a blog on technology in the real world

Let me get it out of the way at the beginning of this post. Monoprice rocks. I’ve used them for years for various cables, usually ethernet and HDMI and have always been impressed with the high quality of their cables and surprised by their low prices. A couple weeks ago I was listening to the Real Deal podcast from Cnet.com and heard about a cable that really fit a need in my life. A caller was asking about ways to get their iPod into their car stereo and one of the hosts suggested a cable from Monoprice that connected via the iPod dock connector and had USB and stereo audio out on the other end. This cable was the answer to my frustrating car audio problems.

The image to the left is my iPhone with the cables I’ve been using. I have a window mount I occasionally use, but it’s mainly for long trips when I’m using a GPS app. It’s frustrating to have to deal with the two cables all the time.

The “Audio and Sync Cable for iPhone / iPod” from Monoprice eliminated my frustration. Because I have one cable now going into my iPhone it’s much easier to use (while the car is stopped of course). The dock connection is the older style that has releases on the side you need to push, but I prefer those connectors to the new ones. Another benefit to this cable is that it sends audio through dock connector’s line out. There will be no more constantly adjusting the audio on the phone, then on the car, then on the phone again. The car audio system now handles all volume, and it sounds great.

All that said, the best thing about this is the price. I paid $5.63 including shipping (it retails for $3.90 for a single cable). Compare this to $19 for a standard sync cable from Apple. I definitely recommend this cable for anyone trying to get audio into their car’s aux jack.