Car stereo options

[shazapple]

well, currently I have a Kenwood MP3 CD player. It wont play MP3 cds and barely plays normal cd's after 2 years. Ive tried cleaning it and whatever but only the change in weather seems to affect its mood.

I figure my choices are:
1) buy a new MP3 CD player. Not really a fan of this choice cause I want more than 200 songs

2) keep current deck, buy MP3 player and radio transmitter. 10 gb player would last me for a long time as I only have 5gb of music. This seems to be the best of both worlds (the music will always be with me, plus later on I could upgrade to a deck with input jacks) What is the quality loss on these transmitters? Ive seen sirius radios that work that way and seem to be very good.

3) DVD player (without screen). Do these things exist and are they reliable? (4.7gb of music woudl satisfy me)

price is also a factor here, as I would like to put as little as possible into it. I wont be driving too much this summer.

[Huffer]

How clear of the sound do you want stuff to be? Whether or not you have upgraded speakers will determine this.

Your current deck would be fine with an FM transmitter, Belkin make a nice one for $20.

If your MP3's aren't encoded at 192kps or more, you won't notice a difference anyway.

Best bang for buck, get the MP3 portable player - that way you can take it with you - as you said you won't be driving much this summer.

[shazapple]

most of my mp3's are probably over 192k, but its not like i strive for it. I have upgraded front speakers, but theyre Sony Xplodes :roll:

Ive pretty much cut option 1 since it seems I can get a DVD player for a decent price. Any MP3 player will do, as long as its simple and large (10GB)

[Wiscon_Mark]

Integrate an Ipod (or various other brands) into the car, portability is sweet! :D

[jey]

The quality of using an FM transmitter can vary on a lot of things. It works better in rural than urban areas, where the FM frequencies are busier. It works better in my girlfriend's Tahoe than my Subaru. It also works better if you unplug/remove the antenna for your FM radio in your car. I've found the quality of using an FM transmitter in my Legacy worse than a normal radio station - so you may want to try it out first. I still have a tape deck in my Legacy so I just use the tape adapter - sounds a lot better. If you still have your old tape deck you might dig it back out and use that.

[tekkitan]

The quality of using an FM transmitter can vary on a lot of things. It works better in rural than urban areas, where the FM frequencies are busier. It works better in my girlfriend's Tahoe than my Subaru. It also works better if you unplug/remove the antenna for your FM radio in your car. I've found the quality of using an FM transmitter in my Legacy worse than a normal radio station - so you may want to try it out first. I still have a tape deck in my Legacy so I just use the tape adapter - sounds a lot better. If you still have your old tape deck you might dig it back out and use that.

same with mine. i'll hopefully be getting a new head unit though, with a front aux input. no more tapes or radio transmitters for me :)

[shazapple]

My current desk has two jacks, but im pretty sure both are amp outs.

There is an option to attach a CD changer, or kenwoods 'music keg'. I wonder if theres any other products that will work, maybe something that will allow a mp3 player hookup

[Wiscon_Mark]

I doubt it. When they have exclusive stuff like that, they don't want you buying something that isn't their product.

[shazapple]

I now know waht im going to do. They sell thigns that will plug into the back of my receiver and then into a MP3 player.

Either I can go no name on both and save a few, or I could get a kenwood Ipod adapter and an ipod (both off ebay of course :-D ) Methinks Ill go for the second choice, since im getting a 60 cent raise this summer!

[Huffer]

Kenwood do furnish a standard adaptor which converts their input jack to an RCA input. I had one for my laptop in my Impreza.

Alpine units have RCA inputs built into many of their inexpensive units.

Kenwood (and many other manufacturers) also have some units that have front 3.5mm mini-plug inputs.

I would go that route - it's quick, easy and means you can take your collection with you, and it's a universal system - you're not locked into a proprietary iPod system.

[shazapple]

I thought about that but I like the ipod system becaue it displays the ID3 tag along with charging the ipod. If I ever decide otherwise the standard adaptor is pretty cheap. By that time Ill have upgraded head units though.