Learn: Home » Apple's iPod™ Hits the Road with Alpine
 Alpine's KCA-420i iPod adapter gives you control of your iPod from an Alpine head unit. |
The perfect portable's road blues
Hands down, it's the hottest electronics product on the planet in 2004. The intuitive controls, ultra-chic style, and ingenious marketing campaign of Apple's iPod™ have catapulted the diminutive device into the national consciousness. But three years after the introduction of "the perfect digital music player," Podsters still have one major complaint: "Hey Jobs, we need a better way to use an iPod in the car!"
Apparently, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been listening.
Birth of a new in-car iPod solution: Alpine's KCA-420i iPod Interface Adapter
At the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Jon Rubinstein, Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, began a discussion with product development specialists at Alpine Electronics. Apple recognized that, despite the proliferation of iPod accessories from companies like Belkin, Monster, and Griffin, customers were unhappy with the options for using the iPod in the car. And Alpine embraced the opportunity to create a solution that would give owners of Alpine car stereos an exclusive new tool for using an iPod on the highway.
 |
After an unexpected delay due to several iPod software updates in the Spring of 2004, the promise of those early discussions has finally been realized with the introduction of the Alpine KCA-420i iPod Interface Adapter ($100). According to Alpine, the KCA-420i will give drivers "superior sound tuning and control of their iPod music using any of Alpine's 2004 Ai-Net in-dash head units." The adapter is compatible with any iPod and iPod mini with a dock connector and iPod Software Update 2004-04-28 or later.
The KCA-420i consists of a single hideaway box with two cables that connect to the Ai-NET port on the back of the compatible receiver and to the dock connector on the iPod. Once you have the adapter installed and your iPod connected, the KCA-420i offers the following features:
- control of nearly all aspects of iPod playback from a compatible Alpine in-dash receiver
- use of Bass Engine™ sound tuning controls on the Alpine receiver to improve sound quality
- charging of the iPod's batteries when the vehicle is on
- ability to use the iPod as a plug-and-play music source
 |
I've had the KCA-420i in my car for the past month, and while I'll caution you that the KCA-420i will not answer every Podster's prayers, it does live up to its promise. But before I explain why, let's take a quick look at the brief history of using an iPod in the car. If you're already hip to the details, feel free to jump ahead to the review.
Challenges to using the iPod in your car
Check out any iPod forum online (there are tons — iPodlounge.com is one of the best) and you'll find hundreds of comments from frustrated iPod enthusiasts trying to connect an iPod to their car stereo. The same topics and questions seem to keep coming up:
- Installation: How do you physically transmit the audio signal from the iPod to your car stereo?
- Power: The iPod's Achilles' heel is its short battery life. How can you get power to the iPod in the car?
- Control: Despite its ingenious user interface design, the iPod wasn't designed to be used while driving a car. How can you safely scroll through your iPod playlists while cruising down the road?
- Sound Quality: The tunes stored on your iPod are most likely already in a compressed format (AAC files), so any degradation of sound quality while transmitting the audio signal to your car stereo will have a significant impact on how your music sounds. What's the best way to preserve the sound quality of your iPod tunes?
Currently, if you want to listen to your iPod on your car stereo, you've got four options from which to choose: direct connection via auxiliary input, wired FM modulator, wireless FM transmitter, or cassette adapter. Each option offers a different level of sound quality and degree of installation difficulty, but none allow you to operate the iPod with your receiver's controls.
 You need a stereo-minijack-to-stereo-RCA cable to connect an iPod to an Aux input. |
Connecting an iPod via auxiliary input
It's extremely rare for a factory stereo to have an auxiliary input, so this method is primarily for iPod owners with an aftermarket car stereo. Connecting your iPod to an auxiliary input provides optimal sound quality and is always the best method to use when possible. Unless your receiver offers a front-panel auxiliary input (fairly rare), you'll have to remove the receiver to access the back-panel input. Many aftermarket receivers have aux in capability, but depending on the make and model, you may need an adapter to convert the CD changer port into an auxiliary input. Even with the auxiliary input, you'll still need to use a cigarette lighter power adapter or optional battery pack to keep the iPod from draining its battery. You also have to use the iPod to scroll through your playlists, which is not a great idea while driving.
