We get this all the time "I can't believe my iPod doesn't sound better through my new XYZ deck than the CD's I play?" But, I am seeing a trend (and it seems pretty successful so far) where the midline decks (we usually run the Pioneer 4900) where you can fine tune just the iPod input with it's own gain, bass/mid/treble controls, staging, etc. With a little playing on these better decks, a pretty decent sound can actually be achieved. The problem is, spending the hour showing the customer how to do it...