iPod interface - Neo iOn

Has anyone added this to their Porsche? I would like to be able to just leave my iPod in the center console and control it from the radio. This looks like it will do the trick. I am wondering what the sound quality is like. The description of the product indicates there are two modes one that locks the menu on the iPod and allows control of tracks and playlists from the radio and one that is called direct mode that allows you access to the menus on the iPod (for this mode they don't indicate if you can at least change tracks). I currently am using the becker adaptor for aux input and that works fine, but I really want an integrated unit. It only costs around $200 so I will probably just try it anyway, but thought I would see if anyone here had experience with it. Their website is www.mp3yourcar.com . Thanks, Kris

Why not the Becker Aux-In kit for $25 shipped???

Kris, I posted the same question a couple of days ago on RennTech. Apparently, this is a pretty new product. Like you, I would enjoy the ability to control the iPod through the CDR-220 head. It would make a very neat installation.

Dell, If I understand correctly, the Becker Aux-In cable simply inputs the iPod sound into the Becker head unit for play through the car's audio system. One still would need to have a charging source somewhere, and make all play selections through the iPod itself. That means wires & cables, and the iPod where it can be readily manipulated. The Neo Ion includes the direct input into the Becker's aux port, and, in addition, supplys DC power and (drum roll), allows all iPod control inputs to be input through the CDR-220 face plate .... track selction, etc. One cable to the iPod, and the iPod itself can be out of sight ... without any need to access it. Sounds like a neat deal, but pricy at $199

I just bought one. I'll have it installed within a week or two and I'll let you know how it works out. I have a CDR220 in a 1999 C2.

The Aux in from the headphones is a HORRIBLE solution as far as audio quality goes. You are going through a $1 headphone amplifier and boosting a signal way past what the aux in wants it to be. Amplified vs. line level...In the process you boost the noise and loose low end frequency detail. The best way is a dedicated DIGITAL input from the iPods digital output....I did a simple A/B test....I have the Kenwood touchscreen and they recently released the iPod control interface...I installed it and for $99 you get touchscreen control of the iPod from the kenwood and you get a digital input from the iPod as well as a power source...Asl long as the iPod is plugged into that, its charging and powered by the car. I hard wired it into my center console. Since I control it from my stereo, no need to see it. So the A/B test...I ran a cable from the iPod headphone out to the Kenwoods Aux in and then connected the iPod interface...I switched back and forth and the difference was astonishing. The iPod interface sounded as good as my CD player, the headphone out sounded like the AM radio...and if the volume wasnt right it either distorted or was not loud enough making lots of hiss....the digital input has no volume control, its line lever digital out...and there is NO noise. Thats a great reason to spend more for a better solution.

Maybe it varies from car to car but I am VERY happy with my current solution for $25........which is 1000x better than the crappy wireless FM transmitter (iTrip). Just not going to make the $200 jump for the other one. I can think of many other ways to spend $200.....oh like maybe on another track day

I know...I was happy too...until I went to the digital in solution. Now I am AMAZED.....FM transmitter is a joke solution, not worth the money.

I am using the Becker aux in right now and it works OK. For $200 it would be nice to have some control through the head unit. I did hard wire a 12V outlet inside the console under the radio and am using an adaptor that powers the iPod and uses the line out. I believe that Belkin makes it but don't remember for sure. It also has a built in amplifier so you can adjust the level of the signal going to the radio. This doesn't work well as it picks up engine noise and I will need to pick up a ground loop isolator if I want to keep this setup. The Neo Ion looks like it will replace the becker plug for the aux in. I do also use the phone input, so I will need to add those wires to the Neo Ion plug, but don't see any reason why it won't work. I read on one of the iPod forums that a few people have had to add a ground loop isolator to the Neo Ion unit because of engine noise but they were having to do some long cable runs as their units plugged into the trunk. Since ours just plugs into the radio I would guess it shouldn't pick up any noise. NH911 let us know what you think. Kris

Newport996, Where did you get the digital out from the iPod? I was not aware the iPod would pass a digital signal. I was under the impression the dock connection was an analog out (albeit line level vs. amplified) and not digital (does the dock connection output both digital and analog?). I utilize the iPod dock connection by directly patching into the AUX in on the Becker CDR-220. There isn't a DAC between the iPod and the Becker and I it appears the Becker AUX accepts an analog signal with the R/L RCA jacks. I have also utilized the dock out for hooking the iPod directly to my home theater system which is definitely an analog in.

