What do I need to conect an X5 to a car stereo Aux-In

[caliaa]

First of all I'd like to say that I don't know the first thing about car stereos, cables, aux in/out lines, etc., so please talk to me like I was 5. My car stereo has a Aux Input on the back of the unit that I'd like to use, so I reckon I would need some cables and maybe something else, I just don't know what.

I already use an FM transmitter to listen to my X5 in my. I use 94.3 frequency and the sound is great 95% of the time, not mind-blowing but great. I don't need Hi-Fi sound, I mean, it's just a car and I use it mainly to commute, so I don't know if it would be worth it or not.

Any thoughts?

PS. I don't know if there are different kinds of Aux-In for cars but here's the diagram in the manual anyway:



PS2. I'm in the States btw, in case you know some stores that carry whatever it is I need.

[afruff23]

Is the aux in in the back 2 plugs or one?
-If 2 plugs, then you need a y-cable like this
-If 1 plug and the hole is shaped like the headphone jack on the X5, then use the recording cable whcih came with the X5. It looks like this (the line-in recording cable). Here's a better pic.

[doniago]

Radioshack or any other place that stocks basic audio cables should have what you need.

[caliaa]

Thanks. Would the cable be all I need? I mean, is the sound gonna be much better compared with the transmitter?

[Zeus's Uncle]

Yes, you will notice a significant improvement in the sound. All you need is the proper cable, plug it into the aux-ing and plug it into your X5's headphone jack (or line-out if you really want to, but what a pain to deal with subpack, just go with the headphone jack).

[caliaa]

Cool, thanks y'all.

[sketchykarl]

fm transmitter is an easier way to go...

[Zeus's Uncle]

Originally Posted by sketchykarl

fm transmitter is an easier way to go...

It's lesser quality and you have to fiddle with the stations when you go on long road trips due to interference. Not having wires is nice, but not always easier.

[sketchykarl]

Originally Posted by Zeus's Uncle

It's lesser quality and you have to fiddle with the stations when you go on long road trips due to interference. Not having wires is nice, but not always easier.

less fiddleing than you would imagine... guess it depends where you live.. and sound quality is pretty close

[HiMDforMe]

i wouldn't say a transmitter is less trouble than an auxilliary cable. a cable you can just always leave plugged into the back and then plug it into your x5 whenever you need and you're ready to go and always have a quality signal. transmitters need batteries or you need to plug them into the AC adapter so you still have wires or you need to remember to change batteries or switch off the transmitter every time. and your signal is not always good, though usually pretty good. but when its not its really annoying and i always have to try to move the transmitter around to try and get better signal. so it probably depends on the quality of your transmitter, stereo, open radio frequencies, batteries, etc. definitely easier if you have an aux. input - but not everyone does so transmitters work good enough.

[Zeus's Uncle]

Originally Posted by sketchykarl

less fiddleing than you would imagine... guess it depends where you live.. and sound quality is pretty close

I don't need to imagine, I've used them. I used to use one every day for about a year. If you stay centralized enough you can usually find a single station to use for most of your trips, but if you do anything long distance, cross state lines, you will most certainly need to do some searching for a clear frequency every so often. The sound quality doesn't compare to an aux-in. Not all FM transmitters require batteries, but I think that all the ones that work with the X5 will. The Griffin iTrip would just draw power from the iPod. But most of them do require it. The main advantage of FM transmitters is a lack of wires (assuming you get one that doesn't require wires, many do).

[midnite8791]

Originally Posted by sketchykarl

less fiddleing than you would imagine... guess it depends where you live.. and sound quality is pretty close

maybe if you are used to listening to shitty quality music :rofl:

an even better way would be to PM sirronake and order a line out -> RCA cable. It clips in the bottom of the X5 and the other side is the right and left (red and white) RCA inputs. Much more convenient than using the subpack, and better than the headphone jack as then it will play with the settings on your car stereo. Just make sure you turn off any jeteffect or BBE settings when using the lineout

[elconejito]

I live in the Metro DC area, and it is a real PAIN finding a radio station that is open. I've used the iriver (gave to brother) and now belkin transmitters with pretty similar results. Both are digital tuners and let you set up to 4 different presets. The sound quality is OK. It is no better or worse than many of the other FM stations I listen to, but obviously less than CD quality.

The problem in an area like this that is SO congested with radio traffic, is that eventually (my commute is about 20miles, 50mins usually) I have to change the station. Which is easy because there are four presets. The annoying part is that I lose 4 presets on my radio from having to switch back and forth to find a decent signal.

I will eventually (before end of year) get a new head unit in my car which will have aux inputs that the current factory stereo does not

[afruff23]

Yeah, anybody find a super-cheap single-DIN head unit with aux-in?

[elconejito]

define "super-cheap"