i was wondering if anyone has the audi ipod integration kit installed on their a3. how much was the integration kit and how much did the dealer charge for installation. does it work well with the factory deck or is the denison option the same or better. thanks

 

I have the ipod integration kit that was installed when I bought my car. I believe it's a ~$70 part but it was $400 for the installation!! I have the Bose symphony package (without the nav) and they said they have to take the dash off in order to get to the back of the unit to install it. Now that I look back on it, it was a crazy option I never should have gotten. Its the same ipod cable and connector that fits in the botttom of the ipod and charges your ipod while it's plugged in. It comes out into your glove compartment. It's a nice and neat look and you can protect your ipod behind a locked glove box.

As far as integration with your system, it's incredibly lousy. You are not able to control the track or volume from the steering wheel and the song names are not shown. All you see is Track 234, etc. Controlling it is via your 6 radio preset buttons. You are able to cycle through playlists on buttons 1 and 2, skip forwards and back on buttons 3 and 4, and fast forward and reverse on tracks 5 and 6. You aren't even able to control the song played from the ipod itself. As far as the sound fidelity, it sounds great, but I think there are other solutions that would sounds as good without the cost. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't. You'd think that a premium car company would have come up with something better. Otherwise, I love my car.

 

I've got an A4 and put a dice ipod kit in it. The part was like 160 and installation at a local installer was 80 bucks. I am pretty satisfied. Just some minor points with it though. The company is currently producing a harness for the satellite radio that connects to the ipod adaptor so you can also connect your sat radio. So I've lost the sat until it comes out. There is a soln on audi world but I am just going to wait for the company. The interface between the dice adaptor and the ipod is a little slow. So there is a slight lag when you change songs. Not bad though. You have access to all of your playlist and you can control your music through the steering wheel, stereo or the ipod itself. From my research, I think its one of the best solutions out so far.

 

I bought the adapter that cost me 175 and i installed it myself. I have Audi Concert stereo and the kit comes with 2 wires. the one i used for my stereo i'm sure cost pennies and the other wire was for the nav system which i didn't have. I love my ipod though. the video ipod doesn't work well with it. it freezes but my nano works great! i can control the tracks and volume on the steering wheel but the only thing is that my stereo isn't equiped to display the title of the song. the ipod plays very clearly through the speakers though. i borrow the two flat tools to pop the stereo out. installation wasn't hard though. just connet the tires pretty much my matching the colors up.

 

I had the Dension harness installed in my A3 along with a couple of Proclips to hold the adapter and I'm pretty happy with the interface and sound. It works well with the Concert headunit but I chose to use the Ipod controls to control the song selections. I had a local stereo house install the cable even though I could of bought it at Best Buy because I wasn't sure how it was done. But I saw the guy install it and it looked pretty simple. The whole bill was $475 out the door. It may sound expensive, but I do a lot of commuting and the ease of choosing the music I want to hear and when well makes up for the cost.
Good luck with your research. I didn't have much to go on when I got mine installed.


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I have the factory kit that was installed by the dealer. It can be controlled by the controls on the steering wheel (volume and track). It is suppose to be able to play 5 different play lists but the most I have ever had has been three.

If you have satellite radio, it is not compatible with the iPod, even though Audi release a press release back in October stating that it is.

 

T2T - is that an ipod video?

 

Yes, it's the 30GB and it will play short videos.

 

Got the Dension Mount installed at Best Buy, directly in the MultiCD changer connection.
Works fine, including controls on the wheel to change tune, playlist etc...
Dension manufacture specifics for each Audi. Cost in Canada, including labour,and taxes, 345.00$ Cad

Yannjack

 

The Alpine CDA 9857 is the way to go in my opinion. I tried Dension; tried the wireless FM transmitter (CRAP!); this is the easiest, and still cost effective.

Pictures should be embedded.

Maintains iPod functionality, while the iPod is locked away in the glove box. It has amazing sound quality. I personally think it looks clean, while not fitting in with the 'all red' dash of Audi's...

The only con is losing the steering wheel functionality, but that problem should be solved soon.



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