Folks: I'm sure that the NEO solution is a fine one, but don't get your hopes up, it is just another CD changer emulation solution like the one from Dension. The advantages of these solutions is that they don't tend to have the ground loop whine that is an issue with the other mods out there, and they can use the CD changer transport controls on the radio. Personally, the latter function is redundant to just controlling the ipod from its transport controls, both of them require you to look away from driving to control them, and are equally unsafe. If the 996 had steering wheel buttons to work the transport functions then it might be an advantage. I have a Dension dock on my wife's Audi, and it is great. That car has transport buttons on the steering wheel. To another point, the iPod does not have a digital audio output, the audio is analog from both the bottom connector and the headphone jack. The headphone jack is amplified, and the bottom connector is a line-out unbalanced signal. There is a USB and firewire connection on iPods but they are not used for sending audio streams, just file transfer. The last issue is seeing the song and playlist info on the radio's display. Unfortunately, this requires the radio to support CD-Text, which none of the Becker radios do. So are these CD changer emulators worth the $200? In my opinion No, because with the exception of being able to control the iPod from the radio, the same functionality can be had for under $50.

OE, Thanks for the confirmation, unfortunately this is what I thought.

Alright, so I just worked on my Becker solution a bit more to see if I could get rid of the engine whine. And the results are PERFECT........that's right, I said PERFECT! ZERO ENGINE WHINE. What did I do? I removed the group loop isolator that I bought form Radio Shack (it was junk anyway) and instead bought a nice stereo to rca cable. I bought the following cable http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...ies%2Fct_Id%3E That cable is 7 ft long and connects to the Becker plug in the back of the radio (you need to by the kit from Becker for $16 plus shipping). I ran the cable down out the passenger opening and instead of running it above the console (where most people seem to run it) I ran it straight out to that area where the glove box would be on the 02+ cars to "store" the extra length of cable and then ran it out along the side of the bottom console (still not seen) and plugged into the top of the ipod. Pics attached. I think the problem is that the area behind that lower consle where everybody seems to store their cabling is picking up the engine whine from the chasis. I figured this out by having my wife drive while I played with cable location and figured out where it was worse and where is was absent Hope this helps out.

Dell: In this setup is the iPod using the car power or is it running on its battery?

iPod running on its own battery

Dell: I don't mean to rain on your parade, but the reason that you don't have the engine whine is not because of the new RCA cable or the routing, it is because of the fact that you are using the iPods battery power and not the car's 12v system. By running the iPod on its battery, you have in effect, removed the ground loop. When I first got my iPod, I connected it to the radio in the way you described. I used a 89� RCA to mini-stereo plug cable, routed the way I currently have my current setup, and it worked fine. The battery was good for 4-6 hours of non-stop use. But I wanted to extend that run time, and to recharge the battery, so I have my current setup that uses the Belkin cable. The Radio Shack GLI in concert with taking power and ground from directly the radios sources reduces the whine, but does not totally eliminate it. To totally remove the whine, someone needs to do some experimentation with tunable chokes on both the audio signal line as well as the power line to fine tune the noise out. This sort of stuff can be very difficult to do if you don't have the proper test equipment. For me, the other sounds in the car attenuate the whine to a level that is not noticeable. So yes, if you want to run off of just the iPods battery, the ground loop whine will be eliminated, regardless of what audio cable is used or what is its routing.

Well then that is where we would have to disagree. At no point have I had a charger hooked up for my iPod. And yet there was still engine whine and an engine whine that OTHERS has experienced with the same hookup that I am talking about. By moving that cabling to a location away from a source of engine noise (ie, chasis behind the lower center console) the engine noise is thus removed. So.....no rain on my parade. Very happy with what I have just installed and was passing on that knowledge and experience to those individuals that have the SAME configuration as I and want to know what to do to REMOVE the engine whine. Now, hooking up a power source is another animal and I have no need to constantly charge my iPod while in the car. A full charge from the docking station at home lasts several days of use in the car and I just bring the iPod in with me at the end of the day to charge and to update as well....especially since I upload daily podcasts.

