Best car MP3 player for less than $300?

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Jugernot

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 1999
6,889
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What brand do you guys prefer? I have a 1996 Chevy K1500 truck, so it has the 1.5 sized DIN.... (most others work with a bezel)

Here is a list of units that Crutchfield had it stock that are in my budget: Crutchfield selections

What do you guys think? I'm not an audiophile really, just tired of using a tape adapter in my truck and was going to buy a cd player anyway.

What brands would you guys recommend? Anything I should stay away from?

Jugs
 
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notfred

Lifer
Feb 12, 2001
38,241
4
0
I was very happy with my Kenwood till it got stolen. :| And I've been very happy with the Alpine I replaced it with.

I was NOT happy with the Sony I had previously. It was a piece of trash.
 
T

theNEOone

Diamond Member
Apr 22, 2001
5,745
4
81
i'm of the opinion that there really isn't much of a difference, as long as you stick to the well known brands. i'm sure that the selections from crutchfield are all great. it basically boils down to which one matches your dash best.

btw, all the items linked from your "crutchfield selections" don't work
 
J

Jugernot

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 1999
6,889
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Originally posted by: theNEOone
i'm of the opinion that there really isn't much of a difference, as long as you stick to the well known brands. i'm sure that the selections from crutchfield are all great. it basically boils down to which one matches your dash best.

btw, all the items linked from your "crutchfield selections" don't work
Click to expand...

Yah I know.. I just riped the source out so you guys didn't have view all the other crap. I guess I'll just find the best to suit my taste and find it cheaper elsewhere.
 
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Thegonagle

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2000
9,773
0
71
First of all, I don't prefer any brand. I'm all about function, quality, and value. Whatever brand offers me the most of what I want gets my dollars.

I have a Blaupunkt MP3000. It's great. I love it to the full extent that one could actually love a car stereo. MP3 track switching is super fast (always under 1 second to manually change folders/tracks, and about 1/4 second if it's just playing through to the next track), and it's so easy to operate, even while you're going 100 MPH (OK not that fast, but some models are annoyingly and even dangerously complex).

The only problem is that the display is really, really, really bright at night (this is only a problem on really dark rural roads, and you can work around it by just flipping the face plate down unless you're actually pressing a button or turning the knob - it continues to play when you flip down the faceplate).

For the price, it's wonderful, a great bargain, really. I don't understand why it doesn't get so much more internet lovin'.

There were some early complaints about "noisy" MP3 playback, but that has been fixed with a firmware revision for well over a year now. (In other words, if I don't hear a defect in an MP3 in Winamp, I won't hear it on this MP3 player.)

The Blaupunkt San Jose is similar, so if you're going to use amps, that would be a good choice because it has more line-outputs.

If you order from Crutchfield, you get all of the dashboard and wiring harness adapters you need, plus customized instructions for your vehicle, for no additional charge, and they don't gouge too badly on shipping.
 
A

atom

Diamond Member
Oct 18, 1999
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My friend just ordered the 7400MP from here. At 219+shipping the price is unbeatable, but the site looks shady...........
 
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Thegonagle

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2000
9,773
0
71
Originally posted by: atom
My friend just ordered the 7400MP from here. At 219+shipping the price is unbeatable, but the site looks shady...........
Click to expand...

What makes that site look shady? It's not the most professional looking site I've ever seen, but they've got their phone numbers, hours, address, credit card policies, etc., all listed. What's wrong?
 
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TheCorm

Diamond Member
Nov 5, 2000
4,326
0
0
Well over here in UK I would say that Kenwood is the brand I hear mostly recommended.

2nd Choices - Pioneer & Alpine
OK Choices - Sony or JVC
Budget - Goodmans

I had a sony head unit previously and was pretty happy with it but I now have a Kenwood KDC-PSW9521 and am very happy witt it. Supports both MP3 and WMA format, not that I really use WMA much but I saved £10 from it's sister unit and got this feature :confused:

It has 3 Pre-outs, all 4.5V and one is a non fading that I have hooked up to a 350W Amp + 10" Sub...sounds sweet. It offers really crisp sound quality even on say 128kbps MP3's and there are more menu options that you can shake a stick at.

Negative points - the display is pretty funky so don't be mesmorised by it when trying to drive, is also bright and lights up inside of the car at night, which can be a bit annoying...haven't found an option to lower the brightness! Can also be tricky to get in and out but not impossible, has odd removal tools unlike normal kenwoods.

Jamie
 
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atom

Diamond Member
Oct 18, 1999
4,722
0
0
Nothing is really wrong with it (actually got some positive reviews about the site), but I'm always leery about sites like that. But meh, I don't even follow my own instincts. :p The last car audio stuff I bought online came from here.. Thats about as unprofessional a site as it gets but I had a good buying experience from them.
 
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PaNsyBoy8

Golden Member
Jul 19, 2001
1,446
0
0
i had the pioneer, i think the seek time was too long in between songs, i have a clarion now, i think they are awesome, check out the clarion units
 
KK

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
Do any of these car MP3 players have it where you can upload the MP3's onto some type of storage(like compact flash) inside the player?

KK
 
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theNEOone

Diamond Member
Apr 22, 2001
5,745
4
81
Originally posted by: KK
Do any of these car MP3 players have it where you can upload the MP3's onto some type of storage(like compact flash) inside the player?

KK
Click to expand...


yes, but they cost about $1000......sony makes one w/ a 10 or 20 gig hard drive. such a ripoff.
 
L

LS20

Banned
Jan 22, 2002
5,858
0
0
Originally posted by: Jugernot
What brand do you guys prefer? I have a 1996 Chevy K1500 truck, so it has the 1.5 sized DIN.... (most others work with a bezel)

Here is a list of units that Crutchfield had it stock that are in my budget: Crutchfield selections

What do you guys think? I'm not an audiophile really, just tired of using a tape adapter in my truck and was going to buy a cd player anyway.

What brands would you guys recommend? Anything I should stay away from?

Jugs
Click to expand...

JVC KD-SH707 or SH909 or SH9700
look at alpine 9811 second

 
KK

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
Originally posted by: theNEOone
Originally posted by: KK
Do any of these car MP3 players have it where you can upload the MP3's onto some type of storage(like compact flash) inside the player?

KK
Click to expand...


yes, but they cost about $1000......sony makes one w/ a 10 or 20 gig hard drive. such a ripoff.
Click to expand...

Well, that sucks. I found the sony one and it won't rip CD's mp3s onto the hard drive. Still too rich for me. Anyways, these mp3 players do they skip at all?

KK
 
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theNEOone

Diamond Member
Apr 22, 2001
5,745
4
81
my g/f has a kenwood MP3 player and it's never skipped. remember that mp3's are pretty small files so even w/ a buffer of 2 megs, you've got 2 minutes anti-shock protection.
 
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