In the last few years car manufacturers have been making it harder and harder to replace the factory head-units in their cars in some cases it costs in the thousands just to replace the fascia plates, Sony have now found a solution to this problem for the iPod/iPhone users and this solution is the new Sony XDP-MU110!
Sony has just released the XDP-MU110 which is an iPod/iPhone integration kit for those who want to keep their car’s stock head unit in place. More accurately, the Digital Link Sound System is a collection of car audio technology that has been bundled for ease of installation and optimized to work together.
The Sony XDP-MU110, which comes in three parts: the DSP (Digital signal processor) master unit, an iPhone cradle, and a remote controller.
The DSP installs in-line between your stock receiver and the vehicle’s speakers and adds such features as Digital Time Alignment and a Digital EQ that can be adjusted for large, medium, or small vehicles, as well as high and low pass filters for its speaker level outputs and three sets of preamp RCA outputs (one of which is a dedicated subwoofer output). Most people will likely be using those speaker level outputs, which supply 17 watts RMS (45 watts max) to up to four channels.
Of course, in this case, the DSP‘s primary function is to receive audio data from the iPod Touch or iPhone cradled in the suction-cup dock that can be installed on the vehicle’s dashboard or windshield. This cradle essentially takes any audio that the iOS device outputs (music, Internet radio apps, navigation, videos, and so on) and feeds it to the DSP. The system doesn’t offer any in-receiver control of the iPod or iPhone, so you’ll still need to interact with the device’s touch screen. However, Sony has included volume and seek buttons on the cradle itself. There’s also an on/off button that lets you choose between listening to the iPhone or your car’s standard suite of audio sources.
Overall I think Sony have created an amazing solution to a very common modern day problem, with the ability to connect 3 amplifiers and having the speaker out-put on the unit itself opens up the possibilities and set-up options! Also being small enough to fit under most seats makes it easy to hide away and install. Hopefully Sony will make a cradle for android phones soon and keep the other side of the market happy, even if they don’t they have made a very cool unit here!