Alpine IVA-W505 jack: line in? Also still mad about optical out.

post #1 of 10

4/10/11 at 2:31pm

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Hey all, I have a USB and the jack that connect to my iPOD. Is the USB just for information/control and the jack for the music? Can I use the jack for input from my PC?

here is a link that has a pic of the back, the top left corner has 2 wires coming out, the bottom black wire is like a regular headphone/mic/line in/line out jack. Can I run a PC/laptop out into this to playback PC/laptop sound through my system?

Also, when i purchased the $900 unit a key reason was for the optical out... listed at this site still, though discontinued. I spent an extra $100 for an optical cable only to find a rubber plug where the optical out is supposed to be, was told by my local Alpine Authorized dealer to pull it, no out

I suffer from terrible HISSSSS because I have to run my audio through the Ai-NET cable. Anything I can do about that?

Thanks

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Cudin23...-IVA-W505.html

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post #2 of 10

4/10/11 at 8:41pm

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I guess my concernes are that the only way to get my Source to accept audio from the 3mm is by going to USB. AUX IN is RCA, dont want to run that, dont know if I even have the RCA connector plugged in or at all. You can remove the RCA and video outs and RCA and video ins, they plug in, IDK if I have them anymore.

My other is, if I shut the PC down, disconnect everything, lug it all out there, get it all set up, plug the 3mm to 3mm and get no sound, I have to tear down, lug back in, set back up, get on, ask you guys, wait for responces, wait some more, wait some more..... get no answers.

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post #3 of 10

4/10/11 at 9:39pm

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I googled the crap out of it, only ting I can find is on the 3mm to Svid jack or whatever the blue 4 pin or multi-pin is

I think i can set the HU to USB without a USB device connected, the HU says "NO USB CONNECTED" what I am hoping is it is a live continuous input feed through the 3mm, so if I set to USB and put the line in, I just get sound. Ill just have too hook up and see!

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post #4 of 10

4/11/11 at 12:04pm

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the optical cable I have does not look ike this, it has the 2 small square ends, not the big connector on the other end. Could this be my problem?

http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CDIQ8gIwAg#

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post #5 of 10

4/11/11 at 12:20pm

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Here is what I have:

I assume I need to get this:

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post #6 of 10

4/11/11 at 7:25pm

anwaypasible
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the hiss could be the electrical differences from the computer and the radio.
you would need something with a 'ground lift' to remove the hiss.

the hiss could also simply be the radio's circuit board being lower quality than needed.

either way.. its expensive to mess around and play.
it would be easier to try a different input.

my radio has a 3.5mm auxilery input.
i can connect an mp3 player without any ground hum or hiss.
but if i connect the laptop to the cord, i get lots of ground hum.

things that have 'ground lift'
preamps are the major thing.
line drivers are also preamps.. but they increase the output voltage.
most soundcards output 2 volts.
the line driver can increase the voltage to as much as 9 volts (adjustable).

since you said its a hiss and not a low hum (or rumble)
i would think the input you were using was junk.
it might be high caliber circuit design.. but obviously the design isnt finished (or high quality enough).

of course, digital input would be the best choice.
but maybe the digital to analog convertor inside the soundcard is better than the digital to analog convertor inside the radio.
headphone enthusiasts go crazy about DAC quality.
they purchase seperate DAC units simply because the DAC is higher quality and sounds clearer.

i looked at the page of your radio, and it doesnt have a digital input.. only a digital output.
the cable should be irrelevant since its not going to help input a signal into a radio and feed the signal to the amplifiers.

the fact of the matter is, line in is line in

you could always try to use one of those FM tuner devices that plug into the antenna, before the actual antenna cable.. but the signal to noise ratio is low, and the overall distortion is probably higher.

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post #7 of 10

4/12/11 at 10:09am

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Quote:

Originally Posted by anwaypasible

the hiss could be the electrical differences from the computer and the radio.
you would need something with a 'ground lift' to remove the hiss.

the hiss could also simply be the radio's circuit board being lower quality than needed.

either way.. its expensive to mess around and play.
it would be easier to try a different input.

my radio has a 3.5mm auxilery input.
i can connect an mp3 player without any ground hum or hiss.
but if i connect the laptop to the cord, i get lots of ground hum.

things that have 'ground lift'
preamps are the major thing.
line drivers are also preamps.. but they increase the output voltage.
most soundcards output 2 volts.
the line driver can increase the voltage to as much as 9 volts (adjustable).

since you said its a hiss and not a low hum (or rumble)
i would think the input you were using was junk.
it might be high caliber circuit design.. but obviously the design isnt finished (or high quality enough).

of course, digital input would be the best choice.
but maybe the digital to analog convertor inside the soundcard is better than the digital to analog convertor inside the radio.
headphone enthusiasts go crazy about DAC quality.
they purchase seperate DAC units simply because the DAC is higher quality and sounds clearer.

i looked at the page of your radio, and it doesnt have a digital input.. only a digital output.
the cable should be irrelevant since its not going to help input a signal into a radio and feed the signal to the amplifiers.

the fact of the matter is, line in is line in

you could always try to use one of those FM tuner devices that plug into the antenna, before the actual antenna cable.. but the signal to noise ratio is low, and the overall distortion is probably higher.

the noise I get is with CDs and iPOD playing. Simply hitting pause on either with the volume up on the HU has hiss, each click up the hiss gets louder, bring the volume all the way down and it gets quieter, when u turn to 0 this hiss is gone.

In addition, you can hear the CD player motor running, spinning, reving, and you can hear the CD player actuator arm move... anything that gives off EMF inside the HU from a motor is picked up.

As well, at high volumes with nothing playing back, I can hear quiet computerized beeps: some sort of internal comunication.

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post #8 of 10

4/12/11 at 1:24pm