aux input low volume

kuks1

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I listen to most of the music in my car ever since i moved away from the city and spend upto 3 hours driving on many days.

My car HU has a usb and aux input but the aux volume is much lower compared to the usb.
I have a lot of flac files and also like streaming music through my phone/ipad and use a bluetooth adapter( also through the aux input) as it doubles up as hands free to take calls.

Is there any cheap and cheerful solution to increase the volume level on an aux input? even with the phone volume full it sometimes is too low.
i am guessing it is because of lower voltage on the aux input. Would love to know if you have any suggestions which are not too expensive ( max 5k).
thanks




Is there a portable amp that will work for this?
 
buy any headphone amplifier. IMO that will give required voltage swing and most are USB powered or charged with USB which is available internal to the car. Before buying try any from friends.
 
Hope the cable which you are using is a right fit for the socket on your audio head unit. If the cable plug and HU socket do not mate correctly, this can result in a drastic volume reduction. The output of handsets is designed to drive ear phones. This should be more than enough for your Aux input technically. Also, not a bad idea to check the associated HU literature for a Aux gain adjustment feature on the HU.
 
I am using a DAC with 2vrms line out to solve this issue. It is important to ensure that the output doesn't exceed 2vrms. That will be the sensitivity of most of the aux input. Fiio has well reviewed headphone amps that fits your budget.
 
which hu is this? Pioneer?

Stock HU of Honda Mobilio

buy any headphone amplifier. IMO that will give required voltage swing and most are USB powered or charged with USB which is available internal to the car. Before buying try any from friends.
challenge is to find someone who actually has a headphone amp :) but will try it. how about chromecast audio? do you think that would help?

Hope the cable which you are using is a right fit for the socket on your audio head unit. If the cable plug and HU socket do not mate correctly, this can result in a drastic volume reduction. The output of handsets is designed to drive ear phones. This should be more than enough for your Aux input technically. Also, not a bad idea to check the associated HU literature for a Aux gain adjustment feature on the HU.

The HU literature does not mention anything about this but cable issue is highly unlikely. have tried various phones, cables and also inputting through bluetooth using the same aux input. The volume has been lower on the aux than the usb input always.

I am using a DAC with 2vrms line out to solve this issue. It is important to ensure that the output doesn't exceed 2vrms. That will be the sensitivity of most of the aux input. Fiio has well reviewed headphone amps that fits your budget.
Thanks, was thinking of the fiio amps myself. will try that.
 
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Yes grooveshark was really good. Most of my music listening is in the car nowadays. Playing music from youtube over bluetooth/ aux input these days. Any suggestions on a cheap and cheerful option where the volume doesn't drop so much? Also i have a lot of flac files which my car HU cant read through the usb.

I am using below products to play my Flac files in car, as my car's head unit didn't had USB.

Sound quality is decent and it plays all my Flac files and other formats too without any issues. I don't use the Bluetooth as I can dump all formats in the pen drive. But while testing I found Bluetooth SQ interior to the USB playback. Since I had a Single DIN head unit, had a free slot to fit in this unit, but you will find similar units which can be installed inside head unit. (Warranty might void for head unit).

The player line output was not high hence used a preamp board like below. I used a DC-DC bunk converter with this preamp board.

Now a days I see more featured players like this with Android or IOS App control and other features.

https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/326...32646183840&shortkey=v6Vze6fq&addresstype=600

https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/327...32766434074&shortkey=YBjuYvUf&addresstype=600



Regards
Bilal
 
Last edited:
I am using below products to play my Flac files in car, as my car's head unit didn't had USB.

Sound quality is decent and it plays all my Flac files and other formats too without any issues. I don't use the Bluetooth as I can dump all formats in the pen drive. But while testing I found Bluetooth SQ interior to the USB playback. Since I had a Single DIN head unit, had a free slot to fit in this unit, but you will find similar units which can be installed inside head unit. (Warranty might void for head unit).

The player line output was not high hence used a preamp board like below. I used a DC-DC bunk converter with this preamp board.

