want do have usb to radio, pooh pooh to ipods

[shelbydave]

If you want good sound fidelity, sit in your livingroom and put on your headphones, then listen to CD's or DVDs, or even some old vinyl is analog devices don't offend you. You will never have full fidelity while riding in the wind and you will never have full fidelity with any form of compressed music files...iPod, mp3, etc.

:agree: But only old timers can know the difference. It took somebody stealing my turntable to get me to move to CD's. To this day, I prefer the sound of good quality vinyl over any CD, any day. As for mp3, iPod, etc... it all depends on the encoding that is done.

anyhow... that is way off topic... In reality, I don't believe music is transferred via USB, anyhow. Even with the iPod, anything that it plays through is using the 32 pin interface, which provides audio out on pins 2,3,4. The USB interface shown above is just 5V, and data + data- That is simply used for transferring music to the iPod, not to play music.

 

[leonml]

I know on a bike you're not getting awesome sound, but why start with crap? Sorry, but even a good set of headphones on great equipment isn't quality sound. You can go to a concert and how do you think they can get good sound in a big open space with wind, etc. If they played ipods out of the speakers they'd distort before loud enough to hear. with the right equipment and good quality music reproduction equipment will allow for cleaner sound and able to be played louder. You like your headphones on the bike, good, you like your new speakers on the bike, good, but most don't know that these stock or factory radios can't produce enough power cleanly to any speaker. When you get in a car you can tell when they have a built in amp or not. I'm surprised most don't know anything about sound or underpowering speakers. Even a crappy speaker is usually rated at 40 rms for a 5 1/4", most stock radios brag 50 watts x 4, well rms is like 14 watts per speaker. You have to match rms as close as possible. I believe even the stock speakers would sound good with an amp, which I'm doing right now and I will let you know, most likely will improve sound if I upgrade those and will as long as I've got it apart.

I'm not asking for hi fidelity on a bike, just the best you can have within reason.

 

[leonml]

Why would all these companies cave to apple and then shun all others? Why can't all others make programs that will interface with the apple program used to allow control of the device. It can't be rocket science.

 

[leonml]

I know on a bike you're not getting awesome sound, but why start with crap? Sorry, but even a good set of headphones on great equipment isn't quality sound. You can go to a concert and how do you think they can get good sound in a big open space with wind, etc. If they played ipods out of the speakers they'd distort before loud enough to hear. with the right equipment and good quality music reproduction equipment will allow for cleaner sound and able to be played louder. You like your headphones on the bike, good, you like your new speakers on the bike, good, but most don't know that these stock or factory radios can't produce enough power cleanly to any speaker. When you get in a car you can tell when they have a built in amp or not. I'm surprised most don't know anything about sound or underpowering speakers. Even a crappy speaker is usually rated at 40 rms for a 5 1/4", most stock radios brag 50 watts x 4, well rms is like 14 watts per speaker. You have to match rms as close as possible. I believe even the stock speakers would sound good with an amp, which I'm doing right now and I will let you know, most likely will improve sound if I upgrade those and will as long as I've got it apart.

I'm not asking for hi fidelity on a bike, just the best you can have within reason.

Guess I'm wrong a few have put amps in. I'll let people know if the stock speakers are any god before or after an amp.

 

[jcthorne]

For Linux:
Kubuntu go here: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/4791/how-to-use-amarok-to-manage-your-ipod/

Ubuntu go here: https://apps.ubuntu.com/cat/applications/natty/gtkpod/

For Windows go here: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/24473/how-to-use-your-ipod-with-foobar2000/
(Foobar2000 is a great program)

I do not use a fruit player because I do not want to pay the Apple Tax.
I think Apple has copy rights, patents, etc. to the protocol that the spyder radio and other radios like it that will talk to the Ipod, so there will not be an android or other device that will work with it.

Thanks for the links. I'll check out foobar2000. I have found you can buy used 16GB Ipod Nano 6 on Amazon for under $100 so not really worth further head scratching for bike tunes. Not my first choice and expensive for a basic mp3 player but its just once for the bike.

