bradykp

monster is established as a quality sound product. belkin is established as a decent aftermarket choice to expensive products.

bottom line. you want good sound, buy the monster. you're talking about the difference of approx $25 at the MOST. that's if you cant find a bargain on the monster.

cmon.

Colin

This is somewhat amusing because we are talking about MP3s in a moving car........ in otherwords splitting hairs on sound quality of a "lossy" compression source, in a car with a noise floor of 70ish Db. then finally a $25 difference on a 30K car.

swirlie

I'm perfectly happy not having to deal with Apple products and using the aux-in only with my Creative mp3 player. My ears wouldn't be able to tell the difference enough for me to care, regardless of other ambient noise from the road/vehicle/traffic.


As for monster vs belkin: most of my experience with belkin is with their computer equipment... which has mostly been irritating. All the stuff I've used has been riddled with setup problems and is overall flaky in use.

sevans28

If you have an '06 then why in the pictures is your hazard light a triangle? '06's is rectangular.

turoneatingpinoy

I found the monster charger on Amazon for $27.99 but I'm curious about the dock connecter . . . I have a 30GB Video iPod with a Agent 18 Video Shield . . . is the Monster dock connecter going to fit? Cuz I hear the connecter on it is a bit on the large side . . .

bradykp

ok since i am retarded, can someone tell me what aux cable i need to go from the monster unit to the aux in? i know it's just a male/male aux cable. but my lazy ass is trying to find it online, so i can just order the two together and save a trip to compusa.

sevans28

I think its a hoax. Note my earlier reply, don't think he has an '06. And what about the whole glove compartment integration, didn't see any of that in the review. I thought it would have something to do with the glove compartment.

turoneatingpinoy

Yeah I went around today to a bunch of electronic stores in my area and couldn't find anything that looked like the right cable for that . . .

Colin

Isn't ther an "apple dock to mini-phono" cable available? This would be ideal.

mjp3475

After reading the original post, it appears that link was given to demonstrate how to take the center console apart, and NOT pictures of his car and/or install of the Acura MusicLink.

tariq

It wasn't Apple's fault, if anyone's to blame, it's Acura. For this integration to have worked like everyone had hoped (ie. song id display), Acura would have had to made changes to their system (HU, firmware, etc.), which they obviously didn't.

Mercedes did it, why not Acura? Then again, BMW didn't do it right either...

iNteGraz92

lol, you like paying for overpriced crap

peterjedi

I would not trust Belkin. Monster is high end. I was determined to get the monster cables. I did a search on ebay. Found some nice Monsters for 60% retail. I suggest you do the same.

DMBand0026

That won't allow me to use XM, neither will the Blitzsafe. I've grown rather attached to the XM in the last few weeks.

Tsx536

Have you actually tried both products, or are you also basing this on the name too? I like Monster and everything, but some of their stuff is overpriced IMO. Their home theater wiring is a prime example. That's why I was hoping I could get an opinion from someone that has used both products. I would pay for the Monster if I knew for sure that it was a lot better than the Belkin, but at this point I don't think anyone has tried both so we don't know.

The money is not that big of a deal to me. Look at my sig. I've blown plenty of money on my TSX

bradykp

lol, you'd be right if i didn't get the IPOD for free. talk about overpriced CRAP.

but no, the monster is $40, full price at compusa. walmart.com has it for $37, keep searching and it gets down to around $26 (plus S&H).

the belkin full priced is $15. ebay has it for $7.xx plus $6.99 S&H (and it says something about insurance required at $2.99....not a deal).

anyways. i've bought belkin cell phone chargers, and they all broke, i worked at circuit city, and experienced first hand customers complaining about belkin constantly.

monster is a quality product that is slightly overpriced. if there was another product out there between the belkin and monster, i'd buy it. but for $40 i know what i'm getting - a product that will sound as good as it can get for this product, at a price i'm willing to pay to save me the aggravation of going and buying it anyways in 2 months when the belkin breaks.

bradykp

have i compared THESE products in reality? NO. do i know monster is better than Belkin? YES.

Does Monster capitalize on their superiority in audio wiring? Yes.

i'd buy monster home theater wiring despite what you say. if i spend $1000+ on a home theater, why in the hell would i want to lose quality transferring the signals and sound over crappy wires? a close friend of mine used to own a Home Audio store untilt he big players (BB, CC, etc) forced him to close, and he never suggested anything that was a waste. He stood by monster cable all the way. I trust him, and i trusted my ears. Of course, i was getting it at store cost while working at Circuit City, but honestly...If you have a dvd player and a nice tv....do you hook it up with A/V cables? or do you use the composite? if you say A/V, then buy the belkin. If you say composite, then buy the monster.

the belkin's amp will distort the sound, and it will be noticeable. i'm not even considering the belkin, because i'm POSITIVE it won't sound as good, and even if it did, i'm POSITIVE it won't last as long.

turoneatingpinoy

Monster Icharger @ Amazon

bradykp

what is the ADDITIONAL cable we need, the one that goes into our AUX input in the car? that's what i cant find.

DMBand0026

It will have a headphone jack on each end. One end will plug into the iPod or the Monster unit, the other end will plug into the Aux input in the TSX.

turoneatingpinoy

a 3.5MM 1/8" audio cable like this one . . .

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=search

. . . least I think that's it . . . I just can't find a store that carries these . . . but yeah did anyone see my previous question like a few posts ago??? :shakehead

bradykp

compusa says it works with the ipod. why would you doubt that it fits?

turoneatingpinoy

"The only thing I would improve about this product is the connection to the iPod. It's a bit of a tight fit when the iPod is in it's usual case (basic DLO case)."

