Hey guys I posted a question about a cracked rim in the 'Exterior Mods' forum and just in an attempt to give something back to the community, I thought I'd show you guys how I dealt with the low AUX input level (from smart phones etc) without getting the official Ford underdash amplified cable (which comes in at around 100 dollars for the part without installation and more with installation) and using a readily available and affordable 'Headphone amp' instead.


This is what the finished product looks like.




The guy I bought the car from had a '30-pin' iPhone connector, and I have android so as you can see here I got the '30 pin to 3.5mm adaptor'





Which plugs into the 'output' hole on the headphone amp.


And the input cable runs along here.


Under the dash matt.




And out the other side here, where I mount my phone.







Hope you guys got a kick out of that, and maybe got some ideas, if you have to deal with this problem yourself.

It sounds great!


The unit has a little 'gain switch' on the back, which I switch to 'high' and then I crank the volume knob on the front.




This gives enough boost to power the stereo where having the volume set to '10' is loud (with no discernible distortion and great bass, especially with the 'Loud' setting on the stereo) and it matches the volume level of all the other sources (CD, Radio, etc)

And it prevents you from cranking the stereo volume to hear your phone, which causes the reversing sensors to BEEP at insane volume.

Yeah so...

Here is the ebay listing for this particular headphone amp

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Rechargeable ... 4872aaef8c

There is another seller with cheaper shipping which will send from Hong Kong if you're interested too.

It's a great little thing because a lot of other headphone amps are WAAy over priced, for what they are, and this one despite being cheaper actually has a decent 1000maH battery in it, that unplugged will last for reportdedly 100 hours. But I leave it 'permanently' plugged into the cigarette lighter to charge on every drive.

It's nice to have that longer battery life though, so if you forget to switch it off one night it will still be there in the morning.

It also came with a bunch of sticky velcro circles which were used to effortlessly mount it on that little shelf there.

It could be neater cable wise but I'm chuffed with the result. Anyway, cheers.

As another with a powered but non-Amp'd cable myself, have been wanting to do the same thing just never got around/bothered by it as much.

Though I use a 120gig iPod.. as some one that prefers the tactile buttons, easier to use while driving as you do not need to look at it, unlike a iPod Touch/iPhone.

Normal volume 10-15.
iDevice 20-25.

Should have the other things at my door before the week is out, will test that little booster.

Wagon- powered
Territory- non-powered
Accent- Fm transmiter.

And will get the Housemate to try it, uses a Samsung Galaxy S3

I actually have two of the factory ford amps hanging on my wall, but I'm not using either.

I used to use a powered headphone amp like you guys, except I went for one that was basically a circuit board, that I wrapped in heatshrink and hid behind the dash once I got the input level right. I also had noise filters and stuff added to it.. the end result was nice and loud and had almost no engine noise at all.

More recently I found a bluetooth deck online for $40.. it has bluetooth audio, bluetooth phone hands free, SD card and a few other odds and ends.. It also has RCA output.

So I plugged the factory deck AUX into the RCA out on the little bluetooth deck and installed it where the cashbox was. And I have a nice loud signal, bluetooth audio controls on the deck. (so moving back and forth songs is easier than messing with the touchscreen on my Note Edge.) I was also surprised to discover I had hands free phone calls as well. Total cost was about 40 bucks and took around 10 minutes to install.



I i

hey frankieh ... got a link for that item?? tried the NX1 ... but just don't do it for me

Hi,

There are tons of them.

Here are some examples:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Car-Radio-Bluetooth-Stereo-Head-Unit-MP3-USB-SD-AUX-FM-In-dash-Android-iPhone-/271812148620 $23USD with free shipping.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Bluetooth-Car-Audio-Stereo-In-Dash-MP3-Player-FM-USB-SD-AUX-input-Head-Unit-Mic/272022499169?_trksid=p2047675.c100009.m1982&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140117125611%26meid%3D7df5d8cf46ad4d36904551194218bbca%26pid%3D100009%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D10%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D181903447238 $34 AUD with free shipping.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Bluetooth-In-Dash-Car-Stereo-FM-Radio-Aux-Input-SD-MMC-USB-MP3-Player-Head-Unit/272021468565?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140106155344%26meid%3Dc1cfad44ec134a06aca47a8f7694087e%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D141598664298 $37 AUD with free shipping.


http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Bluetooth-Car-In-dash-Radio-Stereo-Audio-Head-Unit-MP3-USB-SD-AUX-FM-Player-NEW/331740101408?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140106155344%26meid%3Dc1cfad44ec134a06aca47a8f7694087e%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D141598664298 $35 AUD from australia.

thanks ..... but i thought you said an amp? not a head unit?? will not be changing factory unit . . . . . . unless she wants to do it herself

no.. u missed my point..

I'm not wiring up speakers, I hooked the new decks RCA out into the AUX in.. and now I get bluetooth audio and calls as well as all the other stuff and the volume out put matches everything else.

ahhhhh .... sorry

Check out the DockBoss Air. Cheap little device that plugs into a 30pin Apple connector and receives Bluetooth audio from any device.

don't have Apple ........... anything

It's designed for people with Android phones that have cars (or other devices) that only have a 30pin dock connector.