I see in the PDF manual for the VAIS SL2i there is a vague reference to the iPod onboard EQ not being "supported" --this mystifies me a bit, all it does is modify the signal which the SL2i unit should then faithfully pass on to the radio, just as if it were turned off. Is there something i'm missing?

Discussion on the vaistech forum seems to be non-existent so I thought i'd ask here if anyone has run into trouble there? Seems to me like it's probably a CYA to prevent the unknowing user from getting a bad sound by stacking the iPod EQ with the one on the radio and blaming it on vais.

I prefer the iPod EQ compared to the JBL's "bass/mid/high" adjustment for the finesse and the presets, so I'd be disinclined to get a product that has actual issues with it.

I've not seen any such disclaimer on the DICE products either, but that doesn't mean it isn't there...

Also I have a few large playlists (well over the 999 song limit) and I'm wondering what actually happens when the vais encounters a list like that--will it not play, or do the track numbers just not work correctly or what?

 

I don't have the unit but if it connects with the dock connector, perhaps the iPod does not output EQ altered sound through that channel. I know the dock connector has audio pins and I assume the VAIS is using the various control pins to control iPod. Ergo, it would make sense it uses the audio pins. Don't know though.

 

Mike,

That's an interesting point--the stereo in my old car (Kenwood stereo) used the dock connector and I had confirmed it as getting EQ-altered signal from the iPod.

However as you say the VAIS or whatever connecting unit can control the iPod via other pins so maybe there is some interaction that isn't immediately obvious (or maybe the unit disables the EQ somehow when connected)

 

Those units might also be of the type that are able to read the iPod database and select music from it. In fact, I wonder if the iPod is doing decoding or if the use it is. If this is the case, they are probably using the data pins. Not sure.

I bet the VAIS forum would shed light on the subject if posted.

Mind you, everything I am saying is based on speculation. (Read: take me with a grain of salt.) :-)

 

Well, I searched on the vais forums a bit and any questioning I found seemed to be met with a "We don't support it" period full stop. The seeming lack of a technical (or indeed any) explanation is what made me wonder if there's no real reason, just a backstop so no one can blame potential bad sound on their unit.

However your point is another angle, I didn't even know it was possible to get songs off the iPod in such a manner, but then again the JBL stereo of course can read MP3s so that's another thing to think about.

I posted a similar question over on another toyota-centric forum and haven't gotten a single response lol

 

Hmm. I am suprised that if someone asked why it wasn't supported someone from VAIS did not give a technical answer.

If you look at the iPod as a hard drive, the data and power travel through specific pins. Really no different than, say, a USB hard drive. So, if our JBL stereos were able to read data off a portable hard drive, it could simply scan for mp3s (or any supported music files) and create a catalog with all applicable information. After all, modern file formats support meta data. Heck, it could even read the album art capabilities of ID3v2 and display the image. Now wouldn't that be cool. (Of course we would most certainly need an 'I agree' screen :-P).

But what does this do for us?

It frees us from the need to have some other device and why bother trying to deal with how Apple implements various firmware features or how they store catalog data -- just bypass all of that -- or buy a 500 GB USB hard drive for half the price of an 80 GB iPod and store everything on it, feeding power from the 12v aux.

Come on people! Make an all-in-one!

Back to writing patents.

 

I have the SL2i installed in my Camry Hybrid and the sound quality is very good. I think the Ipod EQ only affects audio on the headphone jack and not the dock connector, but I'm no expert. The Vais device was easy to install and I'm very happy with the sound quality. The touch screen interface options suck but if you organize your music into folders, you can probably live with it. It all comes back limitations Toyota imposes on what you can do when the car is in motion. I have the hacked DVD but it's still a pain.

 

Thanks for the input ga! Do you have any playlists with more than 999 songs on it? At this point that is the item of most interest, as I have several genre playlists I like to shuffle through with 1300-1500 songs.

I've read some snips here and there that imply that the only thing that happens is the track numbering (which presumably is 3 digits) doesn't work right, but nothing really concrete.

 

I have quit a few playlists. I made which I called "All Music" so I can listen to random songs. It contains all 1286 songs on my Ipod and it works fine. I don't know about the track numbering because I don't pay any attention to it. I think the only limitation is that all playlists must contain a few songs. I forgot the exact number, maybe 5 or so. I initially had some problems after installed it until I realized there was an empty playlist. Good luck.

 

My SL2Vi comes in tomorrow. I'll most likely install it on Friday.
I've setup my iPod with about a dozen playlists all with 999 or less tracks. I'll make one more with all 6k songs in it and see what happens. I'm betting that it will only play the first 999 songs.