[Alisiddiqui]

Awesome dude. So u had an empty slot which you expanded to multi input. Much like a multi pin for layman. I own a VW Vento and VW Polo and issue with stock system is ONLY CD AND NO TRACK INFORMATION. Do you think this kind of setup will help me resolve the issue too? Pl guide me.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by Alisiddiqui

Awesome dude. So u had an empty slot which you expanded to multi input. Much like a multi pin for layman. I own a VW Vento and VW Polo and issue with stock system is ONLY CD AND NO TRACK INFORMATION. Do you think this kind of setup will help me resolve the issue too? Pl guide me.

Yes Ali. As you will notice in post#1 that one socket is free behind the stereo. That is where this device directly plugged in, without tampering with original wiring harness in any way. You can even say that this device was custom made for the Fortuner/Toyota vehicles so that it neatly connects and integrates into the OE setup without affecting your warranty etc.

Full track information is displayed in Playlist mode while playing iPod and the overall audiophile experience is awesome and now I can rate the Fortuner Stereo easily amongst the best in class. The bass is deep as if from a stand alone sub-woofer and treble is fine with near zero distortion.

I presume that USA-SPEC PA11 has compatible devices for VW models. More information can be got here - USA SPEC: PA11-VW6

[Monaro CV8]

Hi dkaile
Great job!
Am glad that finally your dream of operating an iPOD with the stock system has been realised

A quick question - Does the ASL work with the PA15 in operation?

And another thing (which could be a bummer for me), for the iPOD functinon to be operative, removing & reinserting all the CDs (6 nos) can be a pain.
Whats your plan of action?


p.s. - Just got back last night from a 1200km trip to Baroda, & believe me, I had all the music for the trip, duly tucked in those 6 CDs, which lasted for a good 3 days of my return trip. Dang, I cant imagine not being able to utilize that gem of a 6 CD changer..

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

A quick question - Does the ASL work with the PA15 in operation?

And another thing (which could be a bummer for me), for the iPOD functinon to be operative, removing & reinserting all the CDs (6 nos) can be a pain.
Whats your plan of action?

Thanks Monaro.

1. ASL works perfectly in ipod mode and aux-in mode. Set it back to High.

2. Not at all. Believe me, with ipod functionality at hand, where I can play my custom playlists for hours, I feel cd's are now redundant. All my 100's of cd's as it is are on my ipod, wherein I had to do the extra job to burn the cd's for the Falcon, which will now not be needed. If anything, I now have all my music for not one but month's of roadtrips. So I think it will be bye-bye cd's for now. The sound quality too, if anything, is a tad superior with the ipod than the cd's.

1x 160gb ipod = 234 cd's.

[Alisiddiqui]

Originally Posted by dkaile

Yes Ali. As you will notice in post#1 that one socket is free behind the stereo. That is where this device directly plugged in, without tampering with original wiring harness in any way. You can even say that this device was custom made for the Fortuner/Toyota vehicles so that it neatly connects and integrates into the OE setup without affecting your warranty etc.

Full track information is displayed in Playlist mode while playing iPod and the overall audiophile experience is awesome and now I can rate the Fortuner Stereo easily amongst the best in class. The bass is deep as if from a stand alone sub-woofer and treble is fine with near zero distortion.

I presume that USA-SPEC PA11 has compatible devices for VW models. More information can be got here - USA SPEC: PA11-VW6

Dude. This seems to work on cars installed with CD changers only. Can u confirm pls. My car doesn't have one and this may not work for me. Right?

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by Alisiddiqui

Dude. This seems to work on cars installed with CD changers only. Can u confirm pls. My car doesn't have one and this may not work for me. Right?

It will be very difficult for me to comment on VW stereos. You may need to disassemble your stereo to check what ports are available and then check up with the customer care support of USA-SPEC to check whether your particular model is compatible. I sent them photos of my disassembled stereo to ask them into which port will their device plug in.

[simply_sunny001]

Will it work with Iphone/Samsung S2 Note ????

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by simply_sunny001

Will it work with Iphone/Samsung S2 Note ????

Yes and Yes. Already used with my Samsung Galaxy S2 CDMA through Aux-In. Iphone will work just like iPod through ipod cable and through Aux-In too.

[dkaile]

The wires hidden away nicely now. No clutter -



The ipod now securely in the centre console box -


The Front console returned to its pristine glory -


Just removing CD1 gives full functionality


Sound quality from ipod is at least 15~20% better than the cd's. Never heard the Fortuner stereo sounding so great.

[danc]

Iam not sure if this is off topic, in case it is please suggest the right post for it.

The new T Fort has the touch screen DVD system with USB/Aux and steering mounting control. The only thing missing is the the GPS navigation.
Is there any solution to integrate the navigation system with the stock system on the new T-Fort.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by danc

Is there any solution to integrate the navigation system with the stock system on the new T-Fort.

I seriously doubt it. Though you could take out the stereo as mentioned above and check whether it has any RGB or Video In port. That could be used to integrate with off market gps box from Map my India. Even then I doubt whether it would be able to integrate fully with the stock system.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by dkaile

Sound quality from ipod is at least 15~20% better than the cd's. Never heard the Fortuner stereo sounding so great.

How do you qualify this?
In my experience on any system, the quality of CD sound has always been superior to an iPod.
The iPod does lose some amount of resolution somewhere since the music is compressed to some extent.
Im sure the must be some loss of quality along the way in this process!

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

How do you qualify this?
In my experience on any system, the quality of CD sound has always been superior to an iPod.

What I meant was that when playing mp3 music, compared through playing on cd's or directly through ipod, sounds much better when played through ipod. Not through the aux-in cable but through the direct ipod cable. It somehow produces much more richer sound. Also true CD sound is almost lost nowadays as most of us listen to mp3's or aac's on these cd's. Purists will always prefer those 70 minute cd's though but hardly anyone uses them these days.

[shankar.balan]

Thanks!
I am one of those old fashioned chaps which is why I love the quality of my 6 CD changer in the Yeti.
Yes I do listen to my Ipod too through the cable interface and there is a clear difference in quality! However, it is more efficient overall I agree.
Thanks

Originally Posted by dkaile

What I meant was that when playing mp3 music, compared through playing on cd's or directly through ipod, sounds much better when played through ipod. Not through the aux-in cable but through the direct ipod cable. It somehow produces much more richer sound. Also true CD sound is almost lost nowadays as most of us listen to mp3's or aac's on these cd's. Purists will always prefer those 70 minute cd's though but hardly anyone uses them these days.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by dkaile

... most of us listen to mp3's or aac's on these cd's. Purists will always prefer those 70 minute cd's though but hardly anyone uses them these days.

That is a rather sweeping empirical statement!

Considering most such mp3 content originates as copies of copies acquired more easily/conveniently than buying audio CDs, even your empirical statement makes some sense. Otherwise, even to the uninitiated, reproduction from uncompressed Audio CD content sounds detectably better than from compressed formats, iPod or no iPod.