Do CD Players Need to be Saved?

[Rob]

After reading this article, what do you think?

Why we need to save the CD players!

 

[GizmoQ]

After reading this article, what do you think?

Why we need to save the CD players!

Interesting article, BUT!

O.K. I admit I own both sided of this argument. 5AM carries her personal tunes as CDs which works for me. I can load her 6 disks before a road trip and whenever she tires of my CarPC playlist, she can play hers. CDs are great for transporting good quality reproductions via an accepted widely popular medium. I really don't think they will be going away anytime soon. The ease of use and general worldwide install base tends to make their obsolescence much more difficult than the transition to it from vinyl or cassette.

My personal favorites are the albums/CD I've converted to FLAC files on my CarPC. If you start with a digitally mastered recording, convert it to non compressed FLAC, and play it through a CarPC with active EQ and processing - No CD can touch it for pure reproduction. I have symphonies saved where not only can you pick out individual instruments, but be able to point out where they sit on the stage. Sure audiofile reproduction is only adequate at best in an automotive environment, and I've had megabuck car audio installs in the past that were far superior to the XLR's Bose system, but active EQ and realtime processing is the way of the future.

That future is tenuous at best. Most general consumers are resistant to paying the premium required to achieve (to most) a negligible increase in fidelity, i.e., they don't care enough to pay for it. Audiophile reproductions have always been and will continue to be a very, very tiny market segment in the automotive audio consumer base. This makes the R&D for OEMs less than desirable. OEMs want gimmicks (IMHO) that the general populace of their products see as easier to use/learn and that they can claim to reduce distraction from the primary task - Driving.

I vote keep the CD. That way I don't have to pollute my CarPC with 5AMs playlists.

 

[sschooley]

In my view the more options the better. I love the CD player in my XLR and would also be thrilled if it played cassettes too. Never know when the mood for Grand Funk Railroad or Heart (which I only have on cassettes at the moment) might sweep over me.

Regardless, I vote to rock on in every possible way....

Steve

 

[graytoad]

In my view the more options the better. I love the CD player in my XLR and would also be thrilled if it played cassettes too. Never know when the mood for Grand Funk Railroad or Heart (which I only have on cassettes at the moment) might sweep over me.

Regardless, I vote to rock on in every possible way....

Steve

I love Grand Funk: takes me way back to when Steve & I were dating. .....Sitting on the chrome console of the '63 Impala to be closer to my sweetie..... or later leaning over the console in the '72 Olds Cutlass!
Oh....... lets not forget Deep Purple too!

 

[Crimson Pearl]

My 2002 Tahoe had both a CD Player and a Cassette Player, which was nice. When I bought my 2008 Tahoe, the cassette player had disappeared and the CD player was a 6-disc in-dash unit.

I added an iSimple interface to my Tahoe, which allows me to control my iPod with my stock radio controls as well as display all the information from the iPod on the radio display. Very convenient when traveling down the highway! Unfortunately, they don't make a unit for the XLR.

Sadly, I believe the cassette is gone! And it's not coming back, either. One of my other hobbies is vintage stereo gear, and in addition to cassette, I also have several reel-to-reel decks. There is an undeniable "warmth" to a well-recorded analog tape, but it is probably the domain of the hobbyist now.

Additionally, I have noticed that some of the new cars have an option for various types of "music banks", which are variarions of an onboard music server. One thing that concerns me about a unit like this is the possibility of the memory being corrupted and losing everything stored in it. I have been to more than one Yard Sale where they had their CD Player and all their CDs for sale, as they had transferred the content to MP3 or other files and no longer wanted the CDs.

I still have a factory installed Delco cassette unit in my 1989 S-10 pickup, and an 8-track in my 1976 El Camino!

 

[Lola's Mom]

"Some" of us are technically challenged when it comes to Bluetooth, Ipod, ITune and whatever else is out there .... for me it's either Serius or CD's .... and mostly it's just AM news talk ..... I doubt seriously at my age that I am going to get with it .... I like Rod Stewert just fine on CD and besides, I still love the CD cases with the pictures and information

 

[XLRJIM]

CD's are a very aging technology

Like transcriptions, reel to reel, 8 tracks, and cassettes, CD's are on the way out and soon even DVD's will be obsolete. Technology moves on. Personally I either listen to XM or mp3s. I have not purchased a CD in probably 8 or 9 years, but have done alot of downloads. Admittedly the sound may not be quite as good but it certainly is acceptable to my ancient ears and even my 16 yr old grandson thinks xm sounds great in the XLR. Even in the broadcast business almost every station is playing back on servers now.

