Alright, My first attempt to get ipod interface and xm was to use an 2004 deck (clarion) with the OEM separate xm tuner (pioneer) for IPOD i am using the neoaudio interface kit to the oem 2004 radio.

The reason i went this route was a general desire to keep it simple and to not add a bunch of components to the car.

I have two basic complaints:
a) b/c although the neo kit allows you to control xm with the HU you can only select playlists and then advance or go back to different songs within the playlist. I have 6,000 songs on my ipod and i need to be able to search by artist, song etc. with the neo you can turn control over to the ipod to do this.. but then you can't do anything with the HU and if i wanted that i would just do an Aux in connection.
b) xm doesn't sound as good as i think it should and i notice that i'm getting distortion over volume levels of 25 (hU goes to 40) I don't know if the distortion is the decks lack of power or the speakers. Interestingly enough the ipod seems to have adequate levels of sound compared to xm.

With a desire to still keep it simple but have xm and ipod, i am leaning towards the following.. please tell me what you think i'll be happy with compared to what i have and also what i might not like

For the deck i'm thinking of an alpine 9820 XM or the 2005 alpine equivalent.
This unit has integrated xm tuner (one less piece) and 50 watts x 4, so the only additional pieces i would need would be a) modifry's dci interface and b) the alpine ipod adapter box. I also like that the deck has bass and treble (simple).. i don't like the fact that it doesn't have time correction. Some questions i have.

a) For simplicity (and room) i am hoping that the 50X4 watts will be enough to drive either my stock door full range and stock tweeter (or an aftermarket set w/ crossover)... the stock clarion is rated at 30X4 and i suspect it has less than that. Does anyone know from personal experience if the 50X4 alpine rating would be sufficient? ( i am trying to avoid amps and rewiring the car.. and having speaker wires from the hu, to an amp in the rear and then back to the hu and to the speakers (and i don't want to run new speaker wires)... i am not trying to turn the car into a stereo on wheels.. just make the most of what i can within reason.
What do you guys think is the 50X4 going to be an advantage and enough power compared to what i have.

b) Can someone with experience with the alpine ipod adapter tell me how good this think works, (can you control by hu playlists AND also search by artist and song etc.. IF you can is it ergonomic enough to actually be useful, or is it cumbersome. (the shop where i looked at the unit or course did not have the pieces to demo)

c) can someone with experience tell me how well the screen on the alpine works with XM.. Is their enough space to see channel, artist , track info.. (the oem headunit is not bad at this and i would hate to take a step backward.)

d) is their a cable converter kit so i can plug this hu into the fact plug and still have the two door speakers work.. what cable kit do i want?

e) (less of a priority now ) i might add a sub later... and then an amp, but my thought is at least i will only have to add one amp and the wires can go from HU to amp to speakers and not back to the front of the car. Where is the most discrete place to put a sub.. not looking for thunder base, just looking for "fill in" base.. I am thinking about putting one where the spare tire used to be... will that work? will enough fill in sound make it to the front.

f) with my goals of eliminating pieces and keeping this simple, what other hu's should i consider?

Sorry for all the questions but i sincernely appreciate the help, i am trying to avoid HU + XM tuner+ ipod adapter + amp for fronts + modifry interface + rewire doors etc. (with this solution hopefully the xm tuner, amp for fronts and rewiring the doors can be avoided, OR later on i could amp the fronts if needed.

Thanks

tom

 

I will have mine posted next week. I tried the Alpine IPOD interface, I dont like it at all....its slow as ballz and the amount of work that you need to do (playlist organization to make it work properly) is insane. Also, its a TERRIBLE solution for someone who likes to take their ipods out of their car and use it as a personal player.....ill explain all this is my new thread. I should be done with the whole deal by next weekend, so stay tuned.

*Note, I have XM, CD Changer, and IPOD, so all your questions will be answered.

 

anyon??

 

People have been so disappointed with the Alpine adapter some went back to stock and got the neo. That right there proves something. The Alpine unit is not so hot and you might be better off keeping what you have.