BMW has recently introduced a factory-installed iPod adapter for 2002-and-up 3 Series, Z4 Roadsters, and X3 and X5 SUVs. The BMW solution provides excellent aux in sound quality, but it stumbles in other areas. Because this is a factory-only option, BMW owners have to pay dealership installation prices to get the iPod adapter. In addition to the $149 price tag for the adapter itself, BMW owners must pay factory labor costs — my local BMW dealership charges $95 per hour and estimates 2 hours of installation time. Still, you figure most BMW owners can afford to splurge a bit on the luxury of controlling the iPod from their steering wheel stereo controls. The bigger problem with the BMW adapter is its inability to display all the playlist, artist, and song information used to navigate through an iPod song collection. Instead, the the user must create 5 special BMW playlists. Walter Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal's Personal Technology columnist, sums up the BMW iPod interface this way: "The BMW iPod adapter works, but in a pretty crude way that will likely leave the iPod cult hungering for more."
 An FM modulator connects between the antenna and the car stereo. |
Wired FM modulator
A wired FM modulator provides sound quality as good as your best FM radio reception. FM adapter devices (wired modulator or wireless transmitter) can be used with any car stereo, factory or aftermarket, as long as it has an FM radio. The major drawback to a wired FM modulator setup, aside from the slightly diminished sound quality, is the difficulty of installation. You have to connect two power wires (switched and constant) and a ground wire; you also need to run the vehicle's antenna lead into the modulator box. None of this is particularly difficult to do (see our Peripherals Installation Guide for instructions), but it does require removing your stereo and mounting the modulator box. And of course, you must use the iPod to navigate through playlists, and use a cigarette lighter adapter or battery pack to power the player.
 Monster Cable's iCarPlay Wireless FM transmitter. |
Wireless FM transmitter
A wireless FM transmitter is much easier to install than a wired modulator — it uses a either a cigarette lighter power adapter or batteries, so you don't have to tap into power or ground wires. But what the wireless transmitter gains in convenience, it loses in sound quality. Wireless transmitters are susceptible to interference and static, especially in large cities, and generally deliver a slightly weaker audio signal than a wired modulator. There is at least one wireless FM transmitter for iPods that allows you to charge the iPod and transmit the audio signal on an FM frequency with a single connection (Monster iCarPlay Wireless for $69.99).
 Belkin mobile cassette adapter. |
Cassette adapter
Does anybody still have a cassette player? Yes, quite a few people do, and those folks can use a cassette adapter to pipe the iPod's audio signal to their car speakers. Cassette adapter kits are simple to install, but they do tend to leave a tangle of wires hanging over your dash. Power is supplied from a cigarette lighter power adapter. Sound quality for cassette adapters is fair.
For more information on the pros and cons of each in-car iPod setup, see Jim Richardson's article "Going Mobile with iPod."
Installing the KCA-420i
I connected the KCA-420i to Alpine's CDA-9830 receiver ($329), a mid-level unit that includes Alpine's Bass Engine Plus™ and MediaXpander™ sound shaping controls (more on these features later). To connect the adapter, I gently pulled the receiver and kit out from my dash to access the Ai-NET CD changer port on the back of the head unit.
 Alpine's 9830 CD/MP3/WMA receiver with CD changer controls. |
For all the hoopla surrounding its introduction, the KCA-420i iPod Interface Adapter is a visually unassuming product. The interface is housed in a compact hideaway box (5-9/16"W x 1-7/16"H x 3-15/16"D) with an Ai-NET port on one side and an iPod connection on the other). Alpine includes an Ai-NET cable (approximately 78" long) that connects the box to your Alpine receiver's CD changer port, and another 78" cable that connects to your iPod (has a dock connector on one end and proprietary Alpine plug on the other). The box itself is small enough to fit easily under a seat, in a center console, or in the glove compartment of many vehicles. I plugged in the Ai-NET cable, ran it down through the dash, and under the foot mat. I connected it to the interface, which I then tucked under my front passenger seat and secured to the carpet with the included Velcro strips. The kit also includes four self-tapping screws for a more permanent installation.
 The KCA-420i fits easily under my front seat. |
The included cables are over 6 feet long, and are designed for mounting the box within the front compartment of the vehicle — remember that you'll be plugging and unplugging your iPod often, so you wouldn't want to install the interface in your trunk. I ran the iPod connector up from under the passenger seat and along the center hump of my Ford Ranger. There are several varieties of in-car iPod mounts available that secure the player in a prominent and visible location. But these mounts are designed for using the iPod to scroll through playlists and to select tracks. The KCA-420i, on the other hand, allows you to control the iPod from your compatible Alpine receiver, so there's no need to display the iPod in your car. I tended to drop the iPod into the cupholder, but you could just as easily toss it into your glove compartment or center console.
