Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Car Audio: MiniDisc

This is topic Car Audio: MiniDisc in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 12-01-2002, 02:22 PM:

My MD deck in my car died. The only two manufacturers that I know of who make MD units for the car are Sony and Kenwood. I haven't had the best of luck with my Sony MD products. I'm thinking of going for the Kenwood. Anybody have any suggestions? Do you know of any other manufacturers that make a car MD reciever? Thanks for the help.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 12-01-2002, 03:55 PM:

Ken,

While I love my MD portables (I have two), I still prefer CDs for home and car use. There is nothing like listening to a brand new CD in the car as soon as I buy it. With a car MD deck, you will first have to get the CD home and than make a MD copy. Only after you had done that, you can play the MD copy in your car. I have been using Honolulu's excellent bus system lately and have have been using a Sony Sports portable CD player instead of one of my Sony MD portables because the sound it too soft. I have heard that other brands have MD player that can play discs at a much louder volume. I want to buy another brand but only Sony is available in Hawaii.

-Claude

Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 12-01-2002, 05:23 PM:

Claude,

Thanks for the info. I, too, would love to be able to listen to a CD in my car as soon as I buy it, but as far as I'm concerned, you can't beat the convenience of MD's. And if I want to, I could also get a CD changer to go along with my MD reciever, so I could have the best of both worlds. If you're looking for the best MD gear around, check out www.minidisco.com. You'll find lots of other manufacturers besides Sony.

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 12-01-2002, 05:30 PM:

I am intrigued with the idea of running MP3 in the car. In theory you could record hours of music on one CD. The only thing holding me back is that I am no longer interested in fiddling with music. I have no interest in spending hours ripping my CD collection.

So my car has the factory AM/FM Stereo still installed. [thumbsdown]

And no, that's not my car on the left.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 12-01-2002, 05:56 PM:

Crutchfield has Sony, Kenwood, and Blaupunkt MiniDisc receivers.

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 12-01-2002, 06:27 PM:

Ian, you should visit Film-Tech Jr., I here they have lots of music for download. [Smile]

If Kenwood's MiniDisc head units are anything like their regular head units I wouldn't want it. [thumbsdown]

Posted by Andy Muirhead (Member # 712) on 12-01-2002, 06:42 PM:

Ken, I swear by my portable MD unit, I take it everywhere including patching it into the non-sync at work!

When i'm in my car, I use one of those cassette adapters which plug into the cassette slot on my car radio with a wire trailing out which has a 3.5mm jack to plug into the output on my MD. Just another option for you, although it does help if you actually have a tape deck in your car!

Posted by Ray Brown (Member # 1449) on 12-01-2002, 07:32 PM:

quote:
I am intrigued with the idea of running MP3 in the car. In theory you could record hours of music on one CD. The only thing holding me back is that I am no longer interested in fiddling with music. I have no interest in spending hours ripping my CD collection.

I've been using Music Match Jukebox for the last few years and the free version rips cds at 10x normal playmode.
Music Match

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-01-2002, 08:28 PM:

I have had 2 Sony MiniDisc car systems. I took the bad one out and installed it into my girlfriends (at the time) car. I think she has been in 3 wrecks since then so I doubt it's working too well now. My current one is still running strong, however. I do agree that Sony does not make quality products. At least anything that has moving parts, anyway. They also are more expensive than they are worth. But this one is still running great, so something must have went wrong when they made my particular unit.

I have a Kenwood home unit and it is very reliable. It could be better thought out, though. Maybe try that Blank-put or whatever it is at Crutchfield.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 12-01-2002, 08:29 PM:

Didn't Sanyo build one? I thought Sharp built one, also.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 12-01-2002, 08:46 PM:

Alpine has 3 MiniDisc models. The MDM-7741 can be found online for about $160.

Maybe the ultimate list of car MiniDisc systems: here Sanyo is on that list (not Sharp though). They claim Wal-Mart is selling the Sanyo for $65!

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-01-2002, 08:49 PM:

Oooo Alpine! I'd be interested in that!

Posted by Matt Close (Member # 996) on 12-01-2002, 08:54 PM:

I believe Pioneer also does single and multi units for there P-bus system

Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 12-02-2002, 07:15 AM:

Okay, so I'm not big on what's hot an what's not when it comes to car audio, but I do recognize most brand-name manufacturers. Blauwho?? [Confused]

I used to have a tape deck in my car, but it died. So I decided if I was going to spend some money on a new car stereo, I might as well get a MiniDisc receiver. The Alpine models look expensive. And I don't trust a site that sells something with a MSRP of nearly $400, for only $160. (Anyone have any suggestions regarding that site? If it's trustworthy, I'll probablly go for that model, since it seems so reasonabley priced.)

David, thanks for the link. Especially the one that lists all the car MD players!

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 12-02-2002, 11:03 AM:

Blaupunkt was (still is?) a German company well-known for very high-quality car audio products, at least in the past. I have no idea what their stuff is like these days. They've been around for a LONG time though.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-02-2002, 11:21 AM:

Ken, the MD unit sells for $160, but shipping is probably $240. That's how online companies get ya. I know a guy who works in shipping all day, and to send a car radio over the most expensive Fed Ex overnight would probably only cost $15 at most.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-02-2002, 06:07 PM:

A few comments on this thread.

Shipping: I can't comment on FedEx, but their overnite rates are comparable to UPS, which we do have an account with. The cheapest UPS published rates go from $15.75 to $30.50 to ship a 4-pound car stereo overnight. (The difference depends on the distance it's shipped.) Large companies of course get discounted rates.

As for "list prices" on stereo equipment (or anything else, really), they are largely meaningless. They are only for advertising purposes. Anyone who EVER pays "list price" or "suggested retail" for anything should be whacked upside the head with an expired Visa card. The theatre industry has really missed the boat on this one... We should all be advertising movie prices as "LIST PRICE $18.99, Your cost ONLY $7.50." We would all be hailed for our excellent discounting.

As for Pioneer making a MD unit....they don't, at least not in their regular line. They might have one in the Premier line.

Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 12-02-2002, 07:09 PM:

For those of you with classic cars, check out Custom Auto Sound. They specialize in making state-of-the-art sound systems for classic rides and have a wide range of products at decent prices...they even have a c.d. package. Their sound systems are custom made to fit into the stock dashes of classic cars.

Posted by Aldo Baez (Member # 790) on 12-03-2002, 12:58 PM:

I don't have a MiniDisc, but I do haev an iRock:
iRock
It's an FM wireless transmitter. Basically you plug it into the headphone jack of any cdplayer/minidisc/mp3 player, and it transmits the sound over 4 fm channels so you just tune your car radio into whichever channel you program it to. I have one and it works awesome, no wires, no fiddling with your car, just plug this in and tune in. This allowed me to purchase a refurbished ipod ($200 for 5 gigs) and I'm in heaven with hours of music in my car. Best of all its only $30.