Mp3 Car Audio without Stereo - DIY - ideas?

[BlueRaven]

Like many of you out there, I have recently come to own a hard disk based mp3 player (although i've had two before this, they were both small flash based ones and utterly useless for what im trying to do here). As it holds 20gig of music files and currently over 3,300 songs - I've taken to listening to it everywhere.

I no longer listen to CDs and at my computer I plug the speakers into it instead. It is my full-time music buddy.

I bought a tape adapter for my wife to use in her car as well, as its 10x better than FM ones (when you have the option of using a tape adapter).

The question came to mind, how can I add a aux port to an existing stereo to plug it directly into a stereo....but then I thought of an even greater idea.

As it IS a project car, which means I can pretty much do whatever I want with it, why don't I ditch the stereo completely?? I dont need it and wouldnt use it.
What if I just plug the mp3 player into a jack? I've got a radio and mp3 player - so I dont need a car stereo. Besides, when a potential theif sees there isnt a CD player, I decrease the cars stealability!!

So to do this... im aware I need..

- cabling
- some kind of small amp?
- plugs and things

So what Im asking here, is does anyone have any idea how I could do this?

Should I butcher the existing tape fm/am radio (non original) in there to do it?

Could I buy a mini amp from somewhere?

What if I wanted to control balance/fade?

Bare in mind, this project needs to be as cheap as humanly possible - so its a bit of a lark. A bit of fun.

[AC/DC]

Yep, , sure can...

Your current mp3 player is basically a pre-amp with music in it.. So all you need is a 3.5mm to 2 RCA adaptor lead from any electronics store ( about $8)... Then you can split the 2 rca to 4 rca's and plug this in to a 4 channel amp ( about $199 for a decent quality one ) and of course 4 good speakers in the car.

This way, you dont actually have a head unit in the car. To set the fader, you need to do this with the 2 gain controls on the amp.. once it is set, do you really need to adjust fader and balace ?

If it is a project car, , you may be able to customise the dash, , or if it is an older car, , get an origial cassete player that was in the car on day 1..

Bass / Treble settings and volume is then done on the MP3 player.... ( I have seen people mount Ipod Nanos on the inside of their steering wheel, with a small curly cord into the steering column plastic ( so they can turn the wheel to full lock )

Overall, you have a good idea, which is going to be much more popular in the near future..

AC/DC

[BlueRaven]

Hey, thanks for the quick response!

Its good to know my idea is a sound one. The problem with that is the price of the amp. At $199, I could buy a head unit that has an aux port. Next to each other, the cost to worth ratio doesnt match up - I'd buy the head unit.

So is there away it can be done cheaper than that, other than getting one second hand? I dont have a great stereo system and don't really want one - but I'd like the idea of some decent speakers and an mp3 player.

Originally Posted by BlueRaven

Hey, thanks for the quick response!

Its good to know my idea is a sound one. The problem with that is the price of the amp. At $199, I could buy a head unit that has an aux port. Next to each other, the cost to worth ratio doesnt match up - I'd buy the head unit.

So is there away it can be done cheaper than that, other than getting one second hand? I dont have a great stereo system and don't really want one - but I'd like the idea of some decent speakers and an mp3 player.

you could come across a 2 channel amp less than a $100. get some good splits at the front, and perhaps some low range drivers for the rear.

The difference with getting the system aforementioned and a head unit, is that having amps will sound 100 times better than the headunit powering speakers.

I'd look at modifying the dash where the stereo was and making a moulded holster to place the media player in while driving

BTW what player do you have

[BlueRaven]

I've got a Creative Zen 20GB - it comes with its own holder with a belt clip and stand extension. I was going to make something up so the holder would sit onto the dash - which is basically a 2cm wide bit of plastic..

Originally Posted by BlueRaven

I've got a Creative Zen 20GB - it comes with its own holder with a belt clip and stand extension. I was going to make something up so the holder would sit onto the dash - which is basically a 2cm wide bit of plastic..

Perhaps a PDA mount or the like? Stingray should be able to help you out ;)

[gozza]

mp3s have ruined music
little geeks downloading pirated stuff to fill up there 100000 songs on there ipod
pure discusting
im not saying thats what you do or even that mp3s are all pirated
but its sickening to think all these little turds are stealing from artists

[BlueRaven]

Originally Posted by gozza

mp3s have ruined music
little geeks downloading pirated stuff to fill up there 100000 songs on there ipod
pure discusting
im not saying thats what you do or even that mp3s are all pirated
but its sickening to think all these little turds are stealing from artists

Ive got a few theorys about this. People downloading music do rob artists - but only the small ones where it matters the most. Where most popular music is concerned, its the large record companies that feel the bite. Although it ieffects the muscian in the end, the effect is minor.

I download music. I always have. However, I have a reason for that. Most of the music i've listened to in the last 8 or so years has been from bands that I would never had heard of before had it not been for the internet. Its allowed me to buy a CD from a little band in Norway or an unknown band (in Australia) from Hungry, Seattle, Sweden, Germany..

If it werent for Mp3s - the music I listen to and half of what defined me for the last 8 or so years would be gone.

I will always try and buy a CD from bands that matter the most.