter? So far so good. The product works as advertised and then some since the product hasn't been tested with the RDX. Are there any improvements that I would make to the product? The only one I can think of would be making the iPod cable longer. The cable from the MusicLink is pretty long in comparison, but the cable with the Neo is long enough for where I ran it to. It would be plenty long enough to be routed to the glove box, and I ran it to the center console. The difference being that with the MusicLink, the iPod controls are locked out so you never have to access the iPod other than to connect and disconnect it, whereas the main attraction of the Neo adapter is that you navigate the iPod using the iPod controls. This means you need a little extra cable to have the iPod in your hand or if you want to be able to pass the iPod around to other in the vehicle with you. On my single test drive since installing the Neo I did not run into any problems with the cable being too short. The only other anomoly I noticed is that the track number doesn't change when a new song starts playing, unless you use the Acura controls to change the track. Pretty insignificant in my opinion, but a difference from the MusicLink nonetheless.

Am I finally done with this long winded review? Of course not! For you Sirius satellite radio users or those with other MP3 players, the Neo adapter also gives you an extra set of RCA line level inputs. You can switch between the iPod and the RCA inputs on the fly using the headunit controls. A nice feature that Neo added to complete this product even though most users will probably never use it.

Goodbye MusicLink, hello Neo!

Send me a PM if you want the contact info for neo. I am working on getting a discount for being their RDX guinea pig. They charged me full price for this one which was $199+$8 shipping.

rdx4fun

Great write up. Glad to hear it works well. Is it hard to get to the back of the head unit? I may be interested in this but will wait till after the holidays.

sasair

Very easy install, especially if you have the install sheet for the MusicLink, which I can post if you don't or I'm sure it is online somewhere.

c_hunter

Thanks for the review sasair. This mirrors my experience with my S2K.

sasair

Yeah I was pretty sure most of it would work, I just wasn't positive on the handsfreelink and stuff particular to the RDX and other new 07 models, but I guess the signals are pretty universal.

By the way if anyone has anything specific that they'd like me to test that I didn't cover in the review, let me know!

backfire

Was reading about neo ipod here at link:http://mp3yourcar.com/default.asp it says won't work with satilite radio. It says must disconnect satalite radiohttp://mp3yourcar.com/productdetails.asp?type=FACTORY&make=Acura&model=R L&carYear=2006&productID=623. Do you have satalite radio ?

GreezWop

What, if any, display do you get on the RDX's nav screen when using the NEO adaptor?

c_hunter

That is only the case for vehicles with add-on satellite radio (which occupies the CD changer jack on the back of the radio). Or for that matter, if you have attached an external changer. If the "CDC" jack on the back of the radio is free, as it would be in a stock RDX, then the Neo kit can plug right in.

sasair

Yes I have XM, and it works fine with the Neo.

As for the display on the nav screen, it is the same as Musiclink which is pretty much nothing but the word "EXTENSION" across the screen. This has nthing to do with the iPod adapter you choose, but is a limitation of the factory headunit. The external CD changer port that the iPod adapter plugs into does not support any type of text information transfer.

ourzmzm

sasair, could you be as so kind as to post the musiclink wiring sheet?

Thnx

sasair

https://hondacuraworld.hostasaurus.c...xmusiclink.pdf

ourzmzm

perfect!! Thnx!!

kthlex

Sasair... thanks for such a great review. I didn't even bother with the acura musiclink. I recieve my neo ipod adapter today. I am a bit angry though. Customer Service told me the cord from the converter to the ipod was 6 feet - its much shorter!

I'm breaking into my dash tonight. Any recommendations as to the best place to bring the ipod connector out to?

sasair

I had my musiclink adapter routed to the glove box, but with the Neo, since you can control the ipod from the ipod, I routed it to the center console. Eventually I want custom mount the ipod somewhere though. it work for me in the center console so I can pull it out and navigate the ipod if I have to, but at the same time I can hide it away from view.

I didn't measure my cable, but it is plenty long enough for anything I'd do with it. Maybe if you wanted to route it to the back seats it wouldn't be long enough.

kthlex

What a difference! I thought the aux port was okay but this is sweet. I was getting frustrated with turning the car off and the ipod continuing to play. I never could keep battery and always lost my place on podcasts! Here's some pics of the process for you visually oriented folks...

