CD's in the Car

Still play CD's in the Car

  • Sure do

  • Not anymore


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Pretty sure I can load a CD into the DVD slot on my head unit ... ;-}
 
I never really used CD's it the car. I jumped straight from cassettes to ipod/phone. Locally, I just listen to the radio, and for longer trips, I use a bluetooth FM adapter with my phone. This adapter was really the only choice I had for the car, short of some kind of hardwired thing.
 
I first had CD in the car when Sony released the first in-dash player, the CDX-R7, way back in the mid 80s. So I've had a long history of CD players on the road.

I haven't used CDs in the car since 2012, when I bought a JVC in-dash with both a front-mounted and rear-mounted USB port. It has had a 64GB Sandisk Cruzer Fit in the front port for the past few years, but I originally had a miniature 60GB portable hard disk tucked into the dash.

In a newer car, I've installed a Pioneer 4200NEX head unit that also has two USB ports, plus an SD card slot. I ran a dual USB 3.0 extender to the center console--works perfectly. One port I use for the phone (mainly to use the head unit for navigation with Google Maps), but use a 256GB Sandisk Ultra Dual USB thumb drive loaded with FLAC (including hi-res up to 24-bit/192kHz) in the 2nd USB port, and also use a 128GB SD card. Capacity is 15,000 files/1,500 folders per device, so I can still load up quite a bit more once I get enough storage. I am considering an SSD for the USB port, actually, as that can hide in the center console and stay tucked out of the way. Loading files is a cinch since my collection is already ripped and stored on two different NAS boxes.

Pros to SD card/USB thumb drive: I no longer have to worry about burning copies to play in the car, nor do I have to worry about taking the originals in the car and risk having them damaged (I used to carry one or two CD wallets around with me all the time.) I also don't find myself forgetting to bring certain music titles with me--I have most of what I want to listen to with me in the car. No more skipping, no more CD drives going bad over time, or working poorly in cold weather. Also, there are no longer any CDs or CD wallets in plain view in the car--out of sight, out of mind. And the deck has a removable faceplace so, when I'm parking away from home I can remove it.

Cons: ummm...like, none? :)

I have Aux ports on the head units, but messing around with a portable player while driving is a really bad idea (especially with bad eyesight), so I scrapped that idea almost immediately. I also don't care to stream from a phone and burn through data, and I will not store music on a phone either--I would constantly be shuffling files on and off if that were the case.

And with leather seats, I cannot staple my Victrola 45 to the seat next to me anymore... :D (Yes, I do actually own the 45-EY-3!)

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And with leather seats, I cannot staple my Victrola 45 to the seat next to me anymore... :D (Yes, I do actually own the 45-EY-3!)

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I use to have one just like that, neat little players, wish I'd never got rid of it.
Now I have a larger model that were used in the schools (don't recall the make or model right now, it's in storage at the moment) with the pause switch, great for play'en the 78's.
 
"No more skipping, no more CD drives going bad over time, or working poorly in cold weather."

Probably mostly caused from using burned discs. I never had those issues.
My first deck was a demo/discontinued TOL Kenwood that lasted 11 years and would still read, but had a short.
A second Kenwood was still working after 7 years when I junked my work car and gave the headunit away.
The local car stereo shop blamed burned discs for the majority of failures they saw.
 
Are all usb ports the same? :dunno:
I listen to all the songs on my CDs, I used to have one in the car and would change it out to what I wanted next.
I can't see having 400 usb sticks. :rolleyes:

Well, if you were to go with this stick, which is the one I'm currently using, and rip @ 320 kbs you get about 450 hours of music. Somewhere between 500 to 600 albums.
 
Well, if you were to go with this stick, which is the one I'm currently using, and rip @ 320 kbs you get about 450 hours of music. Somewhere between 500 to 600 albums.

What is 2.0?
I think my car has 1.0

I'm not talking about amount of music available, but access.
Today I want to listen to artist A album 3, the next day artist H album 9.
Easy with CDs, I don't know with a stick and 450 hours; 500 to 600 albums on it? :dunno:
 
What is 2.0?
I think my car has 1.0

I'm not talking about amount of music available, but access.
Today I want to listen to artist A album 3, the next day artist H album 9.
Easy with CDs, I don't know with a stick and 450 hours; 500 to 600 albums on it? :dunno:

I don't know your unit. On mine I can push a button go to the next song, or the next album. If I want to go from the first album to, say the fortieth, I can pull up a list and use the volume knob to scroll to the album or song by name. Some let you just say the song or album you want, or even just an artists name and it will play all songs by that artist.

