jfbradley

Ok, I looked at the instructions from Elio and I can't find anything that leads me to believe that this will definitely work with an '05. Not that I doubt it will, I'm just not sure I'm willing to try this on my own. I'd need a professional to do the installation as well as a "guinea pig" to try it on an '05 w/Navi & XM first.

If anyone has success putting this on an '05...please post details on how you do it!

thanks!

Tintin

For you guys with the 06 models, when using the "Aux" in the arm rest, do you have to keep the arm rest open with the ipod out of the armrest, or can you close it?

rpcmx

IIRC from my test drive, there's a small hole/pass through from the armrest out so that you can close the armrest and still have the wire and iPod (or whatever) sticking out.

-rpc

blo11

Swirlie-

I tried the male to male headphone jack connection, $5 at Radio Shack, and it didn't work. I had to go from the bottom of the iPod (the dock connection) to the AUX jack (male headphone).

Tintin-
You can close your armrest and have your iPod inside. but the way it's hooked up now for me, without the Music Link (insert acura's "cha ching" sound here) for $250 you can't change any songs. I have to keep my ipod outside the armrest so i can scroll through the menus. i found if i keep my cupholder open it sits nicely vertically between the lid of the cupholder and the parking break. but still not as safe as it should be cause i'm doing 70mph looking down at my ipod rather than my nav trying to scroll through playlists.

jkozlow3

For those who are unaware...

Monster makes a car charger with a line out jack built-in called the iCarCharger. I bought mine on eBay for under $30. Then, all you have to purchase is a male-to-male mini headphone cable from Radio Shack and you can charge your iPod and listen to it using the line out all at once which will yield MUCH better sound quality than using your iPod's headphone jack and it takes the iPod's volume control out of the equation.

That's what I did for my '06 and I love it. No, I can't control the iPod from the car's stereo, and as much as I would like this feature, it's simply not worth $250 when I can have a $40 solution with identical sound quality. You'll just have to create some playlists and put them on shuffle/repeat and you won't really need to touch the iPod's controls too often.

excited

Does the TSX come with cord that links the "aux in" with your Ipod? (I haven't found the cord yet) The cord that comes with my Nano doesn't match it.

Is this cord something that you have to buy from Acura or is it something commonly found at electronic stores? I want to try out my Nano with the TSX.

I will get the Acura music link when it comes.



Excited

dj Dozhe

You can get it at any electronics store. It looks like a cord with a headphone jacks on either end. I've been using it for the past couple days and it's just damn nice to have such good sound quality playing through the car. I had one of the Monster transmitters before, but I'm an audiophile so I NEEDed this connection.

swirlie

excited, dj Dozhe:
Exactly. It's just a regular audio cable with the small headphone plug on either end. I got the shortest one available (stupid 6') with shielded, gold-plated connectors for about $15 from The Source (Radio Shack in Canada after Circuit City took over).
$10 unshielded, gold-plated cable
$15 shielded, gold-plated cable
I don't have an iPod. (Hate Apple, refuse to get an iPod.) I believe the aux-in will work for ANY device that outputs audio directly, if you can use adapters or cables to get it to a 3.5mm headphone plug.

blo11:
That's strange. It works perfectly fine for me. The way I have mine setup is that I turn the volume almost to max on my mp3 player (max sounds bad, with distortion). I leave my player plugged in. I usually turn on my mp3 player, then turn on my stereo (turn it to Aux if not already in that mode), then hit play and adjust the volume. That can be done in any order, as I've tried. I usually have the stereo volume up to 15-20, higher than CDs. It's a weaker source, so you have to bump up the volume.

rpcmx:
There's a pass-through on the driver-side of the compartment lid. There's a small piece of rubber on the base where you can lay the cable and close the lid.
If I have stuff in my cupholders, my player just sits between the cupholder lid and the e-brake. If not, it sits on top of the cupholders. The cable is thick enough to keep it in place and easily reachable if I want to change songs.

feliz

I just bought a 6' cord with a headphone jack on either end. I agree with Swirlie, I think it works with any audio device.

excited

Thanks everyone. I did go to Best Buy and the clerk knew what I wanted right away. I now can listen to the nano tunes.