Interesting. As I also experienced, and posted over two years ago is that just using the iPod on its battery will remove the ground loop and eliminate the whine. The only thing that is down at the base of the console is the airbag controller, so perhaps that is where you were getting your noise from. On my battery only configuration, the RCA cable ran down the center of the console and exited at the ashtray, and I never had the ground loop whine. That is very interesting that you would have a ground loop with no power attached. All of the other complaints that I have read on this and other boards were configurations that used the cars power on the iPod. But one moral of this story is that nothing beats having a good shielded cable for the audio.

I did not get the engine noise until I added the power source for the iPod. As far as the $200 goes, I am sure it is really not worth $200, but I also don't want to screw around trying to eliminate the engine noise and I also want to just keep the iPod in the console. I have tried not to determine the value of the mods for the car. I am afraid if I did I would never do anything to it other than drive it. I will report back once I get the thing hooked up. A bit off topic, but the best interface I have used for driving with the iPod is the Acura Musiclink. It adds voice tags to artists, albums and playlist on the iPod and then you can search by just listening to the names, it works great, you never have to take your eyes off the road. I find that having to use the display on the iPod is a distraction, so I generally just change tracks while driving with the Pcar. So it would be nice to have the option to direct access some play lists from the radio. I will just think of it as a $550 CD changer instead of the iPod + adaptor. Come to think of it, I have easily justified that cost in the past and it only had six disks! So I guess the price of the iPod adapter IS worth it. If I think about these things long enough I can justify the cost of anything! Kris

Well, I got the $200 kit and installed it today. It is basically two wires, one from the radio to an adaptor and then the wire from the adaptor to the ipod. However, it doesn't work. It recognizes that the ipod is there but the radio won't swith to auxilary/cd changer mode. The ipod knows that it is plugged-in but the radio doesn't know that the ipod is plugged in. I even took it to a car audio installer and he couldn't figure it out. He did tell me I could get a new radio unit that has satelite radio and is ipod ready for $300 so I may go that route. It would have twice the wattage as the factory radio - looks like new speakers are not going to be too far behind.

Did you turn on "activate" the aux in on the head unit???

HOw do I turn on "activate" the aux in on the head unit? This might be the important step that I missed.

One question: Is this Neo device supposed to emulate a CD changer? Which connector does it plug into on the Radio? The top one and for all 3 sub connectors? If it is just for the 1st (blue) sub connector, then the AUX input needs to be enabled. To do that on a Becker CR220/CDR220 radio, you must access the "Service" menu. 1. turn on radio and hold down the "TP" button for about 8 seconds, until "becker 1" is displayed. 2. turn the tuning **** until "AUX off" is displayed. 3. press either button directly under the arrows to change the present setting from off to on. turn radio off, and then back on, the Aux audio input had now been activated. This will only work if the radio does not see a CD changer or emulator plugged into the top radio connector. Good luck

I just received my adaptor today. I had ordered the Neo Ion adaptor, but received the Denison Ice Link. I believe they are basically the same thing, does anyone know for sure. NH911 is this also what you received? Also, does anyone have a copy or know the layout of the pins that come with the Becker Aux in plug. I am not sure what I did with mine and I want to add a phone input to the Denison plug. Thanks, Kris

That is what I received as well. It seems like a lot to pay for two wires and an adaptor. I haven't had time to reinstall it yet once I turned on the aux in. Let me know if it works for you.

I plan to see how it works. It is not the same one they had described on their website. We will have to see how it works. I just hope the sound is good and the controls work fine. I do agree that the price seems pretty high for what was included in the box, but I have learned to justify the price of anything that I believe I want, sometimes it just takes longer to do! Kris

You guys sure are making it easy for me to love my $16 solution from Becker! Now I am going to spend the extra $184 on my wife

Well I tried to install a couple of nights ago with no luck. Plugged everything in, turned off the Aux-in disconnected power tried everything and could not get the CDC to show up as an input option. It would just switch between CD and AM/FM. Is there another menu on the Becker I am missing to enable the CDC input? It was my understanding if the CD Changer or iPod interface was plugged in the radio would recognize it and automatically enable the CDC input (provided the Aux-in was turned off). I call customer support at mp3yourcar and went through their standard list of trouble shooting questions and decided that the interface my be bad and are sending me a new unit. Let me know if I am missing something on enabling the CDC input? Thanks, Kris

I'll have mine back from the shop todayfrom some other work. The AUx in is supposed to be turned "on" not off. THen thurn the radio off and back on again and it should be activated. ANd, I also understand that there are two inputs - one for aux and one for cd changer. I assume you would plug it into the aux in.