[IMG]K:\DCIM\100CASIO\mini-CIMG0941[/IMG]

[IMG]K:\DCIM\100CASIO\mini-CIMG0944[/IMG]

[IMG]K:\DCIM\100CASIO\mini-CIMG0943[/IMG]

econman

Curious. If you control the iPod from the iPod, and there is no meaningful information on the screen, what is the difference between the Neo and simply utilizing the AUX jack?

I primarily use my iPod for audiobooks bought from audible.com and the AUX cable works great.

sasair

The differences would be having one cable that can be completely hidden and will charge the ipod as well as carry the audio signal, plus you can control the ipod from the steering wheel as far as tracking forward and back, plus if you are listening to the ipod and a handsfreelink session is initiated the ipod will pause until the session is completed, plus when listening to the ipod you can switch to another mode (FM/AM/XM/CD) and it will pause and continue when switched back to ipod.

kthlex

I agree with Sasair... I too thought the aux would be enough until I kept forgetting to pause the ipod whenever I made calls or switched sorces. Then I would park the car and forget to turn off the ipod. I never could keep it charged! The neo ipod adaptor is working excellent for me!

sasair

glad you like the Neo! I guess the biggest decision is whether or not you want to pay $200 for the ipod adapters or $5 for an Aux cable. For me it is worth it. I use my ipod 99% of the time and it never comes out of the vehicle unless I have to update songs and playlists.

econman

Ok, I see. Duh!

Yes, it is annoying to get a call only to realize I have to rewind the iPod.

Another question, is any software version of iPod compatible. My iPod is relatively old (generation 3 firmware)

sasair

Hmmm, thats the one with the four buttons isn't it? I think thats the one of the ones I don't have to test. I normally use a 4th gen in the RDX, and I have tested it with 5th gen video and 1st gen nano.

c_hunter

I am sure the older iPods will work. I have a 3G iPod that works fine in the iceLink/Neo setup in my S2000. As long as it has a dock connector it should be OK.

wifecar

I understand the part costs $200, but I can't (won't) install it myself. Any idea how much a dealer install would be?

sasair

I think I read someone post that Neo dropped the price of the unit to $149 or something like that.

The install is very easy, just plugging in a plug to the back of the head unit and running the dock conenctor to where ever you want it in the car.

The Acura dealer would charge you alot to do it and thats IF they would do it. not sure they would since it's not an Acura item, but different service depts do different things. If you can find a local shop that sells the Neo, I'd have them install it. I read one post that said some shop installed theirs for $30 and took about 10 mins. That's pretty cheap. If you brought your rdx to me I'd do it for free.

econman

Yeah.

I recently bought a new Yamaha A/V amplifier for my home theater and it supports an ipod "dock" link by which the iPod screen shows on the television, and of course one's iPod get recharged and can even sync with a PC via wireless....

But of course, as fate would have it, in very tiny fine print in a footnote, the documentation states it is only compatible with Gen4+
I've thought of buying a new one but my iPod still works great. I did have to replace the battery a few months ago, but other than than that it works fine.

econman

The accessories manager told me they had to "tear out part of the dash", which scared me off as I thought to myself that is a formula for future rattles....

sasair

If it did cause a rattle there it would be easily fixed. I have pulled that part of my dash apart at least 6 times and no rattles.

kthlex

I just installed mine early this week, the hadest part was figuring out how to get the car in neatural after unhooking the battery; then I rememberd the manual release that sits right behind the shifter (under the little sqare cover).

I have pics of my install (with the console apart, not the dash) but could not figure out how to post pics to this forum. I didn't even have to unplug the radio as the instructions say. Just unbolted and pulled it out and turned in over and I was able to access the rear of the stereo.

I am a novice and was able to do this in under an hour. If you use wire ties and/or velcro when installing there should be no rattles.

econman

Don't know if this has been posted, but I love the marketing....
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...40349552&hl=en


Their point being I suppose if "the cute girl" can do it, then ......


It does look simple.

sasair

Yeah it's not quite that simple, but you certainly get the point...

