470hpGS400

iTrader: (1)

Response back stated that their unit is not compatible wit the RL.

beany100

Do any of these units work with the iphone?

Chas2

I guess it depends on what unit and what generation of iPhone.

You need to at least research the manufacturer website or better yet call them or email them. Newer solutions seem to ignore the RL. Probably the low rate production of the car.

I have the Neo unit, which is supposed to be, but since I have a Blackberry, I don't know. But it works great with iPod nano 1G. Not deeply integrated like the 2009 Acura, but remember, the basic head unit of our cars were 2004 creations.

http://www.neocaraudio.com/product_i...oducts_id=1002

The Neo is supposed to be a rebranded USASpec unit, and sure looks like one, so that would be the first choice if I were doing it today.

http://www.usaspec.com/ipod.html

I had an installer route the cables into my center console.

Emmanuel

Well, after almost 2 years of Acura telling me NOT to do it. That they have had awful experiences with iPod integration. I had the Neo ProLink installed and... IT WORKS PERFECTLY. No, it was NOT installed by Acura but a third party. AND Acura told me if I wanted it installed by them, they would only put it in the glove box. Min is in the center consol with enough slack to handle it and even put it in a clip for easy viewing.

mredkilledmyz

I just picked up and installed the USA Spec with a friend of mine. The install took about 45 minutes total. I HIGHLY recommend you to try and do it yourself if you have any experience at all doing stereo installs (whether be installing a simple headunit in your own car or anything). I didnt take the trim off so I am not sure how he did that but I believe he just pried it up and the not an ashtray was the same deal, taking out the stereo was even easier just unscrewing it. The difficult part was removing the cupholder to run the cable for the ipod, that took about 20 minutes to figure that out. Apparently in order to take out the cupholder you have to unbolt the shifter and move it forward.

To all of those people spending a lot of money installing these things, please try it yourself and save the money and time. Its not difficult at all.

Tyzing

Is there ANY hardware out there that will have a IPOD interface that looks like the IPOD? I really dont want to use my CD changer and I want the artist info, title and other info on the screen



Just doesnt seem like there are to many good options

Chas2

Not for the RL audio unit. There apparently may be some for the TL head unit.

Texas05RL

What installer did you use in Dallas?

bsugg rl

Can anyone help me, preferably with pics, to remove the "Not an Ashtray"? I assume this is only way to get to the 2 nuts holding the stereo unit in place. I saw in an earlier post that you have to remove the black horizontal metal bar, but I'm not sure what specifically that is referring to. Please let me know if you can help.
thanks!

dhag8

I took mine to the Earmark in Addison. They were great.

Texas05RL

Today I purchased and had the ipod integration kit installed in my 2005 RL with XM, 6 disc changer, and Navigation. I am providing my notes and experience for anyone searching this thread.

I purchased the PA11-HON-2Y for $109 from Enfig.com. Here is a link to the product: http://enfigcarstereo.com/shopsite_s...A11_HON2Y.html

I then took it to a local stereo shop, Car Sounds Inc. , 5216 Rufe Snow Dr, N Richland Hills, TX - (817) 849-1070. I spoke with Kevin, who said he would install it for sixty bucks total. They did it immediately. It took about an hour and they let me watch and/or "help."

Removing the "Not an Ashtray" was very difficult, as were the two screws on the very bottom of the stereo. I thought about having them run the cable past the cup holder into the center console, but decided that I wanted to be able to change the song, browse the playlists, etc. without opening center console.

We set DIP switch 2 to "off" (Direct mode) to prevent the IPod Touch from locking down. (We tried it both ways before installing) When in this mode, the navigation display shows "EXTENSION" when it is on the IPod mode, after pushing "Disc" on the stereo itself.

So far, the IPod Touch seems to work beautifully in Direct mode. (meaning, all functions seem to work on the iPod) This includes Lyrics display, Coverflow works, video playback, and and all normal functions of the Ipod such as On-The-Go. All of these work on the IPod itself, not on the nav screen.

Also, steering wheel controls work(!!!!) Volume control, next song, previous song, mode select.

I had them run the cable up through the "Not an ashtray" because I want to be able to control the ipod directly.

Total cost out of pocket: $178.00 (including shipping)

I haven't decided if I want a proclip or not.