The becker unit does not recognize the AUX input automatically. It must be enabled. There are instructions with the becker mp3/cell phone input. I will have to look at home to find them. However, I think someone posted the instructions on Rennlist or Renntech. If I remember it involves the "tp" button. EDIT: found the instrucutions.....hold down the "TP" button for about 8 seconds until "Becker 1" is displayed. Turn the tuning **** until "AUX off" is displayed, then use buttons under the arrows to turn AUX on. After you have done that, reboot the radio (turn it off and on) and now Aux will be displayed as an option under the CD menu.

Or you could just look 7 posts before you at #23 Just razzin ya!

whoops I never thought to look further up in the thread, when he reported he couldn't get the "AUX" option on the radio to appear.

In order for the radio to recognize that a CD changer or CD Changer emulator (like the neo or Dension) is connected, the radio must have a signal from the CD changer that it is there. That is the purpose of the pins 7-12 on Connector C of the radio. Take a look at the Stock Radio/CD changer connector (Connector C, which is the top one) and look at the pins that are in the sub-connector C2 (green), which is the middle one, Pins 7-12. Now take a look at the Neo connector, and verify that there are the same pins active (or inserted) on that connector. Specifically, pin 7 which is control line for the CD changer, and pin 8 which is a terminal 30, pin 10 which is the CD changer data line, pin 11 clock line, and pin 12, reset line. Pins 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 should be empty. Compare that with what you have for pins in Sub-connector C2&C3 (blue) and what color they are. Connector C1 (yellow)is for Bose, HiFi or an outboard amplfier if you have that installed. If the Neo connector does not have any wires or wires to different pins in the middle set of connectors, then it will not work with your radio. Chances are that you do not have a correct Neo connector.

I did not have a problem getting to the menu for the Aux-in on/off selector, just wasn't sure if it should be on or off. Tried both without luck. I do not have a factory cd changer so I can't compare the pin positions with the iPod adaptor. I did see that there were a number of pins in the C2 plug that were being used by the iPod adaptor. The plugs that come with the iPod adaptor plug into both the C2 and C3 plugs on the Becker unit. I did note that the iPod plug for the C3 slot included wires for the line level inputs just as the Becker Aux-in plug that I was previously using. The iPod adapter also included two wires that were in the same pin positions as the phone input on the Becker adapter. Those wires do not run into the iPod adapter so I should be able to hook them up to the Bluetooth audio output just as I did with the Becker plug. I am assuming that I just got a bad iPod adapter and once I plug the new one in the radio will recognize it as a CD changer. The only thing I am not sure of is whether to leave the Aux-in turned on or off in the service menu. NH911 said that his audio shop said it should be turned on. Did that work for you and does your radio now have a source option for CDC along with all of the controls showing up for the CD Changer? Thanks for all your input on this. Kris

And which pins on C2 have a wire in them? AUX-In must be off for the CDC to be recognized. However if connector C2 is plugged in and providing the proper signals, then AUX-IN cannot be enabled, and the radio defaults to CDC. Given that the radio will not switch to CDC with the Neo cable installed, it is either wired incorrectly, the neo interface module is not powering up, or it is defective.

Mine is installed but not working properlly. AUX is on and it recognizes the ipod. THe weird thing is that the words "Becker" now show up on my Ipod and the font and appearance of the screen have changed on the Ipod. The CR-220 says "AUX" but I can't/don't see the name of the song or artist nor can I switch from song to song. I just picked it up at the shop and didn't spend any time with it but perhaps when it was installed they hooked it up to AUX rather than the CD changer output? Any other thoughts? Thanks.

