music alternative December 10, 2004, 07:16:50 am Yahoo Message Number: 47580Hi, yall. I am mostly a lurker and still a wannabee. I do follow all posts though and I learn a lot. One thread I have been following is the "music thru connecting an ipod to the stereo" thread, and I have yet to see an alternative listed, that, bluntly, would be my choice. Most moderately priced and higher in dash stereos in this day and age will play mp3s directly from the cd. My choice would be to have a cd player that plays those. Each CD would hold 150-250 songs (depending on length) which should be plenty. CDs could be recorded based on genre and taste, and once recorded would be easy enough to change (depending on whose driving. My wife is a rocker and I am a redneck). Admittedly, you have to have a computer with a cd recorder in it, but few have been sold in the last 5 years that don't have that. My newest Crutchfield catalog lists indash cd players with mp3 capablity starting at $139 (btw, www.crutchfield.com is a really good audio visual source. If they sell you something for your vehicle, it comes with instructions tailored to your specific vehicle, thought I haven't tried Ford E350 or 450s yet *g*). additionally, they sell a device that you can hook to your stereo that gives you that huge storage an ipod does, if you really want it, for $299, though, as I say, i would just opt for the cd player. And if you really don't want to install the cd yourself, heck if you buy one from Circuit City or Best Buy, worst case installaion if about $75, and if you time it right (or negotiate good) you can get it installed for free. Just my .02. Now returning you to your regularly scheduled postings, as I return to the shadows....Lurker Wannabee
Re: music alternative Reply #1 – December 10, 2004, 08:33:56 am Yahoo Message Number: 47583"I have yet to see an alternative listed, that, bluntly, would be my choice. Most moderately priced and higher in dash stereos in this day and age will play mp3s directly from the cd. My choice would be to have a cd player that plays those." Good point, Lee! I don't know whether the Sony (?) in-dash stereo that LD is installing these days can play MP3s, but that feature is rapidly becoming standard even in low-end CD players (of all kinds). Anybody who's installing an aftermarket dashboard stereo would be foolish not to get one that also handles CDs with MP3 files. One such disc will hold about ten audio CDs worth of music, which is more than most of us could listen to in a day of driving. ;-) When I installed an Aiwa AM/FM/CD unit in Gertie a few years ago to replace the original AM/FM/cassette player, I made certain that it would also play MP3 files. I used that capability for years, and still occasionally do. Depending on the size of your music library, it may be all you need. But I have hundreds of audio CDs, covering everything from medieval plainsong to bluegrass to 1920s jazz to rockabilly to Tuvan throat singing, and I never know what I'll be in the mood for. And as a fulltimer-to-be, I needed to have all my music in the smallest possible space. So an iPod made good sense *for me*: I can fit close to 300 CDs worth of music in a device the size of a deck of cards, and transferring music to the iPod is a lot faster than burning CDs full of MP3s. (Plus, it acts as an address/phone book and calendar...and see my next post for another nifty iPod trick!) No one music solution fits everybody, and while iPods are great, the much less expensive MP3-on-disc route may work just fine for you. By the way, even if you have an old AM/FM/ cassette player in your LD's dash, you can still play MP3s--you can buy a portable CD/MP3 player (DiscMan style) for as little as thirty or forty bucks, and use a $10 cassette adapter (discussed a few days ago) to play it through your old dashboard stereo. As long as your computer can burn CDs, that's a good cheap solution.Andy Baird
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: music alternative Reply #2 – December 10, 2004, 11:05:50 am Yahoo Message Number: 47602At 02:33 PM 12/10/2004 +0000, you wrote:QuoteBy the way, even if you have an old AM/FM/ cassette player in your LD's dash, you can still play MP3s--you can buy a portable CD/MP3 player (DiscMan style) for as little as thirty or forty bucks, and use a $10 cassette adapter (discussed a few days ago) to play it through your old dashboard stereo. As long as your computer can burn CDs, that's a good cheap solution. Another cool idea! Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. I now have so many good ways of listening to my music that will work as well at home as in the LD...once I've decided which way to go, I can get started organizing and transfering my music.I love this list!Sonsie
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: music alternative Reply #3 – December 10, 2004, 07:53:43 pm Yahoo Message Number: 47625On Fri, 2004-12-10 at 14:33 +0000, Andy Baird wrote:QuoteGood point, Lee! I don't know whether the Sony (?) in-dash stereo that LD is installing these days can play MP3s, but that feature is rapidly becoming standard even in low-end CD players (of all kinds). The current LD radio is the "Sony Xplod CDX-F5000 CD Receiver / Changer Controller". A link: http://www.zalmar.com/detail-Audio-Sony-CDX_F5000.htmNo MP3 in CD player. But XM ready?Alex Rutchka '05MB Gonnabee in Feb.
