http://new.minimania.com/web/Item/nmi7647/invDetail.cfm

So I always had this in my car mounted on the passenger side the middle pillar but what other hardware do I need?

Go to Wally world or some electronics store and buy an aux. cable. Plug and I Pod or MP3 player into it and push play. It will play through your stereo. My cheap Audio Vox head unit came with an AUX port right on the front of it, so I never bought one. It's a great thing to have.

...I used this one from Amazon. It's a good quality cable, don't let the 99-cent price fool you. It's also fairly short, at 3 feet, and has right angle plugs, which made my XM radio setup neater. http://www.amazon.com/RiteAV-3-5mm-S...640175&sr=8-31

Yup any miniplug-to-miniplug or male 1/8" (3.5mm) to male 1/8" (3.5mm) cable will work.

And to use it just press the "Mode" button on the head unit a few times and you'll get to AUX after the Radio and CD modes. If you go into audio adjustments by holding the musical note there should be an "AUX Level" which will increase or decrease the gain when using the AUX port to compensate for some devices whereas the audio level isn't as loud.

I have the Cables to Go 4ft iPod Dock Connector to 3.5mm Cable, about $15 from Amazon. I think it gives better sound than a headphone jack to AUX cable (which I've tried), as the cable runs from your iPod's dock connector. Only drawback is that it doesn't charge the iPod during use, but that doesn't really bother me.

I use a Griffin Autopilot which does charge the iPod and has simple transport controls, so the iPod lives full time in the glovebox.

You will love it! I have a blast putting my Ipod on shuffle while in the car. Admittedly though I do still think about getting the Mini Ipod connector in the glovebox......

If you decide on getting a simple 3.5mm cable then get a retractable cord like this one. Long cables tend to get annoying. I bought a retractable cord that is manufactured by "CM" at my local Target and it's perfect.

Does your music controls (change track) behind the steering wheel/dash board work with it? I tried it today with my iPhone and it didn't seem to work. The only way for me change the song was to change it on the iPhone. Maybe it works with iPod only?

Also, I bought my car used. So the previous owner must have installed the AUX input kit which is the same one they sell on MINIMania. I wish there's a way to find out if the previous owner was a NAMer or get in touch with him to know what he's done to the car.

With the AUX adapter, only audio goes over the AUX cable and you cannot control the iPod/iPhone with the steering wheel/head unit controls. Your iPod or iPhone is the source of music and the stereo simply reproduces that sound but there is no interaction, just like plugging in a pair of standard headphones to your iPod/iPhone. It is the much more expensive MINI iPod docking adapter that interacts with the stereo. With this you did control the music through the stereo, although to be honest its execution was fairly poor on the R53 and wasn't worth it.

With my dock connector cable I can control volume through the MFSW buttons. I still have to handle the iPod to change tracks, or to skip forward and reverse, but I use the volume control more than anything, so I like being able to do that through the steering wheel.

The volume of any input can be controlled through the MFSW controls, regardless of the source or how it's connected: radio, CD, Aux, iPod connector.

Okay, I'm thoroughly confused - par for the course for me! I purchased a (slightly) used 2008 Cooper S Clubman recently. In the center console it has a USB jack and a 1/8" Aux jack. The car does not seem to ahve any of the packages that include these items.

I plugged in my iPod 30GB using the iPod's dock connector to the USB jack. I did NOT connect the Aux out from the iPod. I can now control the iPod via the steering wheel: Skip forward, Skip backward, and Volume +-. Are there any other iPod functions that can be controlled thru the steering wheel?

If so, how do you do it?

Secondly, any ideas on how my car ended up with this feature without having any of the packages that contain it?

Thanks!

-RW-

There are aftermarket AUX kits that are available that people can buy and install. Or the original owner of the vehicle decided to add that iPod adapter option when ordering the car.

I assume you are using BMW's Y-cable that comes included with the USB feature. One end connects to the iPod dock connector and the other two cable connectors must be plugged into the aux and USB simulataneously (USB is for control and aux for sound).

USB is part of the Bluetooth option, so you also have Bluetooth. The Bluetooth option can be ordered separately without getting a package.

Thanks for the speedy replies, fellas, much appreciated! Hey rkw, it's nice to meet the guy who almost has my initials!

This is definitely not an aftermarket kit, it's factory installed.

And I am NOT using the Y cable, I'm using the Dock-USB cable that comes with the iPod. There is NO Aux connector (1/8" mini-plug) being used. That's the cool part, you can connect an iPod using the Apple-supplied cable. And I'll bet it can be purchased for a lot less than what Mini wants for their Y cable.

And yes, I do have BlueTooth, got my Blackberry Curve to pair while I was waiting for the Finance guy to do his paperwork.

I'm also not certain why folks complain so much about the sound quality. I have the Boost CD system and it sounds plenty good to me. And you should know that I have a pretty darn good system at home (> $20k), I've been into hi-end audio for well over 35 years.

I am not saying that the Mini's sound system is a world beater, but it definitely sounds pretty good for their entry-level system. And I did not find that it was incapable of providing enough volume while driving, it had plenty of volume for me, even at well over the posted speed limit =8^0

One thing I recommend is that folks should set their iPod to No EQ, I think it sounds better that way.

-RW-

This is interesting. By default iTunes creates music files in copy protected format that the USB wouldn't be able to play (this is the reason why aux input is used in combination). What music file formats do you have on the iPod, and what track information do you see on the headunit? I'm thinking that the USB is accessing the iPod directly like a memory stick. If you have completely generic mp3 files stored on the iPod, it may still work.

With a new car, USB includes a Y cable at no extra charge. Did the seller not have one? The seller should have included it with the car.

BTW, you posted in the wrong forum (1st gen).

The aux input is the first thing I added to my Mini - I love it

Sorry for posting in the wrong forum, I'll try to watch that in the future. However, in my defense, I was replying to a previous post.

And you are right, I am playing back MP3 files. I refuse to use proprietary formats like AAC. I simply ripped my CDs to 256 Kb MP3s using Windows Media Player. This automatically fills-in all the tag info. I then dragged each folder to the iPod using iTunes. Worked great and was easy to do.

As for the display, I can see the Artist, Album, and Song title. I did not receive the Y cable with the car. The car was purchased used from a Mazda dealer - no owner present. NBD, really - the standard iPod connector cable works quite well and there is no need for the Aux cable.

Since each song averages about 6 MB, I figure I can load about 5,000 songs onto my 30 GB iPod. That should be enough to last me the rest of my life...

-RW-

I just have to say, having a 'rlw' and an 'rkw' posting in the same thread is confusing!

Having an '04, I don't think I can add to this body of knowledge.

Regarding the 2nd gen Bluetooth/USB kit (not the 1st gen kit): Unprotected AACs are supported without issue through USB. If you have protected AACs (those bought from the iTunes store which are not DRM-free "iTunes Plus"), you need to play them through an iPod/iPhone. See these links:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/2nd-gen-i...supported.html
http://www.mini2.com/forum/2nd-gen-i...ml#post3578662
Sorry to burst your bubble but AAC is not a proprietary format. It's been standardized and ratified by multiple international organizations. Sure Apple's embraced it, but un-protected AACs will also play on any Zune, XBox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Sony Walkman, most Creative Zen portables, SanDisk portables, some Sony Ericsson and Nokia phones, some Palms, Windows Mobile devices. The list goes on. AAC is the compression scheme XM Satelite radio uses. The compression is more advanced than MP3 so you can fit more songs into the same amount of space or with the same size music files get higher quality than MP3s.