ipod

I finally joined the 21st century and bought an ipod My cab has the bose high end stereo option (w/ the sub in the passenger foot well) How do I hook this thing up direct to the head unit or othewise? I thought I had seen this discussed here in the past but could not find exactly this when I did a search Thanks for any help

At this point, there's no good way to hook anything to '03+ Bose. It's tied into the fiber optic bus, and there is no Aux in. Best you can do is an FM modulator.

I bought the FM modulator and hate it...the quality is lousy and if you drive any distance at all the free stations keep changing. I basically threw mine in the garbage.

raclaims: Which brand did you have? I'm using the Griffin Tunecast II FM transmitter and it seems to work OK. But I haven't used it extensively. My commute is only 15 minutes so not much need for 1000's of songs.

Hey Jason, been a while! We just got a FM modulator for about $20 that has not 2...but 4 stations to choose from. All of the 2 station ones we tried had interference. There is also one that is made specifically for the iPod (forgot the name but it is at Best Buy) that runs $99. That one includes a mount, charger, and station choosing. Yes, you can choose any station since you can dial it in on the mount digitally. If you use the middle of the FM range your saound will be best.

raclaims, you will have much better success with a hardwired FM modulator, as based on your description it sounds as though you were using a wireless FM modulator (iTrip, etc). A wired FM modulator (installed between the FM antenna and the antenna input on the headunit) will not suffer the 'free channel' problem you are describing. There is a very detailed post (pics and instructions) over in the Cayenne forum, posted initially by the moderator (mudman2) regarding the installation of a wired FM modulator.

www.dension.com

According to the Dension website, their product only works for : "pre-2003 Porsche" Becker headunits, i.e. non MOST.

Lewis, You are correct that I was using the Griffin iTrip wireless model. Thanks for the info...I really appreciate it as I do not have a cd changer and was hoping all along to use the ipod. By the way, I just got back from London and saw a ton of 996s...although for some reason the steering wheel was on the wrong side

Try the Aerielle wireless FM mod. It should work better.

thanks everyone! ay del what's shakin'! well that sucks!!! now i am debating taking it back! no way to hook up a cd changer either? crap!

Here's how to get near CD quality sound w/ the iPod / iTrip Wireless FM transmitter by griffin technologies (no affiliation, just a good solution) This is what i'm using: EQUIPMENT: 3G ipod 40gig iTrip for docking ipods CDR-23 on a 2003 Boxster S with BOSE Digital Sound SETTINGS: CDR-23 Settings: Bass: 0 to +5 (depending on personal preference / music) Treble: 0 to +5 (depending on personal preference / music) Balance: 0 (neutral - dont know why anyone would use otherwise...) Fader: +3 to front (symbol ' /| ' ) AP: On - (unless you are parked in which case it gets louder and louder sensing its own sound and interpreting it as noise (talk about a design flaw)) Volume: Averages around +15-20 depending on song. (30 if i'm driving by a busy street with lots of pedestrians, so as to impress everyone with my wonderful taste in music ) (and... as before) ipod Settings: Soundcheck: On EQ: ON EQ Preset: Loudness Volume: 60-75% (depending on various factors including: song, personal preference, interference) iTrip Settings: Frequency: 87.9 FM (lowest that the CDR-23 goes, but i know there are lower US FM frequencies, for example our Mercedes S class goes down to 87.5... if anyone knows how to make the CDR-23 go lower, do tell) Led: Off (for less battery usage, i can't believe griffin technology dares to claim that the iTrip's batt usage is 'negligible', i found that the itrip, even with LED off, shaves 8 hours off the ipod's play time...) I found with these settings, you can extract the best sound out of the already limited starting point of the iTrip FM modulator, also, as this device leeches about 50% of the ipod's power, it is my suggestion that you get a car charger for the device. mabye someday, someone can invent some sort of CD adaptor, a la the tape adaptors of the early 90s and on a final note, i hear becker is working hard on an analog input adaptor that can be implemented on the MOST bus network. (but i'm guessing it will take at least a year to two before we see a finished product)... -Tom

Longtime ipod user here. I tried various FM transmitters in my previous car and the results were mixed at best. My 911 has an alpine head unit (with much better sound imho) that allows an aux in. It's a pleasure. Even better would be to control the ipod through the steering wheel (a la bmw). To me that's secondary.

good news for EQU - alpine will be releasing two ipod accessories in the future one headunit that directly interfaces with the ipod, and also a adaptor that allows current AInet compatible alpine units to interface with the ipod meaning display/browse through alpine head unit and control fo the ipod frmo head unit. wonderful news! too bad those of us with 03s-and after models are stuck with the useless MOST bus that won't allow an aftermarket peripheral to utilize the car's speakers / amp

If you do not mind swapping out the head unit, Alpine is introducing a new "box" which will allow you to hook up any AI net head unit to your ipod. it will show playlist, song, artist...everything you can see on you ipod. It will also charge your ipod. and it allows for the cd-changer as well. The ipod box costs $100 and will be available in september. I am making the switch - along with new focal speakers and audison amps. I am having the ipod docking cable mounted in the arm rest so it doesn't clutter the dash.

ok i would consider switching the head unit...but is that all i would have to replace? ...oh by the way i took the ipod back out of frustration!

If you get an Alpine head unit (AI-Net compatible) and the adapter KCA-121B ($15 at crutchfield), you will have a basic hardwired connection. What moogle has written about sounds better though and maybe worth waiting for if it's not out yet. BTW, try to get an Alpine with amber lights to fit the dash.

Perhaps you know if the upcoming Alpine unit allows connection of anything other than an iPod? Like a Creative Nomad, iRiver, etc.? Or is it iPod specific. Thanks alot

The Monster Cable FM transmitter/charger for the iPod is by far and away the best of the bunch...no frustrating signal loss or unacceptible sound quality...in lieu of hardwiring.

The Alpine connector is ipod specific - but it will let you connect the ipod AND the CD changer if you want. And yes, swapping the head unit is all that need be done - other than adding the ipod connector box to it.

Any further update on the Alpine connector and head unit?

http://macintouch.com/ipod27.html#oct26 here's some more info. I'm having mine done this weekend. With focal polyglass speakers, an alpine headunit and audison amp. I'll take pix when it is done.

that head unit won't work in 03+ cars anyway, i was bringing it up for the convienice of people who aren't cursed with the MOST bus. if you want it to work with your MOST bus, you would have to have porsche remove the headunit from the car's network entirely, scrap the amp that came with the bose system, and completely rewire the entire thing if that kind of demolition is your bag, more power to ya, but i for one, am too timid to do that. go buy the griffin iTrip FM transmitter, its sleek , goes on top of the ipod, and with my settings on the previous page, you will get decent sound, ntohing to brag about, but way better than typical FM modulator crap.

ok i've been using the belkin/monster fm modulator for a couple months now...i have to say not too shabby! there are only a couple of spots around phoenix where a little interferance creeps in. I am reasonably happy. now all i have to do is load all my f'n music into my pc! (2500 song loaded and not even halfway done!!)