Need car CD player recommendations

[Slickone]

I need a new car CD player. Like to have one with a rotary dial, and one that plays MP3's. Only one I've seen is a Sony, and I don't like Sony. Are there any others beside the $600+ Alpine 7878? Or will any mfg's have one coming up w/ the new models in February? I was hoping Alpine, Pioneer, Kenwood, JVC, Panasonic, or Clarion would.

 

[ucvb6]

a couple of months ago, my friend bought a Kenwood cd player(plays mp3's). i think at the time, it was brand new, so the pruce may have dropped since.

here's a link to cructhfield cd/mp3 player page: Crutchfield

people say that crutchfield is expensive(they are) but you get nice support on installation and stuff. so if this is your first time installing a CD player, you may want to spend the extra cash.

 

[jfall]

The best car mp3 player for the value on the market today is the JVC one.. take a look into it. A lot of people are recommending them on car audio forums.

 

[LordJezo]

<< The best car mp3 player for the value on the market today is the JVC one.. take a look into it. A lot of people are recommending them on car audio forums. >>



I can say that first hand as it is what I have in my car. The JVC SH-99. Thing is a beauty...

Go to HighwayMP3 for anything you want to know. They have a good forum there.. people know lots. It's how I made my choice this summer.

 

[Slickone]

Yeah I like the JVC SH-99, but why do they only have it in silver? I don't like all these new silver audio/video electronics. Too bad it's not like some products that come both in black and silver/champagne/white.
Why doesn't Pioneer have one that plays MP3's? And why doesn't Alpine have an MP3 CDP cheaper?

 

[Slickone]

LordJezo, thanks for the link to Highway MP3. Looking at that site, the only ones that interest me are the Clarion, JVC, and Alpine (the Kenwood and Panasonic don't, and I don't care for the other brands.). BUT!...

A review on Epinions (link is on Highway MP3) says the Clarion doesn't play some VBR files, only allows 16 char file names, and doesn't support ID3 tags (no biggie to me if you could have file names longer than 16 chars).

The JVC is a loud silver color, and doesn't support Joliet file system CDRs.

That leaves the expensive Alpine. Does anyone know if it plays VBR files, or anything about it's filename/filesystem support?

BTW, another thing I don't like are cheapy Walmart looking childish eyecandy pictures on the fluorescent display that don't really tell you anything.

 

[LordJezo]

Well, there is a black one you can get imported from Germany for about $500...


As for long file names.. who needs them? Just tag your mp3s.. it is much better that way. That way you can have the artist, album, and song title. Once you have your mp3s tagged you wont care about long file names anymore.

As for it being a loud silver, well, you will notice it for the first day or so then you wont care about it anymore and during night driving it wont really matter.

 

[Grinchy]

I was looking at the Jensen 5010K. About $200 after rebate. Best price around and 3 sets of outs, 5V on the outs, and sub level control. Also has a remote. I have no idea how well it works or navigates. It plays mp3s, has a rotary knob. but it is a jensen, whatever that means, i'm not an audio snob - especially in a car - not exactly the best listening environment.

www.sounddomain.com has several, including the aiwa, the jvc, the pioneer, the sony, the blaupunkt, the jensen. prices are better than crutchfield, I've ordered from them once and it shipped in a couple days via ups. no complaints. they also have 'big' pics of the gear.

i agree with the silver components. my car has all black and amber - how does silver look in that - crappy. if you find one that is black and amber let me know.

 

[Slickone]

But when you're browsing the songs trying to find what you want to play, it doesn't display the ID3 tag then does it? If not, I think it'd be a lot easier browsing if you had long filenames.

I've got a 2000 Frontier pickup I'm trying to decide on a CDP, front 6.5" component speakers, and an amp (that'll fit under the front seat) that I can order from Crutchfield since the MSN Passport deal ends today. Suggestions?

I've just found out about a new Pioneer CDP w/ MP3!
There's a little more info here. It's not quite as good looking to me as their P6300,7300, or 9300 players.
I hope it has subwoofer level controls (important to me), but I wonder about what type of CDR filesystem and filename length it supports.

BTW, can anyone recommend a good message board for general car stereo talk?

 

[Slickone]

The Pioneer DEH-P7400MP is now available at
Crutchfield.
Anyone gotten one of these yet or know more about it?

 

[Viperoni]

<< The best car mp3 player for the value on the market today is the JVC one.. take a look into it. A lot of people are recommending them on car audio forums. >>



Indeed, it has the best DAC (Digital to Analog (audio) convertor) out of all of them, so it will give the best SQ.