Hey peoples,

I was thinking about replacing my deck in my ralliart (some say im crazy:D )

But i was wondering, is their a way of connecting an iPod up to the Eclipse
deck? If so then i would just buy an iPod and a docking station (shown) and
transmit it through the deck via the set freaquencies.

Anyone with an iPod setup?

Pics would also be good, to see your setup.

What model head unit is it?
As long as it has some sort of input (rca or jack) then it will work.

What model head unit is it?
As long as it has some sort of input (rca or jack) then it will work.

Its CD 5441.

dont waste ur time with that, i have the jvc kdg615 i think and its awesome, got aux input on the front so u can use any device which uses headphone out...if your just gonna use ur ipod then pay that little bit more and get an ipod ready one

No need to get a new deck, your deck has an aux input. Just plug your ipod's headphone out straight into the aux input and you're laughing.

No need to get a new deck, your deck has an aux input. Just plug your ipod's headphone out straight into the aux input and you're laughing.

I take it that the input is at the back
of the deck in the dash right?

There are a few different options for u to choose from if u wanna use ur iPod.

The first has already been mentioned. Use a 3.5mm to RCA cable and connect it to a head unit with aux in (a lot do these days). This method provides pretty poor sound quality. This is mainly because the DAC on iPods are....well, worse than donkey semen. I have an iPod as well, so I know how bad the sound quality is from the headphone jack.

Second option is to use audio line-out the dock connectore from the bottom. There is an audio line-out plug on the bottom of the docks u get for ur ipod at home, and that is what you want. An audio signal that's untouched...pure and innocent. Unfortunately, for cars, they don't really sell anything that will allow u to use the line-out signal from the dock connector. I found one thing on the net somewhere which is a cradle to hold ur ipod, with a ciggie lighter plug and a 3.5mm jack...but they only sell it in America....I've also tried looking for a place that sells JUST the dock connector it self, without any cables, plugs etc etc, and so far i've been unsuccessful. You can find the pinouts for the 30-pin ipod dock and wire up the audio signal pins...perfect DIY job :D

Lastly, iPod interfaces by big companies such as Alpine, Pioneer, JVC etc etc...you just buy one of their headunits that say 'iPod compatible' then go buy the iPod interface module (coupla hundred more i guess) and plug it in. Hey presto u can browse through ur iPod on you headunit, and the sound quality isn't as bad as the headphone jack output.

Oh, chances are..you will need to change ur headunit. I don't know if that model eclipse has aux-in though. If it does, and you are happy with the sound quality after u plug it in and listen to it, then don't bother upgrading.

There are a few different options for u to choose from if u wanna use ur iPod.

The first has already been mentioned. Use a 3.5mm to RCA cable and connect it to a head unit with aux in (a lot do these days). This method provides pretty poor sound quality. This is mainly because the DAC on iPods are....well, worse than donkey semen. I have an iPod as well, so I know how bad the sound quality is from the headphone jack.

Second option is to use audio line-out the dock connectore from the bottom. There is an audio line-out plug on the bottom of the docks u get for ur ipod at home, and that is what you want. An audio signal that's untouched...pure and innocent. Unfortunately, for cars, they don't really sell anything that will allow u to use the line-out signal from the dock connector. I found one thing on the net somewhere which is a cradle to hold ur ipod, with a ciggie lighter plug and a 3.5mm jack...but they only sell it in America....I've also tried looking for a place that sells JUST the dock connector it self, without any cables, plugs etc etc, and so far i've been unsuccessful. You can find the pinouts for the 30-pin ipod dock and wire up the audio signal pins...perfect DIY job :D

Lastly, iPod interfaces by big companies such as Alpine, Pioneer, JVC etc etc...you just buy one of their headunits that say 'iPod compatible' then go buy the iPod interface module (coupla hundred more i guess) and plug it in. Hey presto u can browse through ur iPod on you headunit, and the sound quality isn't as bad as the headphone jack output.

Oh, chances are..you will need to change ur headunit. I don't know if that model eclipse has aux-in though. If it does, and you are happy with the sound quality after u plug it in and listen to it, then don't bother upgrading.


Cheers for the info mate. Yeah, i will look into it. Ill
see what the guys at Alberts have to say about it as well. I havent actually got an
iPod at the moment though. My dilemma is, either change my deck for an MP3 deck, or
buy and iPod and keep the deck i have, this way i end up with both. Depends chich option is cheaper and if i end up with one product or two for the money.

