Is there any logical explanation as to why Honda deleted the aux input jack from the EX models?

 

+HDMI port
-AUX jack

Its a bit silly logic but I suppose they expect between HDMI and Bluetooth most people would be covered.

 

Because I guess they assume people buying EX and up have more advanced devices that use USB? not sure.

 

you can buy a bluetooth adapter that has a 3.5mil head phone jack then you plug anything you want into it.

 

Yes, there are ways around not having it. The point is we shouldn't have to. A 3.5mm jack is common to almost every car these days. Besides, not every portable device has bluetooth or hdmi but all have a headphone jack.

 

You should email Honda and see if you can get an official customer service PR response and post it here. It doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of information out there on why it was left off and it'd be interesting to hear their reasoning (if you get a real response on the issue).

 

I don't know..... I look at it like old computer technology.... you don't see laptops with floppy disk drives anymore.... and if you need one, well.... you get a usb one.

 

It may be older technology, but it is still among the most common means of connecting one thing to another. I might have thought that it wouldn't be terribly useful, as my phone has Bluetooth, until I added an external XM radio receiver due to the EX model not having that built in. The add-on can connect via either 3.5mm aux input or FM radio.

I've had no choice but to go with the FM option. Where I drive most often, this works OK, as I was able to find an open frequency or two that could work without noticeable hiss or bleed-over from other stations. As I head into town or go traveling, I am likely to find very busy areas where there simply aren't any interference-free frequencies. Worse, on a long road trip, I'll be continually having to look for another frequency as I run into some area where my last chosen frequency is now in use by a local radio station. I would have really liked an aux input. I had just ASS-umed that there was an aux input when making an appointment with the installer, and at the end of it, he came back with the news that there isn't one.

I suppose I could use an aux-to-bluetooth unit as someone suggested, but because I keep my phone paired to the car to handle phone calls and all of the other amenities that phone pairing offers, I'm thinking I would have to trade one off for the other. I doubt a simultaneous operation of two bluetooth devices paired to the car is possible. I could be wrong, though, and if I learn that I am, I'll be ordering that interface without delay.

 

Nice thing about AUX jacks is that if I have anyone travelling with me on a road trip who wants to play tunes off their phone/tablet/laptop/etc. they can just plug in and go -- don't have to try to pair their device with BT. I have always insisted on a front aux jack and kept a cable in the glove box for this reason and it has brought me much entertainment on road trips with friends and family.

 

Maybe someone can figure out how to hack one in like what was done with previous generations.

 

Ridiculous. A simple wire connection is simpler and far more reliable than bluetooth. I can choose from a variety of sources to plug in, and I can use high-quality audio files. Bluetooth audio is of lesser sound quality than a simple wire, and the MP3 files likely to be available on a bluetooth device are also of inferior quality.

Just because it's computerized and newfangled doesn't make it any better, and in this case, an Aux In would provide better sound quality; the bluetooth-only solution is inferior. And most audio devices don't have HDMI out. Another thing that Honda got wrong. They're just piggy-backing on the bluetooth hardware used for phone and nav, so all they have to do is add software. They're too cheap to put in an inexpensive Aux In option, and they apparently assume that their customers don't care about sound quality. Obviously, many don't, but some do.

Computer technology, such as the aforementioned floppy drive, may become obsolete quickly, but audio cables are superior to most "digital" options offered in cars, and they are definitely not obsolete. I don't really want to settle for crappy MP3 sound transmitted by the crappy bluetooth audio protocol.

 

Thank god Honda has the LX version then, with the Aux in. Seems they have covered all the bases.

 

But you do see laptops with headphone jacks. And people who paid more for the EX models can't watch a movie on their laptop with the headphone audio plugged into the car stereo.

1/8"/3.5 mm miniplug/headphone cables are a great way to transfer stereo audio and there is no reason to drop support for this universal standard, unlike legacy media formats that were obsolesced 20 years ago.

 

I used the aux jack twice in my 2012. The sound was horrible. The audio level is poorly implemented through the aux jack. Not good at all. That made me start spinning cd's again and as much as I enjoy that audio quality, it's not practical bumbling around with cd's in the car any longer. So, the USB thumb drive is king in the Fit. I think you can spin CD quality files on thumb drives in the Fit, right? Of course I spin mp3's, but only high res mp3. If you're using the aux jack as the main hookup for 'quality' sound, you gotta get with the times. Put high res audio on a thumb drive and enjoy the good life. It takes a while to do it but once you get a big chunk of your collection on thumb drives, you never go back.

