The USB/Aux-in/ipod compatibility superthread

[rexman]

James1000, shav,

do you have the same head unit as that picture i posted?

[shav]

James1000, shav,

do you have the same head unit as that picture i posted?

yes I do.

[James1000]

James1000, shav,

do you have the same head unit as that picture i posted?

Sure do mate.

[Beanbag Brad]

So my Gen5 GT came with an ipod connector in the centre console compartment....


Only problem is I don't have any apple products, nor do I desire to. Does anyone know if I can get a USB/3.5mm converter for this? I am getting the new HTC One soon and would rather have a physical connection for maximum Audio-sexness than shitty Bluetooth (I've heard nothing but bad things about HTC bluetooth quality, and bluetooth quality as a whole.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated, in the mean time I'll ask subaru how much it'll cost to get it converted!



Added: Just realised this would mean the inability to use steering controls for changing songs.... Sighhhhhhh! Any way to improve bluetooth?!?!

[wavetech]

Hi,

Bluetooth audio streaming is getting pretty good these days.
Newer bluetooth devices can even send song titles & commands (next track, pause etc) via bluetooth as well.

I would prefer Bluetooth streaming over an AUX cable (headphone jack) simply because Bluetooth streaming is Digital and AUX is analogue.

Thanks,

Matt
Wavetech Imports

[wcefan]

Hi,

Bluetooth audio streaming is getting pretty good these days.
Newer bluetooth devices can even send song titles & commands (next track, pause etc) via bluetooth as well.

I would prefer Bluetooth streaming over an AUX cable (headphone jack) simply because Bluetooth streaming is Digital and AUX is analogue.

Thanks,

Matt
Wavetech Imports

Hey Matt, don't suppose you know if USB streaming works via an Android phone through the AnyCarLink AL-1080 systems?

[Beanbag Brad]

Hi,

Bluetooth audio streaming is getting pretty good these days.
Newer bluetooth devices can even send song titles & commands (next track, pause etc) via bluetooth as well.

I would prefer Bluetooth streaming over an AUX cable (headphone jack) simply because Bluetooth streaming is Digital and AUX is analogue.

Thanks,

Matt
Wavetech Imports

Thanks for that Matt, I must be stuck in the past Tested my mates HTC phone against my Samsung Galaxy Nexus and his sound was far superior, with the exact same song file, his has the Beats Audio, and no matter what EQ tweaking I did I couldn't get anywhere near as good low + mid tones!!

My new HTC phone arrives today so hopefully that'll be an improvement, guess the hardware does make a massive difference, would've thought with today's technology things would be barely noticeable between devices.

[wavetech]

Hey Matt, don't suppose you know if USB streaming works via an Android phone through the AnyCarLink AL-1080 systems?

Hi,

The Anycars require a USB mass storage device.
With newer Android versions, you can switch the phone into this mode.
I tried this with my Galaxy S2 but still no joy.
I think it may be due to the folder hierarchy of the Galaxy not being what the Anycar likes.

The Anycar likes simple folders containing mp3's in the root of the drive.

If anyone knows about Android app development, you may be able to create a new app that mounts a chosen music folder on your phone to a drive.
I'm experienced in C#, Java, PHP & Python.
I see Android apps are written in Java, so I may be able to look into it at some stage.
I think the App could be actually used for quite a few devices that only work with Mass Storage devices (headunits etc)
It basically would just simplify the folder structure (hide all the Android system folders) so the device it gets plugged into can scan it quicker & also won't pick up all the downloaded ringtones etc

There may already be an app that does this, or it may not be possible (Android may not let you change the way the device mounts)

Thanks,

Matt

[wcefan]

Hey Matt, don't suppose you know if USB streaming works via an Android phone through the AnyCarLink AL-1080 systems?

Hi,

The Anycars require a USB mass storage device.
With newer Android versions, you can switch the phone into this mode.
I tried this with my Galaxy S2 but still no joy.
I think it may be due to the folder hierarchy of the Galaxy not being what the Anycar likes.

The Anycar likes simple folders containing mp3's in the root of the drive.

If anyone knows about Android app development, you may be able to create a new app that mounts a chosen music folder on your phone to a drive.
I'm experienced in C#, Java, PHP & Python.
I see Android apps are written in Java, so I may be able to look into it at some stage.
I think the App could be actually used for quite a few devices that only work with Mass Storage devices (headunits etc)
It basically would just simplify the folder structure (hide all the Android system folders) so the device it gets plugged into can scan it quicker & also won't pick up all the downloaded ringtones etc

There may already be an app that does this, or it may not be possible (Android may not let you change the way the device mounts)

Thanks,

Matt

Thanks Matt. I might just buy one anyway, if USB streaming doesn't work then I can just use AUX.

What Android OS you running on your S2?
I was able to get USB streaming working with the GROM unit I just had, but that actually supports USB streaming. Tried with Nexus 4 on 4.2.2 and Galaxy S1 on CM10.1 (4.2.2).
Had to send the GROM unit back though as I couldn't use the controls on the HU and couldn't change sources. Also the bugs I experienced (randomly stops playing audio no matter what source I am in and randomly restarts the radio).

