# Harmon Kardon drive + play - ipod car integration review



## depmode101 (Sep 4, 2002)

when i saw the harmon kardon drive + play on the apple website i was just about as excited as when i first got my ipod.

for the past two years i had been going from my ipod to my car stereo with an aux cable cause my car stereo had an aux in port - that worked okay, but i was still left having to look at the ipod to change songs, and the aux cables had to be changed every so often because they would get kinks in them and the left or right speaker would cut out on me if it wasnt positioned correctly (this was more a problem because i alternated the cable from my ipod to my satellite radio from time to time - so my fault) but i digress.

i was going to buy one of the alpine car stereos - some of the 2006 models have a ready connection to the iPod without having to buy an icelink or other ipod2car connector - but the cheapest unit is around $400+.

i went to Kromer on bathurst and college and they had the drive + play in stock $250 - same price as the apple.ca cost and they would install the unit for an extra fee ($55 per hour - i also had them hard-wire and mount my satellite radio which runs off the aux input so it took more than the 1 hour to install).

i have to say that this drive + play is incredible - the toggle (joystick) controller is easy to use, the screen is easy to read and much better than taking my eyes off the road to change songs, or pause etc.

i would suggest the professional installation if you arent going to use this in more than 1 car - it would also make it very hard for someone to take out of the car.

ive had it for two days and i love it.

what i dont really love about it is that the screen isnt colour - i do hope that if they do come out with a colour screen that they make this available for people to upgrade to as opposed to buying a new unit altogether.

it is pricey, but when you compare if to the icelink or other ipod2car connectors its actually about the same price, but you get so much more with this unit.

http://www.harmankardon.com/drive-1/how_it_works.aspx

i highly suggest this for anyone that uses their ipod in the car, or anyone looking for a way to make this happen - you dont need an aux input, as the unit offers a built in FM modulator that works much better than an iTrip that ive tried to use in the past.

if anyone has any questions about the unit. let me know.

also - http://www.kromerradio.com they did a really great job at installing the unit and i truly believe that you get what you paid for - they do great work there - and the sales staff - Bill in general was very helpful and was a pleasure to deal with.


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## Kazak (Jan 19, 2004)

Thanks for this, depmode. I've haven't decided how I'm going to make an iPod part of my driving experience yet, so you've answered some questions for me.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

Great info. Thanks!


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## DBF (May 4, 2005)

I have the iPod-ready Alpine, found the Alpine iPod interface on eBay, had it professionally installed. A bit of a learning curve but works great with the remote, no need to handle the iPod execpt to plug it in. Sounds 100% better than an iTrip.


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## coreLlama (Aug 5, 2005)

Hey thanks for the review. I‘ve been trying to figure out what I want to do with my new 06 Civic EX sedan in terms of iPod linking. 

Honda had all us 06 Civic owners waiting for their iPod Music Link. It can be controlled by the stereo system as well as the steering wheel controls. The only really sucky things is… the stereo display doesn’t show menus or what’s playing, just track 1, track 2 kind of thing. I feel like they dropped the ball on that. So I haven't bought it. This might be a good alternative.


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## tintin (Sep 19, 2005)

I have a 1999 Honda Civic, and use an Axxess interface - connects to the CD changer control port on the back of the factory radio. A cable runs to the iPod which both charges it and controls it.

The Playlists on the iPod appear to the factory deck as CD's. You can skip tracks etc. from your stereo controls. Apparantly if you have the right factory deck, even the track names etc. show up in the display but my cheap little Civic's stereo doesn't do that.

Works like a charm. Especially good with an iPod Mini - much much faster response time than a full size iPod. I have a 6GB mini dedicated to living in my glove box to keep my 30GB Video from that harsh life.

I bought a few of these cable/interface sets when I got the one for my Civic. I still have one or two left for Toyota/Scion and VW/Audi, but no Honda's unfortunately.


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## Applelover (Mar 6, 2005)

Could you post pics of the harman kardon in your car? I want to get this unit for my Nissan Altima but I do not want any wires being exposed. I would prefer if the tech drilled a whole into the dash and hid the wires underneath.


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## Admant (Jun 9, 2003)

I just installed mine yesterday. A couple of hours of work to hide all of the wires, but worth the time. I will takes some pictures and post them soon.

So far I like the system, but for a major electronic company they could have refined the software that runs the device to run more like the ipod screen.


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## pcronin (Feb 20, 2005)

Very interestd in this thread, and in seeing pics of installs. I'm debating the ipod/drive+play vs in dash mac mini driven stereo. the mini has many more options (gps, vid, wifi surfing, etc), but as for cheep and reasonable to actually get installed, I'm thinking more the drive + play or a clarion/panasonic head unit with touch screen ipod simulator.


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## 8127972 (Sep 8, 2005)

> i highly suggest this for anyone that uses their ipod in the car, or anyone looking for a way to make this happen - you dont need an aux input, as the unit offers a built in FM modulator that works much better than an iTrip that ive tried to use in the past.


What frequency does the FM Modulator use?


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## st3000 (Oct 7, 2007)

depmode101 said:


> when i saw the harmon kardon drive + play on the apple website i was just about as excited as when i first got my ipod.
> ...
> ...
> ...
> ...


This is a dated thread and since HK has come out w/the D&P Gen 2. However, I haven't seen one months after it's release in a brick/mortar store. However, w.r.t. the D&P Gen 1:

The price has dropped on this kit - less then $100 US. And the new one is way over priced (my opinion) over $300 US. But like I said - I haven't seen one yet.

As far as the D&P Gen 1 goes - I have 2 and like them but they fall short mostly in software. I also have integrated them more than any professional installation could as I have modified both my radios (FORD and PANASONIC).

In short I inserted my D&Ps like a graphic equalizers between the pre-amp and amp of both radios. It wasn't difficult - but you do need to know what you are looking for on the web (chip specifications) as well as be able to cut traces and insert 8 coupling capacitors (i.e. needed to direct current isolate the D&P from the radio).

The result:
1) Default mode is iPod playing.
2) Must select AUX on D&P menu to get back to radio.
3) Direct connect eliminates upper frequency cut off at 19KHz when using an FM transmitter.
4) All radio features preserved (cassette, CD, remote-volume-controls, ect...).

Problems:
1) Some, if not all, D&P suffer from loss of settings from time to time (for me maybe once in every dozen engine starts).
2) D&P AUX setting (selected / not-selected) is not rememberd between engine starts at all (real pain).
3) D&P AUX auto switch can only be triggered once - then it AUX is selected from that point on until something else is selected or the engine is turned off. Why bother even having it in the D&P menus?

Resolution:
Head units are getting more and more complex. Some can now display lots of text. If you have an older radio you might want to use the D&P. If you have a newer radio you might want to find a direct connection solution that understands your head units protocol.


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