ozone

My hardwired iPod & Sirius satellite radio integration into my 2004 Acura TL w/Navi is now complete! I am very pleased with the results. Many of you have been following this great "aux-in" thread, but I wanted to create a dedicated thread for this particular iPod and Sirius combo, because I know many of you are looking to do something similar to this. I hope this helps guide you in your product selection. Ok, so here we go...

My Product Selection: is as follows, and was based on products that others on this forum have recommended and/or installed themselves. Thanks to them!

AUX-IN:
- P.I.E. X-3 Auxiliary Input Converter $60
- P.I.E. X3-HON03 X3 Wiring Harness $30

iPOD:
- Blitzsafe Universal iPod Interface $60 (connects to X-3 and provides charging)
- ProClip mount for Acura TL $30,
coupled with the ProClip Padded Tilt/Swivel iPod holder $50 (for my Apple 60GB 4G iPod Photo)

SIRIUS:
- Sirius Starbase satellite receiver $150





When you select XM on the audio console, you now activate the 4-way selector switch. The "CD" choice on the selector is the in-dash XM radio (to which I no longer subscribe, but it will work), then you continue to press the selector button to cycle through the 3 auxilliary input devices. In my case, I only have the two devices (iPod and Sirius).



The Sirius Starbase unit is a perfect fit in this storage slot. I've pushed the top of the unit back a bit to reveal the velcro for you. Also, When you close the door, it tends to push it back in this manner as well. The unit cannot be seated deeper into the slot due to the power outlet (cigarette lighter socket) behind it.

However, if I were to do this again, I'd probably switch the location of these two devices. It would be somewhat easier to access the mini-buttons on the Sirius control unit if it were in the upper slot, particularly when the gear selector is in Park. Thankfully, the remote control unit for the Sirius radio comes in quite handy.





I highly recommend that you do not "cheap out" on these clips...go for the one with the tilt/swivel and the cable attachment piece at the bottom. Without the cable attachment, i would not be able to simply dock the iPod in the holder...i would have to dock the iPod and grab the cable and insert it each time.



PROs:
- Hardwired sound from iPod line-out and Sirius line-out sounds great. No more relatively poor quality FM modulation or cassette tape adapters!

- I now have fingertip access to my complete music library - over 11,000 songs (54GB). Previously, I refused to use my iPod in my car given the poor fidelity and level of the FM modulator.

- I still have complete control of the iPod via it's own brilliant interface - and it's within reach of the driver and the passenger - and can tilt/swivel accordingly. I absolutely did not want to sacrifice the iPod's navigation for some hacked, convoluted, non-intuitive interface that limits me to a subset of playlists that are blindly navigated via the CD controls (apparently a'la Acura's own ipod link system). That would drive me crazy.

- The audio level/volume from the aux sources is *very* comparable to the stock sources of FM and Disc. Thankfully, I do not have to make significant changes in master volume, and I was worried about this. However, that being said, this matter is primarily affected by the source material. Some of my albums on MP3 are simply louder and/or more dynamic than others...but this is true even for CDs, tapes, etc. as not all albums are recorded identically in the studio, some are sonically superior. Then you have to also weigh in how well they were ripped into digital format. Overall I am very pleased in this regard.

- As normal, the audio for all aux-in sources is muted when the hands-free cell phone or Navigation audio is invoked.

- Blitzsafe Uii provides power and charges the iPod, no cigarette lighter adapter wires visible.

- the Uii also nicely pauses the iPod track when the power to the car is shut off. So you can pick up where you left off when you resume power to the car...although you must press Play.

- There is no RPM whine or feedback, unless the Aux-in iPod source is currently active *and* the iPod is undocked. However, there is no reason to be in this unterminated state, but it's just something i noticed as i undocked my iPod while driving.

- I can still close the doors to the 2 storage slots.

- The iPod fits perfectly and firmly into the clip. It's a very smooth dock/undock action.

CONs:
- a Sirius antenna is now mounted (magnetically) to the roof of my car, right behind the stock "bubble" cap for XM. Someday, I may see if I can consolidate or replace the Sirius antennae into the bubble. I read elsewhere on this forum that you cannot use the existing XM antennae for Sirius due to tech spec incompatibility. I cannot confirm this.

- The iPod on the clip is beautiful, but it's in plain sight. When I am not attending the vehicle, I feel compelled to remove the iPod and store it safely out of view, otherwise I am surely inviting someone to smash my window and take the iPod. Some people may therefore wish to mount their iPod in the armrest storage area, cup holder area, or glove box.

