Play an mp3 player in your car stereo

[james8547]

Like most people, I'd like to play my mp3 on my car. There are 3 different ways to accomplish this, as far as I know.

1st, you got the cassette adapter. The problem is that I do not have a cassette player in the car. Plus, the sound quality is not that clear. There is usually a constant "hiss" on the background.

The next option is an FM Transmitter. I bought a Belkin transmitter. The sound quality is worse than the cassette adapter. There are times that the music is good (no noticeable noise). But more often, the sound quality is lacking. Maybe it's because that I live in a metropolitan area (NY-NJ metro) and the airwaves are crowded.

The 3rd alternative is to physically connect the mp3 player to the stereo. This would be easy if you have a port or a wire built-in the front of your stereo to connect the mp3 player. My car doesn't have any of those. However, this doesn't mean that we need to buy a new stereo. I have a CD changer. If I remember correctly, CD changers feed sound to the stereo by wires. The wires depends on the stereo manufacturer. We can plug the mp3 player using this line. From what I have read, this option gives the best, and clearest sound. Needless to say, this is also the most complicated out of the 3 main options.

I decided that I'll try the 3rd option. However, I've been Googling it and I haven't come up with a decent guide on how to do it. So far, I've only come up with how to build your own speaker box, or how to put strobe lights in the car, etc. This is where I need help.

Is it worth my while to do this myself? I know absolutely nothing about car stereos. What are the steps? What are the materials/equipment that I need and where can I get them? I wish there was a manual for this (clicks heels 3x). If I don't find anything on this, then I'll go check on some of the auto shops. How much would this job normally cost?

Anyways, here are some of the more helpful links that I found:
http://slate.msn.com/id/2097997/

http://car.usenews.org/group/rec.aud...ge-355422.html

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-rIAlebv...=0&cc=01&avf=N

http://www.whynot.net/view_idea.php?id=112

Btw, my mp3 is an iRiver H140, and I have a 2002 Honda Civic EX 4dr with the stock Honda stereo and 6-CD changer.

[roomwithamoose]

I was thinking the exact same thing. I've got a 98 Honda Civic, and I put in a new Pioneer head unit a few months ago. On reading through my manual, I found that the 8pin connector on the back that is meant for the cd changer can be used for anything with an RCA plug on it. Now this is the part that would specifically work with what I am going to do. Look on the back of your cd changer and see what the cable looks like. I probably won't be the two RCA connections, they usually have another 8pin type connector. If that's the case then you'll have to find the cable and purchase it, which shouldn't be too hard or expensive.

I personally like to do this stuff on my own, even if I don't know how to. THe hardest part would be removing your head unit to plug in the new cable, but once that's done, there's not much else to do. You just gotta roll up your sleeves and get dirty!

[james8547]

Is there a splitter cable for the CD changer connector? I'd like to keep both the CD changer and MP3 player connected to the unit. I am planning on having the MP3 player "dock" on the cup holder, which is right below the stereo. Then have it plugged to the power outlet, which is right next to the cup holder. Next, I'd have the wired controller clipped or attached to the steering wheel.

It looks like the hardest part is getting the unit out so I can connect the wires at the back.

[roomwithamoose]

I don't think there is a splitter for that application. YOu could build one, but honestly I wouldn't know how well that would work. And yes, pulling the unit out is the hardest part. Where is your cd changer? I had one in the trunk when I bought my car, but it didn't work and it still had 10 cds in it! I wasn't able to use the cable that was already hooked up, since it had a pin connector and not RCA connectors, that's why I haven't done this yet. Oh yeah, and I don't have a mp3 player yet! Anyways, it'll probably be mp3 player or cd changer.

I have a similar issue and its really getting me curious.

I have a Rollei MP3 player (cheap) and all its got is a 3.5mm headphone jack going out. My Sony CD only stereo has an auxiliary in in the back for CD changers and MD. I could spend $6 for an aux - 3.5mm converter cable and try that. The problem is that the MP3 is playing MP3's, while the stereo only reads .wav's. Is that correct?

Do you think that would still work?

[roomwithamoose]

If you have an aux input on the stereo, like for a cd changer, then it doens't matter what you hook up to it. You could do an mp3 player, a minidisc player or whatever. The aux is simply an input. That's how I hooked up my iPod. Now I don't have to carry 50 pounds of cd's around with me, I have all my mucis in my hand. I love it!

[Mac Medic]

try looking on crutchfields website for the CD changer adaptor for your car. There are a lot of options for my ipod/bmw, hopefully you'll have the same luck.

[roomwithamoose]

Crutchfield is where I got my adapter.

[Colonel Sanders]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot I have a similar issue and its really getting me curious. I have a Rollei MP3 player (cheap) and all its got is a 3.5mm headphone jack going out. My Sony CD only stereo has an auxiliary in in the back for CD changers and MD. I could spend $6 for an aux - 3.5mm converter cable and try that. The problem is that the MP3 is playing MP3's, while the stereo only reads .wav's. Is that correct? Do you think that would still work?

True, an MP3 player plays MP3 files, and a CD player plays Wav files, but the headphone, 3.5mm jack puts out an analog audio signal, your certainly not sending un-decoded MP3 files to your ears. The Auxiliary input accepts an analog audio signal, so everything should be fine.

I myself use a Pioneer DEH-7400MP. Slightly old, but it has been playing MP3 laden CDs for plenty long now. However, I've been thinking about getting an iPod or similar, a CD's capacity is great, but not really great. Plus hunting for files on my Pioneer can take forever... (I don't think this is a problem with CD-based MP3 players, my personal Sony CD-based MP3 player doesn't have such problem...).

Ideally, I myself would like a DVD-based MP3 player for my car, but I lack the $$$ for such a device(if such even exists) and I also lack the $$ for a DVD-burner for my PC. Ah, the wonders of being a college student...

Anyways, now to talk about your problem. I have a device I bought from Radio shack which is an input selector, it basically has 4 inputs for audio video and S-video, and 1 output for audio, video and S-video. On the front are 4 buttons to choose the source. The whole device is set up on one PCB, I don't think it had any ICs, and it didn't need any sort of power source, in other words, it's a quite simple device. So, what I'm getting at is it might be possible to build (or buy) a switch to choose between your CD-changer and your MP3 player.

L J