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Can I use a Marshall Amplifier as a speaker in my car?

iPod amplifier for car

  • Can anyone recommend an inexpensive portable amplifier to use in my car so I can listen to my iPod? My car's tape deck (shut up!) died. The CD player works, but that's not helpful. I have used an FM transmitter in the past, but where I live -- north of Providence, RI -- there are too many stations for it to be effective. I currently listen to podcasts during my commute using a tiny desk speaker that I got at Staples for ten bucks, but it's too quiet for the days when I want to blast music on the way home. I plan to use a pair of cheap-ass desktop computer speakers or the pair of pretty http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Using+Apple+Pro+Speakers+with+a+class-d+amplifier/11399/1 that I own, but I still need an amp. Battery powered would be tidier, so I can take it elsewhere, but I will take one with a cigarette lighter adapter. I really don't want anything permanent since this car is almost ten years old, and also I often park it in a garage with the window down and the keys in it. My budget is low, say under fifty bucks at Amazon. Is there a good (or even just adequate) amp that anyone can suggest? Or an alternative that I haven't thought of? Any suggestions are appreciated!

  • Answer:

    $25 bucks, or maybe less, will probably get you a working, plug compatible dash unit for your Toyota at any junkyard, probably even with a 30 day warranty. http://www.automotix.net/usedautoparts/2005-toyota-camry-radio_cd_player-inventory.html.

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His thoughts were red thoughts

"Plus, I simply lack the time to yank out the car's dashboard." You've spent more time on this question, and doing followups, than it would take to wire up a new stereo. It's cake, man; I did one on my old CRX on a smoke break.

notsnot

I recently solved this exact same problem in my 11-year-old car by getting the cheapest car stereo with a USB port. It was $60. Not terribly outside your budget. And it sounds way better than listening to portable speakers.

rabbitrabbit

His thoughts were red thoughts

But I think that http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002I3OZ7G/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ - loud enough, rechargable-battery powered but can be plugged in for power, folds up for transport, $45. I use one around the house - I think it would work well in a car. You could velcro it to the dash.

His thoughts were red thoughts

I had the forward / reverse problem with my tape deck occasionally, and resolved it by cleaning the contacts on the cassette interface inside the radio and on the little store-bought gizmo. You might want to try that. I used tissue paper, q-tips and rubbing alcohol. Did the trick ( stock tape and radio player in 1995 3 series bmw ).

seawallrunner

Yeah, but if I replace the dash radio then I can't also use it in my workroom or in the back yard. Plus, I simply lack the time to yank out the car's dashboard. And a friend of mine manages a Toyota dealership and he says that they are so uninterested in the fussiness of audio work that they gave a local company a desk in the dealership to take all the audio business that comes through the door -- so there goes my expert help!

wenestvedt

(But wow, twenty-five bucks for a car stereo? That's crazy! Too bad it won't fit my car, a 2005 Camry.)

wenestvedt

I'd get a boom box with A) an aux/external input for your iDevice and B) a cigarette lighter power adapter. Look for a boombox that takes a 12V power input, which typically correlates to taking 8 batteries. Or similar portable powered speakers designed for your device. I've been using a rechargable Altec Lansing unit around the house for years for this purpose.

intermod

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