CD-R: Car
Getting your MP3 CDs to play on your car stereo can be tough. Some tips
April 5, 2004
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Alpine IVA-D300 Touch Screen
Great for searching MP3 CD-Rs in your car |
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Sony MDX-9900
In-dash unit can play regular CDs and discs with MP3s |
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| TOP: ALPINE; BOTTOM: SONY |
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In the car, playing MP3s from CD can get a little trickier. Not all car
makers are putting MP3-compatible CD players inside. For instance, while Volkswagen
boasts MP3 as a feature on the New Beetle audio system, there's no mention of
MP3 playback anywhere on MiniUSA.com, Web home of the stylistically
comparable Mini Cooper.
If your new car doesn't have it, there are plenty of after-market in-dash CD players with MP3 compatibility, including most receivers over $200. (Be careful when you're shopping, though: even if a player's description mentions CD-R/RW playback, it doesn't mean that it can read MP3s on the disc. If you don't see "MP3," the player's probably not compatible.) A great place to browse for this gear is Crutchfield.com.
The catch in the car is that it can be hard to navigate to your favorite
track. Often, it's a matter of playing all 150-odd songs in order, or plotting a
quick course to the "Random" or "Shuffle" command and getting a different show
every time. Newer, nicer players like Sony's Xplod CDX-M9900 ($649) have
full-color LCD faces and can show the tracks and folders on a disc more clearly.
The Alpine IVA-D300 in-dash DVD player ($1,500) goes one further, with a
motorized fold-out 7-in. touch-screen display. For convenience and road safety,
its Quick Search file management can sort the MP3s on a CD by artist, title and
other criteria. It also features something called PulseTouch technology — the
LCD emits tiny electrical charges so that you can literally feel the on-screen
buttons.
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