I got to play with one last night as I tried to install a set on my VW Passat. Last week, I installed the OEM ipod adaptor on my cooper.

Background:
The OEM Mini adapter is brilliant I think. Controls are fully integrated into the head unit. 5 playlists are even accessible through the radio presets. The downside of the the OEM adapter is the Ipod display is not available, so you have no info other than track number about what song is playing. Another downside is it cannot co-exist with the CD changer. You have to give up the CD changer.

The Harman Kardon product is new and highly publicized as a good Ipod solution for any car. The big upside is you can tuck the Ipod away and have a screen on the dashboard that shows all the info. There is also a controller in a convenient position that is Ipod-like and optimized for a car.

First impression is man, that's a lot of parts! Check out the first complete parts photo. Luckily the manual is pretty thin. This gave me some assurance that installation can't be that hard.

The good:
- The screen and the controller are very high quality. They are attractive and built with high-grade materials. The controller rim can be turned left and right and has a nice tactile feel.

- The ipod is charging when connected and the volume output is optimized automatically.

- There are many options offered for mounting and wiring. This is one of the reasons why there are so many parts included. You can power it with direct wiring or a cigarette lighter. You can integrate it with the car stereo through low-level outputs, fm airwaves or fm direct line.

The bad:
- installation is a pain. There are a lot of parts. You have to punch a hole in your dashboard for the display wiring. You also have to find a spot for the controller. The ideal spot is between the shifter and the handbrake. A lot of cars don't have room here. In the Mini, there seems to be room beside the mirror adjusters. Finally, there's all these wires. There's many wires 3x the length you need and you can't really cut them easily

- You really need to power this unit with an 'accessory' wire that shuts off with ignition. Otherwise, it's always on and you have to unplug the cigarette lighter plug everytime you need to turn it off or exit the car.

- Volume is done through the head unit.

- This system is really ideal if you have line inputs to your stereo. If you have the 'aux' mod, this might work well for you. Otherwise, you're stuck with FM integration. FM airwaves transmission is bad. It's bad with any product. It's bad with this product. There's a choice though. For an extra $30, you can have FM 'wired-in' integration through the car antenna. I was eager to test this but then I find out the antenna FM kit doesn't work in the Mini, VW and most european cars. You can get plug adapters from Crutchfield for $40. Nice... right.

So, I'll try and post more pics of this in the Mini later. Meanwhile, I'll have to figure a line-in solution if I want to use this product in my VW. I actually have a tape adapter there and that might work. I'm testing it for a site called audioreview.com.

francois

 

more photos

 

I saw it today at Brandsmart USA (Big electronics store here in South Florida). Was not impressed. Asking price $178 for the kit. Adds clutter to the dashboard. Don't like to have any more screens/displays on the car. Big time thieve magnet in my opinion.

Glad you enjoy yours, but doesn't seem the best option IMHO.

 

I was seriously going to get this, but I opt'd to keep it simple with the AUX input and the Belkin Auto Kit.

I'd love to see pics of it installed.

 

any more pictures?

 

hey francois,

just sent you a PM from another thread and then saw this post.

If it wasn't for the installation aspect. (i was gonna have Circuit City install mine)

do think you would prefer the:

ipod option from the mini dealer or
the "harman kardon drive and play"

and why?

 

I think the OEM Ipod adaptor is the way to go. I think Mini owners are so lucky to have it as a bonus of the BMW-Apple relationship.

Some of the reasons why I like the OEM adaptor better are:
- better sound quality. OEM integration has the best sound possible. Drive+play FM options are not good. Aux input is good but I'm not sure it's as good as OEM
- full radio integration, volume, tracks and some playlists. Plus I like my steering wheel controls.
- install is clean as can be. No ipod holders on the dash and no drilled holes for the drive+play display or controller.

