DIYMobileAudio.com Car Stereo Forum banner

Ipod to amp, no head unit, possible???

29K views 14 replies 6 participants last post by  t3sn4f2 
#1 ·
Need some help!

Wanting to hook my ipod up to my amp in my car with out a head unit. This way I can just have my ipod somewhere near the drivers seat and have all my music right at my fingers.

Have bought an AV CABLE to connect ipod to amp via rca.

Will this work? Any advice would be great.

Thanks!
 
#4 ·
Hey thanks above for the help. Il check those out. Iv just bought a 3.5mm Stereo Male to 2RCA Male 22AWG Cable for now and will give that a go. Someone told me it would do the trick. It goes into the headphone jack which isnt as good as a dock as the quality i believe wont be as good and it wont charge so am going to look into what ts3n4f2 said.

unfortunately im not so good at this so Ancillery kind of lost me there.

I have another question if you could answer it would be great.

I have an 1800 watt Audiobahn amp which im trying to connect to this ipod. I dont have any cables at all and need advice on what to buy? The more specific the better as im not too good at this stuff, trying to learn...

Appreciate the help allot!
 
#10 ·
I'd invest in a car dock or car docking cable that take the line out from the docking connector (without messing with it, ie any circuitry in between) and charges the iPod as well. Not that it will sound better like Bndrulez mentioned (assuming it's a quality iDevice model, http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/member-reviews-product-comparisons/77343-iphone-3gs-unloaded-headphone-out-measurements.html), but because it's a more reliable and proper hardware interface for an auxiliary connection. Why have a dock connection to charge and a headphone jack when it's not needed. Sure you loose volume control through the dock if line out routing is done as it should, but it's not needed since you really should be connecting the iDevice to a line driver with level adjustment.

Think of the JL device as not only a line driver but also as a buffer for an iDevice output that might struggle driving your amps inputs all the way in the back of the car. Mount the CL-RLC in the front as close to the iDevice as possible and power and ground them from the same power connection points.
 
#7 ·
The Ipod to RCA will work for input, but you would nee to wire up a remote wire to the amp so that they turn on which is what Ancillery was saying. Find a fuse in your fuse box that operates with the key in the ignition, something like power windows, and run a remote wire from there to the amp, otherwise they won't turn on.
 
#8 ·
Also, there is no difference in quality from the music that comes from the dock sections VS the music that comes from the headphone jack. Theres a thread floating around somewhere about it.
 
#13 ·
it's already in there.

I'd get something like an Isimple IS76



and plug that into a clarion eqs-746



Then you are driving your amp with 7v pre-outs rather than the ipod's wimpy 1v, and you have volume, sub, fade and EQ at your fingertips. Guys run a headless setup just like this on wakeboats with huge stereos regularly.
 
#15 ·
x2, just make sure it is compatible with your idevice model.

Also assuming you still don't want a large device in between the amps and the iPod, JBL is coming out with an affordable autotune processor like the ms8 but simpler that goes between the AUX device and AUX input on a headunit. It's called the ms2 iirc, there is a thread on it here. You can use it in your setup. Just think of the line driver as the headunit it plugs into. That little thing should should make your system sound a million times better then any iPod eq or basic external piece.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-sq-forum-technical-advanced/97677-jbl-ms-2-a.html

Then there is also a used alpine pxe-h650 which would eliminate the need for the jl piece.

Personally, I'd go with the JBL jl combo along with the simple adapter. Unless you are looking to upgrade in the future to more channels, amps and speakers where you would need the added flexibity of the pxe-h650.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top