Worst thing about that video is that she actually does the entire install with the car running! While its probably unnecesary, they likely recommend that you disconnect the battery before installing. I'd at least shut the car off for the install. It must have been a hot day outside...

econman

Yeah, that was a bit odd. LOL

flar

I haven't done my RDX (yet), but when I put one on my Audi (I tried both an older version of the Neo product and a Dension iceLink Plus) the connector on the radio end of the iPod cable was the same connector as the old Mac serial cables and so a Mac serial cable extender would work to extend the cable as far as you might want.

My fantasy (and again, I never leave myself time to do these things) would be to install the iPod adapter behind the dash and use a serial cable extender to have the socket for the iPod cable terminate in the wall of the center console. I could then use the full length of the iPod cable to connect starting at the center console which might hopefully reach to any of the 4 passenger seats. It would also be easy to remove the iPod and cable for theft prevention should I desire to do so leaving almost no visible signs of any install. Given that my iPod was stolen from my Audi I'm sensitive to the theft issue, but since it was an invisible install in the glove box and they still found it and stole it I doubt this plan will make any difference anyway.

BTW, the adapter I was using in my Audi was the iceLink Plus which allowed you to control the unit from the iPod or use the CD changer controls to access the first 5 playlists. That way I could set up 5 playlists in iTunes (prefixed by the numbers 1 to 5 to ensure that they were always the first 5) that had my music broken down in various ways that I wanted to listen to it. Unfortunately, it had to replace the existing CD changer to do this whereas the Acura installs appear to have a separate input dedicated to the iPod. The iceLink Plus has a listing for the Acura RDX on the dension web site so I'm assuming I could get the same functionality with the iceLink, but I'd lose my DVD-A capability. :-(

sasair

Why would you lose your DVD-A capability? the internal DVD changer remains unaffected. It's only if you have an external changer that the changer would be disconnected.

c_hunter

Yep, sasair is right -- should not affect DVD-A at all.

flar

I may be making an inaccurate assumption, but if you reread my post I talk about the added functionality of Dension's iceLink Plus. In a typical car that unit replaces the CD changer and when you hit the disc select buttons it switches playlists. Then again, in a typical car there is no dedicated iPod input like the Acuras that take a MusicLink. Also, in a typical car most people are willing to give up a CD changer to access their entire collection on an iPod.

But, Acura has a separate input for the MusicLink and their unit does not have the playlist functionality. I'm assuming that the disc select buttons don't do anything when you are listening to that input since I didn't read anything in the MusicLink or Neo docs that mentioned that functionality - is that right? If the iceLink Plus installs differently as a replacement for the in-dash 6 disc changer in order to trap the disc select buttons then I would lose more than just a CD changer on the RDX - I'd lose DVD-A as well.

There are also other units like the DICE unit that use disc select buttons to choose between browsing by track, album, artist, or playlist, but there is no RDX listed in their compatibility form and if you select the next closest vehicle - the MDX - it says that they don't have an adapter for it yet.

I'll send off a note to Dension to ask about whether they disable the built-in changer to get the playlist functionality. If they do, then I guess I'd rather stick with just the track select with a simpler unit like the Neo...

sasair

They all do plug in to the CD changer port in the back, but the headunit is able to accomodate and control both the in dash cd changer as well as the ipod. So you do not lose any of the internal changer function. It comes up as a different input source on the head unit. CD/DVD for the internal changer, and CDC for the CD Changer port.

c_hunter

Yep, sasair has it right. The Neo/iceLink/DICE merely mimic an external changer, because they plug into the external changer "CDC" port on the back of the radio. It has nothing to do with the internal CD changer.

Doesn't matter if you subsitute an iPod device for the external changer. The radio still sees an external changer.

flar

Ah, I wasn't aware that the RDX had an external changer option - I thought the in-dash was the only changer it supported. I would imagine then that the same disc select buttons work for both changers and the playlist select should work as advertised. I got an automatic reply from Dension for my email so I guess I'll get confirmation from the source on Monday.

pittpanther

Thanks to sasair's review and insights, I finally placed my order for the Neo. It appears to be on sale through their website ($168.99 + shipping).

econman

According to their website, it should work. I'm paranoid as it does not work with the "Yamaha iPod Dock" port on my new A/V Home Theater receiver.