Fuse with iGroove, speakers, USB connections

I’ve been doing a lot of scanning on these boards trying to figure something out, hopefully someone can help me out.  (I see alot of suggestions for Jerry-rigging via the headphone jack, which is unacceptable…)  I bought a Klipsch iGroovefor getting mp3 sounds out on the deck this summer.  I plug in my Fuse, and get nothing (no sound).  It does not appear to be charging, either.  I figured it was a bum unit.  Then today I tried playing my Fuse in my G37 via the “iPod” cable that comes with it, and the car does not recognize anything being connected, and naturally no sound. 

So, can you play music via the USB cable?  The question isn’t really about the cable, it’s about the slot on the unit.  Think dock.  Can you plug it in to a speaker set and have it charge while playing music out the speakers?  Even if it doesn’t charge while it’s playing, can it even play music out of the USB slot?  Or should I return this thing and get something that can?  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.   

Docks must be “Sansa-compatible”. If they are not, for instance, if it says it is iPod compatible, you run the risk of bricking your player because while iPods and the Fuze use similar ports, they are wired differently.

The one you have linked to is an iPod dock, and you are lucky, from my understanding, that your player is working at all. It reads "works with most MP3 players, but lower down it specifies that it really means “Works with iPods.”

Message Edited by costruire on 05-01-2009 09:04 PM

@qberry wrote:

I’ve been doing a lot of scanning on these boards trying to figure something out, hopefully someone can help me out.  (I see alot of suggestions for Jerry-rigging via the headphone jack, which is unacceptable…)  I bought a Klipsch iGroovefor getting mp3 sounds out on the deck this summer.  I plug in my Fuse, and get nothing (no sound).  It does not appear to be charging, either.  I figured it was a bum unit.  Then today I tried playing my Fuse in my G37 via the “iPod” cable that comes with it, and the car does not recognize anything being connected, and naturally no sound. 

 

So, can you play music via the USB cable?  The question isn’t really about the cable, it’s about the slot on the unit.  Think dock.  Can you plug it in to a speaker set and have it charge while playing music out the speakers?  Even if it doesn’t charge while it’s playing, can it even play music out of the USB slot?  Or should I return this thing and get something that can?  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.   

You have to by a SANSA Compatable dock like this onein order for it to work. Buying a dock that is iPod compatable WILL NOT work, the plugs look the same but are very different. If you do hook it to an ipod dock dont be supprised when you fry your player when you try to charge it. Why is using the headphone jack a problem, there are lots of speaker systems that sound the same when you connect to the headphonejack as you do when you connect to the USB, infact if you find a “Universal” dock that is how you will hook in so its not “Jerry-Rigging” anything thats how they are designed. If your concern is battery life, and you cant find a Sansa compatable dock, try a universal dock and an AC adapter with the USB cable plugged in to that, it will play. It does play when connected and charging but only with a Sansa compatable dock. 

EDIT: I added the link

Message Edited by Conversionbox on 05-01-2009 09:13 PM

Message Edited by Conversionbox on 05-01-2009 09:16 PM

Well, once again here’s a case where an industry standard would be a win for both the consumer and the manufacturer.  One of these will have to go back.  I really like the microSD expansion slot, and all my friends with iPods keep telling me about how often they break. 

Are there other brands besides Altec Lansing that work with the Fuse?  Is there an interface type that I can look for when shopping for one?  Such as “30-pin” or “Canutant-Standard MP3 Connector”?  

Hmm, Best Buy [says](http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1 q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031 cabcat0200000%23%230%23%23p1 cabcat0208000%23%230%23%23dr cabcat0208007%23%230%23%239m cabcat0208011%23%230%23%2315 nf654%7C%7C53616e4469736b2053616e7361&list=y&nrp=15&sc=audioSP&sp=-bestsellingsort+skuid&usc=abcat0200000) this Bose is compatible.   How do I know for sure?  Do I buy it, plug in my Fuse and hope it doesn’t fry it?   What if it does fry it?  Will SanDisk say to me, “Hey, that says connects to most Apple® iPod™ models and Apple iPhone” not this one.  Surely there is a definitive spec that I can look for, and if it has it - it works, if it doesn’t - it won’t.  If so, what is that spec I need to look for?  Thanks.

@qberry wrote:

Well, once again here’s a case where an industry standard would be a win for both the consumer and the manufacturer.  One of these will have to go back.  I really like the microSD expansion slot, and all my friends with iPods keep telling me about how often they break. 

 

Are there other brands besides Altec Lansing that work with the Fuse?  Is there an interface type that I can look for when shopping for one?  Such as “30-pin” or “Canutant-Standard MP3 Connector”?  

