[Farch]

Anyone thinking of adding an MP3 player to their IS300? Anyone you would recommend?

This one looks interesting, it plugs into your computer as an IDE hard drive. Just dump your music onto it and plug it into your car or home stereo. http://hardware.mp3.com/hardware/individual/car/2963.html

The marketing hype says you can replace the hard drive with any 3.5 IDE drive ...hmmmm, 80GB should hold every CD I own

Farch

p.s. Here is the link to the MP3.com car hardware page: http://hardware.mp3.com/hardware/featured/car/?mc=hwlc02

 

[DYSFUNCTIONAL]

hmm how is it plugged into your car stereo? whast the connection?

 

[TEG]

I have a diamond "RIO", and "MPTrip" (MP3 CD player) and I connect them both via a casette adapter. You take the line-out (or headphone jack) of one device, plug in the cable, and then insert the casette adapter into the casette slot on the dash and hit "casette play" to get the MP3 sounds.

Direct connect to the amps would have better quality, but I find that the casette adapter works quite well (definately better than those RF modulators some "FM CDchangers" are using).

 

[GPR]

Something that is coming out from Creative Labs called the Jukebox can store 100+ CD's not songs but WHOLE CD's!! It's about the size of a normal portable CD player, maybe a tad bit bigger. I heard that it's supposed to be able to work with your car stereos. But it's going to run you guys about $500 unless you gotta company discount

 

[Farch]

Originally posted by DYSFUNCTIONAL:
hmm how is it plugged into your car stereo? whast the connection?

The NEO comes with a cradle for the car and one for the PC that the unit plugs into.

TEG: My brother has a RIO, I have a D-Link DMP-100 and I just got a DMP-110. A friend bought me the DMP-110 for $50 at Sam's. Someone had mis-priced them, they sell for $150..DOH! Casette adapter, I think I have one from my first portable CD player. I'll try that.

Farch

 

[DYSFUNCTIONAL]

hmm being that its "like those compact cd player adapters that u use the tape deck" is it cd sound quality?? if it is.. i would get me one too!

 

[iNtAkE808]

This has been out for quite a while in Taiwan, i believe its cheaper over there.

Originally posted by GPR:
Something that is coming out from Creative Labs called the Jukebox can store 100+ CD's not songs but WHOLE CD's!! It's about the size of a normal portable CD player, maybe a tad bit bigger. I heard that it's supposed to be able to work with your car stereos. But it's going to run you guys about $500 unless you gotta company discount

 

[HIBBoyScott]

Kenwood and Aiwa make mp3 CD player head units. They play data CDs, so however many minutes of music you can fit into 650MB is what you can play on one CD...that is a lot of music...

 

[DYSFUNCTIONAL]

ok hit me in the head..i dont think im getting this...NEO is a unit, for $299? this unit stores MP3's...(alot of MP3's that you could download from the internet)

in order to play it in your car, you'll need an adapter? (cassette adapter costs: $50) so roughly you'll be spending about $349?...but of course its worth it then burning them onto CD-r's?

hmm..please clear this cloud for me thanks~

 

[TEG]

The casette adapter is going to add a bit of noise, and reduce the frequency response a bit, but I think your ears will like the results anyways.

MP3s are already a bit "compromised" compared to CDs. They sound pretty good considering they have 5x+ compression, but it still isn't full CD quality.

 

[DYSFUNCTIONAL]

they say plug into your car stereo? does the require us to take out the car stereo? would i be able to connect it thru my 4 channel amp?

hmm USB connection thru your computer? god so much questions....obviously im new..lol

 

[DonCorleone]

ok this is how a cassette adapter works,
you have a portable music player like a walkman or minidisc or mp3 player, but no cd player/minidisc/mp3 player or whatever in your car and you want to hear those songs. You stick the cassette adapter, which is a cassette tape with a pc board inside and a 3.5mm jack out the end. The cassette shaped adapter goes into the car stereo and the cord coming out the end of it plugs into where you would normally plug headphones on your portable music player, this allows your car speakers to play your mp3s/minidiscs etc... thats it, pretty basic and you can get them almost anywhere, expect to pay $2-$10 for one, it shouldn't cost any more than $5 for that alone, unless you want the power adapter too...

