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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!
sooooo, I just want recommendations on which units people have tried. Not really a debate about which media is better or not. Just want to play the large disc collection I already have. And my truck is a 2021 hybrid. I don't think I want to be messing around with the head unit that is installed already in that technology laden of a truck and since it already has several USB ports a usb connected one makes sense. Also its not 1980 any more. I would assume even a cheap unit would have pretty good skip protection even as an external drive. At least I would hope. also, given that it is a 2021 the sound isolation in the truck is actually pretty good and with the BO unleashed speaker system it sounds pretty fantastic on the HD radio stations. I would agree sirius sounds like crapola
ok wouldn't say they are exactly the same tech. Im just looking for a way to play my large disc collection not a big debate on old or new tech. just looking for some recs. also last time i checked every walmart, target, or music store still sells CDs and has a CD section. 8 tracks not so much
thanks for the link! yeah I saw a few brands that all look exactly like this but are different prices. I wonder if the guts are any different or if they are all the same. have you tried this one or heard one?
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.
i have the largest memory iphone 13 you can get. I have all 3000 of the CDs I have ripped into itunes already and do carry the whole collection with me, but because my previous Ipods I had were smaller memory, I compressed them all at 128 when I ripped them to fit. Theres no way I could go back and re rip all 3000 of them in lossless as it would take months and hence why I would like to get a cd player. My chevy avalanche that I am moving from to this new truck has a CD/DVD player and I always kept discs in the door since they sounded better than my phone.
i have the largest memory iphone 13 you can get. I have all 3000 of the CDs I have ripped into itunes already and do carry the whole collection with me, but because my previous Ipods I had were smaller memory, I compressed them all at 128 when I ripped them to fit.
Yeah.....That was a mistake. You should have ripped them in Lossless to your pc, then compressed them to your device. You can have different compression levels per device (my iphone is all Lossless, while my ipod is at 128Kb/s). Bummer.
Yeah.....That was a mistake. You should have ripped them in Lossless to your pc, then compressed them to your device. You can have different compression levels per device (my iphone is all Lossless, while my ipod is at 128Kb/s). Bummer.
yeah when ipods first came out, however long ago that was, I spent a month ripping all the ones I had at the time and had to compress them to the 128 to fit even a decent amount of them on it at the time and never changed it from the 128. kept up ripping them as I got the discs. Just got my first iphone that could hold all of them without maxing it out maybe 5 years ago but never switched it to lossless then. probably should have but my cd purchasing has slowed considerably (although i do still buy probably 10-15 a year). in my avalanche i just had discs with me of the albums I would want to listen to the most at the time in the side of the door and would use the radio or phone for everything else but now don't have that capability. Think im gonna go with a generic looking black box unit on amazon that is usb that there has been a couple links above and try it.
thanks for the link! yeah I saw a few brands that all look exactly like this but are different prices. I wonder if the guts are any different or if they are all the same. have you tried this one or heard one?
I am also looking for a CD player that will Blue Tooth to the radio in the truck. But, I don't want to spend that much money. I found some cheaper ones but, there is no way to know how well they will work unless someone has tired it out. I hope someone here will be able to post a answer eventually.
For now I'm enjoying my free 3 months of satellite radio. I'm not got to pay 20 bucks a month for it though once the free trial runs out.
Update. I got this. It works pretty well actually. 145$ on amazon. Only thing that sucks is I realized the usb in the console is charge only so you still have to run a usb across your cup holders to the one under the screen in the dash by the wireless charger to get data transfer. No skips and sounds pretty decent
02-03-2022, 09:36 PM
I'm old enough that I don't want to listen to skipping CD's!