 

[rcturner]

Personally, I think the radio and/of other audio devices on a motorcycle sound the best when they are on mute or turned off. Listen to the sounds your bike is making or what is going on around you. It could make a difference in you survival. It seems that everyone thinks they need tunes all of the time and that they don't really need to pay attention to the real job at hand. Driving.

 

[Dan McNally]

After 3,600 hours in EC-135s ( a noisy aircraft from the inside) and a four year joint assignment, doing artillery unit surety inspections in Korea, my hearing sucks, so my iPod sounds as good as vinyl, to me. I'd be lost on long trips without my iPod and books from audible.com. My only beef is that, for some reason, BRP created a unique cable for the Bluetooth dongle, almost doubling the cost of putting one in . . . just because the cable is different. Sad that they did that . . .

 

[shelbydave]

Why would all these companies cave to apple and then shun all others? Why can't all others make programs that will interface with the apple program used to allow control of the device. It can't be rocket science.

Are there any mp3 players, or android devices that allow you to control the device remotely, and provide MUSIC through the data interface cable (USB)? If there was a way to do it, someone would have already developed a unit similar to the iHome devices that interfaced with other mp3 players. The USB data doesn't allow control of the device, unless it is built into the device itself - iPod has such capabilities built in. When you see USB jacks in car audio, or other devices, it's because they can read the STORAGE from the mp3 player, or a standard flash drive. I have yet to see ANY car where you can plug in an MP3 player, and CONTROL the player using the USB port.

It isn't that BRP ignored other players, it's just that Apple has the required interface to do what they wanted to offer. Could the radio have the functionality to read mp3 data from a flash drive? Sure.. it would be nice...

Someone posted on another thread the link to the radio manufacturer - Maybe they have a plug and play radio to do that, but I don't know...

 

[Lamonster]

I would hope that whoever runs the forum and loves apple appreciates a guy who rather have a Lamborghini instead of a 1980 Camaro.

:crackpipe:

 

[finless]

Are there any mp3 players, or android devices that allow you to control the device remotely, and provide MUSIC through the data interface cable (USB)? If there was a way to do it, someone would have already developed a unit similar to the iHome devices that interfaced with other mp3 players. The USB data doesn't allow control of the device, unless it is built into the device itself - iPod has such capabilities built in. When you see USB jacks in car audio, or other devices, it's because they can read the STORAGE from the mp3 player, or a standard flash drive. I have yet to see ANY car where you can plug in an MP3 player, and CONTROL the player using the USB port.

It isn't that BRP ignored other players, it's just that Apple has the required interface to do what they wanted to offer. Could the radio have the functionality to read mp3 data from a flash drive? Sure.. it would be nice...

Someone posted on another thread the link to the radio manufacturer - Maybe they have a plug and play radio to do that, but I don't know...

This is correct. Apple has a "protocol" over USB that allows control of the device!
Simple MP3 players only support a "storage" protocol over USB. e.g. to a PC, or any other Host Device, the MP3 player looks like a USB thumb drive etc.

BRP does not make the radio. Radio Sound makes it for them:

http://www.radiosound.com/products.php

The specs show the radio supports handling the iPod protocol. You can also hook a MP3 player to the trunk DIN plug (the audio out lines from the MP3 player) but you cannot control the MP3 player since it has no protocol to do so (over audio lines or USB) and even if it did, the radio would have to know it and support it in it's software.

If your stuck on using a MP3 player then you will have to mount it to your dash/handle bars and run the audio cable to the radio inputs. You will control your MP3 player from the unit itself. It will never work on the Sypder dash console.

Now another way as was suggested is some MP3 players do allow control via Bluetooth. That is the MP3 player must have BT and support one of the control protocols like A2DP or AVRCP.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth_profile
These protocols (BT Profiles) allow streaming of audio and some control (not as advanced as Apples).
So you could mount the MP3 player in the trunk and hook it to the audio lines. Then find some control panel device and control it over BT and mount the remote control on the dash/handlebars. Google search "MP3 remote control" and see what is available.

These are the only ways I see to use a MP3 player and control it from the dash/handlebars.

