[GTO]

I have already been through 3 Pioneer headunits on the Jeep; all of them ended up permanently damaged due to water, muck or a combination of both. Plus, having gotten used to carrying all my music on the iPod, I wasn't too sure of going back to CDs. Navin stepped in and suggested doing away with the headunit altogether. He had a Blaupunkt amp on him, which had an AUX input. The idea was to fit the amp inside the existing boombox of my Jeep and hook the iPod up directly to the amp.

The excellent staff at Bharat Audio set up my ICE yesterday. All new wiring (amp, power etc.) & cradle with fitting charges came up to less than 1,500 bucks! Cheapest ICE solution yet. My iPod sits in a mobile phone cradle that's screwed up between the two front seats. The amp aux-in wire plugs into the headjack of my iPod.

Probably the only modern part of my Jeep : The iPod!

Attachment 31770

Surprisingly, these old Pioneer speakers (prolly over 7 years of Jeep service) are still up to the job. The box is custom made from MDF and sits snug below the rear seat.

Attachment 31771

When I reach my destination, I simply carry the iPod with me. No worry of theft, as it was with the headunit.

Attachment 31772

The sound is pretty darn loud, infact I haven't gone over 60% of the iPod's volume level. Quality is decent too, but obviously doesn't have the deep thumpy bass of other car audio systems. The good thing is, I can't hear the Jeep rattle & squeak anymore ...its all drowned out. On board are all the 35 gigs of my music collection, and it will provide for some great entertainment with the barbeque & whiskey in the mountains!

Thank you, Navin!

[GTO]

Just copying the previous post from my Jeep thread to the ICE section, and wanted to say thanks to everyone who commented on this thread. Yup, it is possible and sounds pretty good too! The HU can be entirely done away with.

[greenhorn]

I was hunting for this thread when GTO posted. The last place i expected to see the answer come from, the 4x4 and offroading section

[navin]

Originally Posted by GTO

Navin stepped in and suggested doing away with the headunit altogether. He had a Blaupunkt amp on him, which had an AUX input.

The excellent staff at Bharat Audio set up my ICE yesterday. All new wiring (amp, power etc.) & cradle with fitting charges came up to less than 1,500 bucks! Cheapest ICE solution yet. My iPod sits in a mobile phone cradle that's screwed up between the two front seats. The amp aux-in wire plugs into the headjack of my iPod.

Thank you, Navin!

Actually my idea was a bit different.

I wanted to use teh line out from the ipod to drive the amp. This amp (PA 275) has a wired level control (as the amp is often used in bridge mono as a subwoofer amp) which I wanted to use as a volume control.

Why the headphone out was used beats me as I would find controlling the volume on a touch sensitive ipod much more difficult than with a regular rotary knob.

To be honest, I did not spend much time on this and let Bharat figure it out.

I have always found the guys at Bharat (Worli) to be honest and reliable. They wont make a custom fiberglass boxes and such but for 99% of the installs a good honest installer is all you need. For example they could easily have sold GTO a new pair of 6x9s but chose to tell him that his existing pair is still in good working condition so he should save his money. Kudos should go to Bharat for this.

[chetans]

i am planning to have similar setup of:
ipod->amplifier->speakers

just saw an ad , for vox mini system which included docking of ipod,
in todays times of india(bangalore edition).
here is link to this product details:
VOX Micro System with iPod dock (Warranty Period : 6 Months), Send Gifts to India, Send ipods to Chennai Kerala India

any idea if this can be used in car..
(along with amp n speakers setup)

[navin]

Originally Posted by chetans

i am planning to have similar setup of:
ipod->amplifier->speakers

1. the vox system requires a 220V AC input
2. it's speakers mihgt not survive the car enviroment (heat, dust, humidity, etc..)

[valhallen.282]

I was wondering where this thread had disappeared i looked and looked and couldn't find it. well here's a slightly alternative solution. there are certain docks that use the digital interface. this way though the output is low you get a pure digital lossless signal. also the 3.5mm out tends to lose its plug holding power after a while. this digital out can be used either for an aux in on the amp or in some cases in lieu of the pre-out of the head. i don't know how it works though. if someone would be kind enough to enlighten.

[DerAlte]

What must go into the amp has to be an analog signal. How would you convert from digital to analog? iPod does it internally, and then sends it onto the headphone amp.

Haven't experienced headphone socket failure in ages - pretty reliable, one must say.

[chetans]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

What must go into the amp has to be an analog signal. How would you convert from digital to analog? iPod does it internally, and then sends it onto the headphone amp.

Haven't experienced headphone socket failure in ages - pretty reliable, one must say.

i have decided to use ipod instead of HU.
need help on deciding below things.

budget for amps,speakers and inverter is 12k-15k. i know this is too low :(

amps:
i think i want 4 channel amp so that i use front as well as rear speakers.
(not sure if 2 channel amp can also do this, its side effects..)
this thread had initially suggested blaupunkt amps and then jbl.
so would like to know available options for amps to choose from.

speakers:
depending upon budget left after buying amps.
rear speakers are optional.

ipod:
already have one.
for charging ipod, i am planning to buy axiom inverters (150 w for ~2k price, 75w for ~1.5k)

[valhallen.282]

@DERALTE sorry sir i forgot to include the fact that this output taken from not the headphone jack but the digital out is actually used for docks. so you are right it is an analog signal. however for some reason in my friends baleno which uses a YEIS dock the bass and clarity is fantastic in fact several times better than the headphone out. the output is routed from the internal connectors to an RCA connector and then to HU. i would be happy if someone can validate this though.
@chetans I don't think you need the inverter as you can get a charges that runs off your cars 12v dc socket. i believe the amp itself might come to 8k but i don't really follow prices.

[navin]

Originally Posted by valhallen.282

also the 3.5mm out tends to lose its plug holding power after a while.

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Haven't experienced headphone socket failure in ages - pretty reliable, one must say.

Originally Posted by valhallen.282

however for some reason in my friends baleno which uses a YEIS dock the bass and clarity is fantastic in fact several times better than the headphone out.

1. My suggestion to GTO was also to use the YES dock and use the line out it provides. The line out signal means that the amp MUST have a remote volume control. Unfortunately in GTO's case the JEEP did not have a convienent place to mount the YES dock.

2. line out signal bypasses atleast 2 steps of processing compared to the headphoneout signal. also line out signal matches the input impedance of most amplifiers better hence you will get a clearer output using the line out.

[chetans]

Originally Posted by valhallen.282

@chetans I don't think you need the inverter as you can get a charges that runs off your cars 12v dc socket. i believe the amp itself might come to 8k but i don't really follow prices.

though i can buy charger for ipod, i am planning to buy inverter so that i can use my laptop too. but this is not in must to have list.

[Cyrus43]

I would like to know the possibilities of having a good setup, but there is a twist. There cant be a HU at all. Are there ways to directly connect an ipod or a multiple MP3 disk player of any kind directly to an AMP, but still have basic bass, treble, Volume, fader, etc in control??

[ramie2400]

Hey Cyrus you can go this way:

IPOD >> EQ >> Amplifier >> Speakers/Subwoofer done and you have your amp+eq hidden in the car,whereas no compromise on the sound quality.

[mohit]

Check GTO's jeep. I believe he has such a setup in there.