can i bypass the headunit and go straight from my mp3 player to the amp?

[shirazd]

Hi there,

I just bought an old car. It has a crappy tape deck in it with crappy speakers. I want to re-do the whole audio system.

I was wondering -- I have an 8 gig MP3 player which I use for my music. I don't use CDs anymore and I have no use for the radio. Can I skip buying the head unit and run my MP3 player (from the headphone jack) straight into the amp?

I only wonder about impedance. The volume would be controlled by my MP3 player, or perhaps I can get an amp with a remote control for the volume?

Has anyone tried this? I'm not just trying to be cheap -- I really have no need for a head unit. It would just be something I'd have to bother carrying the faceplate around for so that it didn't get stolen.

Thanks for your insights,

Shiraz

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Sure.

Alpine actually has come out with a single-DIN unit that makes things a little less cluttered and gives you better control over the volume/track being played...the one problem with what you described is being able to control the player safely while not taking your eyes off the road too much.

 

[kurtdirt1 10+ year member]

yeah youcould just run your mp3 player...you just have have some way to turn the amp on and off with...along with an amp for your mids/highs

 

[kurtdirt1 10+ year member]

I personally wouldn't rec it though...kinda not the best way to do it...just my .02 though...a friend of mine did it and well, idk, i didn't like it..kinda pointless IMO

 

[vehementSPL 10+ year member]

Hi there,
I just bought an old car. It has a crappy tape deck in it with crappy speakers. I want to re-do the whole audio system.

I was wondering -- I have an 8 gig MP3 player which I use for my music. I don't use CDs anymore and I have no use for the radio. Can I skip buying the head unit and run my MP3 player (from the headphone jack) straight into the amp?

I only wonder about impedance. The volume would be controlled by my MP3 player, or perhaps I can get an amp with a remote control for the volume?

Has anyone tried this? I'm not just trying to be cheap -- I really have no need for a head unit. It would just be something I'd have to bother carrying the faceplate around for so that it didn't get stolen.

Thanks for your insights,

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Personally I only tried this once with my friends IPOD cause we wanted to hear how some songs sounded on my system that he had on his IPOD> even max volume on ipod (with my amp) and honestly only got about 30 percent as loud as it usually was. Now in your situation might work.

 

[mile098 10+ year member]

use a 3.5 mm/rca cable to get the signal to the amp and add a switch into the cabin from the bat to the amp for remote...although i dont think the sound will be that great IMO

 

[ssj2xxgotenxx 10+ year member]

Ever consider using one of those, "Tape to 3.5mm" converters

JK, welcome back to 1996 =D

you'll end up spending some extra cash on a line out as well... not a good idea.

 

[shirazd]

lol...

What I don't get is that theoretically at least, sound quality should be, if anything, *better* going from the mp3 player to the amp, shouldn't it?

 

[mile098 10+ year member]

^^no

 

[Blove1991 10+ year member]

For the remote wire I would just run it in with a fuse that only gets power when the ignition is on......Use a test light and find a fuse that doesn't get power when ignition is off, but does when the ignition is on.

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

lol...
What I don't get is that theoretically at least, sound quality should be, if anything, *better* going from the mp3 player to the amp, shouldn't it?

You lose a ton of processing capabilities that headunits carry so no, it won't sound better. Many mp3 players have pretty poor quality sound; I have yet to be impressed with any of them, especially not the ipods.

A problem you will probably have is getting proper input voltage for your amp(s). You will more than likely need to get a line out converter to get proper levels and maybe some external crossover and EQ setup (if you plan on going the full system route).

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

You wont likely find an mp3 player with with the signal voltage output a h/u is capable of. Therefore you will experience what vehement described, dramatic loss in output ability.

 

[LaserRed38 10+ year member]

A buddy of mine did something similar on his Kawasaki. Mounted two 5.25 RF coaxials on his front fairings, mounted a tiny 2ch amp under the seat, and used the RCA-headphone jack cable to his mp3 player...and...it made sound. That's all I'll say...

 

[redrider13 10+ year member]

This sounds like your way to get around wiring and more work... but thats just me...