are there any known problems with having the dealer install the iPod adapter/accessory? does it increase the chances of dash rattles? does it create any tradeoffs with the rest of the audio system? how do you select iPod from the audio controls? thanks you.

 

Clarification - I am referring to the Acura Music Link.

I just bought a 2006 RL and am about to add this feature to it.

Any info you can share would be much appreciated.

 

Shouldn't be any problems with installing it.
I have no dash rattles.
Nothing else changes with the audio system.
You select it by pressing the cd changer button twice (or once more if you are already on cd)

 

I had my cable routed to the center console, it makes it easier to change selections on the ipod rather than having to open the glove box.
Basically, they route the cable through the center console under the cupholder, and into the bay where you can put your CD's.
If you elect you can remove the cable insert for the upper part of the center armrest and put the IPOD in the small center arm rest compartment.
Even the installer (McGrath Acura in MortonGrove IL) said that was a much easier install (because they dont have to take apart the glove box) and seems to be a more intuitive place for the ipod.

 

any online instructions available for installation?

 

thanks for the comments/tips. i was thinking about putting it in the center console too. seems more convenient and it lets you get at it without having to keep the glovebox open (and disturbing the passenger). hopefully they will do that at my dealership. what kinds of things can you do from the car's audio controls? can you change the songs easily? can you change to a new playlist? does it show song names? can the centerpoint surround be enabled? thanks again?

 

the car controls are USELESS.
Another reason to opt for the center console install.
From the IPOD, you can control the entire unit, except for volume.
One note, how you put the equalization on the Ipod will translate through to the unit, so for example if you have it set for Rock, which has extra bass, you will hear it through the car stereo expecially if you crank the cars bass.
The cars stereo is such that you will hear degradation if your MP3's are ripped to the lowest quality.
You can create and access playlists on the ipod while you are driving, all you have to do is click on Menu twice to get to the display screen while the unit is active in the car.
FYI, I am using a 60GB Video Ipod, and I ripped all my CD's at 320bit, so while I have 10,000 songs in my library, the unit only holds just shy of 6000, and I had to split it up between 2 ipods.
Worth it when you consider that you will hear loss at the lower bit rates.

 

I also had the cable installed in the center console. I keep it in the upper part of the console as it makes it easier to get in and out. I usually bring the iPod in my office with me each day, so this makes it easy. I really like the interface. I would like to see them display the track info on the Nav screen and let you control random play via the SCAN button on the radio since ours does not have the SCAN button. Just give it some time and you will like it.

 

I disagree... they're fine, there's just a learning curve involved, and while it's not exactly the most elegant interface ever designed, the Link does get the job done.

The last thing I want to do is to have to fiddle with the controls on my 'Pod and look at a 2" screen down by my hip every time I want to change a song...

 

what can you do from the dash/steering wheel? can you change the songs, fast forward within a song, switch playlists etc? thanks!

 

Once you run the included iPod set up program on your computer, and put the Acura Link files on your iPod, you can pretty much do anything you want. From the wheel, you can skip songs back and forth within a playlist or disc, and from the dash you can change or search playlists, albums, or artists. The CD/radio preset buttons select what mode you'll search in (playlist, artist, album) then the seek/skip and channel buttons control searching through those methods. So, for example, if you want to switch artists, you'll hit the "Disc 2" button on the dash, then hit the seek/skip and it starts going through the alphabet... you hit it again when you pick the letter of the artist, then it starts reading the artist names that begin with that letter, then hit it again when you get to the one you want. Discs 5 and 6 buttons control shuffle modes.

It's not super-fast if you want to scroll by album or if you have a zillion things in your iPod (like I do) but... you don't ever have to take your eyes off the road to read a 2" screen, and it's an efficient (if inelegant) way to organize all of your music library info into a form you can use on the road.

Overall, I think it's worth it, and it's a hell of a lot better than the FM-linked interfaces in terms of sound quality. Yes, I'd have liked to have seen song info on the Navi screen but I imagine there's technical challenges there, and I don't want to pay $800 for the link....

 

and even if you dont use the software (which does take up space from the Ipod) you can use the channel buttons to go forwards and backwards.
I found that it was easier to just select the playlist I wanted on the ipod rather than fumble through the disc# or play through the alphabet.

 

It does take some space. By way of reference, I have about 39 GB of stuff on my 60GB iPod -- 7180 items (I have some video on there too).

By rough tally, the total space occupied by my album and artist voice tags is about 95MB.... which is about 15 songs worth of space.

So, maybe you'd be able to cram one less album on your iPod with the AcuraLink stuff on it. Again, it's well worth it.

 

well it depends on your bitrate.
It sounds like you ripped your stuff at 128 bitrate, where as I ripped mine at 320.
The reason why I ripped it at a higher rate is because our car has a superior audio system, and I could actually hear the difference in the rates, and because storage size will increase as prices will fall-so why settle for less quality.
That said- I agree that it takes up not too much space; but I never could get the damn controls to work intuitively-and the Acura software was slow to integrate with the Ipod.

 

when it comes to the sound quality of CDs ripped to MP3 (or AAC, Ogg etc), alot depends on the quality of your encoder. most encoders offer different bitrate options but in some cases the higher bitrates DO NOT sound better.

one reason some encoders sound bad at 320kbps (for example) is because not many people use that bit rate. because of that, its not tested very well for accuracy in all program material. just something to think about. use your ears to be sure before you start re-ripping your entire collection.

i dropped off my RL this morning for acura music link install. told them i wanted it in the center and they said they would "try" but they would not commit. they always put it in the glove box at this dealer

 

Actually I used the Apple encoder at all bitrates. I prefer the M4a format.
I did hear some degradation at the lower rates, so I opted to use more space.
I hope they give it to you where you wanted it.
I tried to install mine myself, BUT THE RADIO WAS SO FRIGGIN HARD to take out, I abandoned it, the last bolt on the radio is far back and recessed.. and the install even said... yeah its really fun if you drop it and then have to chase it back in the well.
I figured my time was worth more than the $150 they ultimately charged me to install it.

 

I've got stuff ripped at bitrates from FM-quality MP3 all the way through Apple Lossless, which is the best there is. It depends on the program source for me. Usually, I use the AAC Apple encoder, because I've found that on my Macintosh that gives the consistenly best results with the lowest file size. For most CD's, it just doesn't matter -- Mötörhead isn't going to sound much better at Apple Lossless, but Steely Dan's Aja on Original Master CD will.

I don't know about your control issues, but as for being slow to "integrate" that depends on your computer. On my G5 iMac, it took about 15 minutes to do my first encode of the Acura software, and then subsequent updates to the iPod take about 3-5 minutes depending on how much stuff I'm adding. No big deal.

Also, make sure you're using a 4th-gen (click wheel) or higher iPod. When I tried to use a 3Gen iPod, the sound was fine, stop and play would work, and forward-back on the steering wheel would work, but none of the voice tags would work at all, even though they were all on that iPod. That was my excuse to upgrade to a 60GB Video.

 

Well its slow to integrate because of the damn voice activation tags its trying to create. Yeah, 15 minutes is not a lot of time (I am using dual dualcore Opterons on Win 64bit) and mine takes slightly less, but EVERY time i make a change to the IPOD (and I have the 60 GB video unit) it takes time to reacquaint itself to see if the tags are correct.