- Most of the storage space in those two cubby holes is now occupied by the devices. However, since they are mounted only via velcro, I can still access the power receptacle (cigarette lighter) if ever necessary.

- As expected, when you have XM source selected and you are listening to one of your Aux devices, the LCD monitor and heads up display show the XM channel information...which for me is the 24 hour emergency channel that you get when you are not a subscriber. This is no big deal.

MISC:
- I did not perform the installation myself (I'm not mechanically or electrically inclined), so I wasn't able to take pictures of every step along the way, and I don't know all the technical details. They did dismount the center console area and remove the glove box in order to gain access to everything they needed. The Sirius tuner is mounted somewhere behind the head-unit area on the floor, and the PIE X3 unit is mounted behind the glove box. Installation was $150.

- You can also view these pics on my web page.

Well, that's all I can think of. I hope this post helps someone. Cheers.

chadwick02

sweet! Very clean.

jjh1234

Did you have any trouble getting the Blitzsafe connector to mount into the proclip base?

ozone

No, not at all. The cable attachment on the ProClip is specifically designed for the standard iPod connector. You just unscrew this little clamping plate from the clip, lay in the connector, and screw the clamp/plate back into place. This firmly secures the connector.

invincible569

nice write up!

NFLblitze1

that is an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING INSTALL....very clean...i LOVE the stealth look....you should do the NAVIGATION CONVERSION MODULE to play DVD's on ur Navigation screen being that u have an extra Aux Port!

Props to the install...im actually blown away...

c0nsumer

Just FYI, you are going to have to remove that aux in box in order to change your cabin air filter. Might want to move it a bit further into the dash...

-Steve

AshiyaWolf

Good job, it sounds like you put a lot of thought into it! Great way to get both sirius and ipod!

SilverJ

really cool install man. I am waiting for my parts from logjam as we speak.
For 150.00 I would strongly consider having someone do it....
I'll see. Let me get one things straight though. You said there is a RPM whining noise when using the IPOD without the dock. I dont have(nor do I want) an IPOD...I own an iriver player. Does that mean I could expect a RPM whine with my player ?
I love the IPOD interface but soundwise, at least with headphones, the iriver blows it away.
Although I have heard people report much better sound when playing IPOD over car stereo...

ozone

Actually, what I mean is:
If I am listening to my iPod via the Acura sound system (ie; it's the active source) and I undock the ipod, thereby killing the music...we now have a "live" cable with no ipod attached. In this "unterminated" state, we now have an RPM whine. No music (obviously), just whine. It's not normal to undock the iPod while listening, but i was testing things out, came across this situation and noticed the whine. The instant the iPod is reseated into the connector, the whine completely disappears - even when the iPod is silent (ie, no music currently playing). In other words, no one should worry about this - sorry for the confusion.

SilverJ

thanks for the clarification!
I cant wait to get my parts. I only listen to sirius for stern now because of the crappy fm modulator quality... I will let the music flow soon as I hook this bad boy up!

stunnaTL

how'd u mount the sirius antenna???

c0nsumer

You may want to throw a choke (filter) on the +12V going into the aux in adapter. That will likely take care of it, or at least cut down on it. Parts Express has some for $0.39 right now. I used one of these (with just the choke removed from the plastic housing) on the board when I built my iPod interface box and it worked great.

-Steve

silver05tl

can you still use your cd player?

ozone

Definitely. This setup does not interfere with *any* existing functionality. It taps into the XM source, retains XM functions, and gives you 3 more inputs.

The antenna wire runs from the dash area to the rear underneath the carpet and into the upper trunk area, where it then is tucked/hidden in the crease/channel in the body that surrounds the rear window. The wire comes out of the crease at the center of the rear window and the antenna receiver is magnetically mounted on the roof, immediately behind the XM bubble cap. Again, this is also the part of the install that I plan to improve upon later.

AcuraTL2k4

I installed my unit and now I have static from the driver side tweeter. I only hear it when I'm playing XM and changing channels. Will the music is on I dont really hear it but its there. The louder the music the louder the static. What do you think could be the problem.

I tapped the power wire of the cigarrette plug below the radio.