Cheers for the info mate. Yeah, i will look into it. Ill
see what the guys at Alberts have to say about it as well. I havent actually got an
iPod at the moment though. My dilemma is, either change my deck for an MP3 deck, or
buy and iPod and keep the deck i have, this way i end up with both. Depends chich option is cheaper and if i end up with one product or two for the money.


if you don't really have a need for an ipod (eg, don't walk around a lot, wishing u had an ipod), you could buy a dvd player deck, and a LCD screen. That way u can burn 4.7gig of mp3s on your DVD discs instead of burning small mp3 cds. But hey, if you don't want a DVD ICE system in ur car, then just get a headunit and ipod interface. probably be a liiittle bit cheaper. lol

if you don't really have a need for an ipod (eg, don't walk around a lot, wishing u had an ipod), you could buy a dvd player deck, and a LCD screen. That way u can burn 4.7gig of mp3s on your DVD discs instead of burning small mp3 cds. But hey, if you don't want a DVD ICE system in ur car, then just get a headunit and ipod interface. probably be a liiittle bit cheaper. lol
Yeh if you're not after an ipod to use outside of the car, just a get a dvd mp3 player.

I bought a dock connector that has two rca outs and a simple fuse/resistor that you hook into 12v to get power. It worked really well. I dont use it now cause the ipod now connects to my carputer. Sounded much better than using the headphone jack.

I bought a dock connector that has two rca outs and a simple fuse/resistor that you hook into 12v to get power. It worked really well. I dont use it now cause the ipod now connects to my carputer. Sounded much better than using the headphone jack.

ohh tell me where did you get this from?! :D I only want the rca cbale and dock connector :P

if you don't really have a need for an ipod (eg, don't walk around a lot, wishing u had an ipod), you could buy a dvd player deck, and a LCD screen. That way u can burn 4.7gig of mp3s on your DVD discs instead of burning small mp3 cds. But hey, if you don't want a DVD ICE system in ur car, then just get a headunit and ipod interface. probably be a liiittle bit cheaper. lol

Well, i do some bike riding (and other forms of exercise) and work on a computer all day. at the moment i have a nike
MP3 player. Its only 128MB, but seems to do the job. It wont hurt to upgrade to an extra
30GB :bowrofl:

The other thing was that i could then play the videos on the iPod or play music vids. That way i dont have to have a big screen covering my dash controls:D But yeah, obviously it has a lot bigger image, but im not fussed on that.

I was looking at getting this JVC deck.....but for $700? (on ebay) Thats the other dilemma. :doubt:

this is how i have mine setup with my pioneer HU... i have the belkin in car charger with heaphone output (which is hidden coz its hardwired in) apart from the whine that it gets... it works well... i can hear the whine when the music is on.. only when down very low or paused...

i have the same CD player and yeah i got my ipod conected to the AUX. its not RCA's its just a 2.5mm headphone jack in the back ( guy in the shop said it was like the only eclipse deck with a 2.5mm jack and not rca's)

ohh tell me where did you get this from?! :D I only want the rca cbale and dock connector :P

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/iPod-to-Aux-In-RCA-Adapter-Clarion-Eclipse-Sony-Alpine_W0QQitemZ220036280741QQihZ012QQcategoryZ602 08QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Thats where I got it from. I would sell mine as I dont have a use for it anymore.

buy an alpine head unit, can get them for like $300 from JB Hi-Fi these days, plugs straight into ipod and can control it through the head unit, works wonders

I use a car kit I bought from Belkin.

http://images.belkin.com/F8Z049-BLK/FUL1_F8Z049-BLK.jpg

Expensive, but it looks awesome, and the sound quality is excellent (as far as FM transmitters go). I didn't want lots of nasty cables lying around in my car, so this works pretty well.

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=272389#

Available for nano's too.

ipods are possibly the worst mp3 player on the market! shoddy build quality, poor sound quality and a horrible horrible repair system throu apple! id suggest going a diffrent brand of mp3 player....somthing like creative or i-river....better build better sounding:P

ok and to those of you whoa re going to flame me for bagging ipods.....i sell them so i know what there like!

i would have to say that my ipod is awesome for my use, however saying that i wouldnt buy another one.....i would buy those new samsungs i think, that have a scaled down version of windows media centre on them :)

ipods were the sh!t because no one had a product that even came close to them, but now everyone else is starting to catch up.

What's that new player that microsoft is trying to bring out? it has like, mp3, tv, radio, games etc etc all in one.

To be honest though, there is still nothign in the market that remotely touches the iPod in terms of aesthetics, ease of use, 'coolness', and sleek status. Everybody knows what they, and I would say every second person on the street u see who is listening to something has an ipod.

True, in terms of functionality and price there are some other companies that offer better products, but over all i still think the iPod is still the best. It may lack sound quality (it's getting better) radio, mic and (older models, games and video.) but yeah, u get what i mean...thanks to a great marketing scheme, people are still buying ipods like crazy.

I have just done the exact same thing today. Was fed up with a crappy aux input jack and went out and bought an
alpine headunit CDA-9856i for like 400 buks has 3 rca outputs and an ipod input that you can plug in the bottom of it and leave it in your glove box. Then just use the deck as you would an ipod and scroll through songs playlists artists etc. Well worth the money and alot easier to use that an aux input whereyou have to get a craddle and is quiet hard to read whilst driving.

i've tested out a few and the ipod interface beats any car interface by far in terms of ease of use.

i use a belkin car charger to get the lineout from the ipod into the back of my 7998r phantomface.