Power on the go
The KCA-420i takes great strides towards solving one of the iPod's biggest weaknesses — low battery life. Alpine's Ai-NET protocol allows for both audio signal and power signal transfer, so when you connect your iPod and power up the stereo, the iPod starts charging off the vehicle's 12-volt power. But don't expect your iPod to get charged as quickly as when you plug the unit into a wall outlet — your vehicle's charging system can't match the 110-volts you get from a standard electrical outlet. Rather than using the Alpine adapter as a recharger for your iPod, think of it as maintaining the charge through hours of playing. And just think how much you'll appreciate not having to attach a clunky battery adapter to your iPod just to keep the tunes going on a long car ride.
You also need to have some power left in your iPod before connecting it to the KCA-420i. I tried to connect the iPod when it had literally no juice left in its battery, and the receiver could not recognize it. Even after leaving the iPod plugged in for 20 minutes, the receiver continued to display "NO MAGAZINE" and the dreaded "dead battery" icon flashed ever so briefly on the iPod's screen. I suspect that the iPod needs to be able to send some sort of signal to the KCA-420i for the head unit to be tricked into thinking that a changer has been connected and needs power.
The best part of this power charging feature is that the KCA-420i requires no separate power or ground connections. You don't have to tap into your wiring harness or fuse box at all during the installation. If you feel comfortable enough to remove your Alpine head unit from the dash, then you can definitely install the KCA-420i on your own.
 The Alpine logo appears on the iPod screen. You can also see that the battery is charging. |
Safety and convenience
The first thing you'll notice after connecting your iPod to the KCA-420i is that the Alpine logo suddenly appears on your iPod's screen, which is pretty darn cool. Once you've connected the iPod, though, you won't be able to use any of the iPod's controls. You must use the head unit to select playlists and tracks. This is both a safety feature — the Alpine receiver is designed to be operated while driving, while the iPod is clearly not — and a convenience. You don't have to worry about accidentally touching the scroll wheel and skipping a track while driving, or dropping the iPod on the floor. In fact, the best thing to do after connecting the iPod is to put it somewhere where it won't get scratched or tossed about.
You also don't want to leave your iPod in your car on extremely hot or cold days. Apple rates the iPod operating temperatures at between 32° and 95° Farenheit. Temperatures outside this range can damage your iPod.
Controlling the iPod from an Alpine in-dash receiver
For someone who's only recently installed an Alpine head unit, controlling the iPod on your Alpine head unit may take a little getting used to. There is no true equivalent of the "click wheel" interface for the car stereo. But anyone who's played MP3 files on their Alpine head unit will quickly feel right at home, and even those new to Alpine receivers will come to appreciate the QuickSearch™ functionality, Alpine's unique solution to navigating digital music files from a car stereo.
 |
Because the KCA-420i adapter "tricks" the receiver into recognizing the iPod as a CD changer, you need to put the unit into "Changer" mode (the icon will light up) in order to start using the iPod. You navigate the iPod's playlists as if it were a single MP3 disc in a changer magazine — trying to select different "discs" has no effect on the iPod. Track up and down buttons allow you to skip songs or fast forward and rewind within a song, just as you would when playing a CD. You can pause or repeat tracks as well.
QuickSearch™ navigation
It's the handy QuickSearch keys, however, that make jumping from one playlist to another, or scanning through all the tracks in a particular list, intuitive and, well, quick. I've praised this feature several times in the past, and I'll say it again: the QuickSearch feature is the best system for navigating digital music files I've ever encountered on an in-dash receiver.
 |
The QuickSearch keys allow you to search through the iPod's songs and to preview tracks without changing the song that's playing. To use, you first select your search parameter — searching by playlist, artist, or album is possible. Then you press the search key and use the rotary knob to scroll to the specific list or track you want. A click of the rotary knob cues up the track almost instantly.
Alternatively, pressing in the QuickSearch button and holding it for at least 2 seconds activates the Quick Search mode. In this mode, you can immediately use the rotary knob to scroll through all the songs in the specific playlist/album that you're in and then select the track that you want.
