Skip to main content ↑ ↓

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: ipod w rockbox and external hardware? (Read 24321 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #25 –
Thanks Kristian.  This definitely clears things up.    I am really starting to think that the JVC might be the best compromise using ipod, rockbox and ogg.I will see about whether Rockbox could add external device control.

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #26 –
A little late on the followup here but Greynol and Kritip are absolutely correct...the gap is a fraction of a second long (going on memory here, I'll have to recheck to be exactly sure...I'm 99% sure it's no longer than a second) and the head unit doesn't utilize Rockbox's decoding capabilities at all...instead treating the Nano like any ole' external USB device.  Of course, Apple is too shortsighted to fix the gap issue in their own firmware, so you have similar gap behavior when using the head units that interface with the Ipod decoder itself. 

I guess you've already sussed it out that while gaplessness isn't attainable, Vorbis playback certainly is.  I have to wonder if other devices with card and USB drive support from any other manufacturers have undocumented support for other file formats.  Kenwood has devices with such an output but I haven't found anywhere to check them yet.  Eclipse has a unit with SD card-reading capabilities, so that's another model to potentially check before you settle with JVC.  I haven't even tried FLAC over my JVC...which may be possible for all I know.

Quote
It also seems like other DAPs might be able to connect to the USB port as well. I would pay consideration to whether another DAP can be powered from the USB outlet like the iPod can.

Yes! I mentioned it somewhere (most likely in another thread) that the JVC also powered my Iaudio 5 flash player without a hitch.  There may be *some* devices it cannot power but the spec is close enough for both the Nano and I5.
 

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #27 –
Team,

I'm hoping to bump this thread up from 2006 and bring it current to 2010. I just tried my Rockbox iPod with Clarion, Pioneer, and Kenwood car stereo head units, both through the analog line out (headphone jack) and through a USB connection.

I prefer Rockbox and FLAC.

None of the car stereos worked through USB: they all tried to find and talk to an iPod, and when they found the Rockbox instead, they timed out. No luck. No play.

They did play fine through the headphone jack -- but I A/B'd with a CD and thought the Rockbox sounded a little worse.

It's really disappointing that no car stereos support FLAC.

Questions:

1. Are there any car stereos that support native playback of FLAC files?

2. Is there really a noticeable degradation of sound quality -- or, let me put it this way: is headphone jack output really going to be noticeably worse in terms of sound quality vs. USB output?

Thanks!

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #28 –
Quote from: BigHam1 on
2. Is there really a noticeable degradation of sound quality -- or, let me put it this way: is headphone jack output really going to be noticeably worse in terms of sound quality vs. USB output?


When you say USB output, do you actually mean theres a USB jack on the stereo, or are you using an ipod connector?

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #29 –
Quote from: BigHam1 on
They did play fine through the headphone jack -- but I A/B'd with a CD and thought the Rockbox sounded a little worse.

I realize this is your first post here and I would like to welcome you, but you need to understand that this is not acceptable.

Please review our Terms of Service.  Pay attention to #8.

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #30 –
Quote from: greynol on
Quote from: BigHam1 on
They did play fine through the headphone jack -- but I A/B'd with a CD and thought the Rockbox sounded a little worse.

I realize this is your first post here and I would like to welcome you, but you need to understand that this is not acceptable.

Please review our Terms of Service.  Pay attention to #8.



Thank you for pointing this out to me. I've been a long-time reader and very much respect these boards. I'd like to perform a double blind test and add the results to this thread.

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #31 –
Quote from: saratoga on
Quote from: BigHam1 on
2. Is there really a noticeable degradation of sound quality -- or, let me put it this way: is headphone jack output really going to be noticeably worse in terms of sound quality vs. USB output?


When you say USB output, do you actually mean theres a USB jack on the stereo, or are you using an ipod connector?


Thanks Saratoga, the Rockbox iPod was connected via an ipod connector into the USB jack on the front face of each head unit.

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #32 –
Quote from: BigHam1 on
Thanks Saratoga, the Rockbox iPod was connected via an ipod connector into the USB jack on the front face of each head unit.



If you're willing to take the time I would appreciate you adding your findings to the wiki:  http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/IpodAccessories
If you're not willing to spend that much time, if I could persuade you to look over the wiki table and PM me the appropriate information I'd be happy to add it myself.

Do said head units work with non-iPod UMS devices (by simply allowing one to navigate the directory tree of the device)?

Creature of habit.

