iPOD much quieter than CD in 08 GT
Discussion
There are quite a few iPod integration solutions for Bentley automobiles. If you are using the stock (as supplied by Bentley), then yes the volume is a bit low and you can't really do anything about it as I recall (have one here and tried it). The sound quality is also a bit lacking as compared to the Dice/Audiovox MediaBridge or the possibilities available by using the Pie unit.
Do you keep the iPod within your glove box or do you have it near you when driving? If you have it near you, another good-sounding solution, which also opens up MANY things, such as using an external DAC and other portable audio players of very high quality (Astell&Kern AK Jr, AK240 or AK380, Sony NW-ZX2, etc), is the >>> PIE VW-AUX 1998-up VW Prewired Auxiliary Input Converter <<< .
Please don't let the low price fool you, as it basically takes the analog output of your device and feeds it to the analog of what (was) the 6 disc changer analog input to the car's main audio system. It also 'fools' the car into thinking you still have the 6 disc changer to work, so it is a bit more than 'just' an aux input box as you need to 'fool' the car's electronics into thinking there is a CD changer attached.
If you truly love music and desire high fidelity sound, the MediaBridge or Pie interface is a good way to go about it. The benefits of the Pie besides the low price is that it works seamlessly and you can use a wide variety of music players, which are far better than Apple and of course you can easily change source units / external DACs as technology moves forward.
Do you keep the iPod within your glove box or do you have it near you when driving? If you have it near you, another good-sounding solution, which also opens up MANY things, such as using an external DAC and other portable audio players of very high quality (Astell&Kern AK Jr, AK240 or AK380, Sony NW-ZX2, etc), is the >>> PIE VW-AUX 1998-up VW Prewired Auxiliary Input Converter <<< .
Please don't let the low price fool you, as it basically takes the analog output of your device and feeds it to the analog of what (was) the 6 disc changer analog input to the car's main audio system. It also 'fools' the car into thinking you still have the 6 disc changer to work, so it is a bit more than 'just' an aux input box as you need to 'fool' the car's electronics into thinking there is a CD changer attached.
If you truly love music and desire high fidelity sound, the MediaBridge or Pie interface is a good way to go about it. The benefits of the Pie besides the low price is that it works seamlessly and you can use a wide variety of music players, which are far better than Apple and of course you can easily change source units / external DACs as technology moves forward.
Edited by enjoythemusic on Monday 27th July 15:55
Always glad to help. Alas, only the stock unit seems to work well with steering wheel/dash control. As I'm on the other side of the pond, thus am not sure who could install a 'better' system that integrates well. Am sure it could be done by some gifted technician.
Another option, have a technician modify the stock adapter's output to produce higher signal out. Perhaps call the Bentley factory as am sure they've heard this compliant quite a few times. Am surprised that whomever spec'ed it did not go with the longtime industry standard of 2V max output. All my portable media players easily max out the stock system by using the Pie or Dice/Audiovox interface.
Another option, have a technician modify the stock adapter's output to produce higher signal out. Perhaps call the Bentley factory as am sure they've heard this compliant quite a few times. Am surprised that whomever spec'ed it did not go with the longtime industry standard of 2V max output. All my portable media players easily max out the stock system by using the Pie or Dice/Audiovox interface.
Edited by enjoythemusic on Monday 27th July 19:30
Are you using an earphone to earphone (aux to aux) cable? It might be worth buying a better cable. I remember buying a cheap cable for mine in a BMW and it didn't work aswell. Might be worth trying before spending on a conversion.
http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/HHM42ZM/A/bel...
http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/HHM42ZM/A/bel...
Excellent troubleshooting yet it's not the cable as I used a $$$$ pure silver wire from Kimber Kable in the correct configuration www.Kimber.com/products/specialty/gqmini/ag/ . The stock Bentley unit simply is lacking in achieving the (many decades old) industry standard specification of a 2V output level.
Edited by enjoythemusic on Friday 4th September 14:22
My Dad has an 08 Flying Spur and had the same problem a few years ago which.
Whilst the other replies are far more detailed and probably more likely to work, I updated the iPod software, took off the volume limiter and set the music output using the headphones / main speaker to be at the highest volume. This played the music out louder when connected to the car.
I had this issue on a Maserati also and after trying the above, the dealer sourced a converter jack which connected to both the iPod and cable and fixed the problem right away. It basically sat between the ipod and cable in the glovebox.
Whilst the other replies are far more detailed and probably more likely to work, I updated the iPod software, took off the volume limiter and set the music output using the headphones / main speaker to be at the highest volume. This played the music out louder when connected to the car.
I had this issue on a Maserati also and after trying the above, the dealer sourced a converter jack which connected to both the iPod and cable and fixed the problem right away. It basically sat between the ipod and cable in the glovebox.
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