PLEASE NOTE: the Ipod touch charges, but apparently you need a different cable if you want an iPhone 3G to charge off of this setup. (There was an insert inside that said so)

Also, one REALLY nice feature: when you turn the car off it continues to charge the iPod for 20 minutes, then puts it to sleep.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Texas05RL

I am doing this from memory, but there is a tiny piece of trim above the "Not An Ashtray" that has two screws on the side. You won't be able to remove the "NAA" without removing this little piece of trim, and also moving the car into gear.

470hpGS400

iTrader: (1)

Texas, great post, very informative, thanks for sharing.

Tyzing

Great info!!!!



Question will I still be able to use exactly what you used for my 2nd Generation Ipod?


Also, I saw you say that you have all the functions on the screen but not the Navi screen....what do you see? It's really important I find a connector that allows me to see the track on the Navi screen but I dont know if there is anything out there that will let me...


any ideas?

ssim3

The dice unit is the only one that displays on the nav, but you will lose xm functionality.

Tyzing

You lose XM completely????



this is unreal

Texas05RL

I think it will work fine with the 2G ipod. I tried it on my daughter's ipod mini (I think it is a 2Gen)

Note that with the USA SPEc, you get to keep XM, Nav, and all six discs. You also get to keep steering wheel controls. The only thing it says on the NAV screen is "EXTENSION".

Chas2

Information I recall when I was researching this issue with Neo Audio, when they were trying to introduce, albeit unsuccessfully, a device that would output iPod text to the RL headunit:

The headunit has one input for satellite radio. The satellite radio is a physically separate receiver that plugs into the head unit. The ill fated Neo device, plugged into that text capable input and fed iPod data streams in place of the XM data streams.

This method is fundamentally different from their iPod adapter unit, which seems to work the same as, if not actually is a repackaged version of, the USASpec unit. That iPod adapter unit plugs into the Aux in, which I understand is set up primarily for CD changers.

Neo said they could not reroute the XM radio device through this Aux in. I guess you need a lot more interface to control XM radio which is much more complex that the data streams to control an auxillary CD changer.

So bottom line, to have iPod text and control, you needed the satellite radio input. This was in 2007.

As I recall, ultimately, the Neo solution did not work, and it was never marketed. Technology marches on, so there may be new solutions out there.

I understand that Peripheral Electronics may be the hot ticket these days, but they apparently do not support the RL head unit.

It would be great for others to comment on the above and update inaccuracies and the SOTA.

dwboston

The USA Spec unit plugs into the XM spot in the back of the head unit. It uses a pass-through cable so you use the same female connector on the back of the head unit for XM and the USA Spec adapter. That's how you get iPod/MP3 connectivity without losing XM.

Texas05RL

Chas2, that is a well written, articulate response. I am not familiar with the term SOTA, but I will tell you the chronology as I understand it:

1. Acura announced in late 05 that the 2006's would have complete iPod integration as an option, and that the MusicLink would be compatible with 2005's.
2. Because of this announcement, no one wanted to develop third party adapters (?)
3. The Acura part was insanely expensive, reportedly horrible, and didn't even work at all in the 2005's.
4. I believe US Spec and some others reverse engineered the Acura part (this is total speculation) and improved on it. (i.e.- "Hybrid Mode" and Direct control)
5. Sadly, there just isn't/ wasn't enough demand for true R&D from third parties for Honda/ Acura Alpine setups.

I myself always thought it was sufficient to simply burn MP3 CD's (easy to do in iTunes!) or even DVD-A's (a little more cumbersome, but you can do it lossless with FLAC files) so why bother with an Ipod dock in the car?

Let me tell you, I took the plunge last week, and I can't see how I ever lived without it.

Regardless, if you have an '05 RL, think about how much you really listen to music. I used to listen primarily to XM and burned discs. Now, I can tell you I will be listening to my iPod first and foremost.

Chas2

Sorry, old school...SOTA=State Of The Art

midnightrun7

Well I recently purchased a 2005 Acura RL, US type and once again fell in love with it. Prior to this I was in the service and stationed in Japan riding around in the same year, but called Honda Legend.

Back in Japan since a lot of FM stations weren't used, you were able to get away with a FM tramsmitter that worked decently well. Wish I could say the same, but doesn't work stateside. So after looking around I ended up getting both and had both of them installed as a test to see which one was the best. I know for most of you on this forum might think, man this guy is a complete idiot wasting money, but hell it worked out for me in the end.