Now a days I see more featured players like this with Android or IOS App control and other features.



https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/326...32646183840&shortkey=v6Vze6fq&addresstype=600

https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/327...32766434074&shortkey=YBjuYvUf&addresstype=600



Regards
Bilal

Thanks Bilal. I am not a DIY guy at all but will see if someone can help me fit this in my car.Appreciate your suggestion.

Cheers!!!
 
Normal earphone outputs in phones and other devices have lower output designed to drive headphones, they are not typical line drivers. So they will not be able to drive the Head Unit preamp to its full potential.

You can instead buy media players with dedicated line outputs like the FiiOs.
You can also buy or make your own 12/5 volt line driver to boost the output voltage from the earphone outputs from phone. But be wary, any distortion will also get boosted unless you use line filters which can make it very expensive to build
 
The simplest solution is to get a media player with dedicated line output like the FiiOs X series
 
The simplest solution is to get a media player with dedicated line output like the FiiOs X series

Thats true but i also love to stream music in the car. Having started doing this recently, i am getting hooked to it more and more. Would chromecast audio be a better solution than outputting directly through the phone?
 
Thats true but i also love to stream music in the car. Having started doing this recently, i am getting hooked to it more and more. Would chromecast audio be a better solution than outputting directly through the phone?

Chromecast audio needs an active Internet connection to work. So, it may not be an ideal solution in the car. Chromecast audio does output line level voltages in it audio output. If you already have a Chromecast audio, it can be used to test your car's AUX input.

Create a hotspot from a different phone and connect both your phone and Chromecast to the hotspot. Stream music from your phone to Chromecast and check volume levels.
 
An Update: So, I did finally get chromecast audio and set it up in my car. It has solved all my problems, the volume is much higher than even the USB port and i can play all the FLAC files off my phone.It definitely sounds better overall though this not exactly meant for critical listening. In addition, i can also stream music from Tunein etc. Even found a hack for playing youtube music in the car over the CC.So all that is now sorted.
Now the Cons: Too many wires and cables is a major problem.
The device needs to have power all the time, so it has to be connected to a car usb charger plus another cable to the aux.
The Cable/ interconnect that comes with the CC Audio to connect to the aux port is too small so we have to find an alternate.
One has to make a place for the CC device and fixing that in a car is also a challenge.
Last thing since the the usb charger switches off when the car is not running the music stops too and this can be very irritating.
Having said that, I am still enjoying the music better in my car now than 2 months back so its a nice, cheap and cheerful solution to my problem.






Y
 
An Update: So, I did finally get chromecast audio and set it up in my car. It has solved all my problems, the volume is much higher than even the USB port and i can play all the FLAC files off my phone.It definitely sounds better overall though this not exactly meant for critical listening. In addition, i can also stream music from Tunein etc. Even found a hack for playing youtube music in the car over the CC.So all that is now sorted.
Now the Cons: Too many wires and cables is a major problem.
The device needs to have power all the time, so it has to be connected to a car usb charger plus another cable to the aux.
The Cable/ interconnect that comes with the CC Audio to connect to the aux port is too small so we have to find an alternate.
One has to make a place for the CC device and fixing that in a car is also a challenge.
Last thing since the the usb charger switches off when the car is not running the music stops too and this can be very irritating.
Having said that, I am still enjoying the music better in my car now than 2 months back so its a nice, cheap and cheerful solution to my problem.






Y



Can you explain the schmatic diagram? What is the complete chain?
 
CCA Schematic.jpg

I dont know if it can be called a schematic but a simple drawing of how it is connected.
The CCA needs power and active internet at all times. These days I am facing a problem with TuneIn radio. It often doesnt work when you try to cast it but works otherwise, Same with tubecast which casts youtube audio.
 
a fiio with line output can surely help..have one if ur interested

Thanks Abhi, but i am now comfortable using the chromecast audio in the car. Also, it has increased the quality of audio & the loudness plus it also lets me stream audio from different stations, which is a big advantage.
Thanks once again for the offer.
 
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