How to listen to 55GB of music in my old car?
November 7, 2010 10:12 AM Subscribe
I need an easy way to listen to any of my 55GB of music in my car. I have a Ford Expedition from the late '90s, with a CD player and cassette player. There is no input for a 3.5mm jack. Would it be best to buy a high-capacity mp3 player and then use some sort of adapter to connect it to my car's sound system?
I like listening to my music, and when I go for long drives I want to be able to listen to whatever I want, when I feel like it. I've considered burning CDs, but the whole process seems very archaic and inefficient. I figure buying an mp3 player is the best option.
I looked at the 160GB iPod classic, which would hold all my music and leave room for more, but I'm concerned about longevity. I had a classic iPod for a couple years before it stopped working (either because of a dead battery or HDD). I understand this is expected, but I've read many reports of iPods dying in under a year and $250 is too much for that.
I could go for the 34GB Zune, and though that wouldn't hold all of my music, would the flash HDD last longer?
Once I've decided on an mp3 player, what's the best way to get the music flowing in my car? I've heard FM transmitters are prone to experiencing interference from nearby signals, and cassette adapters tend to make a lot of noise and break easily. I've also looked into car audio receivers, and while they will probably work well, installation seems too complicated and even risky.
So, does anyone have any experience with this?
Ideally, on a long drive with my friends, I'll be able to play songs that suit the mood and listen to them with clarity.
I'd really appreciate any ideas.
P.S. I know I won't be listening to all 55GB of my music during one drive, but I can't predict what songs I'll want to listen to (or what my friends want).
I like listening to my music, and when I go for long drives I want to be able to listen to whatever I want, when I feel like it. I've considered burning CDs, but the whole process seems very archaic and inefficient. I figure buying an mp3 player is the best option.
I looked at the 160GB iPod classic, which would hold all my music and leave room for more, but I'm concerned about longevity. I had a classic iPod for a couple years before it stopped working (either because of a dead battery or HDD). I understand this is expected, but I've read many reports of iPods dying in under a year and $250 is too much for that.
I could go for the 34GB Zune, and though that wouldn't hold all of my music, would the flash HDD last longer?
Once I've decided on an mp3 player, what's the best way to get the music flowing in my car? I've heard FM transmitters are prone to experiencing interference from nearby signals, and cassette adapters tend to make a lot of noise and break easily. I've also looked into car audio receivers, and while they will probably work well, installation seems too complicated and even risky.
So, does anyone have any experience with this?
Ideally, on a long drive with my friends, I'll be able to play songs that suit the mood and listen to them with clarity.
I'd really appreciate any ideas.
P.S. I know I won't be listening to all 55GB of my music during one drive, but I can't predict what songs I'll want to listen to (or what my friends want).
Assuming you want to keep the OEM head unit, I'd start by looking at a wired iPod interface, something like this:
http://www.autotoys.com/x/product.php?productid=7137
Personally, I have a three or four year old 160GB iPod classic that I use in my truck and it works as well as when I bought it.
posted by mosk at 10:18 AM on November 7, 2010
http://www.autotoys.com/x/product.php?productid=7137
Personally, I have a three or four year old 160GB iPod classic that I use in my truck and it works as well as when I bought it.
posted by mosk at 10:18 AM on November 7, 2010
I've used a tape adapter with an ipod for about 5 years now with no problems. I don't flip the tape over at all or even take it out of the tape player. My other car has a input jack, but for some reason doesn't work that well. I actually wish it had a tape player since that has been so much easier to deal with. Granted, the sound quality will be better with a input jack.
posted by aetg at 10:24 AM on November 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by aetg at 10:24 AM on November 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'd definitely avoid the FM transmitter.
The easy way out would be to pick up a cheap car audio cassette adapter and see if the audio quality is decent enough.
If you're up for more tinkering you could try to add an aux input to your car stereo and plug your new mp3 player directly through the headphone jack. My car has an aux-in jack built in and I've been using it endlessly since day 1, also comes in handy when other people have a song on their mp3 player/iphone and they can just plug in and share. The downside here is you wont be able to control the mp3 player with the built-in controls on your car steering if you have those. [You can't skip tracks etc but volume controls would still work which is good enough]
As for mp3 players, I'm still using my first gen 30gb Zune. I've complained endlessly about Microsoft's craptastic customer support, but the hardware is back to working for me: It plays mp3s, which is about all I need.
This question reminded me I'd love to learn how to build my own mp3 player and not have to deal with MS/Apple/et al... future question perhaps!
posted by xqwzts at 10:30 AM on November 7, 2010
The easy way out would be to pick up a cheap car audio cassette adapter and see if the audio quality is decent enough.
