Car aux Audio Out through USB?

[munch9000]

Hello. I'm an iPhone user and I'm strongly considering making the leap to Android in the near future. I'm leaning toward the Epic 4G, but that's not finalized. Before I buy anything. I need to figure out how I'll replace the iPhone as the main supplier of music/audio in my car.

Right now, the iPhone is connected to a doc through the data port, which has one cable going to the cigarette lighter to charge it, and another cable to the 3.5mm auxiliary audio jack in my car. I'm having a very hard time finding something equivalent for Android phones. Does it exist?

Basically the 3 criteria are:
Audio out through USB, so I get the pure signal...not the filtered headphone signal that requires I raise the volume on the phone.
Charge the phone at the same time.
Connect to a standard 3.5 mm aux jack.

If I can't get everything I want, I would rather sacrifice the charging ability vs getting the pure audio signal via usb.

Thoughts, suggestions?

 

[silentshadow86]

I found this article from cnet:
Using your Android phone with your car stereo (How To) | The Car Tech blog - CNET Reviews

Gives you the different options of connecting your media to your car stereo and the pros and cons of each method. ... I think your only option for charging and doing audio output would be through the auxiliary. The only docs I've seen come with auxiliary cables.

 

[munch9000]

Thanks for the link, but what I'm looking for is a hybrid of the USB and 3.5mm methods. My car stereo's Bluetooth is only for making/receiving phone calls, and won't play music.

I found this adapter, but it claims to not work with the Epic. Should I believe this or is it a standardized usb port that should work the same with any Android phone?
HTC Multifunction Audio Adapter - Android Audio Adapters - Phandroid Store

 

[Rob_A]

Sorry m8, but there is no way to use the Phones USB to connect to the AUX input of a car stereo to get sound/music.

There are 4 ways to connect your phone to your car stereo: (similar to the Cnet Article)

1) 3.5mm Aux (Deck) to 3.5mm Headphone jack (Phone)

2) USB (Deck) to USB (Phone mounted as a HDD) The phone will detect the stereo USB and then you mount as a HDD. MP3s will be read off the phones SD card as if it were a USB stick or drive.

3) Crappy Cassette adapter to 3.5mm jack (Phone)

4) Crappy (IMO) FM Transmitter to 3.5mm jack (Phone)



The device you linked to doesn't have a line out 3.5mm jack. Just Line in.

 

[munch9000]

Thanks for the info Rob. That's what I was afraid of.

Hmmm...now I need to decide if that's enough of a problem to stick with an iPhone for a while longer.

 

[lordofthereef]

Sounds to me like you need a car micro usb charger (assuming you NEEd to power your device) and a simple male-male aux cable to plug the aux out of your android device into the aux in of your car deck. I don't believe the phone will do audio out via USB. I think bluetooth would be the option you are looking for in the case you mention, however it sounds like your car sterio might not have this option. To each his own, but I am not really understanding why turning the audio volume up is going to be much of a problem for you. The volume is for the music player sepparately, and will not effect the ringer or anything else.

 

[Rob_A]

Sounds to me like you need a car micro usb charger (assuming you NEEd to power your device) and a simple male-male aux cable to plug the aux out of your android device into the aux in of your car deck. I don't believe the phone will do audio out via USB. I think bluetooth would be the option you are looking for in the case you mention, however it sounds like your car sterio might not have this option. To each his own, but I am not really understanding why turning the audio volume up is going to be much of a problem for you. The volume is for the music player sepparately, and will not effect the ringer or anything else.

The OP stated he didn't like the sound quality from this solution

And in my post and CNET article, it says USB outputs mp3/music files only when mounted as a HDD.

 

[sandeep108]

Since USB would always charge, wouldn't option 2 above also charge the phone? Most new car systems today read mp3s off usb sticks. So probably option 2 would resolve the charging and signal issues. Also this way you would also be able to use the steering audio controls.

I do not think any phone or media player can do audio out through usb. Audio can be outputted via 3.5mm jack or data through usb. The iPhone dock takes the data and the car system reads the file and plays it.

 

[Rob_A]

Since USB would always charge, wouldn't option 2 above also charge the phone? Most new car systems today read mp3s off usb sticks. So probably option 2 would resolve the charging and signal issues. Also this way you would also be able to use the steering audio controls.

I do not think any phone or media player can do audio out through usb. Audio can be outputted via 3.5mm jack or data through usb. The iPhone dock takes the data and the car system reads the file and plays it.

Yes

On my deck, connecting USB to USB to play MP3 does also charge the phone. When that happens, play, pause, forward, back, etc is controlled by the stereo. Just like connecting a USB stick.

 

[GadgetBP]

Have you considered using the Dock from Dell?

It's expensive @ $69, but gives a firm base to sit your Streak. Just not sure if it requires A/C power to operate.

 

[MoShuga]

Stop by a Sprint Store and ask them to assist you with a test. If the BT in your car transmits any type of audio the version may include Stereo Audio also.

 

[sandeep108]

AFAIK, most modern car systems also include very decent BT stereo audio also. And most new phones support the BT 2.1. Of course, this means that you can only control the music from your phone.

I would most certainly prefer this option as the phone would sit in the armrest (charging if necessary) while my playlist of the moment played on. I often use my BT headphones while working out and the sound quality is in no way (at least that I can make out) inferior to the wired headphones.

And if a call comes in, again most modern car systems are savvy enough to allow you to use the car system to take (or make) the call, if one so wishes, once the phone is paired correctly.

Of course if one is very concerned about fidelity, then one should not be using compressed files at all usb / lossless or otherwise. But there are endless debates going on about this anyway. I mean after all some people spend tons of money on DACs.

 

[takeshi]

I found this adapter, but it claims to not work with the Epic. Should I believe this or is it a standardized usb port that should work the same with any Android phone?
HTC Multifunction Audio Adapter - Android Audio Adapters - Phandroid Store

It's for specific devices that support the adapter.

To each his own, but I am not really understanding why turning the audio volume up is going to be much of a problem for you. The volume is for the music player sepparately, and will not effect the ringer or anything else.

The amps in phones tend to distort and introduce noise when turned up. Line level audio tends to be much cleaner.

The OP stated he didn't like the sound quality from this solution

True but the OP assumed that better quality audio via USB was possible. It's not except for music stored on the SD card (if his head unit support mass storage mode).

If the BT in your car transmits any type of audio the version may include Stereo Audio also.

AFAIK, most modern car systems also include very decent BT stereo audio also.

The way to tell is to see if the car's BT system supports A2DP. Not all do.

Of course, this means that you can only control the music from your phone.

Unless AVRCP is supported as well.

Of course if one is very concerned about fidelity, then one should not be using compressed files at all usb / lossless or otherwise. But there are endless debates going on about this anyway. I mean after all some people spend tons of money on DACs.

It's a subjective matter. Different people draw the line at different points. I mean, I'd never even consider an FM transmitter due to audio quality concerns but I'll certainly use lossy compression with careful encoding.