Grim Reaper

I am looking for a new CD player and I want it to be able to read MP3s and CD/RWs. So far I have two such players:

1) A Kenwood unit for US$700
2) Aiwa CDC-MP3 for US$299.

The Aiwa has virtually the same features of the Kenwood without the price. Does anyone know of any other automotive MP3 players available or have any feedback on these units?

For those interested, the Aiwa CDC-MP3 player is available from www.crutchfield.com so any feedback about them would also be interesting. And for Canadians, Crutchfiled will deliver to Canada.

Mike Harvey

Well it also all boils down to what kind of CD burner you have as well. My Adaptec program and Phillips CD burner automatically change the mp3 format into WAV so that it can be burned and read by any CD player. Thats how it works for me and I have a Clarion CD player. I don't know if I addressed your question properly or even understood it the way you meant it. I hope I did and was of some help

- Mike Harvey -

Justins86bird

I believe Glenn is looking for an deck with a built in decoder. That way, you can get approx 750 minutes a CD instead of the audio format's 74 min. Since this is relatively a new technology to car audio, i would wait till the second generations come out. Would be cool to have though. I think the Kenwood would be the pick over Aiwa.

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Grim Reaper

Justin hit the nail on the head....I am looking for a CD Player that plays MP3 encoded files and will play CD/RWs. I like the ability to put on CD with MP3s on a CD/RW and get the equivalent of 250-500 minutes of music from one CD.

I am surprised that there are only 2 (that I have found) CD players that will do this. I am not sold on the Kenwood as it doesn't appear to offer any special features over the Aiwa for less than half the price.

I agree that I would like to wait and that this will probably become a common feature in the next few years... however, my tape deck has died and I want to replace it.

For the features I am looking for, the Aiwa is not all that more expensive than an equivalent CD player that only plays CDA files.

Chris Luongo

Glenn, I'm an installer at Best Buy, where we sell Aiwa...and I used to work at Circuit City where we sold Kenwood.

We very rarely had problems with the Kenwoods; they seemed to be perfectly reliable. (I have a Kenwood eXcelon tape deck in my car.) I would be kind of nervous about that motorized faceplate, though.

On the other hand, it seems like we get several Aiwa CD players being returned every week, usually because the CD player won't eject discs.

Even though I think Aiwa CD players are likely to be unreliable, I'd still have to say it's a better value than the Kenwood costing more than twice as much. Although I normally think extended warranties are a ripoff, I'd highly recommend one for the Aiwa if you can get it.

92fireaudio

We have an Aiwa deck where I work at, but unfortunatly they have the face permanantly shut so I haven't been able to try it out.. For the money though, the Aiwa deck is a much better deal than the Kenwood.. The kenwood is an aweful lot of money for not even having high volt preouts...

Grim Reaper

Chris, as I would have to order the unit from the US and have it shipped here, warranty issues are a major concern. Unfortunately, I cannot find any place local in Canada, that sells a MP3 CD player. In fact, when I enquired about it, most of the sales people never even knew what a MP3 was!

US$700 (plus shipping, duties and related taxes) is a bit rich for my blood. Especially, when these units are most likely be as common as a regular CD player in a few years.

Are you aware of any other units, other than the Kenwood or Aiwa, that can play MP3 files on a CD/RW?

Justins86bird

There's a Rockford Fosgate one. You have to buy their deck, then the MP3 changer, which uses special MP3 discs, ending up to be way more costly then the Kenwood.

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Apeiron

Glenn, if you want I'll have a look in the stereo shops around here. My parents are still in the 'loops, so I get back there pretty often.


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Grim Reaper

Sure, but don't be surprised if you get: 1) lied too, 2)a dumb expression on their face or 3) an outrageous price.

I suspect the best bet may be to wait a bit. I am sure they will be more common place in the next year, being better quality and cheaper in price.

Chris Luongo

Yeah, if you get the Rockford Fosgate setup, it could get expensive. You have to buy an ordinary Rockford deck with CD changer controls, then you buy the separate MP3 changer. It doesn't hold CDs, but rather, special memory cards. It comes with a special memory card "burner" that you hook up to your computer. My guess is that the cards will become scarce eventually.

1987IROC-Z

This doesn't really help because the deck I'm talking about doesn't play CDs at all. However, it is still bad *** . It is called the EMPEG Player and, given the right amount of money, can hold over a month's worth of music. You can browse your deck with all kinds of options and stuff. All you have to do is detach the deck (or the "brains" of the deck), hook it up to your pc and transfer the files to your deck. One catch however is that the base model costs about a grand. That comes with four GB of space or something like that. Check it out at http://www.empeg.com . I was quite impressed. It looks killer, too.

