jmstro04

of course chevyorange! I read on a solstice forum or something that a guy was going to buy a small ipod and put his favorite songs to fix lag time... that is obviously not worth it and it is not fair to have to do that. I shouldn't have to trim down my library or make playlists or whatever just to make it work--it should work alone.

I have been in the dealership so much that they better take this out and refund--you really need to demand one because the system is not working like it should and there is just no fix! I am going back to aux too, and I am going to buy a nice cord that is a tad longer (I have a cream radio shack cord, haha). I'm really sad that this won't work, but I guess we never know if the new usb port is going to be able to be added to our systems or not--that would be cool! I'm glad to hear I'm not crazy and overanalyzing this system. Thank you

chevyorange

Yeah, no problem. I don't like feeling like I'm picky but it really is a pain to use. I hate thinking I'm taking a step backwards from how easy it is to use an iPod only to slow down everything and use a clunky interface.

afs9

Tim, this is exactly how I have mine set up--play lists! Trying to drive while looking for a song or whatever is dangerous. I set whatever play list/album/artist/genre, etc. I want before I drive and just go.

I love my PAL!

@

chevyorange

I quickly realized playlists are a necessity - good thing I have 25 of them, but even scrolling through these is painfully slow.

And it always, for some reason, lands on Christmas first... nothing like having the AC on, 95 degrees outside, and White Christmas coming on!

turbotim

I'm glad I am not the only one who hears the static and other noise the PAL produces. I was beginning to think I was loosing my mind. No one at my dealership can hear the noise so I get the big "cannot replicate problem".

aah111

I've had my PAL for a couple of months.

I use an 80Gig ipod classic with about 20Gig of music (~5000 songs) on it. As others have noted, it is painfully slow to manually select an album or track. I know I could set up playlists, but I'm too lazy to do so. I simply put it on shuffle and am good to go. If a song comes up I'm not in the mood for, I simply turn the knob on the radio and go to the next one.

When I first start up the car, it takes a few seconds before the music starts and it always starts on a song that begins with the letter "A". Must be a quirk of the way the shuffle works. After the first song it randomly shuffles though all my tracks normally.

Sometimes, it seems to lose track of the ipod when I start the car and I have to go back and reselect it and turn shuffle back on.

Sound quality is good and I don't get any clicks, pops, or static. Overall, I'm happy with my purchase, but it definitely has room for improvement.

-Alan

jmstro04

I'm just not a playlist person. I get an urge to listen to something often, so I feel like I shouldn't have to make a playlist just to somewhat enjoy the system--plus, like orange said, it would take forever to get between playlists anyway.

afs9

You don't have to make playlists--it just works for me.
If you want artist, scroll to artist.
Same for album.
You want genre, you can do that too.

My HHR came with the PAL installed and have had NO problems with it, no static, nada. Now, I don't have XM or wanted XM, so maybe that's why. I love having it, playlists or not.

A little patience and once figured out and understand it isn't super fast, but works well and it is a great add-on to my Blackie. The steering wheel controls are great and even like how it all sounds through the Pioneer speakers.

just my opinion...

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jmstro04

Oh, I know, everyone says playlists make it faster, and it just doesn't work too well for me.

And yes, I do go through artist and stuff, I have had it for a long time and have it figured out very well. It is just too slow. Waiting a minute for one song is not worth it.

tim_tenn

Well, sorry that the PAL doesn't cut it for you. Time to pursue other options. Like many others, I get along just fine with mine. The integration into the head unit and display are what matters to me. The ability to access everything without touching the iPod is great, and my iPod stays neatly and safely tucked away in the upper glove box. Even moving from one end of the alphabet to the other when searching playlists doesn't take a minute on mine -- maybe 20 seconds -- and doesn't bother me because once I get to where I want to be, I sit back and listen to my selection.

There are other alternatives out there -- Crutchfield has some, Best Buy carries some. I had an aftermarket in my Impala and HATED it with a purple passion. What a waste of time and money that thing was. I literally ripped the wires out one afternoon -- just grabbed the connector and yanked it clear out of the dash.

Of course, you can always use the cable between the headphone jack and the AUX port on the front of the head unit -- then have full control via the iPod itself.