[MikeA]

Thanks to Tim Dare (surfnirnava on this forum) we now have a working IceLink Plus from Dension that supports iPod's in our Maserati's. I received and installed mine and it is working!
As Tim points out, you should ask Dension for Beta version 2.11 of the firmware to be preinstalled on your IceLink. Tim worked with Dension to get support for our cars. When I ordered at Dension USA they said an earlier, non-Beta firmware version would work with our cars, but I requested the 2.11 Beta based on Tim's experience.
I have only put in four playlists so far, and the units behaves a bit funny when I select the fifth, blank, playlist, but it doesn't freeze or do anything bad. I just have to scroll through the playlists to get it in sync again.
Pretty easy to install. I fits easily in the console under the lid. Plugs into the bottom, driver side of the head unit, under the CD/nav drive. You need to drill a hole under the foam rubber pad in the console to allow the cable through to connect to the iPod. The IceLink provides all power and signal connections, so the only connection is to the head unit.
Note that since the Dension uses CD #6 to access it's configuration menu, and we don't have CD#6 in our 5 CD changer control, we just have to used the IceLink in it's default settings, which is fine with me.
No more poor radio reception and problems with using the RF adapters to listen to the iPod!
Thanks for being a risktaking pioneer, Tim!!!
Mike

 

[STARDOC]

Mike,
How much did the Icelink run you? And I noticed you have straight pipes and no rear muffler. Can you tell us a little about the sound and possible performance changes.
thanks

 

[MikeA]

The IceLink was ordered direct from DensionUSA. With shipping, & tax it was $226.41.
My exhaust modification was done by my dealer. It was bundled in when I bought it, but they had it priced at $1000 list, I think. What they do is remove the rear mufflers, keeping the muffler between the engine and the catalytic converter, and the catalytic converter. The replacement tips are a bit larger than the original. It sounds awesome. I get comments all the time, and, of course, the true test, my wife thinks it is too loud. When I do track days in particular, it gets noticed, but I have never had a 'street legal' issue. Not sure if there is a HP increase or decrease, but I would guess it would be minimal either way.
I think if you search this forum you'll find some others who have done a similar thing.
Mike

 

[SJP63]

Difficult to believe thats legal in California. Not sure dealer in UK would agree to do that, questions about warrenty etc. Must be really load, surprised you can hear the music!

 

[MikeA]

It's not much louder than a Tubi or some other mod. The muffler in the center of the car (between the engine and the cat converter) is still there, as is the cat converter.
Mike

 

[Frankie P]

IPod Success, but......

I too have now converted to the Ice-Link, having undone everything I had hardwired originally to integrate my Ipod. It would appear that the only functions I can trigger from the car are the selection of playlist i.e. 1-5, and forward or reverse through songs on that playlist. I cannot access Ice-Link's menu, which is a shame, as they have multiple IPod like parameters, and a pre-amp of sorts, which boosts output of the IPod so that it is equal to the stereo's other sources. Has anyone been sucessful in getting to the Ice-Link setup menu. Tim Dare, who is referenced in this thread, talks about setting the Ipod (or Ice-Link) to Fiat/Blaupunkt in the, "Stereo Upgrade," thread on our site. My Icelink is the 2.11 beta version, and I downloaded the lastest Ipod software for my 40gb model. I don't see anywhere to set either component up as Tim refers to. Any thoughts, anyone?

 

[MikeA]

We are stuck with only 5 'CD's', and simply can't access the 6th 'CD'. This means we can't use the menu that is built into the IceLink. One of the support folks at Dension mentioned they could send us some simple utilities that did some of the really basic stuff, but for the time being (probably forever) we can't access the IceLink menu. As for upgrades, we can supposedly do them by downloading a special MP3 format file that the IceLink recognizes when played by the iPod, and then extracts the upgrade from that. We'll see about that....
Here is what I have notices about operability:
- You can us the up and down arrows to change playlists, but you can't simply use the numeric keys to select a playlist
- You can use the left and right keys to move up and down within a playlist
- You can pause songs
Here is what I have noticed that is quirky:
- When you pause a song, you can't restart it. You have to do a scan left or right to the next song in the playlist before the play button works again
- When playing playlists, they seem to get stuck somewhere between 5 and 20 songs or so, pause, then jump to song #99 and try to play that (but no audio comes out), and then jump to song 1 in playlist 1 and restart there. Infrequently, the song where it got stuck will start again, but usually after the pause it jumps as described. I am not sure if this is a problem with the IceLink or my iPod.
- When you start the car the IceLink seems to always jump to the first song in the next playlist after the one you were playing when you turned the car off. It plays the previously playing song for less than a second, and then jumps to the next playlist.

Still, all in all, a tremendous improvement over the radio. Hopefully Dension will address the remaining quirks.
Mike

 

[Frankie P]

Dear Mike,

I agree with all your presentations as to how your Icelink is behaving. I'm not sure about the song list confusion yet, as I've not had that much exposure to its operation. The rest of your experiences are spot on with mine.

