Car Stereo recommendations?

[vsp]

I'm looking to bring my wife's car into the 1990's this Christmas, by having a CD player installed in it. I am anything but an audiophile (tapes and cassettes sound about the same to me), and likewise for my wife, so I'm looking for a decent blend of brand-name, function and price without going totally high-end.

I'm looking hard at the Sony CDX-MP30 right now. It's around $200, is XM-ready (should I decide that that's a viable option later on), and can play CDRs full of MP3s, which made my eyes bug out at that price. Ten-hour mix CDs on the road! Woohoo.

Any other recommendations or warnings?

[juju]

I love these things, personally. I just got a Kenwood car stereo mp3-cd player for christmas from my wife.

The only bad thing about these mp3-cd players that i've found is that most players only support 8.3 character filenames. All of my mp3's filenames I burn begin with the bands name, and player sorts files in alphabetical order. The net result of this is that all of your albums will be played in reverse order. The way to avoid this, I think, is to put a number at the beginning of all the filenames so that it doesn't get truncated. I usually just live with having it on random, though, as it would probably take months to go back and fix my 40+ mp3-cds.

[Cam]

I personally would stay away from Sony, you pay alot for the name. And their decks always feel like they are going to break easily to me. I'd go with Kenwood, Pioneer, or JVC. Kenwood and Pioneer are going to have more XM compatibility, though I really like JVC's decks. I'd do some looking for you, but I got to go study.

[Cam]

juju, does your MP3 player randomize within directories or across the entire CD. I have a JVC and it goes across the entire cd, and I know kenwoods first few MP3 decks could just randomize within directories. I wish mine had an opton for both.

[Undertoad]

www.crutchfield.com

I have bought three items from Crutchfield and their process is perfect in every way. Their web site works perfectly. The install instructions that come with the units make it simple to do your own handiwork, saving a ton of money.

The latest buy was exactly what you're looking for: a $200 MP3 unit, and I bought the Clarion that Crutchfield has the special on right now. I am generally happy with it although once in a while it seems to "lose its place" in a folder of MP3s. This is rare though (so far). I installed it myself even though it wasn't listed as an "EZ" install.

In the case of my veedub that means I have to take the entire dash apart, but the instructions list everything you have to do, and I did it and am overly pleased with myself as a result. They do suggest you solder a connector together yourself to match up the output from the unit with your car's input thingie. I am handy enough with a soldering iron and the soldering needed for this is the most simple and basic kind. Plus, you don't have to do that part while sittin gin the car.

I did not buy the Sony, because I had a Sony head in this car from 95-98, and I grew to hate that thing, and vowed never to buy another Sony automotive product.

The Clarion seems to read the MP3 folders fast enough - it's only like 4-5 seconds between turning the thing on and having it start to play the first track, and that's fine. When it loses its place, which it has done 3 times on 2 different discs, it won't play anything in that folder and moves on to the next folder. This is a better failure mode than, say, shutting down entirely. Every time it has done it I have just ejected the CD and reinserted it, and it finds the folder and plays it. There may be a simpler workaround that I haven't found yet.

The thing is laid out well enough. It doesn't have a remote but its most important controls are on the driver side, and you can work out which button to hit easily enough.

The only thing it doesn't have, that I would like, is an input jack on the front of the unit. The cheaper ones don't generally have that.

[Undertoad]

Everyone replied while I was writing that. Misc:

The Clarion does support long filenames and scrolls the name as it plays the file. Which is what you want.

I have a CD ripper that will assign track numbers as the first item of the filename. So I've settled on a format for containing everything I rip. If I rip and convert Ivy's "Guestroom", for example, I wind up with a folder and sub-folder:

\Ivy
--\Guestroom
-----\01-Let's Go To Bed.MP3
-----\02-Kite.MP3
-----\03-Say Goodbye.MP3

etc. That way, the albums stay together and in order, and I can select by album to burn MP3 disks. The filename doesn't contain the artist, but I generally know the artist and don't need that to be part of the scrolling filename in the car.

Also, I've kinda settled on a bit rate of 160. I guess I should use that VBR but I wanted to know that I was ripping in a format that any player could play. I don't know if all players can play VBR MP3s. I do know that my flash player can't handle low bitrates.

I started ripping at 192, but the file sizes were large enough to limit a single CD of MP3s to about 5 albums, and that's not enough. I doubt I could tell the difference at even 128 in the car, which is not the ideal listening room to start with, but you never know where these files will be used.

I can second the Crutchfield nomination. Whatever you buy, buy it from there. It may be a little more, but their process makes it painless. Their emphasis is on customer service, and it shows.

[juju]

It seems to randomize within directories. If I want a mix cd, I just put it all in one big directory.

[Cam]

I used to be a crutchfield fan until I found my deck online for about 75 dollars less, cruchfield's support though rocks, and there install kits are great. If you plan on installing it yourself and don't have a lot of experience go with crutchfield.

[vsp]

Originally posted by Cam
If you plan on installing it yourself and don't have a lot of experience go with crutchfield.

Therein lies the rub. When it comes to actual physical tinkering, I barely know which end of the screwdriver to hold, and will need to rely on a brick-and-mortar store's installers.

[Cam]

What make of car does you wife have, it's a Ford make the installation is a breeze with the kit that crutchfield has. I've never dealt with other makes but with the documentaiton that cruchfield provides I'm sure you could figure it out.

If you are going to have a dealer install you'll probably end up buying the deck from them, but I would check online, you might end up saving a few bucks, just make sure you know the installation price of the dealer your going to use.

[vsp]

She drives a Ford Contour, and I'm blanking on the year. Relatively recent. It has basic factory-installed tape-deck audio at present.

Seriously, my installation plan is something like "Hello, [Best Buy/Circuit City/Sears/other common purveyor of car audio] salesman. I am purchasing this CD deck; here is the car it goes in. Let me know when to pick it up tonight." I hear phrases like "take the dash apart" and would be more comfortable taking my own appendix out with salad tongs.

(And, yes, I'm the sort who laughs at those who buy computers from Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears et al, so I probably shouldn't be buying car audio there... but unlike the computer world, I am a rank amateur here. I did look in my local Tweeter yesterday, but most of their available decks were quite high-end.)

[Cam]

I'm telling you you could easily do the installation if it's a ford. It's just a matter of yanking the deck out and sliding the new deck in. Fords come with DIN sized openings you shouldn't have to do any modifications and crutchfield sends you the tools and harness to install the deck. I did my first install using cruchfields guide and had no problems, I learned enough actually that I did my second one by myself.

[juju]

Words to live by: Best Buy will fuck you over. Any price they quote to you will inevitably be upped by 25 to 50 percent when you get to the register.

[perth]

ive had good luck with circuit city. i agree with juju. best buy sucks.

~james