can anyone shed some light on an idea i have to run an ipod/iphone
in my mini, but with out the need for a headunit cluttering up the dash.

was thinking maybe of just an amp under passenger seat,
some concealed speakers under rear seat and then just power
and ipod jack somewhere accesible......

thoughts and comments?

sounds like you've got it sussed

the power and audio jack could be one and the same, just like on all those ipod docks you can buy - I'd say it's a standard socket you can buy now, just wire the right ones and you're right

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

My Minis always had the speakers under the back seats and they sound great there. Easily reversible mod too.

Pete

why not put a headunit with the ipod interface under the back seats too.. seen it done many times and then ittle be a hell of alot easier run amps and speakers etc and then all you do is connect the ipod up to that rather then trying to modify everything to run off the ipod cable which would be tricky id say, i dont really think headunits clutter up the dash anyway.

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Potato

from what i've researched, i cant see why i need the head unit?!
i could 'technically' run audio+power to the ithingy without the need
for a headunit. the only bonus of the headunit would mean i can get
the radio.... but unfortunately i never listen to it anyway....
(except for maybe doctor karl on my day off!)

am never going to have a headunit anywhere near my dash,
just looking for advice as to whether it could be installed
and work, sans headunit.....

surely someone has already done this???
??

i was thiniking too is an ipod capable of powering that kind of speaker.. they run a hell of alot of power through them and use massive cabling (well mine do anyway..) an ipod is really only meant for little headphones.

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Potato

With an amp it will be fine, as the amp provides the power. There is no reason you couldn't do it.

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

seen it done in a van
1000watt amp ?? and 2 6x9 speakers trouble was the amp was on the floor just behind the seats and the speakers were mounted in the floor
was done by po. new owner is going to change it to some thing better.
just had a lead with a speaker jack on it

meeni - mmm trying to decipher your reply....
not quite sure what your talking about!

ipod/iphones can run perfectly of an aux input.
think bose sounddock or most new cars.....

so technically i dont need the headunit!
the amp will take care of that.

anyone with car audio knowledge care to comment?

I've thought about this too. All I think you'd need is the Universal Dock (worth about $50), which gives you a place to sit the iPod/iPhone (and, given the inserts, allows you to switch between them), charges the iPod/iPhone, and has an output you can channel to RCA. The only question then is the output of the Dock to the Amp - making sure it's a high enough output, making sure you don't need a small preamp in the mix.

A head unit's only useful if you want to listen to radio - if you're just going to use an MP3 device, and you can work the output to the amp's input, there's no reason to have a head unit cluttering up your interior.

My mate has run his Ipod directly to my amplifier via a 3.5mm stereo to rca lead. worked a treat too. If you run a Y piece or signal splitter you can run 4 channels from the one stereo cable. Just needed a charging source that still allowed access to the headphone outlet.
Yes it can be done and has

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I did some looking into this and if I decide to put music in the Travelle"R" I just want a subtle iPod dock with a hidden amp and speakers. I've seen an iPod hooked directly to and amp and speakers and it seamed to work fine. There was a switch to turn the amp on and the iPod just got charge in the house when it wasn't being used in the car. What I would do is provide a switched power source to my dock through a relay and then use the 12V output from the pinout on the iPod to activate another relay that would then turn the amp on and off through the iPod. Seams easy enough to me. But I have yet to actually do it.
Not exactly sure where I'd hide the amp. I'm using Miata seats that have provisions for speakers in the head rests which would do the trick for hiding the speakers. I don't want a crazy stereo, but music might be nice once in a while. I have a feeling that if I need some entertainment I'll just apply some pressure to the VTEC volume pedal.

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email - [email protected]
http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/TurboOrangie/

67 Traveller - Needs restoration
www.victoria-chiropractors.ca

Another idea possibly is what im doing and make up a panel that fits inside the glove box in the back seat and place the head unit in there this means you get the option to do the headunit functions eq pan etc but wont see. We also plan mounting the face plate of the headunit in the sun visor so its still controlable.

Just asked dad whos being stereos in cars for 20 yrs and said that using the headphone jack straight intothe amp wont cause a problem. If you want to use a dock you will have to get a volume control as a dock volume cant be changed. A subwoofer volume knob with an rca input/ output will do and you can get some pretty discret ones. Hope this helps

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I'm grew up on the street, not the hood, the sesame st

Wouldnt you also need a 12v source for remote on to the amp, that is usually trigged by the head unit?
So just a switched feed?

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Im here to learn!

there must be a voltage out from an ipod dock, when the ipod is in the docked position? surely you could make up a cct to drive a tranistor, which then drives a relay to control the amp remote line... then when the ipod is off/removed, the amp is off also.

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tim
68 Deluxe 1293, HIF44, megajolt/EDIS4, daihatsu alternator..

'a mini is for life, not just for christmas!'