JimF_NJ

How would you listen to XM if you did have it activated? Is that still possible?

ozone

Jim - Yes, you can still listen to XM. Once you choose XM from the dash control (as you normally would), the XM audio is the first selection on the 4-way switch...unfortunately, it's labeled "CD" by PIE. This is purely a cosmetic issue. It should have been labeled "Main" or something generic like that, since this selector is universally applied to different situations, depending upon the vehicle. (For our particular car, PIE tapped into the XM connection instead of the CD changer connection.)

This point is actually addressed in the original post, and also illustrated in this picture:



In other words, when you have the "CD" choice selected on the little selector switch pictured in the upper storage slot, your car audio behaves exactly like it did when it rolled out of the factory floor - prior to any of this modification.

iamthebert

ozone, do you know where did the installer put the UII iPod Interface?

ibeplato

Great pics and install - I'm looking to do exactly this, but also keep XM.

Question: Did you pick out all the products yourself and take it to a shop or did they create the parts list?

mvalpreda

With the exception of your musical choices (LOL!), everything looks great! Very clean!

JimF_NJ

Thanks, my reading comprehension skills are teh suck...

ozone

Ha! Thanks. Bon Jovi was certainly not my choice - it just happened to be on while I was taking the pictures. But, i do fess up to Queensryche - i dig their early material.

ozone

The UII iPod interface is quite small - The UII cable coming from Aux2 of the PIE X3 switch runs behind the center console and then it's just tied up with most of the cables behind the head unit OEM radio. There was space behind the OEM radio for the Sirius tuner piece and the UII.

Note: The RCA cables on the UII are female just like the X2 input, so you need a female-to-female RCA coupler, as the last picture in the original post shows.

ozone

My shopping list was a compilation of products that others in this forum had installed or discussed in a variety of separate threads. After a week or two of research, I took what I felt were the best choices for my needs for each particular component (ProClip for iPod mounting, UII for iPod interface, PIE Aux-In, Starbase receiver, etc) and ordered them all online (via the urls in the original post).

Once the parts arrived (4-6 days later), I took them all to a local non-chain installer and told them exactly what I wanted to happen. They had not seen nor installed most of these products before. And they had never done an 3rd Gen Acura TL before either. I was a bit nervous, but in this area it seems most of the specialty shops went out of business due to the likes of Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. I did not want to go a box-pusher like that - even though they probably install more Sirius receivers and such than anyone around.

We did have a problem with the Sirius receiver not getting any signal. We were stumped for a while until I went to another store and bought a whole new starbase package. We tested each component - tuner, antenna, display unit, cables, etc. It turned out that the Starbase display unit in my original package was defective. Once we replaced that particular module, all was well. This added 3-4 hours onto what should've probably been about a 3 hour install.

On a related note: If anyone does use an installer, I recommend that you sit with the actual technician beforehand (not the sales guy) and tell him *exactly* where you want everything to be located, and then get their feedback on whether they have suggestions on how to improve upon your request. They may be able to offer up something better based upon their experience (which did not happen in my situation).

audi_to_TL

iTrader: (2)

So I went to order the products from logjam and this is what I found on the website.

It is our company policy not to accept credit cards with non-USA billing addresses or ship products outside the USA, including Canada and Puerto Rico. This is not a technical issue, nor a capabilities issue, as there are many reasons why we have this policy. We simply choose, as a company, NOT to sell or ship outside the USA.


Being Canadian this is a problem. I do not have a US address or US credit card. Anyone else run into this problem, if so how did you get the goods??

jjh1234

MOVE! Just kidding. Try these other companies:

http://www.myradiostore.us/auxadapters/pie/

http://www.discountcarstereo.com/Sea...anufacturer=24

Good Luck,
jjh1234

VtecMW

SWEETNESS. This is just the combination I was looking for. Glad to see that it was a TL owner to be one of the first to use the Blitzsafe UII/ProClip combination. I am going to order the hardware right now!

audi_to_TL

iTrader: (2)

Thanx man..yur the bestest

audi_to_TL

iTrader: (2)

After reading some info about the PIE X3 I have found that you need to have a working XM or cd changer feed

The X3 requires the presence of a working remote mounted CD Changer or Salve Unit (XM radio).

Like I mentioned earlier I am in Canada and have a canadian TL that does not have XM. So im assuming the X3 will not work?

I guess the other option is the Blitzsafe HON/AUX DMX V.2 along with the Soundgate AUX 3. Has anyone bought the Blitzsafe and AUX 3. Does it work and is that the only solution for us Canadian TL'ers.