Who the Harman Kardon is for:
- Someone with no Mini or no OEM option
- someone who has uses and needs the CD changer (OEM will not work with it)
- not installing yourself
- you need to see the Ipod display info (OEM has none!)
- you have Aux input already

So for me, it's OEM. I like the quality on the Drive+Play but it's not for my Mini. I was going to put it in my VW but still have doubts.

francois

 

Thanks Francois,

I was on the fence. but I think I'll go with the OEM. Kinda like the idea of not having to have any more clutter also (drive+play monitor, tuning **** and ipod holder)

 

I'm getting the Monster iCruz. At $99.00 on sale, it's the best price I've found.

 

not familiar with "Monster iCruz". Is that a stand alone unit, will interact with you steering wheel controls and or strereo. Let me know how you like it

 

That's a good sale. But it looks you need a $30 interface cable for the mini. Also, you might have to put your iCruz and Ipod in the trunk of the car. That is not good!

I got my OEM adapter at Morristownmini.com for $130.

If you do the iCruz, let us know how it works. Interesting that there's an option for a dashboard display unit.

francois

 

at $99, that includes everything. I'm going to be hooking it up to the back of the head unit. Will post info after it arrives

 

It interacts with the head unit and has an LCD screen. Monster cable is a top notch audio cable company, and I expect the same with this product as well.

 

Did you get this recently? I was at my dealer last week and they said the OEM IPod adapter was on back order due to some problem.

 

Here you go pardner:
http://www.parts.com/partlocator/ind...catalogid=3751

I heard out stock too on local dealers but Morristown Mini seems to have no problem. Maybe they have high volume. Only $120 and they are great guys to deal with.

francois

 

The HK is the only solution that lets you browse and select from your entire library. Both the OEM and Monster are limited to playlists - a big drawback imo. I tried the HK unit in a Circuit City recently and was impressed. The controller worked very well. Only shortcoming I could see was the lack of "All" options on the menus. Not sure why they couldn't implement that.

 

This new Monster adapter looks cool.

 

I live in Switzerland, and the drive + play just came out here. I'm driving an Alta Mini cooper S 2005 and i did connect it in 2h45 min. The trick in Europe is that we can only connect it via the antena. Thanx to Bmw the antena plug of the drive + play is not compatible! Bmw finding very funny to stop people like us from using any other divice but their own . In order to connect it via the antena, two adaptators are required each easely found in any good electrician retail. Price for both about 40 box.
It works perfectly, and the sound is amazing both with the inmount Harman Kardon sound system plus the drive + play...

Mini + Drive & Play =

 

The HK is not the only option that lets you browse the whole iPod. The Dension IceLink Plus also supports full access to the iPod. It's well worth a look for anyone considering the OEM solution, since it provides the head-unit integration of the OEM, but also adds additional features.

To Francois: Thanks for the review!

 

I finally took some pix of the HK DrivePlay installed. I've been meaning to do this for some time. So far it's been a fantastic interface to the ipod - no complaints.

Pix are here: http://www.taylorsmith.biz/Galleries...lay/index.html

 

My MINI came with a built-in Ipod adaptor. I received an H/K Drive + Play for the holidaze. I'm not a big fan of FM modulated devices - and I would like to connect the Drive + Play directly to the H/K. Does anyone know if the H/K has RCA inputs? If not, can you recommend an adapter for connecting RCA to H/K? (BTW, I also have CD changer installed but not connected).

 

I just got this installed yesterday. You will need the OEM aux ($40) to get the best sound quality. Great device, only draw back is that I like to listen to my ipod using the genre feature, then all and then pick my albums. The D+P will only allow you to go to the all feature. I guess the only way around it is to make seperate playlist for each. I have over 5k songs and dont want to go through each album. A bit time consuming unless someones figured out a easier way.

 

Hello Everyone...

First post and it's about this D+P as well. I got a video ipod over the holidays and later bought the D+P. Instead of using the included H/K display unit, I like to stick with the ipod itself (colour screen!)

Is it possible to install the D+P without the display unit, and control the ipod via the H/K controller?

Thanks.

 

I bought the HK D&P last year in the spring. Sadly, it still sits in the box since dealing with health problems then death in the family for most of last year. I will probably install it this spring.

 

I just received my Drive + Play. I have a 5G 60gig video. The instructions say that my IPOD needs to be ver 1.0 but mine has been upated. How do I go about this? Anyone already been though this situation?