Re: music alternatives Reply #4 – December 11, 2004, 09:08:55 am Yahoo Message Number: 47641"No MP3 in CD player. But XM ready?" I looked into this recently. It turns out that "XM ready" just means the Sony radio is smart enough to display XM channels...after you add an aftermarket XM tuner, an adapter box and an antenna, at a total cost about $100. And install that antenna, of course... ;-)Andy Baird
Re: music alternatives Reply #5 – December 12, 2004, 12:06:06 am Yahoo Message Number: 47685Quote "No MP3 in CD player. But XM ready?"I looked into this recently. It turns out that "XM ready" just means the Sony radio is smart Quoteenough to display XM channels...after you add an aftermarket XM tuner, an adapter boxQuoteand an antenna, at a total cost about $100. And install that antenna, of course... ;-)Quote Andy Baird Thanks, Andy. You just answered a question I was going to post, about the "XM ready" Sony radio in our '02 LD. We just got a new Honda Odyssey that has an XM radio. We enjoy it, and just subscribed to XM. Since we had the subscription, the question of the radio in the LD came up. Now that I know the answer, I think we'll continue to listen to books on CD, on the 10 CD changer, rather than spend another $100 on all it would take to bring the LD XM radio up to speed. I still have to check out all those sites you posted about finding audio books on-line. Thanks!Sharon N.
Re: music alternatives Reply #6 – December 12, 2004, 11:13:43 am Yahoo Message Number: 47707"We just got a new Honda Odyssey that has an XM radio. We enjoy it, and...the question of the radio in the LD came up. Now that I know the answer, I think we'll continue to listen to books on CD, on the 10 CD changer, rather than spend another $100 on all it would take to bring the LD XM radio up to speed." I love having XM radio in both the car and in Gertie, but I use the same receiver (a Delphi SkyFi) in both places, as well as at home and in a portable boombox. The trouble with XM- ready dashboard radios like the ones in your Odyssey and LD is that even if you ignore the extra cost to make them actually *work* with XM, they are stuck in the dashboard of a single vehicle. Unfortunately, both XM and Sirius charge you $7 a month for each additional receiver. That means if you want to listen to satellite radio in your Odyssey and also in your Lazy Daze, you will be paying $17 a month instead of the $10 you're paying now. The portable receivers like SkyFi, MyFi and Roady avoid this, because you pay for only one receiver and take it with you wherever you like, dropping it into a mounting cradle in your car, your motorhome, your home stereo system or your boombox. Even if I were to buy a new car or LD that came with a built-in fully functional satellite radio, I'd continue to use my SkyFi XM receiver instead, for just this reason: one $10 monthly fee lets me listen to satellite radio anywhere I want.Andy Baird
Re: music alternatives Reply #7 – December 12, 2004, 12:47:14 pm Yahoo Message Number: 47717Are you referring to the "Delphi SA50000 XM SKYFi Radio Receiver?"If so, Amazon has it new for $80 OFF list at $39.99 - See: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002GTNG4/qid=1102877050/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/002-0752427-0511206?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846>best, paul
Re: music alternatives Reply #8 – December 12, 2004, 02:46:38 pm Yahoo Message Number: 47727Paul,Great price. Thanks for the heads-up.Barry 2001 RB TX
Re: music alternatives Reply #9 – December 12, 2004, 04:41:25 pm Yahoo Message Number: 47740"Amazon has [the SkyFi receiver] for...$39.99" Wow! That's dirt cheap! I just ordered one to keep as a backup, in case anything ever happens to my current SkyFi (like if I drop it down a storm drain or something ;-). The reason for this low price is undoubtedly the recent introduction of SkyFi 2 (about $100), which looks almost identical to the original SkyFi and works with all the same accessories, but adds a clock, a sleep timer, stock/sports ticker capability and one or two other features. I don't care about any of these new features, and I prefer the original SkyFi's warm orange display to Skyfi 2's cool blue-white display, so for me the original is the best, especially at an under-$40 price! But I thought people ought to be aware of the alternatives before they buy. Thanks for the tip, Paul!Andy Baird
Re: music alternatives Reply #10 – December 17, 2004, 10:14:58 pm Yahoo Message Number: 48006Quote from: Andy Baird" [snip] "Even if I were to buy a new car or LD that came with a built-in fully functional satellite radio, I'd continue to use my SkyFi XM receiver instead, for just this reason: one $10 monthly fee lets me listen to satellite radio anywhere I want.Andy Baird"Thanks for the info. Christmas is coming, and that sounds like a gift suggestion to me! ;^)Sharon N.
music alternative Reply #11 – December 10, 2004, 10:58:51 am Yahoo Message Number: 47600QuoteJust my .02. Now returning you to your regularly scheduled postings, as I return to the shadows.... Who was that masked man/woman- maybe the Phantom? What say you Kemosabe(sp)?[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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