TimC.

After waiting almost 3+ years and reading hundreds of posts of unpromised MOST hardware.....Dension finally came through and delivered me the Dension Gateway 500
Today I pumped my first ipod song into the MOST ring into the headunit and then into my ears!!
My first impression was.....OMG...I have to say the sound is just simply amazing!! It has so much more fidelity than my CD Changer or FM Radio. Well worth the $395 group buy price.
This install took 30 minutes to get it working and here are the pictures to show you how to do it!!

I have the factory CD changer already, so according to the manual there was nothing I needed to do to the head unit to get it working. Just need to put the Dension Unit into the MOST ring and let it do its magic. The ring is like a hose between all the componets, they each have an INPUT and OUTPUT. The manual does a great job explaining this to you.
The Loop goes like this into and then out of each device:
Radio, Network Master, Amplifier, GPS Navigation, CD Changer, Phone, Radio

They supply all the fiber optic cable needed to unlug the fiber and plug in the Dension Unit.

I realized after reading up on the unit that there are 2 points that they recommend you break into the ring.
#1 Before going into the amplifier
#2 Before going into the CD Changer

I chose to enter into the ring right before the Amplifier (you will see why below) This worked out great for me since I found when I unplug the iPod the CD Changer still works.....

STEP #1
After fishing around near my CD Changer with a flashlight, I noticed that the Amplifier is actually mounted right above the CD Changer. Which as you will see in the next few pictures worked out PERFECT for my install. Also having the rear +12 Volt accessory in the rear panel made this easier than I expected!

oops my assisant jumped in the way of this picture



I took a shot looking up to show the amplifier and the orange fiber cables...thats where we are going to break into the ring



You need +12v UNSWITCHED so I was making sure that was the case here with the Cayenne turned off



Most of the panels pop right around here with a little force. You could also get an interior panel remover if you want to be fancy. Get your Torx driver out in this picture this will be the only bolt that needs to be removed. You will see why in the next pic



Ahhh there she is!! The amplifier, I though for sure I saw Larry in there looking back at me cringing saying NO!!! STOP!!!
As you can see that the fiber cable entering into the amp and then leaving on its way to the CD changer. I know you going to ask me how do you know which way the light is flowing? Well they very nicely indicate this on the plug with arrows!!




Just another shot to give you perspective and pause for another drink




PERFECT!!! the +12 Volt plug came right out of the back of the rear accessory harness. and get this.....there was actually about 7 inches of extra wire so that I could manuver it out of there to tap my power!! I am sure they will remove this in 2010 to save more $$$



Power taps on and I now have the Dension power cable in my left hand....this is actually going so well I am scared. Seriously I am about 15 minutes in right now...and 2 down LOL



I will have to take some more pictures or draw you a diagram to show the connections here later, but basically I unplugged the male amplifier connection in the picture above, plugged that into a female fiber plug which then seperated the input and output so that I could get the Dension device into the ring, I then had to complete the loop and plugged a female connection into the male amplifer plug and the loop was complete sorry this will make sense when I take more pics



I then started the Cayenne and my ipod played this song on random....which pretty much summed up how I felt after seeing that birds nest of orange fiber optic cables there....LOL


Needless to say, everything worked like a charm and like I said, the audio quality is simply amazing....It feels like I have an entire new audio system. I think this has to do with the EQ settings in the iPod which I began to play around with. Stay Tuned.....for more pictures. I still need to mount the clips to hold the Dension unit and figure out where I want to mount the ipod. BUT it really does work in a Cayenne!! I think HELL just got a bit colder??

PogueMoHone

One good tip deserves another:

You'll enjoy your Guinness much better if you drink it out of a glass (local knowledge!)

Thanks for the great details.

mudman2

nice Tim very nice, especially the Gibson SG at the end of the Guiness

EnigmaWmn

Looks like a piece of cake. Especially if I'll get my assistant, Mme. Clicquot, to show up :-D

P.S. Black Sabbath ROCKS!!!

DJB

Great write up - it looks too easy. Will the Denison work with a Nano?

ltc

It's not magic.

I think it was actually Larry laughing.

TimC.

Isn't that for sure !! My best Guiness experience was in Ireland where they serve you one and let the next one settle behind the bar until your ready...my kind of people!!

TimC.

Yes its easy for everyone now, but I once actually removed the entire interior of the back rear of the car to see the CD changer and to see if I could use a competing system which was not supported. This is why I knew where the amp was located and where all the fiber optics were. Hopefully this will save everyone some time !!

http://www.dension.com/icelinkgateway500.php
Supported ipods for the Dension 500

iPod nano
iPod 4. Generation
iPod photo, iPod color
iPod 5. Generation (video)


Features:

- iPod control from OEM head unit
- iPod charging
- USB input for mass storage devices, memory sticks and MP3 players.
- Supports: MP3, OGG, WMA
- Retention of OEM CD Changer (in Audi, Mercedes)
- ID3 tag compatibility

TimC.

If your talking about VEUVE CLICQUOT Champagne, then that would definately help along the process :-D Let me know and I could give you hand!!

TimC.

ohh yeah especially the Paranoid album !! You really have no idea how great this sounded. I own the Bose Lifestyle sytem in my home and really enjoy Bose products and the sound, but this really impressed me.
It must have to do with the Line Out levels and or the EQ in the ipod. The levels are MUCH louder than the radio or CD player. Having this in the Cayenne makes it seem like I added 500 watts more to my system!! The mirrors were shaking with my old skool Tribe Called Quest tracks LOLOLOLOLOL

TimC.

....It was like I was peering into your casket....spooky, funny sounds, tight wires with no labels....orange fiber etc LOL

ltc

Larry's got caskets in cars all over the world, not just Porsches.

mudman2

EnigmaWmn

Thanks for offering to help, but I won't even attempt that one. When something along the lines of plug'n'play comes out that'll integrate iPod with PCM - THEN I'll be down for it. Yes, I am dreaming :-D

If you turn it up in NJ I should be able to hear you in the city?

detailersdomain

TimC.,

Where in NJ are you, I can't seem to get my Gateway to work, I've got power its charging the Ipod, but my CD player is now on sometimes and sometimes its not finding the CD when its in the changer, I have installed the firmware but no confirmation as my Ipod is not noticing the gateway, any help would be great my e-mail is phil@detailersdomain.com or PM or post.

I brought this to the installer and they couldn't figure it out. I did get the bag with the 2 extra cables but not sure where it goes etc...

Thanks,
Phil