Not familiar with your set-up but here's a... Stab in the dark if it's like my mife's Volvo ipod kit. it's pretty normal for the ipod to display Becker, BMW, Volvo or whatever the radio/car is. I know that with the volvo kit, it treats the ipod as if it was a CD changer so you have to create 9 playlists that are then read as individual CDs. The name of the songs don't appear in either the radio or ipod display. You can cycle through the songs on each playlist (up to 99 tracks per CD/playlist on the Volvo) and jump from playlist/CD but on numerals show up, no names. Hopefully this helps a bit.

I received the replacement module today I will try again over the weekend. NH911, mine was also displaying the Becker info on the iPod display and using the Aux in on the radio, but I could not control anything on the iPod and also the sound was barely coming through. The info that came with the unit indicates you can control lots of things from the iPod itself and that it will display track and time info on the radio. You are also supposed to be able to adjust the line out put so you can match the other sources on the head unit. I will report back. At least it is very easy to get the radio in and out! I am very efficient at it now. Kris

From the website: "Will I still be able to control my iPod using the iPod buttons? The adapter for your Porsche has two different modes. In "playlist mode", the radio will control playlists and track, volume, etc, disabling the iPod interface. In "direct mode" full control of the iPod is gained, your iPod menu system and click wheel are enabled." I don't see where to change between the two modes. Perhaps this is part of my problem. My wife has the car right now so I can't go and take a look at it. I'll let you all know how I make out. I am thinking that this item may not deliver what it promises.

Well I am about to give up on this project. There are pins in 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, but nothing in pin 12. The wire in pin 9 is the largest of the 5. On the other connector there are pins in 13, 14, 18, 19 and 20. The pins in 13 and 14 just have wires connected to them and are not connected to the control module for the iPod. On my Becker Aux-in plug, these are the phone line input. NH911, I am curious if yours actually works as I am wondering if there is something wrong with my Radio. If I turn the Aux-in on I can hear a very faint input of what is playing on the iPod but have no control of it and the iPod must already be playing when I plug it in. If I turn the power off and back on with the Aux input selected when the power comes back on there is a full signal coming through and it sounds great, but still no control and if I change sources it goes back to the faint sound when the Aux is selected again. However, if I power on and off again while Aux is selected the signal if fine again until I change sources. The Aux-in works fine with the Becker plug! I hope I am missing something simple here as this is really starting to **** me off. Kris

Mine works but I can't control either the Ipod via the click wheel or the radio controls. What a pain! I don't think that they even tested it out on this radio. And, as you mentioned earlier, this is not what was advertised. I'll call customer service on Monday and more than likely send it sending it back for a full refund. Where did you plug it in? To the C1 socket or the C2 socket? I had mine done at the shop so I am not sure where they plugged it in. It is supposed to emulate the CD changer so I guess it should be plugged into the C2 socket. Let me know. :

It plugs into both the C2 and C3 plugs. If you look at the adaptor there are two plugs connected together. I would really like to be able to store the iPod out of site and still be able to control it. I will end up calling them on Monday and most likely returning it also since I can't control anything on the iPod. NH911, could you tell me if you can go back and forth between the iPod and any other source and still have sound for the iPod? Thanks

YEs, I can swtich between AM, FM and AUX and still get sound. There was one occasion where there was a faint sound coming from the Ipod but I turned AUX off and then on again and it fixed the problem.

NH911, I am assuming you never were able to get the CDC to show up as the source. I am about to give up on this project, which is against my nature. Does anyone have any other ideas that I can try before throwing in the towel? The folks at MP3 your car keep saying it is plug and play and I keep thinking I am missing some simple menu command to enable the CD changer input. Any ideas? Thanks, Kris

Becker AUX-IN kit for $16. Sorry Kris, that was just too easy. Just razin' ya.

Yea, the Becker kit is what I started with and looks like what I will end with. I was really hoping for something that would look clean and be out of the way. I will now either get a ground loop isolator for the 12v power / line out adapter that I already have or get a line out plug from boxwave that has a retractable cord. I will run the aux-in cable to the center console and then I could plug the retractable line out cord into the console. The only upside is that the Nano fits perfectly in the little non-smokers tray and makes it easy to at least change tracks. It is rare that I am defeated by electronics, I will just have to lick my wounds and move on!

I have a call in to tech support. They said they've never seen the problem before. They are going to call Becker and see what they can find out. I was expecting a call back last night but never got it. It looks like I'll more than lilkely just send the kit back for a full refund. I'll let you know if they come up with a solution.