Bob

 

[leonml]

Why not make a USB connector instead of 2 or 3 different ones based on how new your player. At least that way one could use their non apple player to play the music and use it as a charger as well. I still don't know why other companies couldn't make their player automatically load their own protocol without disrupting the crapple protocol.

So why no usb plug? as a universal for all especially when most all other radios, etc work using usb.

 

[NancysToy]

Why not make a USB connector instead of 2 or 3 different ones based on how new your player. At least that way one could use their non apple player to play the music and use it as a charger as well. I still don't know why other companies couldn't make their player automatically load their own protocol without disrupting the crapple protocol.

So why no usb plug? as a universal for all especially when most all other radios, etc work using usb.

USB connectors do not handle audio output, just data transfer and power.

 

[shelbydave]

Why not make a USB connector instead of 2 or 3 different ones based on how new your player. At least that way one could use their non apple player to play the music and use it as a charger as well. I still don't know why other companies couldn't make their player automatically load their own protocol without disrupting the crapple protocol.

So why no usb plug? as a universal for all especially when most all other radios, etc work using usb.

I think this has been explained a couple times above, but it may not have been clear...

Apple has their own protocol that allows you to control the music, and pass audio as well. This is done through their 32 pin connector, or their new lightning connector. The lightning has 8 pins - USB has 4. On USB, 2 are used for power (5V and 0v or ground), and 2 for serial data (data+ and data-). There is no audio stream through the USB plug. Apple has the same 4 pins as USB, plus 4 more, and 2 or 3 of those are dedicated to audio (left, right, and common, or if they use a common ground, then just left, and right - common would be picked up elsewhere). Anyhow, that leaves 1 or 2 more pins for their proprietary protocol to control the device.

If you plug an iPOD, or MP3 player into a standard USB port - say on your stereo, or car stereo, both become basically just a storage device - just like plugging in an external hard drive into your PC.

Now, unlike your PC, which has the ability to install software, drivers, etc... a stereo does NOT have that ability. Any audio formats that it can read were burned into the device by the manufacturer, and are considered "firmware" - not changeable by the user.

Now, why did Radiosound use the iPod format? iPod holds 70-75% of the market when it comes to portable audio. the rest is shared by the other mp3 players. Now you break down the others, and you find that while mp3 is the most common transport, there are other encoding processes out there - WMA, MP3, AAC, etc... There would always be the dispute of "Why doesn't it play WMA files? I have to convert my entire library to MP3!"... All for 25% of the market... It's just not good economics.

If you want to go with MP3, and have the flexibility of iPOD, try browsing through MP3Car.com. That may give you some neat ideas.

 

[jcthorne]

I think this has been explained a couple times above, but it may not have been clear...

Apple has their own protocol that allows you to control the music, and pass audio as well. This is done through their 32 pin connector, or their new lightning connector. The lightning has 8 pins - USB has 4. On USB, 2 are used for power (5V and 0v or ground), and 2 for serial data (data+ and data-). There is no audio stream through the USB plug. Apple has the same 4 pins as USB, plus 4 more, and 2 or 3 of those are dedicated to audio (left, right, and common, or if they use a common ground, then just left, and right - common would be picked up elsewhere). Anyhow, that leaves 1 or 2 more pins for their proprietary protocol to control the device.

If you plug an iPOD, or MP3 player into a standard USB port - say on your stereo, or car stereo, both become basically just a storage device - just like plugging in an external hard drive into your PC.

Now, unlike your PC, which has the ability to install software, drivers, etc... a stereo does NOT have that ability. Any audio formats that it can read were burned into the device by the manufacturer, and are considered "firmware" - not changeable by the user.

Now, why did Radiosound use the iPod format? iPod holds 70-75% of the market when it comes to portable audio. the rest is shared by the other mp3 players. Now you break down the others, and you find that while mp3 is the most common transport, there are other encoding processes out there - WMA, MP3, AAC, etc... There would always be the dispute of "Why doesn't it play WMA files? I have to convert my entire library to MP3!"... All for 25% of the market... It's just not good economics.