 

[DYSFUNCTIONAL]

thanks for the info........what about uploading from your computer... how does that usually connects? USB?

 

[Farch]

Originally posted by DYSFUNCTIONAL:
ok hit me in the head..i dont think im getting this...NEO is a unit, for $299? this unit stores MP3's...(alot of MP3's that you could download from the internet)

in order to play it in your car, you'll need an adapter? (cassette adapter costs: $50) so roughly you'll be spending about $349?...but of course its worth it then burning them onto CD-r's?

hmm..please clear this cloud for me thanks~

The NEO plugs directly into the stereo system in the car, no need for the casette adapter.

As far as quality MP3 vs CD, at 128kbps and above I can't tell the difference. But then I don't have the best hearing in the world

The computer connection, NEO is an IDE hard drive. I have 2 portable MP3 players, both D-Links. The DMP-100 has a parallel port cable and the DMP-110 has a USB cable. I just got the DMP-110, and I will more than likely be taking it back. You would think that the 110 would be better than the 100...nope! It's the first player I've heard SKIP!

Farch

 

[devil13]

Farch,

How exactly would you plug the NEO into the IS300 (no tape adapter)?

I would love to get one, but don't want to replace the whole factory system. I have a Kenwood z919, sitting in it's box, that I'm going to get rid of because putting it in the IS wouldn't be that easy.

Thanks!

------------------
'01 SBM IS300

 

[tony]

Originally posted by TEG:
MP3s are already a bit "compromised" compared to CDs. They sound pretty good considering they have 5x+ compression, but it still isn't full CD quality.

128bit MP3 encoding is like 10:1 compression. And while you can discern the difference, an audio cd made from MP3s (of at least 128bit quality) sounds just as good as a native cd. You really have to A/B to tell the difference. There can be a little loss of high end and sometimes separation though (most of the stereo effect comes from high frequencies).



------------------
Tony
'01 Spectra Blue
'94 Turbo Miata

 

[Farch]

Originally posted by devil13:
Farch,

How exactly would you plug the NEO into the IS300 (no tape adapter)?

I would love to get one, but don't want to replace the whole factory system. I have a Kenwood z919, sitting in it's box, that I'm going to get rid of because putting it in the IS wouldn't be that easy.

Thanks!

I wish I could tell you, I don't own an IS YET (next spring)

so I don't know the layout of the console. I was assuming the hole left buy the missing Nav system. But this is just a guess.

I did notice that the stock stereo (which is said to be the best stock stereo out there) is huge, I guess that'd be the 6 CD changer.

Farch

p.s. One car stereo unit that never took off that I wish would have is the Auto PC (?). Voice activated, cell phone plug in, CD and there was a company writing an MP3 player for it. You could even name your unit

hmmm..."HAL, Q95 please"

 

[TEG]

FYI:

For the MPtrip MP3 CD player you write MP3 files onto a CD-R (CDROM Writer) on the PC, and the player knows how to read the filesystem off the CD. It scans the CD first and counts the files then starts playing them.

For the old Diamond Rio that I have you connect it to the parallel port of the PC and use some special software to upload MP3s into the flash memory on the player.

Many newer sytems do use USB to upload files from the PC to the player...

 

[dtplink]

Crutchfield.com has and interesting Fosgate RFXMP3.8 8-card MP3 changer.

Check it out at: http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-accTE6SXVBP/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=0&g=0&I=575RFXmp38&o=&a=

 

[devil13]

The Fosgate thing isn't really that good of an idea.

What it does is provides you with an a card trunk changer. At about $100 for a 64mb flash card that holds about 60 min of music (decent quality). You would be much better off getting a regular changer (which the IS already has)and a cd burner to burn your own 80min cds.

Just a thought...



------------------
'01 SBM IS300