Hi everyone,
I am very happy with my Ipod solution, so as I am new to this forum, I thought I could share it with you as my 1st contribution.
When I agreed to live 100 km from my work, the deal was that I wanted the best Ipod solution for my car (A2 1.2 tdi). I also wanted to keep the original Concert 2 Head unit.
I just bought a Harman Kardon drive + play 1st generation on ebay UK (27 £ new!!!). Fitting was much easier then what I thought it would be, the screen is in the left corner (I am LHD) at the front of the dashboard, the main box under the driver's seat and the controller on the central tunnel, in front of the hand break lever. The ipod is in the little pocket behind the hand break lever, so easy access and not visible. All the wires have been easily concealed, so it looks just great. There is just a short wire going from under the seat to the cigarette lighter, but I plan to get it rid of it soon by hard wiring the unit.
It's plugged directly into the head unit (no FM adapter drama...) through a Line In Aux Adapter bought for 30 £ on Ebay Germany, so the sound is great and I even managed to retain the radio dashboard display by cutting off the "dead end" of the original plug.
I believe the only weak point of the Drive + Play solution is that it makes it tempting to break into the car, as the screen could be mislead for a gps unit. It's not much of a problem where I live, but I have just cut out the bottom of a kleenex box which goes over the screen when needed. So it is all well camouflaged and really inconspicuous.
So for about 60 quid (plus the postage and customs cause I am in switzerland...), I believe I have a great Ipod solution for much cheaper than what I have seen around. It's very easy to control and gives me super easy access to my 32 Gb of sound, while keeping my eyes on the road.
I could post some photos one day if required.
That's it for now!
Alain
I am very happy with my Ipod solution, so as I am new to this forum, I thought I could share it with you as my 1st contribution.
When I agreed to live 100 km from my work, the deal was that I wanted the best Ipod solution for my car (A2 1.2 tdi). I also wanted to keep the original Concert 2 Head unit.
I just bought a Harman Kardon drive + play 1st generation on ebay UK (27 £ new!!!). Fitting was much easier then what I thought it would be, the screen is in the left corner (I am LHD) at the front of the dashboard, the main box under the driver's seat and the controller on the central tunnel, in front of the hand break lever. The ipod is in the little pocket behind the hand break lever, so easy access and not visible. All the wires have been easily concealed, so it looks just great. There is just a short wire going from under the seat to the cigarette lighter, but I plan to get it rid of it soon by hard wiring the unit.
It's plugged directly into the head unit (no FM adapter drama...) through a Line In Aux Adapter bought for 30 £ on Ebay Germany, so the sound is great and I even managed to retain the radio dashboard display by cutting off the "dead end" of the original plug.
I believe the only weak point of the Drive + Play solution is that it makes it tempting to break into the car, as the screen could be mislead for a gps unit. It's not much of a problem where I live, but I have just cut out the bottom of a kleenex box which goes over the screen when needed. So it is all well camouflaged and really inconspicuous.
So for about 60 quid (plus the postage and customs cause I am in switzerland...), I believe I have a great Ipod solution for much cheaper than what I have seen around. It's very easy to control and gives me super easy access to my 32 Gb of sound, while keeping my eyes on the road.
I could post some photos one day if required.
That's it for now!
Alain