Hook-up an ipod & improve sound quality on any boombox!

[miamagsdad]

It might help a bit to have a Helix 4635 like I do but i'm sure any descent boombox w/ a inline aux will do. The 4635 is loud but imho is in need of an equalizer, as my MB QUART/JL AUDIO system in my car would be lacking w/out my ZAPCO PEQ. $40 bucks will get you a nice thick ipod Monster CABLE from Radio Shack to get a good clean signal. All your music sould be uncompressed AIFF files providing you have the space. Make sure the [sound check] setting is ON to keep each track equal in volume as every recording is different. Play around w/ the EQ sound settings on your favorite song/jams & enjoy!

 

[hemiguy2006]

I use IPod or my My Mac laptop most of the time with my boxes and love the sound quality.
Welcome aboard Im sure you are going to like it here.

 

[Jovie]

Great post! Welcome to the "Brotherhood". For me,the biggest selling point for any boombox is it having a line-in.My boxes come to work with me mostly to play my Ipod through the line input.Maybe I just expect less than yourself but I'm quite satisfied with the cheap cables and high bit rate MP3s.This has been a regular practice for me during the busy work hours of my day at work over the past few years.

I carry a tackle box with a complete selection of cables to cover all the different jack types I've encountered.There's an inexpensive phono to line converter that's been a great help for boxes having only phono capability.At times I will hook several boxes up with a splitter to hear the effect.Since line-ins all have different sensitivities (sometimes as a result of simply needing to be cleaned) I also carry the standard version of the Boostaroo headphone amp to compensate.

My player of choice is a 1st Gen. Ipod Touch.I chose it because of its versatility and the variety of accessories available for it.The most useful has been the Sendstation Pocket Dock.This bypasses the volume control on the Ipod so I don't have to mess with it. It was a pleasant surprise when I finally figured out that it allows through the EQ settings to the box.My most used preset is "Treble Boost".

I've never been very happy with FM transmitters.The CCrane FM transmitter is probably the most powerful consumer model.There's even a very simple hack to increase its sensitivity with surprising results. Unfortunately the screen of mine lost its digits from sitting in the heat.This makes it a bit of a hassle to set up.No matter because there's just nothing that feels better than being able to use all the built in capabilities and features of a classic box.

btw-Thanks for the soundcheck tip.I never knew what that was for.I've been normalizing everything sent to my Ipod with a program called MP3Gain.

 

[oldskool69]

Welcome MiaMagsDad! Great post. I too use my laptop and my Philips GoGear Aria mp3 player. It hs incredible sound for the price and is one of the best to listen to (non-iPod) units out there. I use the EQ on mine and have played around with the presets as well. The relly cool part is that it has an updated version of Philips famous "Spatial Sound" setting that is awsome without losing punch.

All that being said, you're right on to have fun squeezing the most sound from a limited situation.

 

[Superduper]

I love my ipod classic and use it all the time; the sound quality is great but I rely on it more for the convenience than for sound quality. Contrary to popular thinking, analog will always be better than digital and I could go into the theory and reasons behind it but I'm too bonked tonight to do all that typing.

 

[jaredscottfla]

interesting... but i don't own an ipod