Ipod volume--or lack thereof

[Jason B]

Anyone know why the CD plays so much louder and sounds SOO much better than when the ipod is playing through the AUX input of the CMD4? I have the Harmon Kardon drive-n-play thingee hooked up so my Ipod output is through the bottom unit that I have been told makes cleaner, louder music than using the headphone jack.
The volume difference is HUGE. With a CD you could not possibly have a converasation in the boat unless you read lips. With the Ipod/Aux playing you could have a conversation with pretty loud voice (maybe like talking in a night club??)

This sucks! I want my Ipod to jam. Who wants to f around w/ a bunch of CDs? How totally 90's!
Is there something connected wrong???

[Micah]

It could be something to do with the bit rate that you are using when downloading the music on your itunes. You can go into the itune settings and adjust the rate to the highest possible. It takes up more memory on your hard drive but comes closer to a CD as far as sound quality goes. That's just a guess though. I have the same exact set up as you and I noticed the same thing but not as big of a difference, it's just slightly louder.

[chpthril]

There is a line driver setting in the headunit menu, sounds like it just needs turned up.

Selecting the AUX IN sensitivity:
Press the [MENU] button to switch to the menu mode.

Press the [/\] or [\/] button to select AUX SENS

Turn the [VOLUME] knob to select HIGH, MID, or LOW.

Press [MENU] to exit

[evil0ne]

CHP got any ideas for when you use the actual iPod connector? I know about turning sound check off but it is noticeably quieter then an MP3 CD.

[chpthril]

CHP got any ideas for when you use the actual iPod connector? I know about turning sound check off but it is noticeably quieter then an MP3 CD.

You're talking about the CNet Ipod controller, right? I'm looking to see if it has an adjustment also

*EDIT* I think it's the same setting.

[evil0ne]

You're talking about the CNet Ipod controller, right? I'm looking to see if it has an adjustment also

*EDIT* I think it's the same setting.

Yeah, the CCA-IPOD, if so then I will definitely be checking that out this weekend. Thanks.

[Timmy!]

Do you still have to crank the ipod volume to make it work even with the bottom output on the ipod or is it only controlled by the stereo at that point?

[chpthril]

Do you still have to crank the ipod volume to make it work even with the bottom output on the ipod or is it only controlled by the stereo at that point?

We do, we just turn the Ipod volume wide open and use the head unit volume like normal.

[evil0ne]

Stereo only, once it is plugged in you can not do anything from the iPod.

[hoopykat]

On your iPod, make sure your 'Volume Limit' settings isn't set too low. Go to Settings--->Volume Limit and set it to maximum so your stereo gets the maximum amount of input from the iPod.

-Mike

[chpthril]

On your iPod, make sure your 'Volume Limit' settings isn't set too low. Go to Settings--->Volume Limit and set it to maximum so your stereo gets the maximum amount of input from the iPod.

-Mike

Good point, I didn't know about that

[Dan and Christy]

We do, we just turn the Ipod volume wide open and use the head unit volume like normal.

X2

Our Ipod volume is much louder than the XM volume.

[hoopykat]

Argh...that reminds me...I gotta replace the XM antenna on my boat...forgot all about it breaking off last year....*sigh*

-Mike

[philwsailz]

It could be something to do with the bit rate that you are using when downloading the music on your itunes. You can go into the itune settings and adjust the rate to the highest possible. It takes up more memory on your hard drive but comes closer to a CD as far as sound quality goes. That's just a guess though. I have the same exact set up as you and I noticed the same thing but not as big of a difference, it's just slightly louder.

Sorry if this sounds all "DAD-LIKE" but just to clarify, bit rate has everything to do with resolution, and nothing to do with volume.

It is interesting to see our music these days, and all of the different levels, amounts of compression, etc. Some people rip their stuff way too loud, causing distortion, others rip way too quiet... If you are downloading, you never really know what has been done to the music, unless you have visual tools like I do in my recording software to see what has been done to the music you intend to listen to.

There is something you can do to maximize the level and amplitude of your media files. Lots of rip, burn, and sync tools these days have the option, (somewhere in a menu) to NORMALIZE all files during the rip/burn/sync session. MP3 software tools such as WavePad have a normalize function. This is the easiest way to ensure that your files are saved in such a manner that the loudest parts are at peak device amplitude. If you do not know about this function, really drill into your software and find out how to turn it on.

There are also COMPRESSION capabilities with lots of these programs. These can make the entire file sound louder while not clipping the peak amplitude. It does this by bringing up the volume of the quiet parts and leaving the loud ones alone. WavePad also has a compressor tool, but just be careful with compression, as you can over-do it. That being said, a little compression can go a LONG way towards making even a small system seem a lot more powerful than it is...

[philwsailz]

Good point, I didn't know about that

good to know!