If you're up for more tinkering you could try to add an aux input to your car stereo and plug your new mp3 player directly through the headphone jack. My car has an aux-in jack built in and I've been using it endlessly since day 1, also comes in handy when other people have a song on their mp3 player/iphone and they can just plug in and share. The downside here is you wont be able to control the mp3 player with the built-in controls on your car steering if you have those. [You can't skip tracks etc but volume controls would still work which is good enough]
As for mp3 players, I'm still using my first gen 30gb Zune. I've complained endlessly about Microsoft's craptastic customer support, but the hardware is back to working for me: It plays mp3s, which is about all I need.
This question reminded me I'd love to learn how to build my own mp3 player and not have to deal with MS/Apple/et al... future question perhaps!
posted by xqwzts at 10:30 AM on November 7, 2010
seconding aetg. I have a mid-90s mazda and I've used a cassette tape adapter for years without ever taking it out of the tape player and have not had any problems. Occasionally I have to fiddle with the ipod and stereo to get the sound at the right volume with no static or muffling of the sound (for me, I first turn the volume way up on the ipod, then adjust the car's stereo, not vice versa). I had a friend who got a new honda that of course only came with a cdplayer, and she wished she still had a cassette deck because the FM tuner thing for ipods was such a hassle.
posted by wundermint at 10:31 AM on November 7, 2010
posted by wundermint at 10:31 AM on November 7, 2010
I used a cassette-player adapter with an iPod and thought it was good. I was recently on a roadtrip with a friend who has one of the radio adapters, and that was a major pain in terms of finding a signal that worked.
posted by J. Wilson at 10:35 AM on November 7, 2010
posted by J. Wilson at 10:35 AM on November 7, 2010
If you get an FM transmitter get one that lets you pick the station.
Not just that, but you'd want to shop for one that offers a huge range of frequencies. I have an old model that only does 88-90 MHz and 106-108 MHz, and there's so much stuff clogging the airwaves in the big cities that you can't get a good signal (and the 106-108 MHz on that transceiver never sounded good to me to begin with). I would probably comb through Amazon reviews to compare models and make a smart purchase.
posted by crapmatic at 10:37 AM on November 7, 2010
Not just that, but you'd want to shop for one that offers a huge range of frequencies. I have an old model that only does 88-90 MHz and 106-108 MHz, and there's so much stuff clogging the airwaves in the big cities that you can't get a good signal (and the 106-108 MHz on that transceiver never sounded good to me to begin with). I would probably comb through Amazon reviews to compare models and make a smart purchase.
posted by crapmatic at 10:37 AM on November 7, 2010
The AUX inputs work, but it's kind of clunky compared to USB.
I recently bought a Sony head unit with a USB port off Amazon for about $110. There's no need for an iPod; it can read mp3s off a hard drive, thumb drive, card reader- anything that connects to USB. It reads the meta-data of the mp3s so you can search/skip by album using the stereo's built-in controls, rather than fiddling with iPod controls while driving.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:37 AM on November 7, 2010 [2 favorites]
I recently bought a Sony head unit with a USB port off Amazon for about $110. There's no need for an iPod; it can read mp3s off a hard drive, thumb drive, card reader- anything that connects to USB. It reads the meta-data of the mp3s so you can search/skip by album using the stereo's built-in controls, rather than fiddling with iPod controls while driving.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:37 AM on November 7, 2010 [2 favorites]
(My friend and I installed the new head unit with only minor problems. Things are a lot better now that there are manuals available online for whatever model of car you might have- but you can still pay someone to install it if you're not comfortable doing it.)
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:40 AM on November 7, 2010
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:40 AM on November 7, 2010
I tried the Belkin adapter and it was a noisy, worthless piece of shit but I took a chance on a Dynex and it's worked perfectly for a year or so. It's the "house brand" one they sell at Futureshop/BestBuy. I also bought the cigarette power adapter an I'm really pleased. Long drives are so much better. The only thing I find is that it sounds best if the ipod is set to about 2/3 volume.
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:44 AM on November 7, 2010
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:44 AM on November 7, 2010
.... it's the cassette adapter I'm talking about. They only cost about $10.
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:47 AM on November 7, 2010
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:47 AM on November 7, 2010
I looked at the 160GB iPod classic, which would hold all my music and leave room for more, but I'm concerned about longevity. I had a classic iPod for a couple years before it stopped working (either because of a dead battery or HDD). I understand this is expected, but I've read many reports of iPods dying in under a year and $250 is too much for that.
I still think the ipod is your best bet. I've owned several and only one failed after I abused it for 10+ hours a day for many years. As long as you don't leave it in a hot car or drop it, it should last you well over 2 years. 3rd party replacement hard drives are also quite inexpensive.