 

Hmm, Best Buy says this Bose is compatible.   How do I know for sure?  Do I buy it, plug in my Fuse and hope it doesn’t fry it?   What if it does fry it?  Will SanDisk say to me, “Hey, that says connects to most Apple® iPod™ models and Apple iPhone” not this one.  Surely there is a definitive spec that I can look for, and if it has it - it works, if it doesn’t - it won’t.  If so, what is that spec I need to look for?  Thanks.

The “compatible” part is based on the fact that you can plug in a cable to the headphone jack to get sound to play thru the speaker device. And, that’s it. You can not actually “dock” a Sansa to _anything_ that says it is made for an iPod. So, overall you can forget about finding anything on the market for actually “docking” a Sansa player to other than these very few items:

Docks with speakers:

Altec Lansing inMotion iM413 Portable Audio System for Sansa

Clock Radio with Sansa Dock

Docks without speakers (but with audio output to connect to a stereo amp):

SanDisk Docking Station

Griffin PowerDock for Sansa

Although there may have been one or two others made at some point, I believe the above are the only ones that are still currently available. Although I hate to say it, there’s really no incentive for companies to make products specifically for low end devices that have such a small market share as the SanDisk Sansa devices.

Thanks, miltst.  I think it’s unfortunate that the network effect of an inferior product (iPod) causes it to win in the marketplace.  I guess that should be a lesson to SanDisk and other MP3 makers - if you want customers, adopt the standard of the market leader.  If they have a proprietary (?) connection, engineer around it.  I loath the idea of buying an iPod, but nobody puts baby in a corner of a market where only crummy speakers can be heard…  :angry:

BOSE must have taken to heart the words of P.T. Barnum.  Let’s see, $399.00 for a very similar device, available for under $100 from Altec Lansing.

And the $399 BOSE will NOT work with the Sansa, it will damage it!  This can happen if the 30-pin dock connection is used, as the pins are arranged differently on devices other than the iPod.  BOSE states that the dock is “compatible” with other players, but this method of connection is via an auxiliary input and connecting to the Fuze’s headphone jack.

The Altec Lansing product is built like a battleship, has an independent FM radio (so you have music even without the Sansa docked), and a remote control.  Oh, and it also sports an auxiliary input jack, so friends with an iPod can plug in too.  The AUX input works with the little Sansa Clip too.

Now, the real burning question is what to do with the leftover $300 in your pocket!!

Bob  :smileyvery-happy:

Message Edited by neutron_bob on 05-03-2009 01:41 PM

Get my ears de-tuned so they sound the same? 

From various Amazon reviews of the iM413:

“the sound is a little tinny…”

“I have owned cheaper A-L products for my computers and have gotten way better sound from them. Weak sound…”

“The sound quality from this speaker is not that great.”

“Not bad for the price …the sound quality is pretty good.”

“…sounds great a low to mid level volumes. If you’re looking for something to listen to outside it may not be loud enough.”

Most of the people who rate it highly seem to be doing so for the “bang-for-the-buck” factor: “…for the price the sound and function is great!”  Which I understand and generally get behind, but not what I was looking for in speakers.  I don’t even consider myself to be an audiophile, I was just looking for something more.  Same reason I bought Shure earbuds and left the free ones in the bag. 

Btw, I’m not a big fan of Bose, either.  That’s why I bought the Klipsch - less money and arguably better sound.   I guess my best bet will be to give the Fuse to my girlfriend and buy myself an iPod.  *sigh*

@qberry wrote:

<snip> 

I guess my best bet will be to give the Fuse to my girlfriend and buy myself an iPod.  *sigh*

Instead, I would recommend the Griffin Powerdock and your own speakers. The Griffin dock is “Made for Sansa”, has line-out and you can charge while listening (if you use an AC-USB power adapter, or only plug the included USB cable into the computer far enough for the power pins to connect and not the data pins). And I’ve seen the Griffin dock for less than $10 shipped on ebay.

Sorry, but I had a cool post, only to lose AC power for an hour.

In a nutshell, I have nothing against BOSE, I’ve owned plenty of BOSE gear, the big hanging 901 speakers, the Wave radio in various versions, and the system with wee satellite cube speakers, subwoofer, and a control head that looks auspiciously like a classic Bang & Olefsen, except some genius at Bose decided that the display should point up at the ceiling.  This unit has a cool RF based remote rather than infrared, I like that.

Look at Altec Lansing’s website, and the very cool speaker + subwoofer combos that they offer.  These things are silly cheap, and sound gnarly when driven with an ultra-cheap Griffin dock.

I am talking adout this monster (they offer a bigger one too).

Altec Lansing Speakers

Bob  :smileyvery-happy: