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Music in the Car?

Judas Priest

Judas Priest

Super Member
My "new" car is my very first one that has a radio in it. I knew before hand that I wouldn´t listen to the radio (I HATE radio!!!!), but was curious what it would be like listening to music from a usb stick while driving.

Well, I don´t like it! I find it terribly distracting; and usually, when I listen to music, I do it exclusively; no other distractions.

I am also used to hearing the sounds of my car and traffic while driving, and not music.

What do you think?
 
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In town I tend to keep the volume lower, but on the highway I'll turn it up.
I don't care for the sound of Satellite radio and listen mostly to CD's and radio.
I have a couple stations I like.
 
I am trying to wrap my head around any car in the past 60 years without at least a basic radio. Nope...can't picture it.
 
benricci said:
I am trying to wrap my head around any car in the past 60 years without at least a basic radio. Nope...can't picture it.
Click to expand...
Certainly less than 60 years. I know in the 1980s you could buy a Honda Civic without a radio (the thinking being that if you were going to install your own anyway, why bother paying for one). Probably the same for most American cars back then, since it wasn't an uncommon practice to have your car custom built with the exact options you wanted, rather than picking from what the dealer had on the lot. I don't think it was an option for most foreign-made cars, though.
 
My first car here in Germany was a VW Passat station wagon from around 1983 or so. It was a total pile of junk when I bought it; no radio.

I then had a VW Golf Mk I; no radio.

Next was a Golf Mk II; again, no radio.

Then a Mercedes C200 from 1995, no radio.

My "new" 1995 C200 has one.

Keep in mind, these were all total junkers, except the first Mercedes; that´s why they didn´t have radios.

I must add, I am definitely not a multi tasker; for me, driving a car alone is a full time job. Especially here in Germany .
 
If I am awake, I like to have music playing. I rarely have time for doing nothing but listen to music (critical listening). So all my music is played as background music. Occasionally I may take a break for short time and close my eyes and just listen to the music. If the mood hits me, I can crank the volume. Occasionally I will queue several albums, but I prefer to just turn on music and have it.

I loaded 9400 songs onto a USB memory stick that i have in my car. It is a Toyota and cannot handle more than 10,000 songs. :confused:

I had it set so the car would random play, but the car's algorithm sucs. So I have it set to play all the songs in alphabetical order. Works like a champ. Every song on the USB stick is something I want to hear. I started at A last June. I am on G now. I figure another two years+ to finish the songs on the memory stick. There are some duplicate songs, but it is easy to skip to the next song.

I have a friend that does something similar. But he plays the songs in album order.
 
I remember that in the early 80's here in Europe radios were not standard car equipment, we would buy them afterwards with cassette player and install them!
Mid 80's there was an ''invasion'' of Japanese cars, Toyota and Datsun,
in some European contries and those were usually radio equiped.
My actual car is a Citroên and has a radio but no cassette or cd player it has an USB port and reads WMA, MP3 and FLAC files so, inspite of having hundreds of cd' s, I have to load those type of files into an USB pen!
 
Just don't get me started on new car infotainment systems. Or least versions in USA market. Tough to drive and read the 200 page manual .
 
My wife and I have a 1998 Jeep Cherokee, a 2019 Mazda CX-5, and a 2016 Corvette Stingray (Z51/3LT). That's in order of quality of sound systems. I listen to rattles on the Jeep, old-time radio shows downloaded from WAMU on the Mazda, and the car in the Corvette.
 
What kills me is the guys on bikes with the music blaring. I have a co-worker who sold his bike because the radio was giving him problems. I told him I bring my old Harley in the house and let it run when I play music...he wasn't amused.
 
Speaker quality (or lack thereof) is always the big issue for me. My 2012 Civic Coupe came with the "TOTL" speakers, including a sub. Sounded abysmal. Replaced everything with Infinity Kapa and a Basslink sub. Modding the head end would be a nightmare, so I kept that. The USB is clunky and Bluetooth is so-so. I either play CD's or connect my phone's headphone out to the Aux in on the dash (thoughtful of Honda to add that feature).
 
Looking back at the glory days of radio it was imperative that we paid attention to what was being broadcast. It was our lifeline to the world of music, and for many of us our favorite hobby and pastime. We could put up with lousy sound to get the first taste, and would likely chase down a better way once we got hooked. Those days are dead and gone. The radio is used for other things now. If we want to listen to our own music it will be familiar to us and will not be as enjoyable. Another sign of a bygone era.
 
In my daily truck talk radio, or if driving a few hours or more I have a couple of CD's I might put in.

In my Scout I just listen to the glorious sound of it's built V8 and on long trips might slide in a cassette.
 
A buddy had a special-order '78 Vette: L82, close-ratio 4 speed, gymkhana suspension...and radio delete. No radio needed in THAT car:)
 
Both our vehicles have XM radio plus CD player. But the BMW 428i takes the cake with an HK 16 speaker sound system (including 2 subs), 600 watt class D amplification, CD player, 7 band equalizer, USB, and last but not least a 20 gig HD to store whatever music you prefer.
With everything set flat it really sounds good. However best enjoyed when not driving in traffic.
Sounds best when parked without engine running.
 
Fender system in our newest car, used for road trips only. Sounds fine, not a distraction. It's just noise.
 
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