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #33 –
Quote from: BigHam1 on
Quote from: saratoga on
Quote from: BigHam1 on
2. Is there really a noticeable degradation of sound quality -- or, let me put it this way: is headphone jack output really going to be noticeably worse in terms of sound quality vs. USB output?


When you say USB output, do you actually mean theres a USB jack on the stereo, or are you using an ipod connector?


Thanks Saratoga, the Rockbox iPod was connected via an ipod connector into the USB jack on the front face of each head unit.


This just mounts your ipod as an external hard disk and the stereo plays files on it.  It'll decode whatever the stereo supports, probably MP3 and WMA.

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #34 –
Quote from: saratoga on
This just mounts your ipod as an external hard disk and the stereo plays files on it.  It'll decode whatever the stereo supports, probably MP3 and WMA.


Thanks Saratoga, that is not exactly the case, because I'm running Rockbox.

Rockbox makes it more difficult for the head unit to recognize the iPod when connected via the iPod connector to the front USB jack. What I've found is the Clarion can recognize the player and play back MP3, but with some mistakes in understanding the catalog, jumping ahead in folders and generally not handling it well. The Kenwood and the Pioneer don't recognize the Rockbox iPod at all when connected in this way.

All players have no problem when connected via the 3.5mm headphone jack cable.

So I guess I've got two choices:

1. Drop Rockbox. Revert to standard iPod controls. Convert to AAC (or Apple Lossless if the player supports it). Connect to car stereo via iPod connector.

2. Keep Rockbox. Keep FLAC. Connect to car stereo via 3.5mm cable.

Any opinions on what will sound better -- or is it a moot point given all the ambient road noise?

.

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #35 –
Quote from: Soap on
If you're willing to take the time I would appreciate you adding your findings to the wiki:  http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/IpodAccessories
If you're not willing to spend that much time, if I could persuade you to look over the wiki table and PM me the appropriate information I'd be happy to add it myself.

Do said head units work with non-iPod UMS devices (by simply allowing one to navigate the directory tree of the device)?


Thanks Soap, I'll PM you in the Rockbox forums and work with you to post this information.

I haven't tested these head units with a USB flash drive but I believe they can all navigate the drive directories and that they all read MP3, WMA and AAC.

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #36 –
Quote from: BigHam1 on
Quote from: saratoga on
This just mounts your ipod as an external hard disk and the stereo plays files on it.  It'll decode whatever the stereo supports, probably MP3 and WMA.


Thanks Saratoga, that is not exactly the case, because I'm running Rockbox.

Rockbox makes it more difficult for the head unit to recognize the iPod when connected via the iPod connector to the front USB jack. What I've found is the Clarion can recognize the player and play back MP3, but with some mistakes in understanding the catalog, jumping ahead in folders and generally not handling it well.


I think it is.  It sounds like the stereo is doing what I described. 

Quote from: BigHam1 on
The Kenwood and the Pioneer don't recognize the Rockbox iPod at all when connected in this way.


Do they work when booted into the original apple firmware?

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #37 –
IF I had to hazard a guess, the head units are making a special exception when they "detect" an ipod plugged in via USB (USB ID?) and trying to navigate the Apple directory tree, if not use the Apple accessory protocol itself.  Ideally Rockbox's implementation of the accessory protocol would be complete enough to handle this, but there are other things we can try to work around it.  Rockbox forums are probably the best place for this. I'll see you there?


Creature of habit.

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #38 –
Quote from: BigHam1 on
So I guess I've got two choices:
1. Drop Rockbox. Revert to standard iPod controls. Convert to AAC (or Apple Lossless if the player supports it). Connect to car stereo via iPod connector.
2. Keep Rockbox. Keep FLAC. Connect to car stereo via 3.5mm cable.
Any opinions on what will sound better -- or is it a moot point given all the ambient road noise?

My personal suggestion would be to keep Rockbox, but use the lossy format (and quality level) of your choice. You would gain storage space and the ambient road noise issue tends to cancel out any quality gain by using a lossless format. (This has been my experience, at least.)

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #39 –
Thanks team. I ended up going with an Alpine head unit with control and sound output from the Rockbox via the headphone jack. I'm very satisfied. With 80GB, I've got plenty of space to stay with FLAC. Thanks very much for all the responses. Soap, I will definitely work my way over to the Rockbox forums.

ipod w rockbox and external hardware?

Reply #40 –
Quote from: greynol on
it isn't like the ipod's output is going to do justice to lossless audio.

Reading this was quite embarrassing! 

While I still highly doubt that many people are gaining any benefit from using lossless on their iPods beyond a placebo effect, I do not believe it has anything to with the device's output stage.