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(More customer reviews)A few years back when I bought a car stereo for my 1998 Nissan Frontier (King Cab) I made sure to get one that could accommodate a CD changer. I did this because I knew if it could accommodate a CD changer it would either have RCA In ports or somewhere on the net I would be able to get an after market adapter to accommodate my needs (as it turned out my stereo just came with the RCA In ports). For years I was happy rollin' along with an iPod until the Zune came out. The only problem was now there was no way to connect the Zune into my car stereo RCA In ports without using the 1/8" (3.5 mm) headphone jack at the top of the Zune. As you may or may not be aware when you connect a device this way (Zune, iPod or any other MP3 player) you have to crank up the volume on the MP3 player to the max, then use the volume on your radio to adjust to a comfortable level (very sloppy). Then if you are on a long trip (who can afford the gas anymore) you have to plug a car charger into the bottom of the Zune to keep it charged. This is way too many cables for me and creates a lot of clutter and chaos. Then BAM! along comes Soundgate's ZNCBLPAK Core(tm) Cable Pack for the Zune. It took a lot of searching on message boards to find this little gem (God bless the internet) but it has been the solution to all of my problems. By connecting the unit (see product manual here http://soundgate.com/upload//productdocuments/0606.pdf) directly into my stereo the volume from the Zune is now line leveled and I only have to adjust it at one source (the car stereo). To solve the cord clutter and chaos problem I had someone wire the Discrete Power Harness (included) directly into a power source in my truck. You could opt to use the Cigarette-Lighter Power Adapter (also included) but I prefer to be a bit more organized by having it wired to a dedicated power source. I do notice when I plug the Zune in this way it picks up a little more noise. If the volume is up loud on the car stereo you can hear the drive spin up in the Zune before the music kicks in. You can get something called a ground loop isolator to correct the issue but for me it doesn't bother me enough to worry about it. You never hear it once the music kicks in anyway. The Soundgate ZNCBLPAK Core(tm) Cable Pack for the Zune also comes with a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo mini-jack cable (because not all car stereos come with RCA In ports). I do not know if you get the same volume line leveling benefit if you connect your Zune this way. Perhaps another review will let us know. Additionally I do not have a video device to connect to so I cannot comment on that aspect of the unit either. I would highly recommend two products if you have a Zune. 1- Speck Dragon Toughskin Rubberized Case for Zune 80 GB (http://www.amazon.com/Speck-Dragon-Toughskin-Rubberized-Black/dp/B0014BQW4M/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1216488444&sr=8-1) (I also did a review for this). 2-Flex PED (http://thoughtout.biz/FlexPED) this device can adjust to fit any MP3 player. I have also heard they will be coming out with a Soundgate REMCORE Wired Zune(tm) Remote Control soon (see more info here http://www.logjamelectronics.com/soundremcore.html) that will connect directly to the Soundgate ZNCBLPAK Core(tm) Cable Pack for the Zune. Now that I have done your homework, all you have to do is pull the trigger. What are you waiting for?
Click Here to see more reviews about: SoundGate ZNCBLPAK lets you Connect, Charge, and Play your ZUNE thru your Car Stereo or Radio's AUX 3.5mm Jack.
