I was looking to replace the standard head unit in my octy vRS and retain the CD autochanger but i have been advised by the spotty youth at Halfords that you can't do that and the entire syatem has to be replaced. Now I am no techy but it's smells a like bulls**t to me ! Does anyone know if the oik is correct or is he pulling my chain ??

The spotty youth at Halfords might be right. I know you can add aftermarket CD Changers to oem stuff but not the other way round I don't think.

yer the youth is right.... unless some one knows of an adptor.... heres why...

the OEM part use diffrent connectors to that of sony kenwood alpine etc...the big brand names use there own style of cables... there sort of like a stange phono cable...(very lose description)... the OEM one is a plastic block full of conenctors...

Joel

yup, canny use old changer on new H/U, best bet is to buy a H/U with mp3 and/or wma play back and rip ya own stuff

yup, canny use old changer on new H/U, best bet is to buy a H/U with mp3 and/or wma play back and rip ya own stuff

yep cd changers are SOOOO 90's

Joel

yup, canny use old changer on new H/U, best bet is to buy a H/U with mp3 and/or wma play back and rip ya own stuff

And then end up with worse sound quality than the original CDs and have to faff around with ripping everything first.

Yes , it does depend on how well you rip the music , but even 320k mp3s don't sound as good as the proper cd.

I was looking to replace the standard head unit in my octy vRS and retain the CD autochanger but i have been advised by the spotty youth at Halfords that you can't do that and the entire syatem has to be replaced. Now I am no techy but it's smells a like bulls**t to me ! Does anyone know if the oik is correct or is he pulling my chain ??

For once they are correct , and if you order off the net you can get a decent HU and CD changer for a lot less than Halfrauds will sell you the HU

And then end up with worse sound quality than the original CDs and have to faff around with ripping everything first.

Yes ' date=' it does depend on how well you rip the music , but even 320k mp3s don't sound as good as the proper cd.[/quote']

i still think for every day listen MP3 offers far more advantages in the long run then a cd changer..... and are you really going to hear that diffrence over the engine, road noise and wind? once you get moving.... only if you have hearing like a BAT!

Joel

thanks guys

i still think for every day listen MP3 offers far more advantages in the long run then a cd changer..... and are you really going to hear that diffrence over the engine' date=' road noise and wind? once you get moving.... only if you have hearing like a BAT!

Joel[/quote']

Yes , I can tell the difference between MP3s and the original CD in my car even when moving.

As for convenience , what is easier when you want some different music?

Eject changer magazine , swap disks.

Go into house , boot up PC , rip CD to MP3 , burn MP3 to CD , return to car.

I have MP3 and a cd changer , and while having the ability to use MP3 disks is handy , the cd changer is far more convenient.

Yes MP3 does have it's place but as a replacement for CDs in all circumstances it fails badly.

I also have a changer in the boot doing nothing.

Installed a Kenwood KDC-W7027 FP-Mask MP3 & WMA HU over Christmas together with some new speakers. At home I don't listen to copied CD's never mind MP3's and WMA's but in my car I find there isn't much difference between a high quality WMA recording and a CD. There certainly isn't enough difference for it to be an issue over engine, road and wind noise.

It depends on the HU, my wifes Fabia has a JVC HU which was far cheaper than my Kenwood and it seems not to decode MP3's as effectively as the kenny. There is definatley a marked difference between MP3's and CD's on the JVC.

I also enjoy getting all the track, artist and album info displayed while playing WMA's and MP3's. Why don't more CD's come with CD text?

Cheers

Lee

yep cd changers are SOOOO 90's

Joel

But mp3 cd changers are THE DADDY

I also find ripping cd's quite theraputic. Plus, with ripped cd's it doesn't really matter if you throw them around a bit and they get scratched 'cos you can just rip another and on and on...

But mp3 cd changers are THE DADDY

Would prefer one of these if it was a bit cheaper.

Kenwood Keg

Lee

Would prefer one of these if it was a bit cheaper.

Kenwood Keg

Lee

mmm ICE jukebox

must admit that i do have a slightly high end H/U, as have all my mp3 H/U's so i can't say what they are like on poopey units(btw i have had 3 mp3 units so far, two have been

With the standard speakers (in most cases) you probably can't tell much difference between a good rip and a normal CD. If you use high end aftermarket speakers then the difference begins to show, and when teamed up with a decent HU and amp you really tell the difference. I think speakers are key. I rip all my CD's (normally 192kbps never lower than 128) and alot of them sound just as good as CD and that's with a fairly decent setup.

As for CD changers, if you've got an iPod (if not invest) you could always hook that up using one of these: http://www.ghc.co.uk/icelink/ all you do is hook it up using your CD changer control. Just think up to 40GB worth of songs.

Alpine units have a media xpander function specifically for mp3 playback. It works quite well I think

At the end of the day then if you're a self confessed audiophile; "messin" with the purity is always going to be an issue.

At the end of the day then if you're a self confessed audiophile; "messin" with the purity is always going to be an issue.

I'm a self confessed audiophile.

Have around a

I'm a self confessed audiophile.

Have around a

well i got my alpine H/U, amps on all speakers(alpine/phoenix gold/directed) and some mb quart components up front, all decent stuff and well ripped mp3's sound very good

Gimme the sound of a decent exhaust, turbo and DV any day of the week!