ipad mini in the coupe

A

alanmcg

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is a perfect fit. no need for any permanent mounting as the size of the mini is perfect for a pressfit between dash shelf and upper bumper - see pics.

if anyone is considering doing audio mods, i would scrap them and go with the mini - it has everything needed plus lots more: radio (pandora or streaming like npr.org), audio (itunes, etc), nav (google maps, telenav, etc), podcasts, etc etc etc.

i had to remove one of the wooden ribs and will make another flat wooden one and paint it black - so no perm mods, and orig untouched.

my old iphone and ipad connector doesnt work (even with adaptor obviously -see pic) for either power or signal, so will need to get a new cable.
 

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Some of us still live in the dark ages and don't even have a smartphone let alone an iPad mini with 4G. OK, maybe I'm the only one! Love the approach though.

:)
 
Is the McG short for McGyver? Very cool. I hadn't thought of an Ipad mini as a head unit, but this and an amp is all you would need.
 
wow

chris, dude, its time :). the ipad mini is the perfect way for you to get current. the amount of stuff you can do with this one device is amazing.

i even use it in my airplane (single engine bonanza - like everything else i love, from the early 1960's) - there is a $100 ap on the ipad that would cost about $30k to duplicate in avionics gear.
 
My excuse is that all my spare coin goes back into my vehicles. I found this in my garage today, 1990 e30 convertible. I think it may stay for a while, the wife loves it and it comes from a great BMW enthusiast, author and photographer. Time to add it to my sig in fact!
 

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Score! I can't believe Fred let that go. Good for you, Chris. We really enjoyed our e30 cab. Gotta get a wind deflector for it. My guess is that Fred already had one?
 
Yep. It's in impeccable condition, Fred does nothing less. Shawn loves the 5 speed, she never owned an auto until she met me so she's in heaven.

My search is now on for a Jag 3.8S. I know Luis, John, Dirk and others will help me find one. Just missed one in Scottsdale that was on BaT in October! I just sold the 1960 MB 190b and the R50/2 on Thursday along with the 69 2002 last month. I am following Paul's example, enjoy different experiences as life is short. I think our recent time with Murray has really hammered this message home. As Shanon exclaims, keep on couping!

Chris
 
great score Chris. i'm a big fan of the e30.

Alan, glad to see this post, as it is something i posted a week or so ago of something i was planning on doing in my coupe.
 
Been thinking about something similar Alan but I was worried GPS reception would be too poor if I put it there or in the speaker opening.

Was looking into having it on an arm. I did use my regular ipad for navigation for a while, damn nice with the big screen. So much quicker to see what is going on, especially in a city.

/Johan
 
Gps

Reception is great in my experience - have yet to see a single dropout, but have prob only logged an hour of seat time to date. I'd try it in your area tucked in speaker locat and see how it works for you. It looks SO clean mounted there (better than shows in my pictures), IMO much better than on arm.
 
If only I could get the megasquirt dash to work on an iPad. Hopefully this is coming one of these days. One could then build an infill plate to replace the speaker grill and attach a short arm with a plate and velcro to the back of the iPad. The wire could also come out at this location.
 
final piece

just to close off this thread, here is the device that makes it all work: http://www.amazon.com/HRT-iStreamer...qid=1358900191&sr=8-2-spell&keywords=isreamer.

it provides an rca cable input to your amp or head unit, and usb port for signal and charge for the current gen stuff (iphone 5, ipad mini, etc), and also (surprisingly) last gen (iphone 4s, ipod, etc). plus it is a very high qual d to a, that really does improve the quality of the sound.
 
no

hi tod,
no, the improvement in sound does not justify the price in my opinion - although it was noticeable on my system (which was already pretty hi-fidel, at least the cost of the components i used was very hi-fidel!) - but the other functions it performs does justify the price - in fact it is the only thing i found that both passes through the signal AND charges the new gen apple devices.
 
hard to tell what it really is. some of the other pieces on the page are listed as DAC - digital to analog converters. there are some head units, albeit more expensive units that contain high grade DAC like Burr Brown 24bit. since i have been considering replacing my head unit with a new one to run an ipod / future ipad ... and also have bluetooth (phone and ipod streaming) ... and maybe future satellite radio, i have been looking into what the current offerings are. one of the better fit-out units is a Pioneer DEH-80prs, although it won't do HD or sat radio. there are several other units from pioneer, alpine and kenwood that have decent 24 bit DACs. still looking into other high quality units with current technology ... if any of you have been down this path - please PM me with any of your research.

i know that some of you prefer just to hear the sound of your engine. i like that too, but i like good music. i was intrigued by one of the members here who showed pics of focal k2 power speaker installation under the wood center grill and on the lower kick panels. i am curious how well that really worked out. i've been meaning to find that post and inquire.
 
more

focals behind center grill and in kick panels is me also. 'how well did it really work out?' this is a really good question, the short answer is OK, but given the cost and amount of work (i also soundproofed every square inch of the car with dynamat and dynapad - expensive, heavy, and a ton of work), it is not a hard call - DONT DO IT. the reality is our cars are noisy, especially at highway speeds. yes, my 11 speakers and 900 watts will overcome the noise, but then its really just noise competing with noise.

if i was doing it again, i would leave stock radio alone for orig look and old time radio, ipad mini for mp3's/nav and everything else, use 'good' spearkers in rear and kickpanels, mod power, and call it good. would cost about 1/10 of what i spent. on the highway, forget about music, enjoy the hum of the big 6, roll down the windows and enjoy the wind in the hair you have left. :)
 
Alan,

thanks for the good advice. a decade + ago i did a big /a/d/s system (component speakers, large amp, nakamichi head unit) in my highly modified (read very noisy) 2002. wasn't worth the money ... but it sounded great when the car wasn't running. i transferred the system to my e30 m3, and sold it with the car.

i was contemplating the focal performance series (rather than the k2 power series) ... and was going to start out without the big amp, but have the provision to add some power at a later date. i was contemplating just putting tweeters up at the center speaker with drivers in the kick panels and speakers in the rear deck - see attached image from another member. what size speakers did you place in the lower kick panels?

question - how much have you played with the crossovers? have you found much change by varying the settings? in my 2002 - it didn't seem to help. if so, what seemed to work best?
 

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