The Newly Released Alpine System is In... Woohoo...!!!!!

[Storm-Troll]

Got the IDx 305S System fitted yesterday with my 3rd Gen Ipod Link Up... so far got 2000 tracks on it... just ripping all my Cds as we speak to add more.... sound is amazing. real happy with the outcome in the end.... and the Audio Centre only charged £35 to fit it all..... niiiice...:cool:

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/stormhawk7/S60%20T5/12062010697.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/stormhawk7/S60%20T5/12062010699.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/stormhawk7/S60%20T5/12062010701.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/stormhawk7/S60%20T5/12062010702.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/stormhawk7/S60%20T5/12062010703.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/stormhawk7/S60%20T5/12062010705.jpg

[MIKESC70T5]

It's plug and play so would of only taken 10 minutes to fit. Why do you need the ipod on display?

Lovely head unit though.

[Storm-Troll]

because the ipod shows the album art for whatever is playing.. be pointless having it in the glovebox where cant see what its displaying lol took about 20 mins to fit and trace the usb wire etc etc.

[Crazy_C]

Oooh, very nice!!

I personally always like having the iPod hidden away, but that's just me.

[Storm-Troll]

Oooh, very nice!!

I personally always like having the iPod hidden away, but that's just me.

I did think about it but when im sat in stationary traffic or parked somewhere. I can access the internet or the hundreds of apps etc etc. also having it there makes the facia panel look less plain as the headunit is on the right of the facia and the left where the cup holder used to be is blank and rather bland. so having the pod there takes away from the massive empty space that looks like it should be doing something lol.

[Jamest5r]

Ipod???...only got my cd fitted last week lol looks very nice though s/t

[Storm-Troll]

Ipod???...only got my cd fitted last week lol looks very nice though s/t

Yeah... didnt fancythe Iphone as already got 2 mobiles lol. so thought id get the new 3rd Generaton Ipod which goes with this head unit.. then in future when i get my next phone free upgrade ill get the iphone as the headunit has a new feature on this new release called Pandora.. all about internet radio and internet access into the headunit from the phone... but the Pod will do for now for apps and will take me a while to top up the 64 Gb storage on the pod lol..

[Vikingxl]

That big black hole needs a blue LED troll

[Wobbly Dave]

That big black hole needs a blue LED troll
He's not wrong. Strip style light? in the back perhaps?

[LiamT4]

When copying your music what bit rate do you use? as there aint much point in having a top sound system and then ripping your music at standard mp3.
Does anybody know if you can get super audio car systems (i know that there aint many SA-cds out, but would still like 1).

[Storm-Troll]

When copying your music what bit rate do you use? as there aint much point in having a top sound system and then ripping your music at standard mp3.
Does anybody know if you can get super audio car systems (i know that there aint many SA-cds out, but would still like 1).

I use a super high standard for ripping.. normal mp3 is about 144 i think. I rip and 196. does sound crisp and sharpe

[Storm-Troll]

That big black hole needs a blue LED troll

do it troll ..lol.... i know some white square LED blocks that would glow nicely from t back in there lmao....

[MIKESC70T5]

because the ipod shows the album art for whatever is playing.. be pointless having it in the glovebox where cant see what its displaying .

Doesn't the head units display show the album artwork? I had the earlier model to yours sometime ago and it did. It was a fantastic unit especially going threw the upgraded Volvo speakers in the c70. Only changed it because i wanted a dvd unit. This is my current one showing the album artwork so allowing the Ipod to stay in the glove box.
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/MIKEST5R/SDC11468.jpg

[Dangerous Dave]

Nice, like the install, nice and simple. And nice legs too there ST. LOL

[Storm-Troll]

Doesn't the head units display show the album artwork? I had the earlier model to yours sometime ago and it did. It was a fantastic unit especially going threw the upgraded Volvo speakers in the c70. Only changed it because i wanted a dvd unit. This is my current one showing the album artwork so allowing the Ipod to stay in the glove box.
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/MIKEST5R/SDC11468.jpg

yeah the headunit shows the album artwork but its rather small to read when driving.. the pod has a big screen and i can see what album in playing at the time. also when i get the iphone soon it will fit straight into the same cradle and it will need to be there so I can use the new pandora Internet radio feature thats new to this latest headunit, then ill be able to get radio stations from all over the world and others that arent availible on standard car sterieo radio. so its all there ready and waiting for the iphone too... I used to have a dvd headunit in my previous S70 R but got fed up in the end as I was spendin more time lookin at it than where I was meant to be goin lol...

[LiamT4]

I use a super high standard for ripping.. normal mp3 is about 144 i think. I rip and 196. does sound crisp and sharpe

Most people still tend to download songs at 128, which is fine when you are out using an ipod, etc, but on a decent sound system lacks depth imo. Maybe a bit late now but try using 256 for some music, on a good system it can give you just that little bit more.

[Storm-Troll]

Most people still tend to download songs at 128, which is fine when you are out using an ipod, etc, but on a decent sound system lacks depth imo. Maybe a bit late now but try using 256 for some music, on a good system it can give you just that little bit more.

I will do that mate. cheers. im doin some more music later so ill rip it 256. im just converting dvds to ipod format at moment and sorting some podcasts.

[LiamT4]

I will do that mate. cheers. im doin some more music later so ill rip it 256. im just converting dvds to ipod format at moment and sorting some podcasts.