Back in the early 2000s I owned a FM transmitter and it sucked. I have a tape adapter and it works fine (not the best quality but it is always consistent).
posted by special-k at 10:53 AM on November 7, 2010
I still think the ipod is your best bet. I've owned several and only one failed after I abused it for 10+ hours a day for many years. As long as you don't leave it in a hot car or drop it, it should last you well over 2 years. 3rd party replacement hard drives are also quite inexpensive.
Back in the early 2000s I owned a FM transmitter and it sucked. I have a tape adapter and it works fine (not the best quality but it is always consistent).
posted by special-k at 10:53 AM on November 7, 2010
For not too much more you can get a radio that supports mp3 naively and attach a USB drive to it with your music. The big advantage here is that you don't need to deal with fm transmitters, ipods/zunes, etc.
I recently installed a Blaupunkt Brisbane and have an 8gig USB flash drive attached to it. With this arrangement I use the navigation on the radio itself, which seems to be less distracting than picking up an mp3 player and using its screen and buttons. I believe you can attach a 2.5" USB powered hard drive to the Brisbane and get all the space you want.
In my GF's car I use a zune and an FM transmitter. The quality is much worse, but I did find one FM channel that actually works pretty well. Its still a crapshoot and I have to worry about keeping the zune charged.
If price is a concern you can get the Brisbane for 99 dollars and if you can't install it yourself ask a local mechanic or car audio shop how much they charge. Its still probably less than a nice ipod and FM transmitter. Not to mention it will be less of a target for theives. If someone sees a nice ipod sitting in your car there's a chance of them stealing it.
posted by damn dirty ape at 11:16 AM on November 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
I recently installed a Blaupunkt Brisbane and have an 8gig USB flash drive attached to it. With this arrangement I use the navigation on the radio itself, which seems to be less distracting than picking up an mp3 player and using its screen and buttons. I believe you can attach a 2.5" USB powered hard drive to the Brisbane and get all the space you want.
In my GF's car I use a zune and an FM transmitter. The quality is much worse, but I did find one FM channel that actually works pretty well. Its still a crapshoot and I have to worry about keeping the zune charged.
If price is a concern you can get the Brisbane for 99 dollars and if you can't install it yourself ask a local mechanic or car audio shop how much they charge. Its still probably less than a nice ipod and FM transmitter. Not to mention it will be less of a target for theives. If someone sees a nice ipod sitting in your car there's a chance of them stealing it.
posted by damn dirty ape at 11:16 AM on November 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
I recently bought a new head unit from Crutchfield and it was a fantastic experience. Specifically, I bought the JVC Arsenal KD-AHD69 but you may have a different set of requirements. Essentially, I wanted something that was a single DIN, HD compatible, iPod/USB compatible head unit with a detachable faceplate. I've been extremely happy with it.
I would highly recommend at least using Crutchfield's site to spec out a head unit that has USB input and install that into your Expedition. If it's the right kind of head unit, it will be able to play music from both iPods and cheap USB flash drives (here is a 64GB model for $114), and it will be able to come with you from car to car if you so desire.
posted by kdar at 11:19 AM on November 7, 2010
I would highly recommend at least using Crutchfield's site to spec out a head unit that has USB input and install that into your Expedition. If it's the right kind of head unit, it will be able to play music from both iPods and cheap USB flash drives (here is a 64GB model for $114), and it will be able to come with you from car to car if you so desire.
posted by kdar at 11:19 AM on November 7, 2010
Oh, yeah -- I went the FM transmitter route. Don't bother. They're finicky and cost far too much for the hassle.
posted by kdar at 11:20 AM on November 7, 2010
posted by kdar at 11:20 AM on November 7, 2010
My car had a CD/cassette player, and I would run my iPod through a cassette adapter. It worked, and was cheap, but I got tired of this setup because there were wires everywhere and the sound was really crappy.
I wound up buying a head unit with USB-in from Crutchfield and installed it myself. Took some soldering to mate the head unit to the plug adaptor for my make of car. Minor disappointment that the interior-light dimmer doesn't seem to work on the new head unit. And general disappointment in the amazingly bad control interface for the head unit. But in terms of getting sound off my iPod (or now, iPhone), the situation is much better.
posted by adamrice at 11:40 AM on November 7, 2010
I wound up buying a head unit with USB-in from Crutchfield and installed it myself. Took some soldering to mate the head unit to the plug adaptor for my make of car. Minor disappointment that the interior-light dimmer doesn't seem to work on the new head unit. And general disappointment in the amazingly bad control interface for the head unit. But in terms of getting sound off my iPod (or now, iPhone), the situation is much better.
