Need help figuring out why my car stereo sounds bad

[jeepneedsbass]

Hi everyone,
I'm not an audiophile and not very good with tech. I just need help understanding the source of my problem and what could be done to fix it.
So I have a 2016 Jeep Patriot. The stereo unit and speakers are all stock, what it came with from the factory.
When I listen to the radio or a CD on this system, it sounds fine. I have the bass turned all the way up in my stereo settings, and when I turn the music up, it sounds nice and full with plenty of bass (which is what I want...you can never have too much bass).
I have two ipods. One is an old ipod classic, and the other is a 7th generation ipod touch. I also have two aux cords. One is just the male aux/headphone jack type that's identical on both sides. The other one has the plugin for the bottom of the ipod touch on one end (sorry I don't know what that's called).
So the ipod classic sounds fine when I plug it into the stereo with the aux/headphone jack (the one with the two identical "male" sides).
The ipod touch, however, sounds bad no matter what I use to plug it in. It sounds terrible with the regular aux cord, very distorted. With the aux cord that has the special plugin for it, it sounds a little bit better. But it still doesn't sound right. The different pitches sound far apart from each other somehow, so the overall sound is not full. Plus there is very little bass. If I try to turn it up loud enough to get the bass volume I want, for one thing it's impossible (max volume does not achieve enough bass) and also it becomes distorted. I turn off the "bass boost" on the ipod before attempting to use it in the Jeep (I discovered that leaving that on results in very distorted sound) but I'm wondering why the ipod touch sounds bad plugged into the car stereo no matter what I do. It sounds great with headphones or a bluetooth speaker. It seems like there's some sort of incompatibility with my car stereo. Can someone smarter than me explain this please? Thanks so much.

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[1aespinoza Premium Member]

Thanks so much

I do not know about your issue, but I think your best/easiest solution would be to use a Bluetooth receiver. I have used them for years with little issues.

 

[dragon.breath 10+ year member]

Check the iPod and make sure that the built in eq is turned off. Also try running the volume on the iPod a couple of clicks under max. My iPod 6th gen distorts at max volume.

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

i have the 5 and the 7, theres no clipping at full volume on those, scoped them myself

id try pluggin in your iPod to a brand new deck (friend or store) see how it sounds