Using a Zune HD dock with car amps
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EndersShadow
Posts: 17,551
Connecting my Zune to my car amps via RCA with the ability to use a remote.
Currently I use my 3.5mm headphone jack to an Aux port on my CD player. If I need to charge the player I can connect the USB jack to my Zune cable and it will charge the player while I listen, but wont let me use the USB connection to play music. Changing music is a PITA with this scenario as you need to keep swiping your finger and manually controlling the Zune. Its just plain stupid and dangerous.
Currently there are all of two CD players on the market that allow you to connect your Zune via USB directly. Both CD players take on average 2 minutes to sync up your Zune and are still a PITA to navigate via the headunit.
There are however Zune HD docks for use with a TV that have video and audio out in the form of RCA?s. These docks charge your Zune (via a plug) and also have a remote.
So my idea is to find a way to install one of these docks into my car. I figure I can use a cigarette to 2 plug adaptor for the power for the dock (if I don?t try to tie it directly into the fuse box). The question is how to be able to switch back between the RCA?s on the dock and the pre-outs on my car cd player. I figured I would need to install the dock between the RCA?s running from my pre-outs in the cd player and the amps.
I currently am using 2 of the 3 pre-outs as I decided to just run my fronts and sub. I have my fronts bridged on my 4 channel amp and then the sub.
Also will using the RCA?s on a dock pass the signal correctly to my amps? All crossover frequencies for my fronts and sub are in the amps and not set by my head unit so I wont lose anything there as far as signal.
Am I just plain nuts and/or will this work/make sense?
Currently I use my 3.5mm headphone jack to an Aux port on my CD player. If I need to charge the player I can connect the USB jack to my Zune cable and it will charge the player while I listen, but wont let me use the USB connection to play music. Changing music is a PITA with this scenario as you need to keep swiping your finger and manually controlling the Zune. Its just plain stupid and dangerous.
Currently there are all of two CD players on the market that allow you to connect your Zune via USB directly. Both CD players take on average 2 minutes to sync up your Zune and are still a PITA to navigate via the headunit.
There are however Zune HD docks for use with a TV that have video and audio out in the form of RCA?s. These docks charge your Zune (via a plug) and also have a remote.
So my idea is to find a way to install one of these docks into my car. I figure I can use a cigarette to 2 plug adaptor for the power for the dock (if I don?t try to tie it directly into the fuse box). The question is how to be able to switch back between the RCA?s on the dock and the pre-outs on my car cd player. I figured I would need to install the dock between the RCA?s running from my pre-outs in the cd player and the amps.
I currently am using 2 of the 3 pre-outs as I decided to just run my fronts and sub. I have my fronts bridged on my 4 channel amp and then the sub.
Also will using the RCA?s on a dock pass the signal correctly to my amps? All crossover frequencies for my fronts and sub are in the amps and not set by my head unit so I wont lose anything there as far as signal.
Am I just plain nuts and/or will this work/make sense?
"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
Post edited by EndersShadow on
Comments
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I think I might give the Zune HD Sync dock a shot first. It would allow me to charge the player via my front USB connection and also has a Aux out to connect to my current headunit.
From what little I have read it looks like that Aux port has a higher volume level than the Zune (and possible better DAC's?) so I might be able to get more volume out of my Zune. It also has a remote which is what I am looking for.
I would either mount the dock on the dashboard or possibly on armrest deal running between the passenger and driver...
Thoughts?"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
I'd try the sync dock first too, the regular HD dock can be buggy."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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I'd try the sync dock first too, the regular HD dock can be buggy.
Gotcha, but I have to use the HD dock since I am using the Zune HD (forgot to mention that was the one I had in the initial post)"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
Found an adaptor that will connect to a CD changer port on the back of the CD player I have and give me 2 RCA inputs instead. Its all of 20 bucks. This would free up the front AUX port on my CD player (Kenwood KDC-MP438U) for another device and just make everything cleaner. Then I could get an adaptor for my cigarette lighter to turn it into a regular plug and use that to power the USB for the Dock.
Should give me a cleaner look.
The only problem I can see is that the remote on the dock doesn’t allow you to much control beyond volume up/down, track forward/backward if it doesn’t have a video source connected.
So if I want to jump artists or playlists I have to still do it manually on the Zune. So now the search is on for the cheapest, smallest LCD unit. I would need to mount it near the dashboard area.
Any suggestions welcome…."....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