I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to write an app to spoof music folders on "usb drive". But not sure whether you can control the Play/Pause/Next track function via the App. Will have to do some testing.

And do you know if AnyCarLink has any future plans to support Android devices? either via a firmware update or new device?

[wavetech]

Are you talking about the Grom Android units with USB?
I see there has been quite a few issues with those (a whole thread infact)
We don't sell these at present, just the Grom iPod version.

There is actually a shockingly amount of products that don't support Android.
Even though Android has the largest market share.

Eg: Car radios with USB. (which we sell)
Nearly all support iPod/iPhone via the USB but you plug-in an Android phone and you get "Unsupported" (unless you change it to Mass-Storage).
But then you get all your ring-tones - non-proper navigation etc.
Manufactures need to start building products that work with the MTP protocol (that Android uses - well - my Samsung Galaxy does).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Transfer_Protocol is pretty popular.

Newer head-units now say "Work with Android", but it has to be via Bluetooth and uses a dedicated App on the Phone (annoying)

[wcefan]

Are you talking about the Grom Android units with USB?
I see there has been quite a few issues with those (a whole thread infact)
We don't sell these at present, just the Grom iPod version.

There is actually a shockingly amount of products that don't support Android.
Even though Android has the largest market share.

Eg: Car radios with USB. (which we sell)
Nearly all support iPod/iPhone via the USB but you plug-in an Android phone and you get "Unsupported" (unless you change it to Mass-Storage).
But then you get all your ring-tones - non-proper navigation etc.
Manufactures need to start building products that work with the MTP protocol (that Android uses - well - my Samsung Galaxy does).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Transfer_Protocol is pretty popular.

Newer head-units now say "Work with Android", but it has to be via Bluetooth and uses a dedicated App on the Phone (annoying)

Preaching the the choir man. Android is also open source, so it's not like they are restricted in "finding the code" or legal sense. MTP came out with HoneyComb, before then it was slightly different and called "USB Mass Storage".

Yeh I had the GROM USB02 (not the IPD3) unit which specially say "Works with Android". And it does, but you have to use the AALinq app from GROM if you want to control via the headunit. There's a "patch" you can apply to the GROM device that enables USB streaming so you can use any application on Android to stream music via USB. But if the GROM unit resets, then you have to reapply the patch. Annoying, but I kept a usb stick with the patch on it handy in the car. Apart from the control issues (my headunit specific) and the crashes, it worked pretty well. If they are able to get it stable and update the firmware to support more stereos (even if just all Clarion/McIntosh radios) then it will be pretty decent.

With the AnyCarLinks that you sell, do you have a return and refund policy within XX days? For if the unit doesn't work to expectation.

[wavetech]

Hi,

Yes, you can return for a refund within 30days if it doesn't work.
And, I'm running JellyBean on my S2.

Thanks,

Matt
Wavetech Imports

[Bjspencer85]

Hey Guys,

New member on this site.

Ive come from the world of Turbo Fords and just purchased the mrs a 2004 Liberty GT Premium. Love the car. Hated the no parts available bit of owning an older subaru.

Anyhow just wanted to add to this part of the forum.

After so much searching and trialing of cables and boxes i can CONFIRM the following unit for bluetooth and aux WORKS PERFECTLY on the following setup

2004 Liberty GT Wagon
Premium Macintosh Sound System
Model number PF-25511
Works 100% with the following bluetooth and aux kit... Grom IPD3
http://www.cushieaudio.com.au/subaru-ipd3.html

Big thanks to Justin at cushie audio and a member on this site for the help trying to solve this annoying puzzle.

Tested with the following Phones
Iphone 4
Samsung S4

Both work for calls
Both work for bluetooth music
Both require NO extra software or changes, works just like normal bluetooth connections

Thanks
Brad

[wcefan]

Hey Guys,

New member on this site.

Ive come from the world of Turbo Fords and just purchased the mrs a 2004 Liberty GT Premium. Love the car. Hated the no parts available bit of owning an older subaru.

Anyhow just wanted to add to this part of the forum.

After so much searching and trialing of cables and boxes i can CONFIRM the following unit for bluetooth and aux WORKS PERFECTLY on the following setup

2004 Liberty GT Wagon
Premium Macintosh Sound System
Model number PF-25511
Works 100% with the following bluetooth and aux kit... Grom IPD3
http://www.cushieaudio.com.au/subaru-ipd3.html

Big thanks to Justin at cushie audio and a member on this site for the help trying to solve this annoying puzzle.

Tested with the following Phones
Iphone 4
Samsung S4

Both work for calls
Both work for bluetooth music
Both require NO extra software or changes, works just like normal bluetooth connections

Thanks
Brad

Hi Brad,

Welcome to the forums. I've got a PF-25511 as well. So you're able to change GROM Audio sources ok? And can you control the ipod/iphone via the headunit?

I had issues with my GROM USB02 unit where I couldn't change sources because the headunit controls wouldn't register with the GROM unit.

[bosc0]

After so much searching and trialing of cables and boxes i can CONFIRM the following unit for bluetooth and aux WORKS PERFECTLY on the following setup

Lucky so and so....