akbro93704

I find it odd that with the ipod integration kit, you cannot control the ipod through the comand system.The digital display on the instrument panel thats controlled with the steering wheel doesnt work that well either...all that shows up on the display is the songs. With hundreds maybe thousands of songs on an ipod, theres no order to what shows up on the screen. Is it because I have an old ipod mini that I got about 3 years ago?? Or is the ipod integration kit only that...you can just browse through a list of songs using the steering wheel?

adarquea

the ipod integration kit integrates the ipod with the steering wheel controls only not the comand system....that really sucks!.....but you should be able to access playlists, songs, albums, authors, etc through the steering wheel controls you have to get used to it though. I use a mini too and it works the same as my wife's nano.

Floobydust

I’m going to climb up on my soapbox for a minute, so please forgive me.

The MB iPod adapter is an absolute, 100% pure, undiluted abomination to the art of car audio and an insult to engineers and wallets everywhere. What a piece of crap!

There are two interfaces in the new ML – the CAN (Controller Area Network) buss and the M.O.S.T. (Media Oriented Systems Transport) buss. Devices such as the NAV system and the CD changer interface as they should via the MOST fiber optic buss. The steering wheel controls and the instrument display are driven by the CAN buss. The audio system talks to the CAN buss so that the steering wheel controls can control audio functions. In theory, the iPod adapter should have interfaced to the MOST buss like all the other audio accessories. But that would have required work. So they just interfaced it to the CAN buss and shoved the audio signal into the extremely lame AUX input on the command consol. Remember, the AUX input is attenuated and low end filtered so that the system will be at lower risk of damage from extraneous inputs (or high fidelity music for that matter). But hey, from the “we must cut costs but still appear like we are Mercedes” mentality that is emanating from Sindelfingen this days, if you can listen to the BBC while smoking a cigarette and 240 km/hr, you have the epitome of high end audio!

Because of these factors, with the MB iPod interface you end up with no low end response, poor signal-to-noise ratio, and a menu that only appears on the instrument cluster (and the button functions are backwards from the Command system to boot!). When I took mine out (factory installed), I discovered that the unit is help in place behind the HVAC controls with double stick tape. Let me repeat that, it is taped into position!! Give me a break.

Do yourself a favor. Go for an aftermarket unit such as the Dension. Don’t encourage MB to continue this farce by actually paying for one.

But how do I really feel about the factory MB iPod adapter? You decide. Remember, Caveat Emptor.

- FD

adarquea

hey caveat emptor......what is the dension unit???? My ML didnt come with an interface so I was gonna get it in my next trip to the States. Is that a better solution?

Floobydust

adarquea -

There is information about the Dension unit and sources for it in the Audio & Electronics Forum on this board https://mbworld.org/forums/audio-electronics/171091-dension-gateway-500-experiences.html and well as others. The Dension website for the iPod interface is: http://www.dension.com/icelinkgateway500.php

There are two versions: MOST and D2B. I have the D2B version in my SL500 and the audio performance is superb! The ML uses the MOST version.

I use only Apple lossless or WAV encoding to optimize the audio quality; no mp3 or other compressed formats. The iPod is like all digital devices - garbage in, garbage out and no interface can help you recover from that.

Hope this helps.

- FD

adarquea

thank you floobydust!!!!

adarquea

floobydust do you have the dension kit in your ml? I just called them and the salesman says it does not apear in their system meaning it is still under development. If you have it can you give me a part number. My car has the COMAND with NAVI.

firefighter608

I'm not reall thrilled with the setup myself!!!!!

Floobydust

adarquea -

I'll have to do some more looking into this. The MOST interface should be the MOST interface which is more or less the same in all later MBs. I have read reports of others installing the Dension in model year cars later that than those officially listed as supported. It is possible that there is a firmware support issue so the "emulation" may not be recognized by the later audio gateways or it could be something simple like the cable harness / connectors which could be worker around. I'll keep looking and post what I find out.

BTW, I am working on a little test unit to see if I can compensate for the bad things that the MB head unit does to AUX signal to keep those warranty claims down (level limiter, low frequency filter)! I don't hold out huge hope, but it might be fun to play with.

- FD

dna8888

Plus another thing wrong with the ipod integration is that the sound quality sucks compared to the other sources available (Sirius sat, CD, CD changer, etc.). The bass is way too weak. If I had known, I would just have stuck with the CD changer.

D

dna8888

Or is that just on my ML? Have anyone else noticed a degradation of sound quality with the ipod?

kermalou

i wish i did more research on this before getting my car.

i went to the dension website, but can't find crap to see if it would work with a 2008 E350.

Any other options?

Floobydust

I don't think people are reading the Dension compatibility table correctly. For car models where the interface changed - where there is a beginning and end year - the start and end year are given in the table. For models where the interface is still current, they only give the starting year. So if there is no ending year shown, that means "up to the latest model year for that car".

Thus, as I read the Dension table, the E class from 1999 to 2002 was the D2B unit and from 2002 onward (with the audio 20/50), it is the MOST unit, ordering code GW5RMT00D1. For E class with Command and MOST from 2002 onward it is ordering code GW5RMT01D1.

I will be ordering a GW5RMT01D1 (MOST, Command) for my 2007 ML350.

- FD