Yea swirlie, I also found that you do have to pump up the volume a little more to hear it.

Thanks



Excited

randomsolutions

One great feature of the 2006 is that the AUX volume is separate from the FM/XM/AM volume, so you can have the AUX volume at 20 and the other volumes at 10 and it will remember it.

bgillette

I am going to install my BLITZSAFE in a week. It will charge and play the ipod through the AUX function (mine is an 04) I think I like this option better than the new 06 AUX because they have to use the headphone jack which is not as "clear" as the dock connection which the blitzsafe uses....

helraiser

does anyone with an '06 tsx know if there's another input behind the storage unit that'll allow an aux input?

Basically looking for one that I can use to connect RCAs from an aftermarket headunit that I want to put into the storage unit and have it feed into the stock HU.

People, don't forget the dollar store when looking for those male-male headphone cables. I went to radio shack and they ahd the gold plated ones for $15 or so,... went to the dollar store and they were $1, $1.14 after tax. Works great! now if only my rca lyra mp3 player would resume play after being shutdown!

I can host the pdf also for y'all, just send it to me.

excited

I find that the quality of the music is better from the radio and CD player than from the nano. The nano is still good, but doesn't have the depth that the other music has. My



Excited

jkozlow3

I agree that the dock connection is WAY better than the headphone jack, but all '06 owners need to do is get a Monster iCharger and use the line out jack from the dock connector.

jkozlow3

Excited, your nano sounds like crap because you're using the headphone jack to output the signal to the Aux jack. Read my post in this thread (post #45) where I mentioned getting a Monster iCharger that allows you to use a line-out connection from the dock connector on the iPod. The sound will be VASTLY improved (same as if you burned the MP3s from your nano onto a CD), as it's a PURE, un-alterned/processed signal when you use the line-out.

Alternatively, you can use a product called the "PocketDock w/Line Out" which also taps into the iPod dock connection to give you a line-out jack. The Monster iCharger is better however because it allows you to charge the iPod too.

Or you could spend $250 for the Acura version which essentially does the same thing with the addition of allowing you to control the iPod from the car's stereo controls. I don't mind creating playlists and just putting them on shuffle/repeat though, so I don't ever really need to touch the iPod except to hit "play" when I start the car.

Hope this helps.

swirlie

CD yes, but I'd be surprised about the radio. But as I'm not a hardcore audiophile, the sound sounds decent enough for me. True, it could be quite a bit fuller/richer, but it's good enough when I'm driving. I'm not paying enough attention to the music when I'm driving for it to make a huge difference to me.

hergertr

Is the Monster iCharger just a power source for the iPod or does it include a mini jack cable to input the sound into the auxiliary port on the car? I can't seem to find a descriptive picture of it anywhere. I have a separate Griffin dock port connector that I can plug into the power port (cigarette lighter) on the car. With that I'm using two cables to port the sound into the car radio and supply power. I'm still confused by the picture in the 2006 TSX brochure that shows a white Apple dock port connector plugged into an iPod and then running through the hole on top of the console into......

mjp3475

Courtesy of Amazon/Target:


The gold piece below the power cable on the dock connector is where you would plug the cable (3.5mm male-to-male stereo) that goes into the aux port.

Tsx536

Bellin makes a similar product. It is probably cheaper too.

helraiser

Thanks theElio!

ipod music link kit - intallation manual (PDF - 450K)

GIBSON6594

So it would be lead into the glovebox?

I see no connections being made around the center console

swirlie

Ok, quick summary:

Aux in:
- comes standard in all 06 TSXs
- located in the center armrest console
- accepts any audio device through a 3.5mm stereo audio cable
- provides audio in ONLY

Acura Music Link:
- accessory option (i.e. +$$)
- located in the glovebox
- accepts ONLY iPods
- provides audio in, iPod charging, and ability to control iPod through vehicle controls


Hopefully that answers a few questions that seem to pop up repeatedly.

jplevine

In looking at the instructions (thanks for posting!), it seems at the end of the day, this item doesn't seem much different than those from Blitzsafe and others except for the CD-ROM. Am I oversimplifying this? Is the CD the real thing that changes this so you can control the iPod through the stereo/steering wheel controls? If so, would there be a way to get the CD to use with the Blitzsafe or similar unit to get the same results for less money?

ninjamyst

Ok, my saleman lied to me again. He said the aux in can charge my ipod? Also, he said I can use the steering wheel volume controls.

