Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with stereo and iphone

ipod to stereo

cookie googleman — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:10:48 -0800

How does one achieve the best sound quality when connecting ipod/iphone directly to stereo? I recently purchased a Belkin Stereo Cable for iPhone to connect my ipod and iphone directly to my stereo. It works, but the sound quality is not very good. Is there a better way to do this without having to purchase a dock? Thanks in advance.

iPhone car charger?

olinerd — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:13:46 -0800

What's a good iPhone car charger that won't make my music noisy? I have a 3G iPhone. I have a car with an aux input. I enjoy playing iPhone music over my car stereo via this input. It's all spiffy.

Until next week, when I have to drive for twelve hours (instead of the usual max seven) to a relative's house for Thanksgiving. I also need to use the phone for navigation, occasional phone calls to update worried parents on progress, and so forth. When I switch off with my co-driver, I may also want to play games on the phone. We may also use the Pandora app to stream some music when we're in 3G areas. All this points to serious battery draw.

So: I want a car charger for the phone. The problem is, I had one of the Monster combination FM transmitter/charger things for an older iPod that I plugged into my old first gen iPhone, and it charged, but any music played over the aux input to the stereo while the charger was plugged in was horribly static-y. I'm not sure if this was a problem with putting something designed for an old iPod into an iPhone, or if the charging itself interferes with the music playback, or what, but it was pretty craptacular. It wasn't GSM noise -- it was serious static.

I don't have any friends with car chargers I can try out to see if iPhone-specific chargers work better, and I'd rather not drop the money on one that isn't going to work. Has anyone had experience with an iPhone car charger that doesn't interfere with the output to a car stereo (via a cable, not over FM transmission)? What do you recommend? (I've found reviews of chargers, and I've found reviews of connections to aux inputs, but nothing really combining the two to see if there are noise issues)

Again, this is a 3G iPhone, and I've got a built-in aux input to my car stereo.

Phone+music stereo headset?

jckll — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:43:13 -0800

I’ve just started using my first PDA/Smartphone (Blackberry 8820) and I need some recommendations for a headset. I know there are tons of questions already—and even more online resources—for finding the best Bluetooth earpiece, but I’m not looking specifically for your standard Bluetooth. I want an iPhone-style headphone plus microphone combination. I’ve looked around a lot, and there are a bunch of stereo headphones, but scant information on them. There are of course the wired stereo phones—exactly like the iPhone headset. There are models that look exactly like the iPhone headset, with standard, earbud, wired earpieces, but they are connected to a Bluetooth dongle that hangs from your ears or clips to your belt. (1,2,3) Then there are your standard Bluetooth earpieces with a connectible earpiece for your other ear. Finally, there are over-the-ear headphones, which I don’t want.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a particular style of stereo headsets with mics? Am I better off just getting a pair of wired headphones with a microphone attached? Are the Bluetooth models any good? (Bonus points for a model recommended—or advised against—by personal experience, and double bonus points if I can connect my SHURE e3c bud headphones instead of relying on crappy Plantronics acoustics!)

Where's the simplicity?

dance — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:18:51 -0800

Swapping a car's stereo head unit: I would really like to replace my car's ailing Blaupunkt CD player with a more modern head unit, ideally one with a front aux-in for my iPhone. Before I embarked on this I thought it would (should!) be as simple as popping out the old HU, slotting the new one in and simply reconnecting the connector block. But it seems the process is rarely that simple. My car, a 96 Mazda 626, does not seem to have the pretty wiring harnesses to be seen in many online tutorials. It looks exactly like this.

A friend said that all aftermarket stereos connect to the car's wiring harness via an ISO connector so I presumed that as my stereo is almost certainly aftermarket the hard work was already done for me. But having bought the removal keys and had a look behind the stereo it doesn't look like it.

What are my options? I would dearly love to avoid soldering, splicing and dicing and have a nice clean solution involving adaptors or the straightforward swap I hoped for.

I guess if I buy another Blaupunkt then I can just swap head units? There are two connectors even though only the brown topmost can be seen in the picture. Do Blaupunkts continue to use this setup?

I've tried asking at the12volt and installdr, but without much success!

Any help appreciated!

Adding aux input to 2004 Ford Explorer OEM stereo.

jroybal — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:11:53 -0800

I have a 2004 Ford Explorer with the OEM stereo (I think it's called the Audiophile; it's the one with the 6-disc in-dash changer), and I'd like to use the aux input with the headphone jack on my iPod and iPhone. I envision using the aux input on the back (which I believe exists) to connect some sort of input converter or cable to provide an RCA (red/white) input. From there, I would run an RCA/minijack cable through the glove or center console or somewhere to plug in a device using the minijack end. I'm not interested in controlling the iPod from the headunit (except the volume, natch), putting in a new deck, or using some sort of FM modulator. So, to make a long story short (too late), I'm looking for recommendations and advice on the right type of converter/adapter/cable/connection to use. Googling has confused me. Anyone have luck doing this? Specific stores/website (PIE.net?)? Thanks in advance!

iPhone Car Integration

jpcody — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:05:08 -0800

I, like many others, am trying to get the perfect setup for my iPhone in my car. Are there any solutions? Current info:
2000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport XLS, stock stereo, no aux-in or tape deck
1.1.3 Jailbroken iPhone
Monster FM transmitter

I'm looking to be able to both listen to my iPhone and place and receive calls. I had a friend that was able to do this through a tape deck, and I became insanely jealous.

Ideal setup: be able to run headphone jack to an aux-in input. I haven't been able to find an accessory to allow me to essentially rig an aux-in.

Less-than ideal setup: an FM transmitter that will not produce GSM buzz and will run without being in airplane mode.

The kicker: $100 budget. Preferably way cheaper.

Has anyone had any success with this? Any audiophiles that can satisfy my possibly irrational desire to run my iPhone through my car stereo?