Display limitations
Depending on the model, '04 Alpine receivers can display the tag info for a maximum of 512 playlists, albums, or artists (depending on what search mode you're in), and for up to 255 songs within a given folder. If you've got more than 255 songs in a single playlist, for example, tracks after the 255th will be identified by number only. This may be a big drawback for people who have hundreds of albums and artists on their iPod; and those who have dumped hundreds of songs into a single playlist may be frustrated by not being able to read off the song/artist/album information.
After you use the QuickSearch a couple of times, you can jump around from playlist to playlist in seconds with a few spins of the rotary knob. And thanks to the receiver's large, readable display, finding tracks this way is certainly safer than trying to decipher the iPod's 2-inch screen. You cannot, however, use the QuickSearch™ with the remote.
Doing the iPod shuffle in the middle of the road
Anyone with an iPod knows how great it is to pop it into shuffle play mode and get treated to a random mix of your favorite tunes. And the only thing better than walking down the street to your own customized mix is cruising down the road to it with the windows open. Luckily, Alpine has realized this, and has provided shuffle play functionality via the KCA-420i adapter.
 |
To shuffle play your iPod tunes with the KCA-420i, you use Alpine's M.I.X. function (standard on all compatible Alpine receivers), accessed by hitting the "F/SETUP" button and then preset 5. You can set the M.I.X. function to shuffle play all tracks within a playlist (appears as "M.I.X. FLDR" on the display), or all the songs in your library (appears as "M.I.X. DISC" on the display). You must turn the M.I.X. function off before using QuickSearch to find playlist, artist or album.
Bass Engine sound controls
You can use Apple's Lossless Encoder to retain all of the audio information in the songs you put on your iPod, but most Podsters try to balance sound quality with the quantity of songs they can squeeze onto their iPod. This means that most of us are transferring files to the iPod as either AAC or MP3 files — I import all my music into iTunes and transfer files to my iPod as AAC files at 128 kbps. Due to the "lossy" nature of compressed digital formats (which results in the omission of certain audio information deemed unimportant or inaudible by the algorithm unique to each CODEC), the sound-shaping capabilities of your in-dash receiver can play a big role in getting the best sound from your iPod. As is always the case, the more control you have over the sound of your music, the better, and Alpine takes this to heart.
Bass Engine is the proprietary term Alpine uses to describe their sound customization features. There are three different levels of sound shaping available (Bass Engine, Bass Engine Plus, and Bass Engine Pro), depending on your Alpine head unit. Each level allows you to adjust basic bass, treble, and subwoofer levels, but as you step up you get more sophisticated controls.
Digital time correction
Digital time correction allows you to compensate for the placement of speakers in your vehicle so that all sounds arrive at your ear at the same time. In a properly set-up home audio system, you can literally sit in the sweet spot of the room with the speakers equidistant from your listening position. In your car, however, each speaker is located at a different distance from your ears. Digital time correction allows you to delay the speakers closest to you by fractions of a millisecond, so that the sound from each speaker hits your ears simultaneously. You'll hear a wider, more spacious soundstage, a big plus when you're listening to AAC or MP3 files that have lost some of their harmonic resonance as a result of compression. Instead of feeling like you're sitting off to the left of the band (if you're driving), digital time correction can make you feel like you're in the center of the music.
MediaXpander
Alpine's MediaXpander function (MX) restores audio information lost in the recording and compression processes. On Alpine's 2004 head units, you can apply MediaXpander to six different sources (FM, CD, MP3/WMA/XM, Music DVD, Video DVD, and AUX). You can also adjust the MX in one of three "expansion modes."
MediaXpander treats each source slightly differently — FM radio, for example, can only broadcast between 50 - 15,000 Hz, so crucial information is packed into the midrange frequencies between 350 Hz and 2,000 Hz. Therefore, MediaXpander targets the midrange and enhances the clarity of vocals on FM. According to Steve Piceno, Product Marketing Specialist at Alpine, the head unit can differentiate what type of media you are playing when the changer is in use, and apply the proper MX setting. "So if you have a changer that contains a store-bought CD-DA album, and a CD that contains folders with MP3 files, the head unit will recognize what type of media it is and assign the appropriate MX compression settings — MP3 MX or CD MX," Piceno told me.
But does it work?
