Ipods - Dension Gateway 300 vs DICE Silverline

P

pphillpot

Member
Hi all,

A relativley new owner here looking for some advice on Ipod connection solutions and these two are coming out on top. I have the Business stereo (no Nav) and I've counted ten speakers including tweeters and what would appear to be subs behind the seats.

Having searched and read through various threads on here these are my impressions of the two:

DICE
+ Good sound quality, easy intsallation
- Unreliable

Dension
+ Reliable, USB connection,
- Dashboard vents out to install?

What I'm keen to find out is, can the Dension be plugged into the CD changer wiring like the DICE? I can't really find a definitive answer on this anywhere and wondered if anyone here had succesfully installed one? I'd really like to install the unit in the cubby between the seats and this would be the ideal solution.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Paul.
 
This might help: Business CD iPod Connection

I went with DICE to avoid removing the vents for the Dension... really wish I handn't. My GW300 has been very good. With the cables supplied you need to connect the Dension to the headunit. Honestly, it's not that much trouble and can be stashed neatly in the glovebox. The CD change cable is a bit of a faff to get to anyway.

And...
[youtube]PjhLuatFYdE[/youtube]
 
Yeah, I think the Dension is the one to go for. Looking at this video, the interface seems excellent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdeKDvp5L50&feature=related
 
Thanks for that thread PrawnSacrifice, very useful. :thumbsup:

I wondered if I could get your advice as someone who's succesfully bought and installed one of these. Would I be correct in thinking that I not only need to buy the gateway, but also the cable to connect it to the i-pod? Looking at your rather neat install, it would seem that you have this set up:

http://www.safensound.co.uk/densiondensiongateway300gw33bm4ipodcontrolforbmw-p-1919.html

http://www.safensound.co.uk/densiondensionipo4dc99pindockcablekitforipod-p-1835.html

Thanks again, Paul.
 
Hi Paul, don't remember exactly, but yes that looks like the same as mine.

One thing to remember with the USB connection, it will only work with MP3s and I think WMAs... I have most stuff in Apple lossless which it just skips over. I have an old iPod in mine which I take out every now and then to update, otherwise it stays in the car, been there for coming up to 2 years and never had any problems with either the iPod, stereo setup or the car battery.

If you don't have nav the Dension would be my first choice ever time. There are some setup issues, just with the config, but there's plenty on here about that.

For anyone reading this who does have nav, get the Intravee.

Good luck with the install :wink:
 
But if he has 10 speakers does that not indicate he has DSP? In which case the Dension may not work?

pphillpot, you can read about my recent Dension adventures here. I'm very happy with mine and thoroughly recommend it.

Seriously, getting the vents out isn't that big a deal once you understand the process. It's certainly not something to avoid at the expense of a superior unit.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone.

I'm pretty sure I don't have DSP, scrolling through the 'music' menu on the head unit I don't have the 'classic', 'concert' , 'jazz' etc modes that are described in the DSP section of the user manual. There is an amp in the boot, but I'm assuming these are for the subs and won't affect the Dension?

I think I'll go for the Dension, having watched the video posted earlier the vent job doesn't look too bad. I'll report back with my results!
 
That's interesting about having an amp but no DSP! Hopefully somebody else can advise...

If you have some smaller diameter, relatively stiff wire around I would recommend making a tool with a little 90° hook on the end to aid in getting the vents out.
 
I used a paperclip and bent it to make a vent removal tool.

And like mangozac - I thought if you had an AMP and Subs - you would have the DSP. definitely wanna get that right first
 
I've just sent off a mail to Dension to see if they can shed any light on the compatibility. Hopefully it will be compatible, it looks like the perfect solution. I'm not holding out much hope though.

Regarding the amp but no DSP, I found this in the forum FAQs:

"There are 3 Audio options in the Z4. Basic, Hifi and DSP (Carver/Logic7). Basic has 6 speakers & no amp (with 8 visible grills), Hifi has 10 speakers with an optical amp, and DSP is the Carver system with 10 speakers, optical amp and DSP settings you can change. If you have cubby boxes behind the seats you have basic, if you have DSP settings you have the DSP, anytihng else you have the Hifi option. Anything other than the Basic Hifi is incredibly difficult to upgrade. Carver was the original Launch top Hifi named after the company that designed the Speakers, after 2007 it became the Logic7 system, all have Phillips Speakers."

