100%Cocoa

I got myself a new toy which has transformed the listening pleasure in my M5 beyond recognition....

I have a non DSP amp which I added a sub to a while ago (Adding an amp and sub to the E39 M5). Things sound suprisingly good but 6 CD's just don't cut it these days. To remedy this, yesterday I bought an Archos 605 Wi-Fi thingy with a 160GB drive. I used a specialist lead that fits in line with the CD changer from toysinyourcar.com (have a look at AV input on TV Screen) and now have every album I own in the car every time I drive it, a really easy touchscreen gui & as a bonus, I have all the facilities I'd have if I had the DSP amp too (see first thread). On top of all that, I can watch videos with stereo audio & if a hot spot is near by, even the internet. No more chosing which CDs to take on a journey or forgetting to change them. This is a seriously good toy in my car........

The Archos 605 Wi-Fi with 160GB drive & minidock is only £300 from http://www.themp3company.co.uk/ and despite being a little more than other sites, they did free next day delivery and most importantly I could speak to a human being who knew all about the product & was extremely helpful.

Go on - get yourself a Christmas present too........

Barney.

Diny

Do you use it through the AUX jack or are you able to somehow still control it through the steering wheel?

oh, and PICS!! The 605 isnt a small gadget, so where do you keep it?

100%Cocoa

Have a look at http://www.toysinyourcar.com/acatalog/BMW.html as there is a fair amount of choice on how you can set it up. I've got the Stereo audio + advanced TV in motion leads http://www.toysinyourcar.com/acatalo..._av_staud.html. The only 'complicated' bit is running the phono & switch lead down the length of the car but if you're reasonably adept, there is actually trunking down either side so it's just a simple bit of trim removal.

The wiring is child's play.....

The TV in motion is just plug & play and actually increases the normal controls you have of the TV, including channel switching on the steering wheel.

The Stereo Audio lead is plug & play apart from the switched 12V. This is my post from when I fitted the bass box. I used the same switched feed for this.......

I found the Purple & white cable on multiway going into the Radio/TV module is 12V ignition controlled. On my car at least that's the box with the ariel leads going into it - closest to the back of the car on LHS as you stand looking into the boot. I tapped off it for 'remote' power supply for bass box amp. (high current power comes off big connection block on RHS of boot obviously...!)

I haven't driven anywhere with the Archos yet, but it works brilliantly in my car park! It fits rather well on the tray in front of the gear stick but if it proves to slidey aroundy I'll figure something better out.

Operation is easy. For just audio you just select the CD player as you would normally. The audio you then hear comes from the Archos instead. If you want video too, you select the AV i/p on the TV & then hold down the 'autoreverse' button for a few seconds. A quirk in the system then makes the TV change it's audio source. You end up with the TV pic & CD audio, (in this case the vid & audio from the Archos).
If anyone knows why/how this works I'd love to know!

I'm at work at the mo so I'll try & take pics at the weekend. It really is very simple though.

Cheers,
Barney.

100%Cocoa

A little delay with the pics, but here are a couple to give you an idea.....

The cable is routed through the rear bulkhead in the conduit above your left shoulder if sitting in the back seat on the lhs. It then follows the other cables up to the transmission tunnel where it slides under the carpet and up behind the rear seat vents. (they're really easy to remove, as is the rear seat). I then just pulled up the gear stick surround, removed the trim panel in the passenger footwell (from FSU replacement experience!) and fed just enough end of cable out from there. It's surprisingly neat. The holder is just a large mobile/pda stalk but I screwed the base plate to the transmission tunnel for added strength as the Archos isn't light. It hasn't fallen off in 3-4000 miles so must be ok.

It doesn't intrude on passenger leg space, or any of the controls and it means I have every CD I ever bought in the car with me at once, along with the facility to play movies as well, it really is an easy and brilliant improvement to the Hi Fi......

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