The Dice- Media Bridge MBR1500
Pros: The versatile USB port- plug anything in from a flash drive to any ipod related cables.
Bluetooth integration- workes better than the HF link

Cons:
- When using a flash drive & the ipod- has issues at times where doesn't read the USB or the Ipod on track 2 (USB) right away, making you wait or to restart the vehicle
- For the 2005 Acura RL there is no visual menu so it gets complicated to somewhat navigate through when only hitting your CD presets

The USA Spec- PA15- ACUxL
Pros:
- On-screen menu integration- makes everything easier
to get your music on demand everytime.
- Cost & installation- way more affordable and quicker to install

Cons:
No bluetooth integration- back to the basics with the HF link

Overall for those looking into an Ipod integration kit for the Acura 2005- stick with the USA SPEC PA-15 ACUxL. Mainly because once you plug your Ipod into the system, controlling it from your on-screen menu made everything easier compared to somewhat guessing on the Dice Media Bridge.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Good review, thanks for your service.

oo7spy

Does the USA Spec have a USB for a flash drive?

EL19

iTrader: (4)

Nope, but I still like the usaspec. Still getting used to controlling the ipod with it but its pretty nice

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

no but it has RCA cables and everything has a conversion plug now a days.

M T L T L

Can anyone confirm there is no xm input slot behind the non-xm cars head-unit, ex: Canadian 05 models ? I mean the xm reciever itself is a seperate module from the head-unit, so Im thinking why would they produce a different HU for cars not equipped with xm? Just leave that input slot empty. I was thinking there's no input on Canadian models but some guys here locally got me confused saying there is.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Are you trying to trick us. haha

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-audio-bluetooth-electronics-navigation-90/idevice-integration-non-xm-navi-units-841457/

M T L T L

lol I'm aware of that thread. Thats why I was convinced the answer to my question is no but a guy at my work who is a enthusiast also got me confused by saying that there should be an available empty port behind the head-unit. This is of burning interest to me, I had to ask the question lol cuz I won't buy the PA15 ACUxl if I can't benefit all of its features.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Right on... you two need to just tear into yours and document it for the next guy. LoL

mattjordan

I have the USASpec interface also, it works great but I just wish there was an easy way to scroll through the artists or albums. Going one by one is very time consuming.

midnightrun7

Having both systems for a while now, go with the USA Spec-!

I spoke too soon, but the MediaBridge's Bluetooth just degraded after a while. I checked all the cords for any wierd contorsions and so forth, but it was all good. In the end, I've been using the HF link more than anything now.

With that said after a while not having a visual menu sucks. (There is no visual menu for the 2005 model) I accidently muted the system a few times and took about 30 minutes to undue the setting since I had no clue which setting I was on prior.

Once again- USA Spec- all the way

shahram72

Looks like this thread is back to life after many years. Just in time because I ust got my 05 RL and want the iPod integration. I plan to keep my XM and as I understand it, XM2 will become the XM and XM1 will become the iPod, is this correct. Also there is a new unit than was talked about in older threads. The USA SPEC PA15-ACU XL. Am I losing anything? I assume I will have full text display on the nav screen. Also, I don't use playlist, I search by artist or album. Is this feature easy to use or is it cumbersome and slow. If it's slow, I am wasting my money and will just use and audio adaptor. Can I use both controls simultaneously? Like if I pick something on the iPod itself, will the display on nav screen change to my new selection? Is the audio connection digital or analog? AND, how about iPod audio other than music. Like from apps. will ALL audio be routed to the audio system? Like if I manage to get wireless wifi from my android phone and then use it for Pandora and internet radio?

I plan to install it myself as with past experience I have a far less chance of damaging the car than a shop. They with break something for sure. In Orlando I had an installer I trusted, but not here in SC.

rlerman

It's a simple install. USA spec has an aux setting so you can use your iPod and your smartphone. You won't need xm anymore, trust me.

M T L T L

What is the big difference between PA15-ACUxl and PA15- Hon3 other than text display on nav screen for Sat tuner equiped HU ?

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

I always thought the XL was for cars with XM and Hon was for behind the radio.

M T L T L

But u can still control iPhone with the Hon3 through steering wheel n HU buttons right ? I guess the only missing is text display...

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Honestly, I'd have to google it. I dont know anyone with the Hon.

rl man05

Has anyone rooted the cable through the "not an ashtray". Like drill a hole in the "not an ashtray" box?

shahram72

I've seen it done in a youtube video.

I made a thread when I should have just posted here and then I screwed the title up. So I'll ask again here.

Does the USA Spec unit come with instructions. I got mine yesterday and all that was in the box was the unit, car cable, and iPod cable. I have a hard time believing not a single sheet of paper was supposed to be inside.