I know from the manual that if you are charging the player while playing that a gum/distortion can be heard. Is there anyway to prevent/minimize this?

 

Should say hum/distortion

 

what type of mp3 player??

 

I use an iPhone and a Creative Zen. Muliple grounding points occur within a vehicle. These points can let current flow through the shielding of the audio connection cables resulting in noise and hum which can become louder as accereration is either increased or decreased. Solution is a Radio Shack ground-loop isolator. It is a small transformer called a "ground-loop isolator". It is about the size of a "C" battery. One end plugs into the audio port in the console and the other into the MP3 player or IPhone/pod. All noise is gone and sound is crystal clear. It costs about $20 at RS. Note that the unit is polarized and will allow noise to flow in one direction but not the other. If this occurs just reverse the plugs to the port and player.