Using the jazzy e board..and loving it...http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/showthread.php?t=157714

 

I just had the Alpine CDA 9857 installed and can highly recommend it. It costs about the same as any other jury rigged solution in the end, and it's full quality audio, instead of something like a hardwired FM adapter.

 

Has anyone tried the tape player piggyback method posted over on scoobymods?

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5068

I did it this weekend, and using it along with a monster icarcharger that gives a line out along with the charger. I chose this over jazzy's board for cheapness reasons. I only paid 100 bucks for my ipod (4th gen, 2 yrs old), so another 50-60 seemed like more than I wanted to spend.

But if anyone has done the tape solder method, I am curious as to your experience. I gotta say I'm not all that impressed. I knew I would possibly have some alternator whine when charging, which I do, but also I have to turn the volume way up on the deck, using either the ipod's line out or the headphone jack. I used a fat cable too, and think I did a pretty solid soldering job. The ground solder might not be great, I might go back in and check it again.

Any ideas as to why the volume is so low? I would think that a line in is a line in, and the source should decide the quality of the input.

 

Remember, the stock head unit amp is extremely weak -- on my 02 WRX, turning the volume up past 10 doesn't actually make it any louder; it sounds the same at 40 as it does at 10, especially if the source is MP3 (which tend to be quieter than an actual CD track). If you are passing a headphone (mic-level, not line-level) signal to the tape head, it may extremely weak to start with, and difficult for the low-wattage amp to amplify.

 

Sorry, I left out the detail that I have the stock stereo running to a line-level converter (David Navone) to a 200x4 external amp and aftermarket components. It's plenty louder and cleaner than stock with cd's and even with tapes (yes, I still play tapes on occasion!).

And with the Monster icarcharger, I am using the lineout from the ipod, NOT the headphone jack.

So why would the ipod, connected to the tape input to the internal deck amp be quieter than a tape played in the deck?

thanks, for the help, though. Just looking for anyone else who has done this mod as opposed to the jazzymt one.