my old kenwood is fading fast. the front speakers don't work*, the buttons are either sticky or don't work, and the backlight color is green.

i have a zune, and am looking to install a soundgate adapter with a 3.5mm aux out. however, i don't want it to plug into the front of the faceplate, as it looks ugly.

so, i've searched, and found jvc and sony make ones that have a rear input, for under $140. what i'm really looking for is a decent system that has non-static sound, 1-din. any opinions, thoughts, options from audiophiles out there?

here's my current set-up. i have to take the antenna out every time i want to use the zune


*(the speakers work, but no sound comes out. yeah, i've tried just about everything. i have working 6x9's in the back)

--and no one say "get an ipod", 'cause i'm not an apple guy

 

Hey Homie,.....

NICE, I'm in the same boat/search, lol.

I know you might laugh.... but I was AMAZED at the selection and pricing at Walmart.com. .... Also Target.com, believe it or not. Bestbuy.com is alright, ...but since you can find most of this on shopzilla.com, etc., lol.... I'll just share my opinion...

Sometimes, I need 2 inputs.... and there are many that have dual(front and rear) inputs for mp3, even USB. One was a new Sony, but I don't care for those as I and quite a few I know have had problems.

I'm not a huge fan of JVC, also had a couple problems with them, ....but GREAT power and really good sound.

I'm really leaning toward Alpine, yet again. Right now I've got a Pioneer Super Tuner, outdated, etc., ...and I'm torn between the New Pioneers and the New Alpines.....

I also like the Double Din Soundstream's....... Ian, these things do EVERYTHING, hahaha... And, you can get them for under 300$ on Shopzilla/amazon, etc., where retail is 450-500$....OH, and they DO make Single Din, Flip out Single Din with 7" screens, etc., etc.. I'M NOT saying they're good, definitely not great, I DON'T KNOW, lol.... But maybe worth looking into?

By far, out of 15 stereos I've had, having almost every brand, BEST that they had at the time...... I've found the Alpine to be BY FAR the cleanest sound. Just my Humble Opinion.

Best wishes, I'll be followin! lol.

 

get an amp for $140, throw away the FM transmitter

remove the radio and play directly from your Zune to the Amp

 

hmm... sounds good. i'll look into amps then. any brand you'd recomend or avoid?

one thing, though, i do like to listen to radio every now and then (traffic and what-not).

just so i'm clear, what you're suggesting: zune→amp→speakers (correct?)

edit: mark- thanks for that. very helpfull.

let the searching commence!

 

No problem

Yeah, ...... I couldn't live without my radio... I listen to lots of talk radio.... Also miss my XM portable plug in..... So that wouldn't work for me(zune-amp-speakers). lol..... But hey..... Go for it! hahaha.

 

That's how I did it In my 81 2wd (iPod-> amp -> speakers) and it worked good. Just had to be careful to start with the volume down low

 

all right, i found this amp, which looks decent. though, how would i connect my 2-channel output zune to the 4-input amp? or am i missing something?

i know alpine is a good name, but rather expensive (i know, i know, you get what you pay for). any other brands that are a close second, perhaps?

 

just connect two of the speakers on the output end,

2.5mm head phone jack from the Zune to RCA to the Amp


kinda weird that the zune does not have a dock/RCA connecter for a line out

at least I didn't see one..in my 1 minute search

 

http://www.amazon.com/SoundGate-ZNCB...7921572&sr=8-1

that's the only thing out there (and not too bad, actually) it's just that it's a catch-22: nobody buys a zune because of the lack of accessories. nobody makes accessories because of the lack of zune owners.

[rant]zune beats ipod 10-1, but since microsoft sucks at advertising, very few people know about them[/rant]

so what you're saying is use a 2-channel amp for my 4 speakers? i was looking at the 4-channels, which have 2 separate inputs (i can go either way. i won't be blasting music for the entire county to hear, just enough to hear good, clean sound)

 

I did this same thing with my truck but I used an XM radio add on thing that normally does the FM modulator thing but has an AUX plug on the back, so I went to Radio Shack and bought a cable that goes from a 1.5mm headphone jack into two RCA cables that plug into my Rockford Fosgate amp, then wire out to the speakers. I can switch between my XM and my phone by just unplugging the headphone jack.

 

yeah, i know how to adapt a 3.5mm to rca, but what i'm asking is how to adapt 2 channels to 4 channels. if i can get away with a 2-channel amp, and parallel the left and right speakers, that'll be fine, but if i need a 4-channel amp, they have 2 separate inputs, whereas anything with a single 3.5mm has only one

 

You can use a two channel amp, but might as well get a 4 channel, that way if you every upgrade to a system that puts out 4 channels you will be set.

just hook up your speakers to two of the outputs and leave the other two unconnected..

10-1 zune better then ipod... hmmm
I have used a Zune before and really didn't like it..

one of the major drawbacks of the zune

mechanical hard drive, this is a bad combo for use in a 4X4..

if you got an ipod nano, you would have a

solid state drive
FM radio
a smaller form factor,
one cable to charge and pull audio off of

 

thanks. makes sense

>sigh< just another apple eater...

 

this was why I thought the Zune didn't have a radio still...

oh well like you said I would probably know more about the Zune if they did some advertising

 

the zune antenna works best if not surrounded by a metal cage, ie; the body. so i'll see about a hidden am/fm receiver, maybe a kit.

and what the heck? ipod and a zune tat?

 

yeah that was the Zune Tat guy... he gave up on zune becuase of the lack of improvements from Microsoft.. kinda funny

If you can find an old cheap Alpine head unit many of them have RCA inputs in the rear...