Crutchfield wouldn't acknowledge the fact, even though I told the sales advisor I was looking at Peripheral'* website while we were talking. He told me he'd look into it, and give me a call back. Still haven't heard from him...

I agree with SSE4me - the factory stereo sounds great (enough.) My problem is excessive wind noise around the windshield seal, and the front doors. It'* LOUD.

Those Peripheral people also have an adapter cable for the Parrot bluetooth that would allow those of us who are technology ****** to have our bluetooth handsfree, the OnStar, etc all working. That would necessitate a Parrot module on the dash somewhere, though. However, it sounds mucho appealing.

So, I'm going to throw this out for those who are far smarter and better trained than I in this area:

If we were going to (as a group) take up a project to spec out a high-quality sound reproduction system for our 00-05 Bonnies - I'm with ddladier - OEM in appearance is better, and I like the idea of keeping the head unit, what equipment would we choose and recommend?

Many smaller speakers doing specific tasks reproduces much higher quality sound than big thumpy speakers doing multiple tasks.

Any thoughts?

See my previous post. There is an adapter that will exactly that (at least it'* supposed to). The audio source is controlled by the Class 2 Serial bus. All the audio sources in the car (XM, CD, AM/FM, Cassette) use the same three wires to send their signal to the audio amplifier. The Class 2 Serial bus tells each device whether it is supposed to be on or off. The afore mentioned Peripheral adapter only understands the command for the XM radio to be on or off. Consequently, if they are both in the circuit, they will both be on when the XM is commanded to be on.

The PAC iPAC-OEM mentioned in my previous post is set up to understand the CD Changer command. This will allow for both the XM and iPod to work. I believe Peripheral makes one that does this also.

I suggest you may want to return your adapter to where you purchased it and get the adapter I have. I can assist you in how to install it since the adapter assumes you have the CD Changer wiring (which you won't have unless your car has a changer).

You can get one here for as little as $90 plus shipping:
http://www.amazon.com/PAC-VEHICLE-AU...3015158&sr=8-3

I had read that series of posts about your iPod integration, but I just didn't fully understand that any other unit than the one you used would unexpected consequences.

Thanks for the clarification, and I'm sending that thing back today!

If you notice my signature, I plan some audio system upgrades. I have a Parrot Bluetooth kit and I am in the middle of integrating it into the entire system. There are plenty of obstacles! I personally am not satisfied with the level of development of these iPod adapters but can tolerate their limitations. On the other hand, I have little confidence in Peripheral or PAC and would not be interested in this Bluetooth adapter you mention. It will likely be quite limited. I have not heard many good things about Peripheral and my PAC adapter is rather rudimentary.

I can tell you what I am doing. I have an SE so I don't have the Bose or Monsoon system and therefore do not have an external amp. My experience with OEM audio is that they are weak in output power and the response curve is anything but flat. So I am adding passive equalizers (both front and rear) and external amps. These will originally feed my OEM speakers but I'll most likely replace them at some point. I already did this a few years back, on my '92 Buick LeSabre with excellent results.

Having the external amps gives me some access to the audio signal so I can more easily incorporate the Bluetooth into the system. I will have custom electronics to integrate the iPod audio and mute the stereo when the Bluetooth phone is used. The only caveats are finding a way to integrate the Bluetooth module into the dash and the issue that OnStar can conflict with the Bluetooth cell phone. Since I won't be receiving calls with OnStar, this should not be a problem.

I will be doing a write-up when it is complete.

Hawk, I am planning some audio upgrades this spring and the ipod adapter is still on my list. How are the playlists/songs orgainzed? Are they random?
Grant