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07 Sport Aux Input Quality Test IPOD vs DVD-R

7.5K views 37 replies 18 participants last post by  rjhubbard53  
acuranewby said:
I ran an experiment with my 07 MDX Sport's aux input (in the armrest console) to test the sound quality and am pretty bothered by the results. Here's what I found:

1. I Took a list of 10 MP3's all encoded at 320kbs and put them on my Ipod and ALSO burned them to a DVD-R.
2. I compared the audio quality between the two different inputs and I have to say that the IPod playback sounded incredibly different. For starters, the bass is flabby and almost not present. The higher end treble is also muted. If I had to guess, it sounds as if it's going through the FM tuner section of the Acura head unit.
3. I used two different 3.5mm cables to test if the bad sound quality I was experiencing from my Ipod wasn't the cable. One was a monster cable $40 cable, and the other was a standard Radio Shack gold plated $10 job. I even went as far as trying my wife's Ipod (which I was 99 percent sure would not be conclusive in any way). Neither was the culprit.
4. I also experimented with my Ipod's EQ settings, first beginning with it set to flat, but nothing ever sounded as good as the DVD-R version of the MP3's.

My question is whether anyone else has a similar experience, or if going to the actual Ipod input interface (from Acura that sells for like $400) makes any difference. Appreciate anyone's thoughts on this.
I think playing through the AUX input in general, just plain sucks. I tried playing my Creative Zen MP3 player through it recently, and found that I had to turn the volumne all the way up on the MP3 in order to hear anything! I've never tried playing it in any other car, so I don't know how it compares. Although inconvenient, I think I'll be better off burning MP3's to CD or DVD.