USB -V- Aux In

s_carnage

I'm thinking of getting a new radio for my car and i'm just wondering what people consider to be better to hook up an ipod with.

Would i be better getting the usb connection on the radio or the aux in line?

It's mainly in terms of sound quality that i'm interested in. Also can you charge your ipod via the usb connection?

Thanks for any help with this!!!

fletch

USB is better.

You will probably be able to control the ipod menu via the controls on the radio using the USB whereas this is not possible using aux-in.

cornbb

I'd go for the aux in, its more widely compatible and loss of audio quality is minimal. I think you'd need MP3s on a memory stick to play via a USB connection, not sure the iPod can actually play music via its USB slot so I'd assume it doesn't unless the stereo you're looking at specifically says otherwise. I also doubt it would provide a charge.

rowanh

Well there is an ipod specific connectiopn on a lot of headunits, this is different to USB though i think. If you have an ipod then maybe get an alpine headunit with an ipod connection and as mentioned you will be able ot control the mp3 player with the controls on the head unit. This would be handy.

If you have an mp3 player that is not an ipod or if you might replace your ipod with something other than an ipod then get aux in as it will work with anything that has a mini jack out.

I think usb is only for use with a memory stick again as mentioned above, this is not a good way to go id say it might be quite awkward to select tracks if you have a good bit on the memory stick.

L1011

aux in will still work when Apple decide to change the iPod's connector format for no reason, and it'll work with all units - not just memory keys. USB won't supply enough power to run an external HDD, but an iPod/Creative attached to a car charger can have the same capacity.

daedalus2097

USB on a head unit is only for USB flash drives (which are sometimes mistakenly called memory sticks), and any I've seen let you navigate through folders on the drive to select albums. So, if you have one big folder with all your music files in them, they'll just show up as one big list. The plus of that is you can control if from your head unit, see track names, skip tracks etc. iPods don't allow you to play music from them like this, same goes for most MP3 players, but a few of the more obscure ones work as Mass Storage devices and can be used in this way.

Separate iPod adaptors will give you this control over an iPod, but they're usually expensive extras and only work with iPods. I opted for the aux/line in option to allow anyone who gets into the car to play their music, whatever player they have - and it's a nice little socket below the glovebox too so doesn't involve running cables up to the face of the head unit.

daedalus2097

MYOB wrote: »

USB won't supply enough power to run an external HDD

That really depends on the head unit and the drive in question. I've a 2.5" external 60GB Toshiba drive and it works off the Blaupunkt head unit I tried it with, as well as any laptop (old or new) I've plugged it into. Of course, some drives take more power and so won't run, so it might be a risk to base it solely on that.

L1011

daedalus2097 wrote: »

That really depends on the head unit and the drive in question. I've a 2.5" external 60GB Toshiba drive and it works off the Blaupunkt head unit I tried it with, as well as any laptop (old or new) I've plugged it into. Of course, some drives take more power and so won't run, so it might be a risk to base it solely on that.

I've a 120GB WDPassport that runs off most laptops but not the Sony headunit I've tried it on. They'll usually only support FAT32 drives, also - a bit of a problem going forward.

daedalus2097

Ooh, the FAT32 thing - forgot about that You'll need to find a head unit that supports FAT32 to be able to read anything larger than a 2GB USB drive. Another reason to opt for the more common aux/line in.

johnny_adidas

i know my kenwood head unit cant power a 2.5" drive enough to read it and will only work with a 1.8" drive.

SecureSounds

s_carnage wrote: »

I'm thinking of getting a new radio for my car and i'm just wondering what people consider to be better to hook up an ipod with.

Would i be better getting the usb connection on the radio or the aux in line?

It's mainly in terms of sound quality that i'm interested in. Also can you charge your ipod via the usb connection?

Thanks for any help with this!!!

The audio system in your car will determine the end sound quality result so upgrading that should be high on your list if you want quality playback.

Always use an iPod dock lead to headphone jack if possible rather than headphone output to headphone jack.