 

[rleonard]

This is a good alternative; A record changer

RCA AUTOMATIC 45 RPM CAR RECORD PLAYER MODEL AP-1 1961 DESOTO - YouTube

 

[Lola's Mom]

This is a good alternative; A record changer

RCA AUTOMATIC 45 RPM CAR RECORD PLAYER MODEL AP-1 1961 DESOTO - YouTube

Bob! We saw one of those last week in a Barrett-Jackson car!!!! We had a long conversation about it and that led to 8-track talk, etc .... so funny you should have brought that up!

 

[HOMEGAMEROOM]

All I listen to these days is Pandora (internet radio) through my iPhone on my vehicles (XLR included). I will listen to XM when I get out of cell phone service areas, though there's always iTunes.

I enjoy the comedy channels on satellite radio. I'd probably cancel my subscription if it weren't for them!

 

[mtrocket]

This is a good alternative; A record changer

RCA AUTOMATIC 45 RPM CAR RECORD PLAYER MODEL AP-1 1961 DESOTO - YouTube

I have one out of a 1957 Chevy Belair... really quite amazing!! It is built quite well to absorb the shocks of driving. Saw an advertisement in our local newspaper some 25 years ago for a "automobile record player". Called the guy up, went and looked. He was asking $25... I got it for $15. Works, just missing the small "RCA" buttom in the center. Sitting on the shelf in my auto body shop, it's quite the conversation piece !!!

 

[Cadiblk]

It won't be long before hard drives are standard within stereo systems. There are already many people who are removing their standard stereo and replacing them with tablet PC's. I think that storage of songs and movies on hard drive coupled with having usb ports for thumbdrives, or a compact flash/ micro sd port for memory would be ideal. A small memory device could hold thousands of songs compared to the roughly 20-30 that a CD can hold (dependent upon format).

Coupling a large collection of music with a SIRI type voice activation system would be incredible!

 

[cubby558]

Ford already does it with their 'Sync' system!! Both our Expedition and SHO have hard drives along with ipod/mp3 player hookup and Bluetooth. I can play music from my ipod, the hard drive or stream from my phone via bluetooth!!

..................
Coupling a large collection of music with a SIRI type voice activation system would be incredible!

 

[sbrooks01]

I'm a semi-pro musician, and even I say get rid of them (and substitute an onboard SSD). Audio CD's don't have enough capacity to hold more than an hour of music, so they are no longer practical. The 6-disc changers take up a lot of real estate and have too many moving parts, so there's no doubt that the auto makers will dump them soon. If you're an audiophile and have the least bit of technical skill, you can create high bitrate mp3's that will be difficult enough to distinguish from the CD, especially with the road noise. If Apple and other PC manufacturers have stopped including DVD drives in laptops, it won't be long before you stop seeing CD players in cars. The streaming services like Spotify offer higher bitrate streaming for a small monthly fee that provides commercial free music for almost any song on demand.

 

[madcurl]

Oh please, don't get me started! I love all options. Period. Let me just say that I love my older car w/after market CD and cassette player from 1999 (actually I bought two units, but that one is in the other car). Okay, early this year my CD/Cassette player died on me, so I had to get a newer version w/single CD unit, but little did I know that this newer Pioneer unit doesn't comply with my 12 disc CD changer in the trunk. They stop making units w/connection to 12-disc units, because people are now using MP or Iphone hook-ups.

Really? In my other car that has a CD/Iphone hook-up it at least allowed for a 12-disc changer connection which brings me back to the XLR. Thank goodness I can play at least 6-disc and listen to XM radio. Granted, I can play my cassette nor Iphone, but I'm okay with that for now. I only like the convience of the Iphone for songs I normally can't find, but the majority of music I like I already have on CD.

In conclusion, I seriously think that CD should be continued in cars today. I like XM, but seriously they're starting to get on my last nerve especially w/DJ talking over the music that I'm playing to listen too. What more important, the music of the clown that is talking over the music during the begining of the song and towards the end of the song? Add the problems when you're in the city were tall building abound-the signal will drop. As for my Iphone, that sucks too! I think my CD's sound much better than MP devices. Heck, my 12" records sounds better than my CDs.

 

[arv09]

I like CD players too but really surprised the 09 XLR doesn't have the capability of playing mp3's (at least I don't think it does, nothing in owner's manual) or have an auxillary jack to plug in an iPod, etc. My 09 Nissan Altima has both and I was a bit disappointed that the XLR didn't have either one. I bought the Altima new and that plus Bluetooth was a requirement. Very glad the 09 XLR has Bluetooth. Have been looking at some of the after market devices but want to wait until the homecoming to see everyone else's experience with them.

 

[MarkSki]

I have Sirius Radio (not built in) and the CD. I enjoy both. I don't have any of the other players. I vote to keep the CD players. I also have an O.F. F. button

 

[ECurtis]

I say keep CD's as long as they are being produced.