Sony BUS Aux-in workaround

I have the car stereo Sony CDX-CA810X

There's a AUX-IN in the back of the unit, however it has the word BUS infront of it. When I plug in the mp3 to the AUX with a working converter cable it does not work because its a BUS aux in. I need a BUS controller to let the stereo receive the signal from the MP3 player. Sony sells a unit XA-300 http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_X...nk_Adapter.html

That thing is $100 and I really don't need all the fancy stuff its got. I just need to be able to play the MP3 player through the car stereo.

Any ideas? Thanks.

Why not use a FM modulator?
FM Mod

Well I don't want to use one of those because that would reduce the music's quality. Also I kinda want to get it the way I want it to as a challenge. It'll just boost up my confidence more if I do it without hte FM modulator.

Sorry for responding to my own thread? But are there any more ideas out there?

If not, I think I will buy one of these mommas. I found that they could be quite useful if I plan to do some expanding, such as a monitor and DVD player or something of that sort.

What and where are the best 6-7" LCD's for the price?

You need to use your radio's cd changer RCA input jacks; the ones that you would use when connecting a CD changer.
I have a cdx-ca900x and the only way I get AUX option on my radio is by disconnecting my changer's BUS cable from the back of the radio. The BUS connector is for controlling a device; the actual audio is trasmitted through a separate RCA cable. I connect my iPod to my radio using my cd changer's audio RCA cable, such I can still switch among any of the CDs in my changer but the only music being heared is the stuff being played by the iPod.

So you're saying instead of connecting them with auxiliary cables connect them with RCA cables?

You need the adapter by sony they are the only ones that make that i think i searched and searched before. I can tell you the sony aux-in adapter works great and the sound quality is as good as a cd, I had one in my old car. I think there might be a way to construct your own adapter, I know you can for like the pioneer stereos but i cant remember if there is a work around for the sony. My advice is to google it and if you dont find anything just buy the sony one.

You can find the XA-300 for less on Ebay...I got mine for $78 shipped about a month ago. If you don't care about the USB, you can buy one of the older non-USB units like the XA-30. Without the BUS signal, your head unit will ignore the CD changer RCA inputs. It sounds like what DRWeside is doing is simply leaving his CD changer connected to the head unit via the BUS so that the RCA inputs are acknowledged, and then piping his iPod audio in through the RCA's in place of the CD changer's audio.

Do you think it might be smarter to just buy a CD changer instead? Cuz then I'll get the features I NEED from the adapter as well as getting multiple CD storage.

What's a good CD changer with a good price/performance ratio?

Also, do most if not ALL CD changers have an auxiliary in the back without a bus control? I've tried looking specs on the JVC's and the Sony's but they don't tell you jack about the auxiliary input they have if they have one.

You would have to use a Sony or Sony-compatible changer (Im using an older CDX-715 that I got off Ebay for around $50)...you *need* the buslink for this to work. Without the buslink connection, the Sony head unit will *not* turn on the cd changer RCA inputs. You seem to not quite be grasping this. What DRWeside is doing is connecting the RCA's to his iPod instead of the changer but still using the buslink so that the head unit *thinks* it's playing the cd changer. You can 'improve' on his setup by using a basic 2 input RCA source selector so that you can easily toggle between the cd changer audio & the MP3 player audio without having to plug & unplug RCA cables whenever you wanted to switch. Clear as mud now? ;)

What the XA-300 does is interface with the head unit similarly to the way the cd changer does via the buslink. The head and XA-300 'talk' to each other over the buslink, so the head unit knows that you can select the different inputs from the XA-300 and it keeps the RCA inputs active. Without the buslink connection, absolutely nothing would happen.