JadeMonkey

No EMF concerns, it just sounds crappy. I tried it with the 20GB iPod and Apple FM transmitter I bought a few years ago.

I just bought a 2005 LS430 and was disappointed that I couldn't play MP3's or WMA's. No FM transmitter for me and hooking up an iPod in the glove box to a cable is an option that I would do as a last resort. Ideally I would like to replace the build-in CD changer either with one that can handle MP3's or with a DIN unit that has a build in 3" screen, USB and SD slot and just use the MP3 feature of the unit. I started this topic to encourage readers to share the way they have overcome this shortcoming. Please include pics and links of hardware and cable harnesses you used to accomplish the task.

My 06 Infiniti M35 lease will expire in a month and I was pondering on buying the car for the residual of $28800 or get something different. I looked at the LS430 for a while and at my Lexus dealer I saw a 2005 pre-certified for $30K and decided to get it, since I'm getting a full 3 year or 100K mile warranty with it. It has NAV, Levinson and all that good stuff. It rides much smoother then the Infiniti but then again, the Infiniti is supposed to be the Japanese "BMW". One thing I'm disappointed at was there is no way to play MP3's. The Infiniti had a build-in 6 CD changer as well, but could play MP3's and WMA's. I'm even having a hard time playing CD-R's in the CD changer from Lexus. After I re-burned the songs in slow speed, the disks didn't skip anymore (almost). Now I'm looking to somehow connect an MP3 player to the factory stereo and I'm having a hard time finding anything. I don't like FM transmitters and hooking up an iPod in the glove box to a cable is an option that I would do as a last resort. Ideally I would like to replace the build-in CD changer either with one that can handle MP3's or with a DIN unit that has a build in 3" screen, USB and SD slot and just use the MP3 feature. I can't seem to find a cable harness that would connect to the Levinson and on the other side have RCA connectors to connect to a regular car deck. I don't care if the songs won’t show up on the NAV screen since the deck would have its own screen. Has anybody seen or heard about such a cable harness or a way to do it? Does anybody have pin-outs of the Levinson connectors in back? How about starting a new thread on “How I made MP3 playback work” (unless it is already there) and describe all the features and list links to usable hardware and cables? I’m sure more readers would be interested.