[Wallace]

I'm a new Ipod user and am working through the process of setting up my car
for it's playback.
I've tried the easy stuff (FM transmitters and an FM modulator) and not been
happy at all. The sound quality isn't anywhere near what I get from CD's

So now I'm considering replacing the headunit with an aftermarket unit that
has an aux in.
Just for grins I did some experimenting with the Ipod and my home stereo. I
took the headphone output and went through RCA adaptors to input the Ipod
into my home receiver.
It sounded a bit over driven and compressed. I turned the volume level of
the Ipod down but it didn't change the sound quality.
I'm wondering if this is just the nature of MP3's (I did use the highest
sampling rate option on Itunes)?
Or is the poor quality a result of converting a headphone out to RCA level
inputs?
Incidentally, the Ipod sounds great through my set of Bose headphones.

I'm looking for opinions on how best to interface the Ipod to a car with the
goal being high quality sound.
thanks all,
Tom