Good USB CD player?

[FR-S2GT86]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

What's a CD?






jk

- Andrew

Ha ha! Hey nobody ever thought vinyl records would ever come back, right?

[ZDan]

Another Q (also asking in infotainment forum):
With '23 BRZ, do I have to have Starlink to play music through the USB?

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

What's a CD?






jk

- Andrew

Obviously the the 2nd gen cars don't have a CD player, my '18 Mazda 3 that the finance now drives doesn't have one either.

I have one of those huge CD booklets we all had years ago filled with stuff that I don't think I've opened in about 10 years because you can just do it wirelessly with your phone and not have to carry around a bunch of stuff.

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by FR-S2GT86

Ha ha! Hey nobody ever thought vinyl records would ever come back, right?

We have developed a vinyl addiction the last few years. We've got probably 400-500 now?

[FR-S2GT86]

Originally Posted by OkieSnuffBox

We have developed a vinyl addiction the last few years. We've got probably 400-500 now?

I'm sort of a hybrid how I collect music now. I've still got all of my cassette tapes that I gathered through the 80's and early 90's, 200 or so, none of which get played anymore. Still collecting CD's since the early 90's when I did the switch, probably over 1000 of these, and have but a handful of vinyl records.

Now, in addition to the physical CD's, I get the electronic copies from Amazon via AutoRip (or whatever they're calling it now), and also strictly electronic versions of singles when I don't purchase an entire album. My phone is mostly packed with singles and just a few full albums that I can't get on Physical media. MP3 or WAV format is mostly what I use. CD and WAV is the highest quality for me. Have not tried any other format in any of my vehicles. Storage is getting so cheap now that I could probably transfer all my CD's into WAV files but that would take forever. It's just easier for me to pop a CD into the slot and go.

[vindiesel]

I’m so happy you brought this up! Not to piggy back on this thread anyone have an adapter for my vinyl player? I removed the glove box to account for the space to wire up to Apple car play.

[MyHybridBurnsGasAndTires]

apple music will let you download all your music to your device at lossless quality if you want


spotify premium will let you download at "very high" quality which is probably 256 or 320kbps


the market for the product you're looking for is absolute dogshit because who on earth is going to invest in quality products for this kind of market

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by MyHybridBurnsGasAndTires

apple music will let you download all your music to your device at lossless quality if you want


spotify premium will let you download at "very high" quality which is probably 256 or 320kbps


the market for the product you're looking for is absolute dogshit because who on earth is going to invest in quality products for this kind of market

I'm not convinced the average person can tell, especially in a loud economy car with a crap stereo.

Years ago there was a blind test done where all these "audiophiles" could swear it was worth paying for the crazy high quality cables from the amp/receiver to the speakers.

They couldn't tell the difference between high priced wires and coat hangers.

https://www.engadget.com/2008-03-03-...cable-and.html

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by ZDan

It's about playing music from other devices, not aftermarket head units. From Crutchfield link:
In this article, we'll discuss the best options for playing music from your phone or other device in the car. Hint: USB connection provides the best sound while Bluetooth streaming is the most convenient. Get the details below.

Here's a link to a CD player that uses USB:
https://www.amazon.com/CD-DVD-Player...29&sr=1-5&th=1

i see how that link claims functionality, but my experience is anything but.

USB-anything is essentially a 2-person 'discussion' between electronic devices. the device being plugged in must know enough about what it's being plugged into to be able to talk to it.

but at the same time, anything that supports USB needs to be capable of expecting to be able to control the device, and know what language is being spoken.

if either isn't 'speaking the right language', nothing happens.

in the manual(page 134-135), the oem radio specifically identifies the USB port is only compatible with usb drives, and ipod/iphone units. while android auto is talked about, they don't specifically identify compatibility.


what will work is a bluetooth cd player like this unit. bluetooth is actually a more universally-accepted audio playing format, and should do everything you need it to. it's possible this might be able to charge from the head unit USB, but not guaranteed.
https://www.amazon.com/Oakcastle-CD1...43&sr=8-5&th=1

[tiger1964]

OK, for us tech-challenged, if I buy that, where on the Subaru's stereo do I plug that USB wire?

Originally Posted by ZDan

It's about playing music from other devices, not aftermarket head units. From Crutchfield link:
In this article, we'll discuss the best options for playing music from your phone or other device in the car. Hint: USB connection provides the best sound while Bluetooth streaming is the most convenient. Get the details below.

Here's a link to a CD player that uses USB:
https://www.amazon.com/CD-DVD-Player...29&sr=1-5&th=1

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by tiger1964

OK, for us tech-challenged, if I buy that, where on the Subaru's stereo do I plug that USB wire?

i believe it's in the center console.


also, a guy on the tacoma forums bought one, and reported it works great with his 2020 trucks radio. so there's a good chance that it'll work in a '23 brz/86.

color me surprised.

[tiger1964]

Originally Posted by soundman98

i believe it's in the center console.

Thanks! We did find a place to plug in my wife's phone there. I'm still behind the curve rather a lot and do not clearly understand the difference between such a connection for power, and one for transmitting data. So, I guess the signal will find it's way from the console to the stereo head unit...

Probably all on page 417 of the owners' manual.

Yeah - the "Highway HiFi" setup in post 20 is more my speed.

[bcj]

I got the poverty spec head unit in my '13, so it doesn't do a whole lot of stuff.
It has buttons and dials and a small LCD about the size of the Toyota clock.

I put a bunch of songs on a PNY thumbnail sized USB stick.
It plugs in the console USB slot and the rubber cover almost covers it up.

You can use the ring around the volume button to shift up and down between albums and back & forth on the songs.
It doesn't display the album name, only the number of the folder.
It will display the first few words of the song title if it's short enough to make a difference.
Won't shuffle worth a damn.

[Flarpswitch]

Every one of my CDs and old Vinyl LPs can be found on Apple Music and other streaming services. Life is too short to rip your collection to a MP3 CD or a USB drive. One day, a CD popped out of the radio on my almost five year old Subaru Ascent that I forgot that was there let alone that the CD player was available. I just stream off the internet most of the time and if I think the cell coverage is sketchy, I make sure the selections are downloaded onto my iPhone. I do the same thing for Podcasts too. If you choose to use USB memory, you can easily fit enough on one to handle a 5,000 mile road trip. I used to use an iPod classic 80 GB and calculated that if I started playing on New Years Day, it would play through Halloween continuously and not get a repeat.