Sl500Newbie

Hi,

So I dug around and found that there is an Aux jack in the glove compartment that takes a 3.5mm pin which when plugged in to another male-to-male 3.5mm allows any device with headphone out (like my Ipod nano) to play through the COMAND stereo.
A couple of drawbacks:

1) HAve to run the cable out of the glovebox to the device (looks ugly of course)
2) Sound/volume level isn't the best, even with the Ipod maxed out and cranked up on the COMAND, but no distortion compared with FM broadcasters. However the FM broadcasters seem for some reason to be stronger
3) Getting to the Aux isn't a one button push. Need to press SVC and then select Aux in the COMAND menu

But its nice to know there is an option here. Amazing that MBZ didnt anticipate having to plug in a personal device back in 2003! IPODs were already all the rage. If they had just located the plug in the center storage area where the Cellphone holder is, it would have been much better.

I also saw that the Argos (bluetooth cell) guys are now selling an IPOD controller, so that you can see and control your IPOD songs from the COMAND console. It requires that you disconnect your CD changer though and it costs $400 bucks.

Any thoughts on how people have connected up IPOds or similar devices?

Thx

benzmodz

What is the benefit of scrolling 1000 names. At best you can only hope for a playlist which has the things you want.

ToonArmy

I have the same car, same quandary. One thing I did note is that most 3.5mm audio cables are pretty thick (unlike the iPod headphone cables), which makes it hard to close the glove box.

I found this cable which is much slimmer, and can be routed out of the glove box and tucked under the trim to lead into the center console from the rear hinge. It still needs a male-to-male cord, but that can be short and within the console.

Still looking for a nice way to control the iPod

Sl500Newbie

I tried that too, but the sound from the AUX actually doesnt give it much oomph. Even with the IPOD maxed out. Also the cord makes it awkward to use the IPOD with a free hand while driving. I tried the cigarette lighter plug-in FM broadcasters and same difficulty.
I've ordered a cheap itrip ... no wires, just attaches to the end of the Nano I have and runs off the IPOD power. Then its just a matter of seeing if the tuning frequency/distortion is acceptable.
Benzmodz is correct though, scrolling through hundreds of Artists/songs while driving is probably dangerous, using the IPOD or on the console, so maybe setting up a playlist and just stuffing the IPOD into the Glove Compartment may be the way to go on long trips.

JackStraw

I wish I had an AUX jack in my glove compartment, but they eliminated it in the '05.

As far as the iPod lacking oomph, make sure that your settings on the iPod allow max output... there is a setting meant to attenuate the max volume (in addition to the volume control).

joec1101

Also make sure you're setting the bass & treble - the aux resets to flat eq every time the car is turned off. Mine is an '04 SL and it sounds excellent through the aux jack especially when the bass & treble are cranked up. There's also some other audio settings in there - I find mine sounds the best with the "driver optimized" setting enabled. And of course, it's always going to sound better with the top up (better acoustics).

Sl500Newbie

So my Itrip for the Nano 2G arrived today and I plugged it in and used 87.9 and it is perfect. Better I believe in sound quality than the Aux jack integration. Not bad for $20. And no wires!. I have it standing/resting in the ash tray compartment and someone who was a passenger in my car today even asked me if it was integrated, cause it looked so cool and sounded so good.

I highly recommend this to anyone who has a nano. I am returning the Kingston FM cigarette lighter that I also ordered cause it is bulky and the wire to the Ipod makes it hard to change music when I want to. This itrip is lightweight and makes it almost part of the Ipod itself.

joec1101

Good luck with the FM transmitter...I don't know where you are at, but those don't work worth a damn here in Southern California because every FM frequency is used up by radio stations and their signals overpower the FM transmitters. And the sound quality is definitely not better than a hard wired setup - if anything, you will lose sound quality with an FM transmitter.

Something else you may want to consider is having a stereo shop relocate that aux jack to wherever you want it in the vehicle. This is pretty easy for them to do and it can be restored to its original location if you want to sell the vehicle at some point.

khushy

I bought a retractable cable (male/male from eBay) and a little RF remote control device - as well as being able to change tunes on the go without opening the glove box - it also increases the gain coming out of the iPod - so I have my ipod on 1/2 throttle and then as loud and undistorted as I want from the COMAND system.

Sounds superb with full volume control!

The RF remote for the iPod was £10!

Khushy

RoydRage

SL500 Noob...

Guess you didn't see this... It works perfectly, is really slick, *AND* it equalizes the volume perfectly, since it has it's own ouput modulation.

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl55-amg-sl63-amg-sl65-amg-r230/198539-bit_chin-ipod-install.html

Best,

RoydRage

Sl500Newbie

Thanks I did look at that, but the songs from the IPOD playlist don't show up on COMAND right? Just on the HK media player. WHich means you have to mount it on the dashboard to see it, or keep the glove compartment open correct? The only way in via the Glove Compartment is the Aux 3.5mm which I believe the HK will pump amplified sound (better than the direct IPOD) but it won't be able to send the song title and info and search/scan of the IPOD to the COMAND screen.

Anyhow, the Itrip for $20 is working fine. Thanks so much though for pointing me to the thread