Aux in… quality issue?

[idiot 10+ year member]

I currently have a stock 6-disc changer that I’m wary of giving up for a single-disc player (with no MP3 ability). Instead of hunting down an MP3 changer and finding the room to install it (which is at a premium in my car), I’ve decided that it would be simpler to purchase something similar to the RFX 8250 and hook up an iPod through the Aux input. My question is whether hooking it up in this manner would compromise some level of sound quality. I did not want to use a tape adaptor or FM modulator because the signal would not be of high quality. So, when sending through the auxiliary input, will the signal stay clean?

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[BMG 10+ year member]

my understanding is that the aux in on a car deck is just like an aux in on a home reciever.

 

[idiot 10+ year member]

I've never used the aux in on my home receiver. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

How would that compare with a disk loaded directly in the unit?

 

[sumone 10+ year member]

I have an RCA aux-input on my dual xd-6200 for my Rio Karma mp3 player that has a docking station that out can put an RCA signal. As far as I understand it, it can be considered like a preamp that the HU has for an external amp.

 

[idiot 10+ year member]

So your experience has been positive? Wonderful. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Question: where did you plug the R/L RCA cables from your Rio? I was under the impression that the Aux-in was only one plug. Or did you use an adaptor to combine the right and left signals? I'm looking at both the iPod and Creative's Nomad series; both have only a single headphone output.

 

[NaztyNate 10+ year member]

You can get and adapter that turns the RCA's into a headphone jack that will fit into the aux inputs. When I first started I was going to use the aux input like you are put then i realized how much of a pain it was, but it might work for you. And by the way I have a Nomad Zen Xtra and I love it. Great sound quality and a bargain compared to the iPod.

 

[sumone 10+ year member]

it depends on what type of aux-in your HU has.

It has that small 1/8inch stereo plug (usually on the front/faceplate), just get a stereo wire that's male 1/8inch jack on both sides

If it has RCA inputs (usually in the back with all the other wires and stuff), get a RCA extension cord

I don't know about the ipod's docking stuff cause I had a 2nd gen one and abandoned it for my rio (did they ever do anything with the bass distortion even at low volumes yet?), but if your HU has an 1/8 inch jack, just get that wire.

 

[Matador 10+ year member]

the aux would give you the best connection compared to fm modulated and tape adapter.

it's a direct connection to the receiver.

 

[idiot 10+ year member]

Thanks guys. You’ve alleviated my fears. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Would I be using the preamp circuitry on the HU at all, or would the signal come in already modified and partially amplified by the MP3 player? I would be hooking this up to the RFX8250, and I’m trying to figure out if the SQ qualities of this deck would be largely bypassed by using an external MP3 device…

NaztyNate, I’ve been looking at the Nomad Zen Xtra (60GB). How do you think the EAX controls would work in a car environment? A positive or negative feature? I use them on my computer, but I’m having trouble envisioning their use in the car…

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

If you're worried about sound quality, space, and money then why don't you just forget the NON-Mp3 deck, forget the nomad or ipod and buy a deck that plays MP3s. Youl wouldn't have to worry about your SQ or if a certain portable player will dock with the head unit or not. If you want to use MP3s then a deck that plays them is the best ticket for that. My friend has an MP3 deck and they sound pretty darn good on his deck. Just a thought.

Adam

 

[idiot 10+ year member]

Well, I want to have access to more songs than a single MP3 disk can hold. And if I were to get a MP3 changer, it would be considerably more expensive ($200-300, in addition to the price of the deck). Only a few companies make MP3-readable changers (Alpine, JVC, Sony, etc.), and some of them require a certain brand deck to function. In my immediate price range, I would prefer the Denford deck to any produced by those companies. At the end of the day, I would pay more, have more usable space taken up in my car, own a HU that I didn’t really want, and have only 8.2% of the storage capacity that would be possible with an external MP3 player.

Of course there are downsides to this plan (constructing a place to mount the MP3 player, questionable sound quality, having to control the songs through the device instead of the deck, etc.) but, to me, the benefits outweigh the negative aspects.

 

[NaztyNate 10+ year member]

I would say the EAX would help somewhat, it all depends on which EAX feature you use. I use the EAX advanced EQ feature which just makes it sound better and since you would be coming out of the headphone jack that would be a plus. I only have the 30 gb one and its not even barely full. They hold lots and lots of music.

 

[idiot 10+ year member]

I would say the EAX would help somewhat, it all depends on which EAX feature you use. I use the EAX advanced EQ feature which just makes it sound better and since you would be coming out of the headphone jack that would be a plus. I only have the 30 gb one and its not even barely full. They hold lots and lots of music.

I was thinking more along the lines of the environments (concert hall, auditorium, etc). Since the HU I want doesn't have an equalizer, and I won't have a separate one, I'll surely be using that feature. But I was curious if you had any input as to how you think the various EAX environments would work in a car (well? terribly?)…

And I have an 80GB disk full of music //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif... obviously not everything will make it onto the player, but I'd like to have some room for expansion, just the same.

 

[NaztyNate 10+ year member]

Well the environments are cool, but they wouldnt do much in the car or at least I don't think so. It gives it the acoustics of the various places, but makes it much quieter too, but I have never tried it in the car so I wouldn't know. Also you can only have EITHER the environments or the EQ at the same time, you can only use 1 EAX feature at a time. Still with how much music you have I would choose the Xtra 60gb.

 

[idiot 10+ year member]

Ahh… only one or the other, not the environments and EQ simultaneously. That’s interesting. I think it works the same way on the computer. Anyway, thank you for the information. I’ll stop at a computer store and test out a few of the models myself, sometime in the future.