posted by adamrice at 11:40 AM on November 7, 2010
I was looking for a new head unit recently here in the UK. There seem to be quite a few units that will play MP3s from DVD (I think JVC call them GIGA MP3 players). That would get you 4.7GB of music at a time. My current unit plays MP3s from CD, and even with just a hundred or so MP3s on shuffle I probably only feel the need to swap discs once every could of months. Plus of course most of them have things like AUX input, USB stick and SD card support too.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 11:50 AM on November 7, 2010
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 11:50 AM on November 7, 2010
FM transmitter is a pain in the ass on road trips. Chiming in to say that the tape adapter is a cheap and easy solution. I don't know if your iPod experience is typical. I had one for 5 years where the battery stopped working, but my dad was able to fix and still uses (it's like 7 years old now), and I'm on year three of an 80 GB iPod classic that works just fine. I also have an iPhone that I use with the tape adapter, too, and it works perfectly. I would recommend getting a cheap iPod car charger and that way you're always totally set up for music at anytime.
posted by elpea at 1:49 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by elpea at 1:49 PM on November 7, 2010
If you're trying to do this for next-to-nothing, cassette adapter>FM transmitter.
If you're willing to spend $100-200, nthing spring for the Sony replacement radio with CD and USB input. The USB input on most of their models will let you either control an iPod (including playlists, random play, most major functions) or play direct off a USB drive. If using a USB drive, I recommend still getting a cable, unless you like red lights flickering on your dash at night (the "drive light indicator" most USB drives have) - I found it pretty distracting when my eyes got tired.
I personally think the benefits of an iPod in music management make it worth it, but USB drives are cheaper and if you just want to play it in the car, essentially, and have access to mp3 files that aren't DRMed so that they will work on the USB drive, obviously they're cheaper.
posted by randomkeystrike at 2:24 PM on November 7, 2010
If you're willing to spend $100-200, nthing spring for the Sony replacement radio with CD and USB input. The USB input on most of their models will let you either control an iPod (including playlists, random play, most major functions) or play direct off a USB drive. If using a USB drive, I recommend still getting a cable, unless you like red lights flickering on your dash at night (the "drive light indicator" most USB drives have) - I found it pretty distracting when my eyes got tired.
I personally think the benefits of an iPod in music management make it worth it, but USB drives are cheaper and if you just want to play it in the car, essentially, and have access to mp3 files that aren't DRMed so that they will work on the USB drive, obviously they're cheaper.
posted by randomkeystrike at 2:24 PM on November 7, 2010
I've been using my cassette adapter (same one) since 2000, in two different cars, first with a CD player and now with my iPod nano. As wundermint mentions, I do turn the volume all the way up on the iPod first and then adjust the car stereo volume, and while it does make sort of annoying noises when it's really cold out (<40ish degrees), other than that the sound is okay, not really any worse than the car's built in CD player. My brother has an FM transmitter, and it's ridiculously annoying in comparison to the cassette adapter. I think my cassette adapter is a Sony brand one, and it's definitely held up well (and I have no problems with it playing on the wrong side).
posted by lysimache at 4:26 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by lysimache at 4:26 PM on November 7, 2010
I use the casette adapter and my ipod and it works fine. Clanks a bit, but the sound is good and you're in a pretty rubbish hifi environment in a moving car anyway.
posted by Sebmojo at 4:58 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by Sebmojo at 4:58 PM on November 7, 2010
FM transmitters suck. Tape adapters are great for a few reasons: they're cheap (maybe $20), if they get damaged you hit "eject" and buy another, and the end of the cable dangling out of your stereo makes it clear to thieves that you took the good part of your stereo with you. :7)
The FM transmitter requires you to constantly choose new stations, but also the sound just isn't as good as the tape adapter. I had a cheap-o adapter for a while, and when I stepped up from $9 to $18 (Monster Cable brand, found at Target) it sounded like the difference in clarity between AM and FM!
posted by wenestvedt at 10:25 AM on November 8, 2010
The FM transmitter requires you to constantly choose new stations, but also the sound just isn't as good as the tape adapter. I had a cheap-o adapter for a while, and when I stepped up from $9 to $18 (Monster Cable brand, found at Target) it sounded like the difference in clarity between AM and FM!
posted by wenestvedt at 10:25 AM on November 8, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
I did the tape deck converter thing before I got my new radio. That was annoying as Hell because the tape had to be going in the right direction and it would start going the wrong way and I'd have to flip the tape.
If you get an FM transmitter get one that lets you pick the station. My wife has one with the stations preset, and they all have a station close enough to mess things up.
posted by theichibun at 10:17 AM on November 7, 2010