View Full Version : mp3 head unit
can anyone help... i looking for an mp3 head unit in my car.... cheapest one i have seen so far is panasonic CQ-RDP383 for £110 (inc del from letsbuycaraudio.com)
Any of you used this site before? are they ok? do you know of any cheaper deals out there?
I dont want to spend too much money on it - but want one that sounds reasonable - i was making the assumption that it will sound good as is an ok brand! my car speakers arent great (old audi a6 - factory fitted nokia speakers - which i am hoping to change one day!!!!)
hornydragon
18-09-2003, 9:04 PM
sony cdxmp40 available for £125 ish and there is a panasonic at the same money
I have the Sony cdxmp40, as mentioned by hornydragon.
I am very happy with this budget headunit.
You can burn an MP3 CD and navigate through albums/folders etc.
A good choice!
Vik,
The Panny can be had from incarexpress.co.uk for £99.99 plus about 6 quid P+P.
I've just ordered the Pioneer 3500. £130 including VAT & Delivery. Due to arrive in the next couple of days. Cheapest by some way and they don't seem to be going over the rop with an inflated P+P price.
The Sony is the same price as the Pioneer too.
Oh, and I have no financial or otherwise interest in their site other than passing on a tip.
Enjoy.
Hugh
One thing worth noting is that the panasonics also play wma files whereas I think none of the others support them.
I bought my nice panasonic 983 from here http://www.mcs-direct.co.uk/index1.asp
Good luck with your shopping
neilybealy
02-10-2003, 10:09 AM
i'm considering getting an mp3 unit to replace my sony but i heard someone say that most mp3 players will pause for a few seconds inbetween tracks?
is this the case with the players mentioned above?
it would be really annoying trying to listen to a dance cd where each track is mixed into the next but you get a 3 second pause whilst the player is reading from the disk
dont think it does... when u burn using nero then u can choose to put in the gaps
i use nero express - there is a box that says no pause between tracks - i have never used it though!
If you are burning mp3's to cd and putting a pause between tracks or not (depending if u tick the box) ...it means you are burning the mp3 files as audio cds and not mp3s.
mp3s files are just data and as such a pause does not apply to them. A computer (or headunit) is just reading the data and decoding it. It is not time based as per a audio track on a audio cd. If you are writing mp3s (nero converting on the fly to audio cd format) then you can of course add a pause or not, up to you. So it will record the mp3 at e.g 3.43 and 2 second pause (standard) as requested.
Vik, do you want a headunit that can play mp3 files or a headunit that can play copied audio cds ? (i.e 10-12 tracks per cd or 40+ tracks per cd) ?
I've got the Panasonic unit, £100 from MCS Direct. It does what I wanted (WMA) but it isn't perfect. You get a slight pause between tracks (only noticable if the two tracks are mixed into each other to make them seamless normally) but it's only a fraction of a second and doesn't really bother me much. What is annoying is how long it takes to load an MP3/WMA CD, must be about 20 seconds. It has to start again after it looses power while you're starting the engine, if you've been waiting for a passenger or whatever and left the ignition on 'electrics on'. It also looks/feels a bit tacky and flimsy, never had a problem with it though. Also I like the fact the display just gives you text, no silly dancing graphics to distract, although it is a bit bright for night driving. Sound quality seems fine, mine's an Impreza that previously just had the standard headunit, this unit has given a big improvement even with the standard speakers.
I'd say it's good value, and I'd buy another, just be aware that you'll find a few flaws.
Good luck,
Ben
hornydragon
13-11-2003, 5:15 PM
Just to let you know i used mcs-direct for a sony hifi for my sister service was great and have no hesitation in reconmending them to you. will be ordering an MP40 soon just hoping to see a price drop first!!!
wozwebs
20-11-2003, 9:44 AM
I purchased the Kenwood KEN-KDCM4524G from Car Audio Direct
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1986&osCsid=5744b63f39ae934b3f0ec0fce46aa9c3
It's a fantastic player and very quick when accessing MP3 tracks. The pause between tracks is less that half a second and it displays the track names via the ID3 tags. Sound is excellent too and you have the option later on to add a DAB pack.
No WMA support though which is only a minor thing for me. Great price and fast delivery also.