By the way, for those with aftermarket amps, beware. Your installer MAY have used a wire that connects with the wire that sends power to the CD Changer as the auto-on lead for your aftermarket amplifier, given that most aftermarket amps are installed in the trunk. If that is the case, you will have to run a wire from the disconnected CD Changer jack to the new Icelink jack at the appropriate connection so that the new, "Plugged-in," Icelink jack sends a signal back to the CD Changer with in turn connects to the aftermarket amp to signal it to turn on.

 

[Glenn Wallace]

Does it come with detailed installation instructions/pics?

Or can someone post pics of where it fits into the head unit?

My car has the Auditorium 200 upgrade but doesn't have the CD changer, I assume that isn't an issue?

 

[MikeA]

The Dension instructions are generic and don't discuss the Maserati specifics at all.
The only semi difficult thing is to find the socket on the back of the head unit.
Here is how you do it.
First, remove the tray in the center console, under the lid. There are two short screws in front, and two bolts under the foam cover in the center.
The socket for the Dension cable is located on the back of the head unit.
The head unit is underneath the CD/Nav drive. If you were looking at the rear of the head unit, from the trunk, the socket for the Dension cable is in the lower left corner (nearest the driver). You have to feel your way around with your fingers to find it and get the Dension cable properly aligned to plug in. Really not that hard.
The only cable that connects to the Maserati is the cable from the IceLink. Power comes down that cable as well as signals, so if you can get this one cable plugged in, you are there!
Good luck.
Mike

 

[Glenn Wallace]

Thanks for the help. Sounds straightforward.

How do you get the cable from the icelink up the ipod? Is that the drilling step?
Any update on firmware situation, do I want to order it w/ the 2.11 Beta?

Any comments on cradle vs cable? I just want to keep the ipod in the armrest, not externally visible, and use the car controls as much as possible. Sounds like the cable option is my best bet, yes?

 

[MikeA]

For mounting the IPod, I went the route of hiding it in the center console. So you order the short docking cable, not the dock. I don't think the dock will fit in the console. You need to drill a hole in the rear corner of the center console tray that is big enough to allow the IceLink end (the round connector that plugs into the IceLink) to fit through. The hole can be pretty much hidden under the foam pad in the tray.
I am using firmware 2.11, but my IPod acts a bit strange. See my earlier post in this thread. I have communicated this to Dension support, but they are incredibly slooooow in responding, maybe because the volume and experience on our cars is so low.
In spite of the persistent playlist pause and jump to song 1/playlist 1 behavior, it is still so much better than the radio.
Hope this helps.
Mike

 

[Glenn Wallace]

Thanks again, that is pretty much what I thought.

 

[marcw]

I just installed the ICE-LINK and it definitely is quirky. All I really want is to be able to play my iPod through the stereo. I would rather control the iPod directly but I can't seem to do this with the ICE-LINK. I can only choose a playlist and run through those songs.

Is there a way to put the iPod back into manual control mode?

Marc

 

[MikeA]

No, once you plug the Ipod into the IceLink cable you lose the ability to control the iPod locally. You can start a song/album/playlist before plugging it in and it will usually continue to play after you plug it in. I have found that this approach 'sort of' works - sometimes it works fine, and others it reverts to one of the existing 5 playlists.
I talked to Dension support but they really don't have any answers for why our IceLinks work the way they do in our Maseratis. They don't seem to even have figured out that some Maseratis (like my Spyder) have a head unit from Magnetti-Marelli and others (Gransport and QP, I think) have head units from Becker. The service tech did say they were working on a version that would work with our 5 cd changer design, so that we could see the menu and so forth. He had no idea if/when this might be available.
Mike

 

[marcw]

Ok, I figured out that if I have less than 4 playlists, I can use the On-the-go playlists to play whatever I want. The ICE-Link is still funky though.

Marc

 

[squid]

Is there a way to just hook up an aux jack and plug it in through that? I had that done to my M5 and it was just so easy--iPod sat on the center console and I got an "aux" mode added to the mode selection menu. Easy peasy. $40 for the parts for a Mini but I got to pay $140 cuz I drive a BMW :roll:

 

[haha]

squid, congrats on the new purchase. There isn't an AUX mode on my 05 spyder...

 

[Kim AO]

I have a 2002 Spyder with satnav, phone but no cd-changer. Has anybody succesfully retrofitted a cd-changer, and if so which model.

Would a retrofitted changer then possibly work with the icelink?

 

[surfnirnava]

Auto CD Changer

You can retro fit an autochanger. It is a Blaupunkt model though I'm not sure exactly which one (dealer should be able to tell you). The cable plugs into the same port you would plug the Ice Link into (location explained earlier in this thread) so I think it would be one or the other. The best place to locate the Changer is in the boot then running the control cable to the amp unit in the arm rest.

Hope this helps.