Yes. Despite my early misgivings, MediaXpander proved itself to be much more than just a glorified "Loudness" button. MediaXpander opened up Neil Young's reverb-drenched epic "On the Beach," for example, into a broad musical canvas etched in stark relief with Young's scraggly guitar lines. Hard-hitting tracks like The Mooney Suzuki's "It's Not Easy" benefited from the enhanced high-frequency treatment. The tambourine is nearly eclipsed behind drummer Sam Rockwell's vicious ride cymbal on my iPod's earbuds; but listening to the track in my car with the MediaXpander on, the tambourine emerged as a distinct instrument in its own right, the soundstage tightened, and the music was more focused in general.
Compatibility issues
The KCA-420i is compatible with any iPod and iPod mini with a dock connector and iPod Update 2004-04-28. Don't act like I did, and barrel down to your car like a kid on Christmas day, only to watch a big "Error" message scroll across your display when you connect your iPod because you haven't updated your iPod software. You can easily update your iPod software at www.apple.com/ipod/download.
Alpine states that the KCA-420i is compatible with any 2004 Alpine Ai-NET head unit, including the following models: CDA-9830, CDA-9831, CDA-9833, CDA-9835, CDA-9827, CDA-9825, CDA-9826, CDA-9820XM, CVA-1004, IVA-D901, and IVA-D300. Although I've heard rumors that earlier model Ai-NET receivers may have some limited functionality with the adapter, you'll be on your own if you try it. Neither Alpine nor their authorized dealers will honor warranty claims or return guarantees for compatibility problems with pre-2004 Alpine head units.
Future generations
Alpine is mum on what new features they will incorporate into the next generation iPod adapter, but there are several improvements I'd like to see. For one thing, Alpine could create a dedicated iPod source selection on new, compatible head units. If the KCA-420i sells as well as expected, you can be sure that the next generation of QuickSearch will be crafted with an eye towards improving iPod compatibility. I would hope the ability to display more than 512 playlists and 255 songs will be addressed in some form. And I wouldn't be surprised to see next year's adapter offer compatibility with older model head units as well.
Another feature Alpine could tweak is MediaXpander. The MP3 compression format is different than Apple's AAC format or Microsoft's WMA — wouldn't it be nice to have MediaXpander selections custom-tailored to each CODEC? Likewise, how about adding some iPod-specific settings to the iPersonalize sound quality interface? Perhaps they could incorporate some of built-in EQ curves from the iPod. Ergonomically, accessing the Shuffle play mode could be a bit easier as well.
An iPod for every car?
These days it seems everybody's plugged into an iPod. Duke University has equipped its entire freshman class with iPods that have been preloaded with school calendars, campus maps, and classroom information. Newsweek's July 26 cover story proclaimed Apple's portable MP3 player a "life-changing cultural icon."
"Life-changing" or not (are you really defined by your iPod?), the iPod's appeal does seem to cross cultural boundaries; it's adored equally by the young and the old, by men as much as by women, by "first adopter" technophiles and "last-to-touch-it" technophobes. And, in perhaps the greatest testament to the iPod's acceptance, it has managed to bridge the chasm between the fanatically devoted cult of Mac users and their sworn enemies who use Microsoft's Windows operating system (and happen to constitute about 97% of the computer-using world).
 |
KCA-420i iPod Interface Adapter: Panacea or partial-solution?
Alpine deserves credit for refusing to push out an early, less functional adapter in order to capitalize on the manic sales of iPods over the past year. Instead of cashing-in quickly, Alpine's engineers and product developers thought through the unique challenges of using an iPod while driving, and addressed the primary concerns of iPod owners: providing an easy way to control and charge the iPod while on the road, yet preserving and even enhancing sound quality.
The KCA-420i iPod Interface Adapter will be a huge hit with Podsters and Alpine owners alike. The simple, two-cable installation and built-in power charging capacity makes the KCA-420i the most elegant and powerful iPod adapter solution yet developed. While the display of playlists and song titles may still be too limited for some iPod enthusiasts, QuickSearch offers fast, safe access to songs while driving. Most significantly, Bass Engine sound shaping controls and MediaXpander technology make iPod tunes played on an Alpine in-dash receiver sound fuller and richer than when played through other in-car adapters.
It may not be the universal in-car solution that iPod fans have been clamoring for, but for iPod fanatics that own a 2004 Ai-NET Alpine head unit, the KCA-420i does something truly revolutionary: it cures the perfect portable's road blues.
