Best MP3 Player?

[Green Speed]

I'm going to be in the market for an MP3 player for my car in the next couple of months. Just wondering what you guys would suggest as the best player. Links to reviews and maker's homepages would also be helpgul.
thanks, J

[GregFarz78]

For what price you can spend up to like $700...I believe alpine makes one now and the pioneer one is nice too...I personally like my jvc I picked up for about $300 with basically all the same features as the rest on the market.

[Gimli]

If you're looking for something cheap enough but REALLY big I'd look into either the Neo Car Jukebox (http://www.ssiamerica.com/products/neo35/index.html) or a portable player with an FM modulator. I just installed an Archos Recorder 20 (http://www.archos.com/us/products/product_jbrecorders.html) in my console and I must say that I'm very pleased with it.

If you're looking for good prices, I bought mine at http://www.hotmp3gear.com, good prices, fast (and free) shipping (and no, I'm not affiliated with them in any way!) :D

I find that head units with MP3 compatibility are just WAY too expensive for the little advantages they have over these 2 solutions I just described.

[GregFarz78]

Originally posted by Gimli
If you're looking for something cheap enough but REALLY big I'd look into either the Neo Car Jukebox (http://www.ssiamerica.com/products/neo35/index.html) or a portable player with an FM modulator. I just installed an Archos Recorder 20 (http://www.archos.com/us/products/product_jbrecorders.html) in my console and I must say that I'm very pleased with it.

If you're looking for good prices, I bought mine at http://www.hotmp3gear.com, good prices, fast (and free) shipping (and no, I'm not affiliated with them in any way!) :D

I find that head units with MP3 compatibility are just WAY too expensive for the little advantages they have over these 2 solutions I just described.

Neo jukebox $300

JVC head unit $300

I had a neo it was decent but didnt have the best features for that kinda money. Sound quality was seriously lacking too. How do you figure head units have little advantages over portable mp3 players, they have TONS of advantages. Only thing head units dont have a 20gb hard drive other than that they are much more versatile. I'd put my money into a head unit.

Check out either the JVC KD-SH707 for about $240 or the new KD-LH2000 for about $300. I've had mine for about almost a year now and absolutely love it, next year will be time for a new one though :thumbs:

[Gimli]

Originally posted by GregFarz78


Neo jukebox $300

JVC head unit $300

I had a neo it was decent but didnt have the best features for that kinda money. Sound quality was seriously lacking too. How do you figure head units have little advantages over portable mp3 players, they have TONS of advantages. Only thing head units dont have a 20gb hard drive other than that they are much more versatile. I'd put my money into a head unit.

Check out either the JVC KD-SH707 for about $240 or the new KD-LH2000 for about $300. I've had mine for about almost a year now and absolutely love it, next year will be time for a new one though :thumbs:

Well, I've never heard the Neo car jukebox so I can't really comment on the sound quality. My Archos though has very good sound quality, was easy to install, didn't require me to relocate my head unit and can be used anywhere, not just in the car. It also doubles up as a removable hard drive to take any file anywhere I go and keeps me from carrying 25 CDs around with my MP3s on. I can have the number of playlist I want and over 13 days of continuous music listening without ever hearing the same song twice...

I respect your choice but I'd like to know what kind of versatility you get with a head unit that a portable unit keeps you from having...

[Mattcoool]

my pioneer 7400MP is great. I would LOVE to be able to afford the pioneer 8400MP, that is a bad a$$ deck. Look into it.

[mitro]

I've got the Pioneer Premier P840MP So far its been great. CD-R/RW, MP3, WMA, and XM ready. http://www.etronics.com has it for $398. the MSRP I believe is $620.

[mikes00GAGT]

Sony makes 4 units that will play MP3:

CDX-MP30 - about $250
CDX-MP70 - about $500
MEX-5DI - about $1000
MEX-1HD - about $1500

*MP30 is entry level
*MP70 adds motorized CD tray
*5DI also has motorized CD tray, as well as a 32,000-color TFT LCD which you can load your own pictures into - REAL COOL LOOKING!!!
*1HD - also has motorized CD tray as well as a 10GIG internal hard drive, it rips CD's onto it's HD in 8x the speed - REAL COOL!!!

If you have more questions about these units visit Sony XPlod (http://www.xplodsony.com) or email me, I actually have the MEX-1HD installed in my car and I love it!!!

[Mattcoool]

i would stay way from sony, all of my friends have bought them and had bad experiences.

[Green Speed]

Thanks guys, I am really looking forward to getting a REAL paycheck next month. I really want to buy something for my car an MP3 player tops the list (but I could be talked into a new exhaust ummmm Borla). Keep me up dated if you find a really sweet deal.

[mikes00GAGT]

I have owned Sony for many years and never had a problem. I believe they have finally gotten their act together and are making better pieces. Their Amps and Head Units are definitely ones to contend with brands like Kenwood, Panasonic, Pioneer, and even Clarion. They not only have the style, but also have the functionality and durability you should expect from any high-quality Car Audio equipment. Their speakers and subs are definitely coming along as well. Has anyone seen (or heard) the new XPlod Ford Focus cars? September's Auto Sound & Security ran a special on the "Orange" Xplod Focus and that thing is WILD!!!

Here's a review for the "Green" XPlod Focus (http://www.autosoundmag.com/features/0209ass_limelight/)

Here are some pictures of the "Orange" XPlod Focus (http://www.autosoundmag.com/models/0209ass_model/)

[GregFarz78]

Originally posted by Mattcoool
i would stay way from sony, all of my friends have bought them and had bad experiences.

I agree and have owned sony...it was ok but nothing to brag about. Sorry making your speakers look all fancy and putting xplod on them isnt going to make me buy them. I'll buy sony tv's thats about it.

Gimli I just found the portable unit more hassle then it was worth trying to flip thru directories while driving...didnt sound nearly as good as my head unit either. They have in dash hard drive head units now but it too early in the game to get one of those I'll wait a while yet.