fredbert

I just can't deal with all the mindless chatter on the radio around here anymore! In fact, I rarely tune in now, except for AM traffic and news reports. As much as I like listening to the hummin' Cummins, I want a little variety, but that means fooling with a stack of CDs. One solution is a CD changer, but a MP3 player combined with a FM transmitter has a lot of advantages: much greater capacity, nothing to install (car to car switchable), less expensive and it's also a standalone MP3 player. My only concerns are sound quality and overall reliability when used in this way. Anyone with such a setup care to share their experiences? Any specific make/model recommendations? Thanks, guys!

PS: This is the setup I'm looking at for now.

MP3 player: http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Prod...o.aspx?ID=1208
FM transmitter: http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Item...ansmitter.aspx

Begle1

Another thing is that, if you get a new head unit with MP3 playback, you can burn 10 vinyls onto a single CD-ROM. Not the 1,000 vinyls that you get with a seperate MP3 player, but enough to keep me occupied between the "Black Sabbath" CD, the two "Rush" CD's, the "AC/DC" CD and the "Led Zeppelin" CD.

A new head unit could also be XM/ Sirius compatable...

If you do get a seperate MP3 player, AVOID CREATIVE LIKE THE PLAGUE. Their hardware is good, but there software is a pointless liability that should never be installed on any computer ever.

hotdram

I would go for the MP3 player type option.
Another route instead of the FM modulator, which can sound "OK" depending on your stock stereo is to get something that you hook to the back of the stock stereo and gives you RCA inputs to the radio. You could then hook up your portable MP3 player to that via direct connection. Sound will be much better.
My BIL ordered a device like I mentioned above to connect to the stock radio in their Honda Odyssey. Sounds great. Here is where he ordered it from:

Click Here


This may be the one you need, I would verify it with PIE (click the picture for more info):



~Rob

Duallydog

The advantage of a CD changer is you can buy cds and put them right in your changer and not have to remove it when your done listening. Other than that the MP3 with FM doesen't sound so good. Works well if you will be in and out of your truck and want to listen when you aren't in it. Go with a complete MP3 player is my vote.

fredbert

Any make/model recommendations for the MP3 player, or other thoughts?

waldersha

I picked up a FM modulated JVC 12 disc changer off of ebay. Got it pretty cheap ($100 or so) and it will play discs loaded with MP3's. So I have about 75 albums loaded on those 12 cd's. It would take me a couple of months to go through all of them straight through. Plus, I don't think that it sounds bad, especially with the cummins hummin' along with it.

Dave88LX

Just get a CD-player deck that has the capability to read MP3 format. No nonsense playing with external changers or an external MP3 player.

www.crutchfield.com , read allllll about them.

jon96ctd

my problem is that I scratch up CD's a lot, I currently have a MiniDisc deck(yeah, they still make those things) and a CD changer under the seat that I can access while driving. The MD's are WAY better than CD's but I'd rather have an MP3 player with everything on it that I can take in my car, truck or with headphones on my bike, stereo in my room...or wherever else I want my music, without having to take MD/CD cases with me.

if you're worried about sound quality, don't get the FM transmittor, it's not bad and is a cost effective and easy solution but most decks have RCA inputs and a lot are coming with USB inputs in the face now. I'm planning on getting a couple mini-sd cards for my motorla Q phone and using that for my .wma player as it's got windows media player on it and I can use its' USB or headphone jack for output.
plus it's easy to buy and download albums instead of buying a CD.

Fronty Owner

I had an MP3 player in my frontier, I replaced it with a single disk player.

the mp3 player you have to start the mp3 player each time, you start at the begining of the song each time, and one CD will get you about 12 hrs.

garretch

i have a stock stereo with xm radio. the xm is great because there are no comercials. the fm transmiter works okay but there is a bit of static. sorta like when you are at the reaches of the radio station. and you have to keep searching for a 'free' station. i commute about 100miles tho. the rca inputs work better.
i was looking at the crutchfield mag the other day and saw sony has a deck that has a detachable face that has a memory to hold mp3's.
i think i'm just going to upgrade my stock stereo with built in xm.

H2SRDMB

i got a kenwood headunit that plays mp3`s off cd . also has input for serius so it can be controlled by the remote and head unit. it also has rca input too wich i hook the laptop/ipod/etc up to to play music.not a bad way to go. but i wish i had sat radio. xm has an awsome bluegrass station!!