Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Audio MP3 players

i am thinking of getting one, anybody know of a nice in dash one. the whole idea of being able to listen to ten hours of music on one cd is very appealing to me.

thanks
matt

I have the JVC SH-99 and love it. It is a very solid head unit, offers great expandability, and also offers some tuning via an in-unit equalizer. As far as MP3 playing, it is much faster than my old Aiwa MP3 at reading MP3 files and also has not skipped since I bought it

Other than the JVC, I would recommend Clarion's new MP3 unit, I have not personally tried it but I am a huge fan of Clarion and their products. Prior to the JVC and Aiwa, I owned a Clarion head unit and have nothing but praise for it. Sound was clean, expansion capabilities were great, and the ability to add an equalizer unit that worked through the head unit was great.

Between the Clarion and the JVC, I would recommend the Clarion because of their long-standing reputation. If you are just an average audiophile(like me), the choice will probably depend on which one you find to be more aesthetically pleasing because their specs are virtually deadlocked.

I would have bought the Clarion but it was not available at the time that I purchased my JVC. I'm happy though, the JVC has more than met my needs and has performed flawlessly so far(knock on wood)

If you are looking for more in-depth about specs and the like, you'll just have to wait for Dave or someone to help you out there, I just don't feel comfortable talking about things that I don't completely grasp

Krafty jumped in before I could!

I also have the KDSH-99 from JVC.

It is a solid player, with some nice features and decent power (if you are using its built-in amp, not separate power amps). It has a 24-bit D/A convertor, which is higher than you'll find on most CD players, so the sound reproduction from mp3 and cd is better than most. My only gripe is that my FM sensitivity isn't so great, but it could be that I have a loose antenna connection or something.

Krafty -- you experience this with yours?

Anyway, as far as I can tell, all the cd-based mp3 decks out there work in the same way. They read ID3 tags off the CD, and put the name on the display. Narrow your list down by thinking about the features you want -- remote control, CD Text, TV Tuner for future upgrade, etc. Then see if you can try them out in a store somewhere, or if some CEGer in your area has one that you kinda like. Trust your ears for sound. If you like a particular unit, then buy it.

Take Care,

Brian

yeah thats actually the one ive been looking at. its probably the most aesthetically appealing on ive seen. im not too concerned with radio, just cds, and most of my cds are just burnt mp3s so i figured this would be much more convenient. thanks for the input

matt

I have to recommend the JVC as well. Seems to be the first one I would consider highend while retaining a somewhat affordable price. Plus, I think it is one of the best looking HUs available.

Have a look at the Alpine CDA-7878. Expensive, but as always with Alpine it's top quality. By far the best MP3 CD player I've seen. I'm going to get one to replace my current Alpine CTA-1505R as soon as I can afford the £800 for the UK version (wonder why we always get stung ).

$850 retail for you lot, and it supports XM if that interests you.
Click here for more info on the 7878

Paul.

I got the Sony. CDX-MP459x. Its a sweet unit. But the only bad thing is, is that is doesnt support 1d3 tags. So you have to make songs in to one or two words. Other than thats I like it alot!
Joe