jkp

Seems any solution would result in some sort of compression negating any perceived value of using CDs? I doubt the Ford head unit supports any of the high resolution Bluetooth CODECs and of course the unit doesn't support something like an optical input...

Cmill24

do you know if the car recognizes those where you can control it with the car controls? I know there are a couple on amazon that says they are auto specific to do that but don't know how good they are audio quality wise or skip protection wise

Cmill24

does the USB use compression? Isn't the optical drive in computers connected through USB? would think it's still a digital signal through the USB?

Cmill24

I found this on amazon but don't know how much skip protection it has or how good the audio quality is. anyone have any experience with this one?

Bucho65

As long as the usb CD player has a physical eject button, so you are able to get your cd out, sync should be able to read the files/songs off the cd.

For the people that said “there’s a reason they don’t have 8-tracks in cars anymore…”. It’s because something better came along. For car audio 8 tracks were better than record players since they didn’t skip while hitting a bump, cassettes were better than 8 tracks because of better sound quality and would play in cold weather, CDs were better than cassettes because of sound quality and with changers you didn’t have to change the media as often. Now with streaming services, .wav .mp3, files, versus CDs it’s debatable which one is better. From the 3 cars I’ve tested between an iPod playing uncompressed .wav files and cd, the cd has noticeably sounded better 3 out of 3 times. I’m using an old iPhone for my pre recorded music in the truck for now and it’s annoying I have select another album to listen to after one finishes. Like I said before if I’m on the highway I can only choose the first few on the list because sync won’t let you scroll while moving. Is this better than having a cd changer or some CDs in the door pocket to pick from? Eh, to me it isn’t

Cmill24

yeah whenever I have compared songs off my phone streaming or MP3 to a CD the CD has sounded much better. In my old truck my door side storage was always full of discs. It's like the difference I hear listening with the BO unleashed in the truck when a normal music radiostation switches to the HD version when you get better reception. at first your like, is the BO unleashed worth it? it sounds meh. then when it comes through with the HD station it sounds fantastic. for some reason none of the serius stations seem to be in that format either and the radio and CDs and even my phone sound better than Serius to me

16IngotFX4

Sure, better is one reason.

If we would have had an internet complaint booth when cassette tapes came out, people could complain that vehicles stopped coming equipped with 8 tracks. The complaints are mostly based on 'change' not quality....in all cases.
Mountain bike people used to think adding a suspension fork was dumb. The we added a shock to the rear. Then travel increased. Wheels got bigger. Each time something comes out, it's a complaint. I'm pretty sure my full suspension 29" wheel bike is better in almost every way than a 26" rigid, so there isn't a good reason to complain. So then, why do we complain. 1) we are human 2) we can 3) because the internet was invented and we don't have to bother people we know with complaints

My early 80's car was equipped with an AM Radio. I eventually updated it twice, to nice cassette players. As CD's came around, I purchased a fantastic Technics portable CD player. I think I paid about $200 1980's prices. That thing would skip constantly. One of the benefits of lugging around friends is they could hold the player and skips were reduced. Oh, and that portable player was connected with a cassette adapter thing.
I later got an Open Box special Pioneer 6-disc changer. Awesome! Had it mounted behind the seat of my standard cab F150 with a wired remote coming out of the dash. I eventually changed it out for an Alpine CD head unit and started adding amps and a custom sub box.
My 2003 had a 6-disc changer built in (OEM). Super convenient. I eventually changed that for aftermarket to install the amps and sub.
When I purchased the really nice Kenwood for my previous vehicle, I finally decided to start downloading and/or ripping my own music from CD's. Once I inserted the USB stick, I never looked back.
Now in the 2016, I have the same USB inserted but rarely listen to it. To be fair, I don't drive far. I listen to Sirius most of the time which sounds mediocre, if I am being nice. When I do switch to the USB I'm blown away with how rich and full it sounds with the mediocre Sony system (OEM). I'd have to buy a CD and install a nice player and decide if the CD is better.

Something I would encourage one to consider when stating a CD has better quality. I'm going to disagree whatsoever. The consideration would be, what is the sound stage. Are you in a properly laid out living space or media room with matched speakers to soak in all the wonderful sounds of the fidelity of CD. Well, not in this thread. Instead, we're sitting in a metal box driving down the highway at 80mph.... absorbing tire noise and wind noise and surrounding traffic. At what point is the quality of CD so much better that you lose the outdoor noises and can still consider it far superior to a tethered phone, bluetooth or USB drive?
So yeah, I won't disagree quality may be better but I will ask, are you able to hear it so much more clear in these environments. Any vehicle I have owned has pretty good audio quality when the ignition is off, sitting in the garage with the doors closed.
I've altered the audio system in every vehicle I've owned from replacing the head unit, every vehicle, Speakers, every vehicle. Adding an amp or 2 in three vehicles. Building my own subwoofer custom cabinets in 2 vehicles.
I get it, we want it to sound like we want. I am fortunately in a place of life that if I wanted a good CD player for my truck, I would spend the money required to properly integrate it to my steering controls, keep a NAV screen any any other goodies that I'd be removing from the truck. I would not be lookin for a portable unit and relive the 80's like I stated earlier. I'm old enough that I don't want to listen to skipping CD's!

GoldyGopher

I too am old and still get every note of my music from cd. My discs get used exactly once, then go on a shelf.

I immediately rip them into itunes in the Lossless format. I also have a large collection, and itunes does a fantastic job of curating it, and it's free. I recently switched to an iphone after many years of Android, as Apple phones never had enough space and zero expandability. I currently have 800ish cd's on my phone in Lossless format, and they sound every bit as good as a cd would on any stock system. I spend a lot of my working hours in basements of large buildings and in and around high voltage (electrician), so streaming doesn't work too well for me. For work, I have an ipod and some Beats in-ear buds (the ones with the curly ear-hanger thinger....fantastic), so I have ~1Kish cd's on that compressed down to 128Kb/sec.

Rather than try to find an old tech/highly uncommon solution, maybe meet technology half way, and spend your money on an ipod for your truck. Put as much music as you want in Lossless, and have the advantage of the higher quality sound, with the ability to automagically download podcasts. You can have your entire collection at your fingertips, and still have room for a passenger or two.

zyvin

I want to play my vinyl, not some compressed CD.

blkZ28spt

No CD player for same reason there's no 8 track