Need some audio help

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MadMedwyn

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Well here's the story. This past Christmas, I got a Zune 30GB as a surprise and I never expected it. But what really excited me was when I knew I could get a new Head Unit for the Yukon and run the Zune into it. Burning audio CDs was getting really old for me and it was really a pain changing CDs every half hour.

So yesterday I brought my Zune to the local Tweeter and started talking to the guy about Head Units. I noticed that all of their Alpines had full support for the Ipod. I asked the guy if I could plug in my Zune to the Alpine iDA-X001 and he let me. Of course the thing said "USB error". So we searched on the net for half an hour to see if there were HUs that fully supported the Zune. And I searched even more last night. I now know that there is not a single Head Unit on this planet that has full support for the Zune. They all support Ipods only. What really ticks me off is that Microsoft, the biggest software company in the world, doesn't back their product enough to get audio companies to start making Zune-compatible Head Units after the Zune's been out a year and a half!

So now I have to take my $250 paper-weight back to Best Buy and get an Ipod. But before I do, does anyone use their Ipod and have it fully integrated with their aftermarket HUs? How does it sound? And by "fully integrated" I mean you can control all of your songs on the HU and never touch the Ipod. I do not want FM trasmitters, tape adapters, or auxilary rig jobs. I want a straight USB setup like the Alpine HU does. Sorry for the rant, but thanks for the help.
 

dye4metal

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i have a jensen flip out and i put the audio/video/ipod hub in my glove box and i plug it in with the extra 20 dollar ipod cable and bam its so nice to be able to control it on the screen. i have around 5,000 songs so i make a bunch of playlists. with my headunit i can scroll through videos and photos too. sux for your zune
 

MadMedwyn

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Yeah the cool thing about the Alpine HU I posted is that it's single DIN and has a little 320x240 screen so you can look at your album art ect. It looks like you have the same type of thing. But how does it all sound? Can you tell a difference from your Ipod and a CD? Also I'd like to know how you like your Type Rs. Later on this year I'd like to redo my entire system. I'm thinking Alpine HU and two sets of Type Rs and rockford fosgate amps/sub.
 

jayhawk25

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i have the Alpine cda-9885 with the ipod hook up. it works great. the sound is the same as a cd and the controls on the head unit for the ipod have just as fast reponse time as the cd does. the only complaint for my head unit is that it does not allow ipod controls for the remote control just from the actual head unit itself. overall, the ipod is way better than cds and the search makes it easy to find the album/song your looking for w/o the hassle of changing discs.its nice cuz i have all my cds on the ipod and dont have to carry a bunch of crap around or worry about all my cds getting stolen.
 

Trend Setta

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yeah I have a clarion Double Din and the ipod integration is sick! I just ran the cable behind the dash and ran it to the glove box and there is a little slot (looks like it was made to a put an iPod in there) wish the zune would work but apple's got the game on lock haha...and as of quality it is just as good if not better than a cd...this is what my clarion looks like..this is my second one and I'll never own any other brand...clarion is the poo "they are so smart"

190e_tech_gadgets.gif
 

JKmotorsports

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A lot of aftermarket stereos are capable of controlling an Ipod these days. Alpine, Pioneer, and Clarion are going to be some of your better ones. The dd Pioneer D3 will have touchscreen ipod controls and will play your video Ipod as well on the screen.
 

BowTieBandit

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I know you said you don't want an aux plug in, but check this out 1st. I have a Zune, and have it hooked up to my Factory Nav using an Aux Plug In Adapter. You can plug any MP3 device into it including cell phones, ipod's, whatever. The main thing with ipod compatible HU is you can use the HU to scroll through songs, artists, etc. Some of them will even charge the ipod too while it's plugged in. I personally don't mind using the Zune itself to control it, cause I mounted it within arms reach of me while I'm driving. The aux plug in adapter was cheaper than buying a HU, and I installed it myself. Check out this link, I posted my install w/ pics when I did it a while back. :beerchug:

http://www.tahoeforum.com/showthread.php?t=1877
 

botomgun

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Agree with BTB....I also have the 30G Zune and use RCA to the aux input. No problems.

On a side note, you will find that the zune is not nearly as supported as the iPod, and Microsoft is the worst. I have a Media Center Edition Viao, and the Zune is not supported. I can't transfer TV shoes recorded on my Microsoft computer to my Zune. Plus you have to use aftermarket software to rip any type of video file to support synching to the device. If you have patiance, you can make it work and enjoy it. It is a great device and will probably get better in teh future.
 

MadMedwyn

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I know it's a great device but it poses as a huge inconvinience for me right now. There are huge software bugs and the stupid thing won't even detect my CD burner yet Itunes will. That really ticked me off because I bought a bunch of Zune music and now I can't put it in my car.

No matter what, I'm getting a new HU. Because in the future, it will help simplify my audio setup which I want to revamp badly. And to this day I can't believe MS won't push their product enough to at least get one HU out there that supports it. Don't get me wrong. I don't really like Apple. I've been a pc guy all my life and felt like being kind enough to give MS a shot with the Zune. The product itself is amazing, but everything else has been horrid for me. Since the use is so limited, it might as well be like me getting a Ferrari but can't drive it. If I can't get my money back I'll loose my mind. Besides other than potential car uses, I use MP3 players maybe 3 times a week.
 
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