Looks like I have the middling 'HiFi' option. I'm not 100% clear though on wether it's the DSP or the amp that's the issue with the Dension.Fingers crossed they know!
 
The plot thickens! Maybe you could ask your local BMW dealer if they can look your car up and tell you what it's got?
 
The only reason for any CD Changer emulation type device (Aux inputs, iPod Interfaces, USB interfaces, etc.) is if your DSP amp has a digital coaxial CD Changer audio input. I've never seen a UK spec Z4 with such an amp, only X5's, E38s and E39's. You'll be very lucky if you get any sense out of BMW regarding the use of the digital DSP CD audio input, no dealer I've spoken to knows what it is.

If you have an existing CD Changer then it's easy to determine, do you have a small coaxial cable going to the CD Changer or not. If you have a 3 pin and coaxial cable then you have the digital CDC audio system, if you have a 3 pin and a 6 pin connectors then you do not have the digital CDC audio system. If you have a 3 pin, 6 pin and 3 pin connectors then you must remove the coaxial cable and see if you still have CDC audio, no audio then you have the digital system, audio and you don't. Without a BMW CD Changer it's pretty much impossible to tell which type you have as it depends how the radio and amp have been coded.

Even if you do have the digital CDC audio system all you need is an Analogue to Digital converter to make these interfaces work. DICE make an A/D converter that has the BMW CD Changer 6 pin audio socket, so any device that uses this is just plug and play. Devices that connect directly to the back of the radio will need a small amount of customisation to use these, but any car audio place, and most people who can do a little DIY, should be capable of this type of modification.
 
OK, so according to Dension, it appears that it will work. I sent this mail to them yesterday:

Hello,
I have a 2003 BMW Z4 with the BMW Business head unit plus the factory upgraded 10 speaker package including amplifier and sub-woofers, but not the top specification DSP version.
Looking at the specifications of the Gateway 300 it appears that the DSP versions of BMWs head units are not supported but I am still a little confused as to wether or not the Gateway 300 is compatible with my set-up? Is it the DSP function which is not compatible or is it the presence of the amplifier?
Any further information you have would be great as your product looks perfect for my needs assuming it would work with my system.
Thank you, Paul.

...and got this response:

Dear Customer,

Along you description it seems the gateway 300 could work with your system well.
The gateway could work well with the external BMW amplifiers.

Otherwise if there were DSP in your system you should purchase a DSP converter (Digital-analogue sound converter)
This is a specific tool which able to convert the analogue signal to digital In this case.
The DSP based systems requires and accept only digital sound input but our devices have only analogue
So in this case the communication works well but no sound will be audible via the car speakers
because of the incorrect sound format.
The digital-analogue converter converts the analogue sound output onto digital so
this can help to solve the incompatibility with the cars with DSP system.
We did not focus on this when the BMW capable devices were developed by us because in Europe this is an extremely rare system.
But we have heard already some successful modification with these converters.

Best regards
Dension Support Team

Looks like I should just go for it, if it doesn't work, I'll have to find a suitable DAC
 
OK, update time.

I installed the kit when I got home last night and it all works fine! I was going to wait until the weekend but I got impatient and managed to get it done before it got too dark. The install was pretty straighforward in the end so if anyone's put off this as I initially was, don't worry! The hardest bit was trying to wiggle the wire down into the glovebox, but once that was done, the rest was easy!

I've laid the install out in pretty much the exact same position as Prawn Sacrifice's earlier post and it works a treat, very discrete and handy to access.

So thanks to everyone for their advice! :D

Cheers Paul.
 
Excellent - glad to hear it all went smoothly! Did you get the text display up easily enough?

Anecdote: when I ordered my GW300 I decided to forego the 30 quid iPod lead as I was planning to use USB only. Last weekend I went on a trip with my girlfriend and she was trying to show me a song on her iPhone while driving, however it couldn't be set loud enough. At that point I realised I should have got the iPod lead. Or at least strung an aux input extension from the GE300 into the glovebox too...
 
Yep got the text working fine. You just need to select track 4 rather than 2 as described in the set up section of the user manual. Text only seems to work in the ipod GW mode too, not ipod UI.

The various threads around Z4 forum came in very handy!
 
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