Ten Hours Of Music Per CD!
Written: Oct 12 '02
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Pros: Price, lots of LED's, sounds good.
Cons: Must buy certain CDR's to avoid skipping. Must install securely.
The Bottom Line: If your wallet can't afford much for an MP3 player, this is the car stereo for you.
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| jimyster's Full Review: Aiwa CDC-MP3 Car CD Player |
INTRO:
Well, about a year and a half ago when I bought my truck it didn't have a CD player. An MP3 player is a good installation being that one CDR of MP3's can hold ten hours of music, and easily replace multi CD changer. Fry's Electronics’ had a weekend sale at $199 with free installation ($40 for mounting parts) and I couldn't say no. My sister actually bought this for me as a Christmas present. But this MP3 player demands a little bit more attention than others I believe being this is comes from the first generation of car MP3 players.
INSTALLATION:
From past reviews, you've probably noticed that proper installation is a very big key for car MP3 players. On MP3's they seem to skip easier than a normal CD would, maybe because of the tight compression. So I highly recommend that this be professionally installed.
LEARNING CURVE:
This player is a little more temperamental than the higher priced ones I believe. After it's initial installation it skipped around more than an excited jumping bean! Every time I'd step on the gas...skip, hit a crack in the pavement...skip, thunder outside...skip, ack! But after awhile I tried various brands of CDR's, and found this makes a big difference. I now use the all 'BLACK MEMOREX CDR's' and they work just fine to this day, no skipping at all. Well, maybe if I hit a pothole, but that's about it. Also, being the faceplate removes, there are two buttons on each side that snap in. These buttons are also sensors, and if not pressed in, it won't turn on. Over time, these plastic buttons become sticky. So maybe every six months put a drop of thin oil, or even baby oil on each button to resolve this problem.
THE PLAYER:
The player itself is very bright looking with tons of lights on it. It shows the time or MP3 playing, or track on the CD. It also offers MP3 ID, but I find I don't use the ID much since the titles are usually the Artist and song name. It's very plastic looking, and I'd prefer something a little less standout.
USING IT:
I don't really do anything fancy when it comes to burning my MP3's. It does offer where you can make number directories, and actually select directories of MP3's on the CDR. Being the price of CDR's really isn't that much, I find it easier to just burn the CD with everything on it's root. I also enjoy a mixture of music and don't care to categorize it. I've tried a few CD-RW's, but they didn't seem to sound as good to me.
FEATURES:
This player is strong on mid-bass, and can be adjusted. So if you’re looking to hook up a thumper, you might want to consider a different unit. It offers time readout, MP3 readout, MP3 ID. There is an input jack where you can jack in another device to play through the speakers. Some have jack a full desktop system into this to play MP3's. It offers the standard balance and fade options found on most stereo's. The faceplate comes off and fits into a plastic holder that is very durable. It has a forward and reverse to select the MP3 or track. If you hold in the forward or reverse, it will fast forward or rewind inside the MP3 or track. The MP3's play as nice as a normal CD. Normal CD's play well in this also.
CONCLUSION:
This is a fine stereo for the price; just make sure to use the Black Memorex CDR's. Or experiment to find your own brand. Yes, I'd recommend this, but these days you can add another $100 and get a name brand MP3 stereo that is much nicer.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 199
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Epinions.com ID:
jimyster
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Location: Carrollton, TX
Reviews written: 33
Trusted by: 3 members
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