 

I won't be able to put an XM radio add-on on a thumb drive, so I'm still wishing for the aux input.

 

I use it all the time in my 2008 Sport. Sound quality is much better than FM, and pretty close to CD. No level mismatch problems at all. I usually use the line out from an iPod, not the headphone out. Maybe your problem is the device you're plugging into the aux in, especially if you're using a headphone output.

Nonsense. The control interface and ability to select tracks is far better on an iPod than mickey mousing with folders on the thumb drive and using the head unit's limited capabilities. I have high quality audio on the iPod (*.wav, not *.mp3). "Gotta get with the times" assumes that newer is better, but the interface with the head unit and a thumb drive is still really hokey. I'd prefer a decent control interface, and the aux in provides excellent quality, given the limitations of the stock speakers.

My background is in music and audio, with more than a decade in automotive sound systems, and I prefer complete and convenient access to my music library. Sadly, "get with the times" has meant diminished sound quality for more than a decade. Stock audio systems are typically not of the highest quality anyway, but I see no reason to degrade the quality and library accessibility for the sake of the latest format and connection fads.

 

Well, I never heard anything sound good going through an aux input. It relies on the device and if the device sucks with garbage mixer enhancements, you're out of luck. I'm talking about a FLAT EQ response from the device, no hype eq or loudness maximizing. Otherwise you've already hosed your sound before it hits the head unit. IME, the USB input is FAR superior to the aux. My background is in audio as well, musician, and AE- well over 30 years. I do agree the on screen menu for the thumb drive, and writing files to the thumb drive is a matter of preference. But I would never prefer to have a device and a wire hooked up for audio in the car, most especially just to navigate menus. On screen menu navigation is much safer than noodling around with a device as well. MP3 @ 256 is just about 16/44 CD wav quality, and in a car such as the Fit and it's inherent noise floor, file res is not an issue, lol. In fact, I'm quite sure the Fit plays wav files via USB as well. It comes down to preference really. I take back 'get with times'. Of course all choices would be best in all cars for anyone who prefers one over the other. All I see an aux for is for convenience, not the preferred audio quality choice. Not with the garbage sounding devices out there these days. All that's doing is pumping sound in from typically consumer garbage sounding devices, file res be damned.

 

Can you play music directly from your phone being connected through the USB port? IE no bluetooth, just a direct connection. Also I still don't get the point of the HMDI outlet, how do you use that with your phone?? Also I couldn't figure out how to use my gf's navigation on her iphone to come up on the screen? Could someone let me know how to do that.

Just like you guys, I'm very dissapointed in not having an AUX post however I'll be using my bluetooth to get by.

 

You can play from an iPhone direct via USB (not sure about other phones.... possibly?).

The HDMI is really only used for the HondaLink NextGen apps. Only their nav app will work via this connection. Otherwise it's audio only when the car is moving or audio and video when parked. You may be able to find an analog audio to HDMI adapter instead of BT.... not sure if it would work. I just tried an analog audio to USB device made for computers and it didn't work (I think the car needs an iPod or storage device in order to use USB audio).

 

There's always gain staging issues with an analog/aux in too. And just about every aux in system I've played with has major shielding issues (interference, alternator noise, etc). And you're probably at the mercy of whatever cheap ADC they probably have in there (I'm pretty sure they'd be converting as everything else in the system is digital).

In theory the sound quality from a USB source would of course be dependent on whatever compression you have on your files and then also the DAC at the output of the headunit. However, as you noted, the noise floor of the car itself renders most of the quality issues moot. That said, I can hear a difference A/B'ing Pandora and ALAC (lossless) encoded audio with the car running. And I found an odd live recording that had some weird stuff going on around 15k that I could actually hear in the car (sounded like a CRT flyback transformer... really annoying).

Interesting note... I found that the OEM speakers are actually cheap Fostex drivers (well technically Foster Electric which also makes the Fostex brand but there is commonality across their product lines).