If you want to go with MP3, and have the flexibility of iPOD, try browsing through MP3Car.com. That may give you some neat ideas.

Apple has not been the leading mp3 player for some time now. Android devices overtook IOS last year and the gap is getting larger. FAR larger. The built in stereo should have the ability to play mp3 files directly. This is how the rest of the mobile audio and vehicle manufactures handle it. Its a simple standard file protocol and requires far less processing power than the built in unit has. Its just that they chose NOT to provide that capability. It is what it is.

 

[shelbydave]

Apple has not been the leading mp3 player for some time now. Android devices overtook IOS last year and the gap is getting larger. FAR larger. The built in stereo should have the ability to play mp3 files directly. This is how the rest of the mobile audio and vehicle manufactures handle it. Its a simple standard file protocol and requires far less processing power than the built in unit has. Its just that they chose NOT to provide that capability. It is what it is.

If you want to add smart phones, then yes, IOS is declining, but I was comparing just MP3 players on the market... Not all devices. Now we're into totally different stuff... Any device I have at home, where I can plug an iPOD, or STANDARD MP3 player into, and it recognizes the music, and plays - I can't plug my Motorola Atrix into the same device and have it automatically find my music...

I CAN stream via bluetooth though...

 

[jcthorne]

If you want to add smart phones, then yes, IOS is declining, but I was comparing just MP3 players on the market... Not all devices. Now we're into totally different stuff... Any device I have at home, where I can plug an iPOD, or STANDARD MP3 player into, and it recognizes the music, and plays - I can't plug my Motorola Atrix into the same device and have it automatically find my music...

I CAN stream via bluetooth though...

Even apple has all but dropped the stand alone MP3 player. Its a function built into all smart phones these days and hence the android vs IOS comment for current purchases. As far as devices that play both Ipod and standard USB storage based mp3s, including smart phones, just look at most current car audio systems. I know Ford, Chrysler, GM and Toyota do it just that way. Many aftermarket radios like Pioneer and Sony do as well. Its just a feature that was chosen not to be included on the Spyder. On another subject, been meaning to ask you about your user name. Is that your name or are you a fan / owner of cars by the Shelby name?

 

[jcthorne]

Just an update. A cheap ($58) 6th gen Ipod Nano 16GB from Amazon and some four letter words launched at iTunes infuriating and overly difficult to use software resulted in a device about the size of a book of matches Velcro attached to the upper inside of the trunk that I mostly will never mess with again. Has 3500 or so of my favorite driving tunes on shuffle and the interface on the Spyder dash works perfectly. I will never be an apple fan boi but sometimes its easier and cheaper to just go with the flow. I can now delete that virus from my laptop. I tried the link to Foobar 2000 but it does not support modern ios devices and development was abandoned years ago. I gave up on it and installed iTunes. Will un-install in a few days and let my spam-bot handle the unwanted icrap emails.

 

[shelbydave]

On another subject, been meaning to ask you about your user name. Is that your name or are you a fan / owner of cars by the Shelby name?

I'm a fan of the man. I wasn't even driving when he was making his original "good stuff". When I was 21, he teamed up with Chrysler for a while, and I got one of the '80's turd boxes - and '83 Shelby Charger. So, way back even before the "Internet", when you had to stick a 5.25 inch floppy into your PC to load America Online, or Prodigy, I had that screen name. I still have the car, too. Just a tad more updated, and more horsepower...

 

[SPYDERFUZZ]

Connecting things

I think I may have an answer but afraid to say anything because I don't want to get punched. How about you Lamonster? u are much younger than me and anyone that would want all that stuff has got to be young. I don't know if he will be able to ride with all that stuff going on. Did he mention he wanted to watch TV while in cruse control?

 

[Pirate looks at --]

I think I may have an answer but afraid to say anything because I don't want to get punched. How about you Lamonster? u are much younger than me and anyone that would want all that stuff has got to be young. I don't know if he will be able to ride with all that stuff going on. Did he mention he wanted to watch TV while in cruse control?

Not to mention bike side waitress service!:roflblack: