connected to car AUX jack -- inferior sound ?

I don't mean to insult anyone, but I'm going to have to.

Are you kidding? A night and day difference from a high quality cable? There is so little power running through this connection that the cable brand you use will make little difference if at all. I use one from radio shack and mine sounds excellent.

"Why don't you try this instead: http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=193794"
I have one of these, it didn't work for me with the IPhone. It does work with my ipod 5g but the sound is so infereior to the 3.5mm jack that I only use it for the power supply.

Using the dock connecter instead of the output on the phone itself? Why? It most certainly doesn't sound any different to me. The only difference I've found is that the dock is a fixed output rahter then adjustable like the headphone jack.

Is the EQ on the ipod turned on? In the general settings for ipod, is the sound check turned off? Is the volume on the iphone turned up loud enough for your car to get a good enough signal from it?

WHy didn't that Belkin product work for you with the iPhone? What were the issues?

I use that Belkin accessory and it works fine for me. You will get that pop up message that the accessory is incompatible with the iPhone and asks you to go into airplane mode but you just say "no."

The only quirk with the Belkin is that you want to make sure that the volume on the iPhone is turned on about halfway. When you plug it in, the sound may come initially out of the iPhone's speaker and to solve that problem unplug the dock connector and replug it again. The sound should go to the car speakers. Also if the volume is low, make sure to turn the amplifier up on the cigarette plug side of the Belkin as it has it's own built-in amplifier. And yes the sound check should be turned off.

Thanks for the reply. I think I'm going to get this thing to use with the AUX jack on my Honda Element. USed to run my iPod the same way until it got STOLEN!

Hey Eric. I too have a Honda Element, so I can verify that it works. The selling point of that car back in 2003 was the fact that it had an AUX jack and that was the perfect solution for connecting my iPod. I'm just glad that it works for the iPhone as well.

"Why?"

For connecting an iPod or iPhone to a car stereo or any audio system it is always better to connect to Line Out rather than through the earphone jack.

Just how much a difference will depend on your audio set up, quality of your audio files, listening conditions and acuity of hearing.

Matt

cool! I'm going to go look for one today. The Element is awesome, not only for the AUX jack but also for the seats and ability to clean the floor and interior. My Element has about 1/8" of sand all throughout right now from numerous days at the beach and I'm not worried about it cleaning right up!

Thanks for verifying that the Belkin product works with the iPhone in the Element!

No. You don't have to put it in airplane mode. Sound is clean. Just say "no."

I know we're sidetracking but yes I love that car. I bought it because besides the fact that I can connect my iPod, it's dog friendly -- I have 5.

I when I had my Motorola BLNC (aftermarket bluetooth product) installed at Best Buy I had asked them to internalize the Belkin so that the cigarette lighter part is behind the dash and the docking cable is coming out just below the head unit. By doing this method, the technician actually freed the power jack.

wow that sounds like a cool setup. my brother works for Honda (designed the Element seats) and manufactured this awesome bracket (complete with matching seat fabric) that attaches under the plastic covering the head unit so I can attach a cradle to hold the iPhone/iPod. It sits right by the windshield wiper control and looks like part of the car!

That sounds cool! I'd love to see a picture of that. Mine is attached to the left of the head unit using a magnet system. I have a metal disc stuck behind the iPhone which attaches to a circular magnet that's a Honda accessory.

I just went out and tested the Belkin adapter and still could not get it to work. I did unplug and replug it in, selected no to airplane mode. It just wont work. The sound only comes out the iphone speakers. As I said tho, it does not sound as good as plugging directly into the headphone jack (when used on ipod5g).

"For connecting an iPod or iPhone to a car stereo or any audio system it is always better to connect to Line Out rather than through the earphone jack."

I'll give you a hundred bucks if you close your eyes and guess correctly which way i have it plugged in.

I can tell you right now that it is 100% better to plug in from line out instead of headphone out, but now I'll tell you why. Does it sound better, 99% of the time no, a line out is a fixed volume audio out, it is a standard that should work on all radios, in you house or in your car. The only reason that it is better is its easier, just plug it in and go, no adjusting, no blowing up up input I.C.s on you stereo.



Oh, and the audio out of any unit is analog, you can't hear in digital (digital is 0s and 1s like 00110100, 00001100)

I can tell you right now that it is 100% better to
plug in from line out instead of headphone out, but
now I'll tell you why. Does it sound better, 99% of
the time no, a line out is a fixed volume audio out,
it is a standard that should work on all radios, in
you house or in your car. The only reason that it is
better is its easier, just plug it in and go, no
adjusting, no blowing up up input I.C.s on you
stereo.



Oh, and the audio out of any unit is analog, you
can't hear in digital (digital is 0s and 1s like
00110100, 00001100)

ok then...

Here is the cradle for the Element. taken using the iPhone. 🙂

http://picasaweb.google.com/ericjhaase/ElementPhoneCradle?authkey=ccdjDZG7XAk