"Low profile dc plug is great as is coiled cable. People with iPod cases that partially cover dock connector won't be able to use as dock plug is very large."

It's cuz I saw these in the reviews on the Amazon site and my 30GB iPod video is in a case . . . so I'm wondering if those statements apply to me . . .

randomsolutions

What pictures? I haven't ever posted a picture of my car. Please check your facts before you accuse someone of lying.

mjp3475

This cable from Radio Shack. It's $4, only 1 foot long, and I've used it flawlessly with an iPod and the AUX port on an Aiwa head unit in my girlfriend's old car. It's part number 42-2497 in case the link doesn't work.

turoneatingpinoy

I so need to check Radio Shack again after looking at this thread

Tsx536

Okay. Enough Said. Like I said like 5 times. I'm just trying trying to get some other opinions from people that may have tried both.

I would buy Monster Cables too if I could get them at cost. But at full retail price, they are overpriced IMO. This is just my opinion. If I could get another brand that is of comparable quality for a little less, I would.

This analogy is all messed up man. If you buy a DVD player, you're going to hook it up with Component video cables. The yellow Composite video cable would give you lower video quality than the RGB component cables. These are both different types of video cables.

Tsx536

Yeah that one would definitely work.

excited

To answer your question on why I chose the Monster over the Belkin is from the pictures of the Belkin I did not see a line out port on the cable and it appeared to be just a charger. The picture on the Monster showed that not only was it a charger, but connected to the bottom of the iPod and had a line out port for connection to the aux in of the TSX. I have may have been mistaken on the Belkin, but that is what I saw in the pictures.

I have Monster cables on my stero system and I have great trust in them. If both cables do the same thing, I still would have purchased the Monster cable as it is a brand name that I am familar with and trust. I am unfamilar with Belkin.

I guess that there has been a few testimonials for the Monster product which promotes it's purchased from Forum members like myself.

Happy Holidays



Excited

turoneatingpinoy

I saw the Belkin one at Circuit City today . . . the line out port is on the charger it self . . . which is probably why you didn't see it . . . but it was priced at $44.99 which is why I didn't even think about getting it . . .

Zephrem

I have a Belkin, and have had it for over two years. It works perfectly and no, the amp does not distort the line out sound. I wouldn't hestitate to recommend it.

And, if it means anything, I have high-end stereo componentry (Naim) and I wouldn't recommend Monster cabling. My own personal opinion is that Monster's cabling is overpriced and that you are paying its marketing budget mark-up ... but I can't speak for the Monster charger/line out.

bradykp

my bad, i meant component, not composite. sorry.

the problem is, you can't get another brant that is of comparable quality. that's the problem. that's why they take advantage and overcharge a bit, because they are that good. i just suck it up and pay the price for good sound quality.

jaydub

Of course, maintaining sound quality with a lossy compression like MP3 is kind of a lost cause, isn't it? I'm quite happy with the Alpine setup I've got in my tC, though I'd have loved to take advantage of something like this Music Link if I had a tsx. Still, it seems like almost all companies are hacking their solutions together without making them work at 100% usefulness. Even my Alpine solution is lousy -- it's super slow, takes forever to go thru playlists and artist/title information.

Zephrem

In my view, not really. After doing much double-blind testing, one can keep the audio fidelity high with lossy compression by encoding properly. (I either use LAME with the --preset standard setting (now its --V 2 --vbr-new in the most recent version of LAME) or by using AAC 128kps VBR (new option on the Apple which approaches the sound quality of a CD at a lower bitrate than 160kps).

To keep this on topic, reviews of the audio inputs are very important to preserve the fidelity of the source despite the difficulties with auto audio (road noise, etc.). For example, I'm very interested to hear how the sound quality compares between the Music Link and the Belkin/Monster through the line-in sounds. It was very helpful to learn that a device uses the line-out (unadulterated out) instead of using the headphone jack output.

jaydub

Yeah I too have been using LAME --apx for ages, though I should have clarified that my comment was more in reference to the products themselves than the MP3s. I know that you can get VERY close to your original recording, and double-blind testing can prove it. I've connected my own iPod through the headphone jack to my stereo aux-in, and by using the Alpine iPod module, and honestly it *was* hard to really tell a difference. It came down to the fact that the iPod module charges the iPod while it's connected. This test was done with stock speakers, but I'm curious whether I'd be able to hear an audible difference if I had all my gear installed.

DMBand0026

I just found this:

http://www.pie.net/applepie.cfm

It doesn't specifically say that it's compatible with the TSX, but it does mention Honda and older Acura models. I guess it's designed to use the input the tape player would normally use so you don't lose navi or XM functionality. You can also apparently control the iPod through the steering wheel controls.

Anyone have any idea if this would work with the TSX? I don't know nearly enough about this kind of stuff to even have an idea. Thanks!

ellinj

So you can't even see the artist info on the ipod itself. How stupid is that. Guess I may have to give the Dension product a try.

lilmystical779

I don't know if I am the only one that thought about this but just think about it Now that we aren't running out to get that overpriced iPod OEM crap we can now use EITHER line out/charger and watch our favorite VLOGS when in stand still traffic and listen to them over a nice 360-watt system. I know it will make a world of differnce for my 5am commute.

turoneatingpinoy

just out of curiousity would cable would be better to get ?

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=search

or

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=search

Is there a considerable difference between the two or are they both pretty much the same? I really have no idea about these kinds of things

acn684

Neither...don't get a 6 foot cable. Lol You'll learn to knjow why if you do.

I dunno about the sound quality of either cable, however, im not a avid fan of radioshack branding either.