Any help would be appreciated. I need to get this stuff ordered so I can get some Sirius happenin in my car.

Thanx

jjh1234

I've been looking at the Blitzsafe HON/AUX DMX V.2 and have a couple of comments:

1 - Says that it works with Navigation Equipped vehicles. No mention of non-navigation eqipped vehicles.

2 - Says that it requires disconnecting XM or Trunk Mount CD Changer

3 - Photo shows two 14-pin connectors, one male and one female. This looks like it's set up to connect in-line with the XM cable. I don't know why this would be unless it needs the XM connected like the PIE X3 does. You may still need a functioning XM for this to work as well.

You may want to look at:

http://www.logjamelectronics.com/sounsnhond3.html

I don't think the Y-Cable that they talk about is necessary because our TL does not use that 14 pin plug for anything but XM. Yours is probably totally open right now.

audi_to_TL

iTrader: (2)

I called logjam and even though the guy on the phone was quite rude I managed to get some information out of him.

For the Canadian TL the PIE X3 will not work in our cars unless we have an external CD changer. The device needs to have either XM or a cd changer plugged into it in order for it to function. He also said that they are unsure if the Blitzsafe HON/AUX...V2 will work.

I'm thinkin that the blitzsafe AUX adapter is our only option. Logjam guy said that the Blitzsafe does not need you to plug in XM or cd changer to make it work. But he said he would not guarantee it to work.

Does anyone on the acurazine forum have the blitzsafe AUX adapter and if so did you leave yur XM unplugged. If you didn;t would you mind, if possible unplugging the XM to see if the adapter still functions. That way all your friends who don;t have XM will know for sure if the blitzsafe works on our cars

Thanx

mngo

Ozone, that was a very nice install. I'm looking to intergrate my ipod to my OEM radio as well. Is there an easier way of doing this if i am not using my xm?

jjh1234

You could use the USA Spec interface shown here. It controls the iPod and gives another audio AUX input that you could use for something else.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131280

jjh1234

thotdoc

Ozone, you're an inspiration!
Got my US Starbase, activated and ready to go. I've done some research for the CDN TL non-NAVI and spoke to the guys (Bill) at Kromer Radio (www.kromerradio.com) and (Joe) at Numer 1 Sound (www.number1sound.com) in Toronto. They confirmed that the P.I.E. H0N03/PC-SON is required to hard wire an auxiliary unit such as the Starbase directly to the factory installed radio. The CD/DVD button activates the auxiliary unit (toggling between the CD/DVD changer and the unit). This sounds a little confusing. I also heard that the P.I.E. is voltage sensitive so that when the auxiliary is turned on it cuts out the CD/DVD changer; I'll let you know.

But, because I also want to add an MP3 player I'm also installing the SOUNDGATE AUX 3 (http://store.yahoo.com/logjam/soundaux3.html). Similar to the P.I.E. X3, except this unit is apparently not available in the Great White North, and besides the SOUNDGATE was preferred by both radio install shops.

Once it's complete I'll submit some pics and lt you know how it goes.

missmybeemer

I am researching the type of install of Sirius & Ipod.

One question I have is.... Can this same thing be done on an 06' TL w/OUT Nav ?

BTW great install.

jpstephens83

I just bought all the products you suggested and am going to get it installed this weekend, tell me though what cable do you need to run your ipod into the system. In other words what cable is plugged into the bottom of the pro clip?

Was it listed or does it come with any of the products you listed/

datmrman

missmybeemer, I see why not.

jpstephens83,

ozone

The iPod connector is built into the cable provided with the
Blitzsafe Universal iPod Interface
http://www.logjamelectronics.com/blitzuii.html
pictured here...



it's the standard iPod connector in white. It connects directly to the iPod through an appropriately sized hole in the ProClip holder. It's then secured into place by the ProClip. Works perfectly.

ozone

Check out this X3-HON03 product page:
http://www.logjamelectronics.com/piex3hon03.html

It says the following:

"Compatible with the following vehicles with or without navigation and with factory XM installed (XM subscription does not have to be active but XM option must be installed):

2003-2006 Honda Accord
2005-2006 Honda CR-V
2003-2006 Honda Element
2005-2006 Honda Odyssey
2006 Honda Pilot
2006 Honda Ridgeline
2004-2006 Honda S2000
2004-2006 Acura TL
2004-2006 Acura TSX (Not compatible with Type-S)
2005-2006 Acura MDX. "