MP3 Car Deck Help - Which decks have minimal/zero track gaps?

[Jeomite]

I was wondering if someone would know which MP3 Car Decks have minimal/zero gaps between tracks.
For example, the time between when Track 1 is done playing and Track 2 starts. On regular CD players, this transition is gapless (0-seconds). But from what I heard and observed, this is not the case for MANY MP3 Car Decks (because the deck has to seek the data for the next track). My friend has a Pioneer MP3 Deck, and it sometimes takes up to NINE SECONDS to go to the next track... which I don't highly favor it.

My particular question is if anyone can suggest an affordable deck (under $350) that provides minimal/zero gaps between mp3 tracks... thanks...

 

[de8212]

alpine 7894

 

[Paulson]

my jvc mp3 player when set to random only takes 2 seconds to go between tracks..

it's the jvc kd sx980

I absolutely love it

 

[Syringer]

I have a JVC unit too..switching tracks is the same as it would be on a CD Player.

 

[LordThing]

I just installed the Pioneer 4500mp and there is maybe a 1 second delay between tracks, if that.

 

[IBuyUFO]

I have a kenwood. Less than 1 sec.

 

[rudeguy]

i think what you are worried about is time between folders not tracks....AFAIK thats where the delay is

 

[Jeomite]

thank you for the numerous replies. i appreciate it.

Originally posted by: rudeguy5757
i think what you are worried about is time between folders not tracks....AFAIK thats where the delay is

Actually I believe on my friend's Pioneer model, he does not use folders... But I could be wrong..

 

[Jeomite]

Originally posted by: de8212
alpine 7894

I was looking into the Alpine CDA-9807; would that perform identically to the CDA-7894 model?

 

[Cfour]

Originally posted by: de8212
alpine 7894

From what I understand, the Alpines are top-of-the-line models, but I haven't kept up in the last 6 months or so...

 

[NuclearFusi0n]

the MP3 format is inherently flawed. Gapless playback is not possible.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I just installed a Pioneer Pioneer DEH-P4500MP, only a second or 2 between MP3's...

 

[AvesPKS]

Originally posted by: IBuyUFO
I have a kenwood. Less than 1 sec.

 

[Jeomite]

Thank you again for your replies... I have decided to go with Kenwood... I am either getting a Kenwood KDC-MPV619 or Kenwood Excelon KDC-X569. I willpost results of my experience as soon as I can.

Originally posted by: NuclearFusi0n
the MP3 format is inherently flawed. Gapless playback is not possible.

Gapless playback is definitely possible. The deck would begin buffering data from the next track while the end of the current track is near.

 

[Thegonagle]

Blaupunkt MP3000: ¼ - ½ second on straight through playback (i.e., it advances from track 1 to track 2 automatically), and ½-3 seconds if you force it to seek to a different folder (it's longer if the laser carrier needs to move across the disc to access the next folder).

I can?t believe how little love this great player gets.

 

[iwearnosox]

Originally posted by: NuclearFusi0n
the MP3 format is inherently flawed. Gapless playback is not possible.

Not true, a manufacturer just needs to have advanced caching and read ahead a bit. It will come.

This is just like when cd players would never be skipless..

 

[kyutip]

I got Alpine CDA-9811 and the MP3 track switching is fast. You wouldn't notice any difference with regular CD.
The search is fast and intuitive too. I was going to get the CDA-9807 but I want a black faceplate so I step up to CDA-9811.
Make a MP3 cd and go to your local car stereo store and try them out. For Alpine, try Ultimate Electronics if your city have them.
I installed my Alpine on my car with stock speaker and it sounds like I have amps and sub. It is that good.

 

[AMCRambler]

I'm also looking into mp3 decks for my car. 2 seconds betweent racks is fine with me. My major beef is with the time it takes to read the disk after you put it in. My friend has a Kenwood and it takes 5 minutes from when he puts a cd in till it can start playing tracks. That seems ridiculous to me. On a computer it takes less than a second to read a directory. Why should a mp3 deck be so much slower? Well anyway my question is does anyone know which decks have the shortest read time when you first load the cd? I wouldn't mind waiting 30 seconds, but 5 minutes, forget it!

 

[rootaxs]

Originally posted by: kyutip
I got Alpine CDA-9811 and the MP3 track switching is fast. You wouldn't notice any difference with regular CD.
The search is fast and intuitive too. I installed my Alpine on my car with stock speaker and it sounds like I have amps and sub. It is that good.

Ditto. Though replace the 9811 with a 7894

 

[Demon-Xanth]

I have a JVC KD-SH99 (two year old unit) and when going from concecutive tracks it's instant. No detectable gap. And going from one to a completely different one it's comparable to standard CDs. So effectively, it's like listening to a CD that's 12 hours long. A salesman talked me into splurging a little for it, and given the need, I'd listen to that guy again.

Edit:
A bit more claification:
From track A in a folder to track B in the same folder: either instant or near instant (too short to tell if it's the song's gap or the player)
From track Z in a folder to track A in the next folder: either instant or near instant
From track A in a folder to track A in another folder: about 2 seconds, same time as track 1 on a CD to track 12
Delay on inserting a disk: about 5 seconds (3 more than a normal CD)

 

[Anubis]

even the ones with HDs have gaps