I just got the I-pod Aux installed today! (not the integration) the outlet in the Glove box, and they re programmed my i-drive to display AUX option, but all control is from my ipod itself. It sounds fine, but then i was comparing to what a CD sounds like and still the CD sounds deeper and clearer!

Have you looked at http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=23293

This is one of the reasons why I have two Aux connections, one before the circuit and one from after the circuit. That way I enjoy the best of both worlds.

iPod music files are compressed and smaller than CD music files. This also accounts for the less than excellent audio quality of music from an iPod on an 08 LCI.

The songs on my ipod are ripped at 192-320k and sound just as good as a cd on my 08 LCI with factory ipod/usb

iPods are disposable peices of crap. They have crappy electronics inside them so anything you play on them will sound like crap. They are designed for convenience, not for quality.

Even an uncompressed WAV played on an iPod will sound worse than the same WAV on CD. It's just the unfortunate reality of dealing with low-end portable audio gear.

What's your suggestion besides CD? I agree with you that iPod does not sound as good as CD, and I really want my CD changer back. I'm looking at Dension 500.
What do you think?
To be honest, I still love CD and I use it very often ;)

Right! They'll never never catch on.

loooooool, just what i was thinking about his post! lol

You have tried removing the resistor/capacitors that are part of the aux input ?
Try this: http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=...mp;hl=aux+input

Thread started by subterfuse and i have tried it, it works.
Maybe not as good as CD but a noticeable improvement.

Oh! Finally a topic that has to do with my field of expertise!

The differences in sonic quality is based on several aspects, one of which is
the DA convertor -- converts the digital file into analog that can be send on
to the amp/speakers. Packing an important element like that into the
compact body of the iPod will definitely result in sacrificing quality. My other
AD/DA converters that I use for work (I'm a music producer) are pretty big
and can run hot (Apogee, Lavry Gold, CraneSong, and Digidesign).

If they put a serious audiophile-quality DA, or even a decent one for that matter,
in the iPod, it'll be as big as a PowerBook. With heat and size retraints, that's
as good as it'll get. Unless they offer a digital output that you can plug in your
favorite DA convertor.... But there's more...

The other problem is what has been mentioned above already -- the differences
between mp3 compressed audio vs 44.1khz/16bit (CD). No matter how high you
compress your mp3, it's still gonna be compressed and will be obvious especially
if you are listening at loud levels.

Take website jpegs versus hi-rez prints. Anything compressed is gonna have a
s*** factor.. just depends on how much.

You could save your files as Wav/AIFF on the iPod but then you'll have the DA
problem as well as only a few dozen songs being able to fit on the iPod!