It don't make much difference on my cars system (it's still the original, so 12 years old), but as yours has a much more up to date system hopefully you'll be able to tell the difference to make it worthwhile.

Some people will say the difference aint worth the extra space it takes up, but depends on how much your into your music, i look at it as a way of very simply making it sound better, after all, people spend money on getting better speakers, wiring, amps, headunits etc, to get better sound, well this is a free and simple way to get better sound.

[volvokid]

I've found music that is ripped at a lower level sounds crap on a stereo with surround all the sound that comes out the back speakers just warbles and sounds stuppid.

[t5_monkey]

256 all the way - can definitely tell the difference on dyna-audio - go 384 if you can :)

[volvokid]

256 all the way - can definitely tell the difference on dyna-audio - go 384 if you can :)

Do the S40's have the dyna-audio subs in the boot as well like the C70?

[LiamT4]

I've found music that is ripped at a lower level sounds crap on a stereo with surround all the sound that comes out the back speakers just warbles and sounds stuppid.

I find that when it drops below 160, that it can sound "tinny" even through normal headphones.

[Storm-Troll]

i use a program called cook edit pro which is a pro audio editing program. i mix all my stuff on there and splice etc etc so ill bump up the bitrate to max and see how it changes

[LiamT4]

You could go to 320, which is the normal max. Depending on how good the software/hardware is it is possible to go to over 600. You have to remember though that even at 320 its still not at cd quality, which is uncompressed. Try 320, but remember at this level you'll be not far off halving your storage capacity from what you are currently using (196).

Btw, i'm not an expert in this. I'v known about mp3 bit rates and that standard mp3 sound quality isn't the best and also known a bit about sound systems, but i'v been reading a bit more into this in the last couple of weeks since i noticed that a cd that i had bought had a funny symbol on it that said super-audio underneath it and wanted to know what it meant, which has lead me to learn a bit more about other things. Some of which is quite interesting. lol

[850 2.5 10v]

You guys need to spend more time looking at the road than a bit of album artwork the size of a matchbox.

Pointless IMO!

[Storm-Troll]

You guys need to spend more time looking at the road than a bit of album artwork the size of a matchbox.

Pointless IMO!

lol but the roads are boring... tarmac and white lines. seen one u seen em all .. lmao..

[LeeT5]

isn't the Volvo system a different Ohm setting on the speakers, ie, 8ohms where normal is 4ohms? Does this not impact when using non oe headunits?
(sorry, slightly off topic).

[Storm-Troll]

isn't the Volvo system a different Ohm setting on the speakers, ie, 8ohms where normal is 4ohms? Does this not impact when using non oe headunits?
(sorry, slightly off topic).

I couldnt comment on the technical side of that question matey as I dont know. but all I can say is the OEM stereo was good but the sound from the Alpine is even better so Im guessing that everything is ok or it would sound pants.....

[The Flying Moose]

isn't the Volvo system a different Ohm setting on the speakers, ie, 8ohms where normal is 4ohms? Does this not impact when using non oe headunits?
(sorry, slightly off topic).

Without going into the technicalities ill explain. If the volvo stereo system runs 8ohm speakers then the amplifier as it is optimised for the car will run at maximum volume when connected to 8 ohm speakers. If for instance the Volvo speakers are a combined 200W RMS and you had a stereo that runs is quoted to achieve 200W at 4 ohms then the stereo would not be able to produce 200w at 8 Ohms it would typically produce 100W. The figures vary dramatically but an 8 ohm speaker at 200w will normally require a 400W 4 Ohm amplifier (typically double the 8 ohm reading) to run at maximum volume. This is where its important as if these factors are not accounted for then you can either overwork your speakers or overwork your amplifier. If however you do drive around with a mini glastonbury in you car then your pretty safe in most scenarious.

Any more audio related questions/quieries like this fire away, apparently I was once a professional sound engineer... :)

[Libra]

Thanks for this info, I think V70ETS.

ST, might I ask, if it has not already been mentioned, as to why did you not go down the usa spec/imiv units so you can use your ipod?

Did your car come with the HU803 and the dolby pro logic system?

Actually whilst we are talking about HU, who makes the HU803/HU850?

[Storm-Troll]

ST, might I ask, if it has not already been mentioned, as to why did you not go down the usa spec/imiv units so you can use your ipod?
?

dont understand ya question mate. I AM using my iPod on it. its USB conected to the Alpine......

[Libra]

If you wanted to use your ipod to play through the cars OE HU8**, then why did you not just buy a usa spec or iMiv module instead of forking out for a new Alpine HU with ipod connectivity?

[Storm-Troll]

If you wanted to use your ipod to play through the cars OE HU8**, then why did you not just buy a usa spec or iMiv module instead of forking out for a new Alpine HU with ipod connectivity?

Because I Wanted the Alpine Headunit. and you cant get Pandora Internet Radio On the Volvo Stereo Like U can On the Alpine Unit. So It was a No brainer really, plus I hate the standard Boring looking Volvo Head unit. lol

[spencem875]

ST can you reload those pics so i can see what your unit looks like in the new surround. please :)

[Storm-Troll]

ST can you reload those pics so i can see what your unit looks like in the new surround. please :)

I will take some pics tomorrow mate and post them up.. seem to have lost my old ones... Im just fitting the hew holder at the moment for my new iphone 4 so Ill take some piccys tomorrow.