FUSION Releases Internal iPod Docking Car Audio Receiver
Comments(8)
Just as Playboy has said goodbye to optical media in the form of their DVD business, FUSION Electronics has told the CD to take a hike in their latest car audio receiver unit.
The unit supports iPod Classic (Gen5 and Gen6), iPod Nano (Gen2 and Gen3), and all of the recently announced generations of iPod Touch and iPod Nano systems. Full iPod control is realized using the head units own controls so you never have to touch your actual iPod controls. If you get sick of your playlist, you can turn on the receiver’s AM/FM Tuner with RDS while SRS WOW provides cabin filling sound. The CA-IP500 is also ready to pimp your ride with 4-Channel plus subwoofer line out, auxiliary in, 7 band equalizer with 11x presets and 3x users, and subwoofer level control. For more modest installs, the head unit does feature a 50W x 4 MOSFET amp onboard.
The unit is backed by a 3 year warranty with a 2 year flat extension and can be had for a price of $249.99 USD. It’ll be available at your local Best Buy soon. For more information, check out the FUSION website.
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8 Comments so far
I’ve seen similar (and cheaper) head units from Pioneer and Alpine, but those involve a cable, placing your iPod in the glove compartment. Same thing, really.
Not really. This unit has NO CD player. You push your iPod directly into the unit for seamless integration. All controls are handled from the deck and there are no dangling cable issues with cheaper head units. With the loss of moving parts from the expulsion of the CD player, you also get a much longer warranty and potentially better reliability. It would have been nice if XM or SIRIUS was onboard as well for even more audio listening pleasure.
yea but which iPods are compatible? I mean a nano 3rd gen is wider than a nano 2nd gen.
Read =)
Haha I shouldn’t skip to the cool parts of the article! Thanks
Stephen: Pioneer and Alpine both have “media decks” already that ditch the CD player. I forget the model number, but there’s one that replaces the optical drive with what is basically a cubby hole. I’ve also seen decks that rely solely on SD cards or USB memory.
I know the one you’re thinking of, but it’s DOUBLE DIN (FAT) and $1800. Made by PIONEER. I’m sure there are others. The Pioneer has no iPod integration like charging and faceplate control of said player. It does have GPS nav though. The hard drive is integrated into the unit itself so you can’t just take the unit with you when you leave the vehicle to go for a walk.
If there is another SINGLE DIN, sub $300 deck that provides seamless iPod integration, like the FUSION one, then it would be worth a look in this context. But based on what’s out there, the FUSION is still the first to fully integrate iPod operations into the head unit. You can control your iPod with existing controls. The iPod is nowhere to be seen. It even charges.
There’s this one as well…
http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=iDA-X100
It has a lot of cool features, a bit more than the FUSION, but still has the case of the “danglies” with a cable attachment to the iPod. If they could integrate the iPod to the deck like the FUSION, that’d be cool.
I do like ALPINE stuff though. All my amps are Alpine, but you don’t see them. Stealth FTW!