82taGODD

glenn,

stay away from that aiwa stuff. they may make "OK" shelf systems for home use, but their car audio sucks. the sound is muffled, and it just isnt worth the money. you'd be better off getting a portable mp3 player, and running it to a tape deck with one of those little DiskMan addapter thingys.

Markolc

Read about the Aiwa here http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1325 .

Grim Reaper

Thanks for the link Markolc. They actually gave the Aiwa a pretty good rating (after you read how they rate). Now I am SERIOUSLY considering adding this to my Christmas wish list again! (The Supercharger was nixed by the wife).

ShoeDg1

I was really thinking about getting an AIWA, but I've heard many many mixed results, ranging from no problems to overheating of the unit! Besides, I'm an Eclipse man myself...

Markolc

I love the eclipse units also. I have the 5443 unit of 1999, and I love it! I hope eclipse puts out a MP3 player, that uses the cd changers (to play mp3 cd's, but proabbly unlikely).

CHCKLS

Shoedg1,

I have always been a big fan of the Alpine head units.. I have been considering one of the Eclipse models for my convertible because of the security features that the Eclipse models have and wanted to know how well you like yours and would you ever consider another head unit? What is it that you like about the Eclipse?

Thanks for your help.

Scott_92RS

You can find a lot of stuff on MP3 in your car here: http://www.mp3car.com I think if I do eventually get one, I will get a hard drive based one that stores WEEKS of continious music, that would be pretty cool.

simon

Is the quality of MP3 identical to CD quality? How do you cram that much data on a disc and not lose quality? You know what I mean, is it like a VHS tape when you switch form SP to EP mode?

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Justins86bird

It work by compressing a data file. Sort of like Zipping a program before you email it to someone.

CanadianCamaro

Glen

I checked out A&B Sound online, Futureshop.ca and Visions.ca & found that Visions will carry Aiwa audio equipment.

I phoned the local Visions (Langley) to see if they carried the Aiwa CDC-MP3; but they are just starting to carry AIWA and hope to get the player. They are also working on getting the Kenwood deck in too. The sales rep took my number and will phone me later in the week after he has contacted both manufacturers to check release dates in BC. I'll keep you posted

-Don

1989CamaroRs

I depends on the rate that it is encoded cd quality is 172(i think), most software will encode at either 160 or 192. Mp3 is Mpeg Layer 3 which is a compression format



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Grim Reaper

CanadianCamaro, thanks. I suspect MP3 players will be quite common in the future. I like the idea of have the ID3 displayed while the song is playing too. I believe the AIWA will display the ID3 so you can see the artist and song title.

As for the bit rate quality, I have heard that 192 is near CD quality, but I prefer the sound of 256 or 320s. Many encoders will encode them at that rate now. I find the lower bit rates lose a little in terms of the "depth" of the bass and clarity of the highs. On my home stereo, 128s sound okay but the 256s sound so much better IMO.

At 256, an MP3 CD still holds 250-300 minutes of music, depending on the type/length of CD you use. Also, the MP3 players will read CD-RWs, which allow you to change the songs on it should you decide you don't like certain songs.

rd44bb

what do you guys use for converting CD's to Mp3's???
Anyone know were i van down load one?

Grim Reaper

I use RealJuke Box (about the only thing I found that good for). I have a paid licence version, but there is a freebie version available too. I belive the freebie will also encode CDs to MP3s (my original freebie did), but I am unsure of the bit rate capabilities. I know the "purchase" version of RealJuke Box not only encodes upto 320 but is quite quick (3-5x depending on your CD speed) and will grab the titles/artist/album automatically via the Internet. You have options to change the order it saves these parameters as part of your filename.

Also, you can go to any software site like www.download.com and search for MP3 encoders. There are plenty out there.

blacksunshine'91

iTrader: (10)

Another viable option might be to get a portable MP3 player and then get the adapter cable from Kenwood ($20 in crutchfield). It hooks up to a CD player and utilizes the CD changer controls. Might not be exactly what you wanted but it is cheaper than $700.

FiReBReTHa

black sunshine mentioned it, in most cd players we have two rca Inputs?
Well just get a cord with two rcas one end, and a head phone jack on the other, then plug it in to the back and then pull it out to the front, and then, pick up something that i think is the coolest thing,
Its called the creative labs Nomad Jukbox, its a portable mp3 player that can hold, SIX gigs, i double checked this, its the size of a normal cd player, and doesnt look too shabby,

Its priced high though, but i just wanted to let you guys know about it,

Ummm... im not sure, so dont eat me, theres a dvd/cd/vcd/cd MAYBE Mp3 player they sell at best buy for two hundred, and they have it so you can use it at home too.



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Jza

I know Rockford Fosgate makes a MP3 changer that can be controlled by a couple of their head units.. a little unit that holds like 6 media cards that you fill with the included transfer device. If someone already mentioned that; oops.. I didn't read any replies.. i'm tired