2.0 is faster than 1.1 . 1.1 is plenty fast for audio.
 
I don't know your unit. On mine I can push a button go to the next song, or the next album. If I want to go from the first album to, say the fortieth, I can pull up a list and use the volume knob to scroll to the album or song by name. Some let you just say the song or album you want, or even just an artists name and it will play all songs by that artist.

2.0 is faster than 1.1 . 1.1 is plenty fast for audio.

Thanks.
 
Another question for a poll might be do you pull over when searching for a new cd while driving. Of all the distractions on the road, looking for another cd to shove in the deck is at least a little ways up there towards the big no no,texting .

I for one celebrate the demise of the CD player in the car for this reason. More people with their heads out of their posteriors and looking at the road is a good thing IMO !
 
My 2006 Mazda MPV Turbo has a full Bose surround sound audio system with a sub in the back. The head unit is double sized with a single slot CD / MP3 player and a HDD of unknown size that it automatically rips any CDs onto. I don't know what format it rips in, but the rip sounds exactly like the disk to me. So I do use CDs in the car, but not as the main playback medium.
 
I don't listen to anything but CDs in the car. I just bought a new car back in October 2017. It came with a 3 month subscription to Sirius XM. I only listened to that while I was changing a CD. After numerous calls from them, they just send me mail now. I told them I want to listen to what I want to listen to, not what someone else wants me to listen to.
The CD player in the car also has a USB input. I have a small 40 gig hard drive that I have filled with music that I tried to use in the car. Instead of maintaining the folder system on the drive where each artist has a separate folder, followed by all of the albums in sub folders, the car shows a running list of songs instead of each individual album folder. It's a pain in the ass to find something that way, so I abandoned that approach. The CDs are much easier to use. I never use my phone as a music source.
 
Another question for a poll might be do you pull over when searching for a new cd while driving. Of all the distractions on the road, looking for another cd to shove in the deck is at least a little ways up there towards the big no no,texting .

I for one celebrate the demise of the CD player in the car for this reason. More people with their heads out of their posteriors and looking at the road is a good thing IMO !

So you're saying that fumbling with your phone, looking for music, is not a distraction?

Unless I'm on a long trip, I usually only have 2 or 3 CDs in the car at a time. I change CDs before I leave for my destination and when I'm parked. Occasionally, I'll change a CD when stopped at a stop light, but changing on the fly is not an issue with only a couple of CDs in the car. I can grab the next one without looking. I would never try to change one in heavy traffic though.
 
I use CDs, and then I switch to radio, and then I switch to my ipod connected via USB. Recently I started using the aux in to listen to podcasts from my phone. I switch it around whenever I get tired of what I have been listening to (should change the CD soon).
 
That would be annoying. Stock unit or aftermarket?

Stock unit in a 2017 Hyundai Tucson Sport SUV. My son has a 2015 Hyundai Elantra GT. I keep forgetting to ask him if he has the same issue in his car. I only see him every other week when he stops over to do his laundry. I always remember to ask after he leaves.
 
Another question for a poll might be do you pull over when searching for a new cd while driving. Of all the distractions on the road, looking for another cd to shove in the deck is at least a little ways up there towards the big no no,texting .

I for one celebrate the demise of the CD player in the car for this reason. More people with their heads out of their posteriors and looking at the road is a good thing IMO !

With Toyota's JBL 6 CD in-dash changer, I've never changed CDs while driving, only from the shotgun seat while my wife is driving or at a rest stop.
 
I use mp3 cds in my work van. I can get quite a few albums on a mp3 cd (depending on file size, of course). I'll leave a disc in for about a week until I'm tired of it, lol.

I would like to upgrade to a flash-drive player some day. I just can't decide if I'm gonna replace the head unit or the whole vehicle though. The ol' van is getting tired in its old age.
 
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