Tsx536

Check this one out too. $40 and has a seperate volume output control/amp.

mjp3475

If it has a volume control, then it's NOT using the line-out pins, which is really what you want to feed into the TSX's stereo. The Monster Cable one does use the line-out, and its only $30 on eBay/$40 MSRP.

(But I will be opting for the $250 true integration when my TSX arrives )

rpcmx

Aux In cannot charge your iPod.

You can use the steering wheel volume controls to change the volume of the stereo, but it will not affect the iPod's volume. Meaning that if your iPod volume is at 75% and your stereo volume is at 15, raising the volume with the steering wheel control will raise your stereo volume to 16, 17 or 18 (etc.) but will not affect the 75% setting of the iPod itself.

-rpc

jplevine

In looking at the instructions for the Acura iPod Music Link a few posts above (I think I may have been a bit ambiguous in my post earlier), it seems at the end of the day, this item doesn't seem much different than those from Blitzsafe and others except for the CD-ROM. Am I oversimplifying this? Is the CD the real thing that changes this so you can control the iPod through the stereo/steering wheel controls? If so, would there be a way to get the CD to use with the Blitzsafe or similar unit to get the same results for less money?

Tsx536

I think you're confused. If it plugs into the bottom of the Ipod then it is definitely not using the headphone output. It IS using the line-out pins.

If you read the description for the product, it mentions that it has a small amp that will amplify the output. The volume knob controls the gain for that amp not the volume of the Ipod.

You can get the Belkin here on Ebay for $15. That's half the cost of the monster that you posted.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Belkin-Auto-...QQcmdZViewItem

vbgirl76

Let me clear some things up. I just did the whole iPod set up in my truck using a dock connector.



I actually used this charger in my truck:



While researching and trying to figure out the best way to do this, I discovered that the belkin did use an aplifier. If you want that specific belkin, then you better act fast because they stopped making it. There is another one that replaces that model. And if you want to use a dock connector for the sound, then you must get a charger with a 3.5mm output. Otherwise, you're wasting the advantage of having a dock connector.

Anyways...after installing it all, I found out that I can't control the volume on the iPod. I can only use my headunit to control the volume (possibly because of using what was the AUX cd changer). I can control everything else from the iPod though. Much nicer in my opinion than the Blitzsafe.

Here are the parts I needed to do this whole thing:

1. Alpine AiNet to RCA adapter
2. Charger w/dock connector and 3.5mm stereo output
3. 3.5mm male to 2 male RCA Y-adapter

The whole thing cost me like $60 and sounds 1000x better than if I plugged it into the headphone jack.

Depending on how the iPod thing works in the TSX, I may splurge and have it installed when I buy my TSX just for the convienience of the steering wheel controls and voice commands. Otherwise, I'll just do something like I did in my truck.

wclark

wait can I get a final answer? I can get this Ipod thing from acura and they will install it on my '04 TSX?

excited

Thanks for the info from this post and the subsequent one. I will wait for the Acura Music link so I can find out a little more about it. I guess the one feature not clairified on swirlie's great list is that the vehicle controls also mean controlled by voice activation. If the Acura Music Link is too pricy, than I will consider some of the other options mentioned.

Thanks again for the info.



Excited

Colin

Of all the questions here, this is the easiest to be clear. No! The i-Pod accessory (Acura Music Link) is only for 2006s.

Colin

I don't think there is voince control in the Acura Music Link, it mentions "Text to Speech" so I'm guessing that it "reads" the song info to you.

excited

I have looked for this product on-line and could not find it. Do you have a link?

Thanks



Excited

bradykp

i cant wait til someone gets this thing and tells us if it's worth the cost of the frikkin ipod!

wclark

where does it say its only for the new ones?

bradykp

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


so does this appear to be the best option? it's 40 bucks. dunno......

i cant justify spending $250 plus installation on the acura ipod link

Tsx536

There's a belkin one that's $16 shipped:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Belkin-Auto-Kit-...QQcmdZViewItem