I finally stepped into the world of MP3 Players...

VR3

Well I really got tired of the radio - and I didnt feel like carrying CD's in my truck. So I decided to get a MP3 player for my truck and utilize its USB hook up.

I hate the Apple IPod with all my heart - so that was totally out of the question, that and the fact I have 3,200 songs in WMA format. With all that in mind ---

I got a Zune player - I plug it into my headunit and find it only works with the IPod. I hate proprietary technology with a passion.

So while I'm cussing it to no end - I put a price to my hate of the IPod, 85 dollars for the FM transmitter. Which I really like -- I still can use the USB port on the headunit to charge the player --- so no bulky lighter adaptor. I wish they sold the transmitter outside the car pack.

Either way --- I really like the Zune interface. It probally will never leave my truck -- but its cool none the less.

I figure it was easier than burning all my CDs to CD-Rs and taking them in my truck (and safer) --- and far better than the radio and dosnt have the fees of the XM or Sirius and no comercials at all.

So -- cost more upfront, less headache in the end. Works great.

Bill Ayotte

My iPod rarely leaves my Jetta....I shelled out $49 for the box Pioneer makes that lets me run it from my HU...It is really worth it for road trips man...I have a playlist that is something like 9 hours....

VR3

Im not sure how many songs I put on the player - it is upwards of 2,000 songs (minimum) upwards of around 100 hours I think...

Bill Ayotte

Yeah, I have a whole lot of **** on the pod as well, I just went though all of the music on there and put all of the songs I really liked to listen to into one playlist...It's almost full now, I ripped everything in lossless format....I only got the 30GB though...

VR3

mine are lossless on the computer --- but when I put them on the Zune -- it converts them to like 322 I believe.

Either way -- it is pretty cool. I dont download music --- so I just have artist and their CDs... I skip tracks ocasionally --- but music in the vehicle is merely background noise.. so its cool to hear some stuff I havnt heard in a while.

Chances are I will buy the remote for it so I can just change songs on the fly while I drive... haha *sigh* - and to think while I was looking at the acessories I laughed at the remote... haha

Ah well, my cd player has a remote --- zune might as well have one too. Before I know it I will need a universal remote for my truck!

Bill Ayotte

haha I was thinking the same thing...That is why I am looking at trading in the Jetta on a new GTI....Integrated controls on the wheel, and a iPod adapter...So much easier for me...That, and the stock systems in those are pretty nice...

avelanchefan

Sid,

Welcome to the social;)! I now have three Zune players in my house and we all love them. I especially like the video playback because it is in more of a widescreen format, and seems to have more "surface" viewing area than the Ipod video.

The Zune software is a little buggy, but overall I found it easier to work with than the Itunes software.

Bill....I have the GTI, and I actually use the MP3 adapter, but I have package 2 so it does not have the IPOD control in the center arm rest. The MP3 adapter acually works really good (its in the glove box), and if the music quality is high enough you do not notice any major drop in quality.

dohcmark8

Why did you waste money on a FM transmitter? Your Kenwood HU has a built in 3.5mm AUX port in the rear....

Bill Ayotte

avelanchefan wrote: »

Sid,

Welcome to the social;)! I now have three Zune players in my house and we all love them. I especially like the video playback because it is in more of a widescreen format, and seems to have more "surface" viewing area than the Ipod video.

The Zune software is a little buggy, but overall I found it easier to work with than the Itunes software.

Bill....I have the GTI, and I actually use the MP3 adapter, but I have package 2 so it does not have the IPOD control in the center arm rest. The MP3 adapter acually works really good (its in the glove box), and if the music quality is high enough you do not notice any major drop in quality.

I am thinking ORANGE....Man I love the look of that car...If not that one, I am going black, package 2 with the 18" Hufs..Thanks for the info on the adapter, I won't drop another $200 for the iPod specific one...

VR3

I dont know how to get to the rear of my HU...

And I like the FM adaptor thingy - I can play it in anyones car... I can play it in my house from my driveway -- I can play it anywhere within like 30ish feet. Pretty sweet actually..

dohcmark8

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

I dont know how to get to the rear of my HU...

And I like the FM adaptor thingy - I can play it in anyones car... I can play it in my house from my driveway -- I can play it anywhere within like 30ish feet. Pretty sweet actually..

It's super simple. See the wood trim bezel around the radio and HVAC controls? Just pull on the corners and it pops right out... then you will see four screws for your radio and just unscrew those and you are golden.

Run a nice stereo cable under the dash or something and you will be good to do.

I can pull my radio in under a minute.

Does yours look like this?

And yes that XM unit is all hooked up.... running from the cassette adapter and wired directly to switched vehicle power. http://zebsadiq.googlepages.com/DSC00151.JPG

avelanchefan

Bill Ayotte wrote: »

I am thinking ORANGE....Man I love the look of that car...If not that one, I am going black, package 2 with the 18" Hufs..Thanks for the info on the adapter, I won't drop another $200 for the iPod specific one...

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50787

You saw mine right?

fatchowmein

Congrats Sid. I run 2 ipods and have used them as mobile storage devices for work. Why iPod? Well, Zune wasn't around at the time. I'm not 100% happy with either format because they're both proprietory so I'm rooting for the day flac wins and all players have to accept it. Longshot.

Sansui

Seems to me that Apple leased (or something like) their newer OS from Creative Labs. I've got an Ipod Nano (4 gig) and a Creative Labs Micro Photo. I'll take the Micro Photo over the Ipod any day.

My sister has had too much problem with the Itunes store. I use Sony Audio Studio to rip and edit the music I get off my CDs.

bobman1235

Sid, wasn't your big reason for hating "iPods" that they promoted a culture of "lower fidelity" music? I vaguely remember (sorry if I'm wrong) you ranting about .mp3s and no one caring about high quality music anymore and blah blah blah.

So, a) what makes the iPod any different than the Zune, aside from Apple vs Microsoft, and b) I guess you see why people like .mp3s (and their ilk) now.

VR3

bobman1235 wrote: »

Sid, wasn't your big reason for hating "iPods" that they promoted a culture of "lower fidelity" music? I vaguely remember (sorry if I'm wrong) you ranting about .mp3s and no one caring about high quality music anymore and blah blah blah.

So, a) what makes the iPod any different than the Zune, aside from Apple vs Microsoft, and b) I guess you see why people like .mp3s (and their ilk) now.

I just hate Apple, kind of the same way I hate Sony, Honda, etc.

I'll avoid both like the plague. I like Microsoft products - Xbox, so forth. I originally wanted a Creative player --- but they only had the display and wouldnt sell it.

Either way... I still think the MP3 is going to be the gradual stretch to lower fidelity music reproduction. As more and more people download more and more music instead of purchasing hard copy -- it will slowly degrade to nothing and CD's and Vinyl will become one. Maybe a very long way away...

But the general masses does not care about music quality - and they didn't before.... but atleast they had an overall option to get good quality music. Now they pretty much are limited to 128 kbps....

This is my belief... that Zune will pretty much never leave my truck - and it will never touch the cones of my Taylos...

The MP3 player will do its job... but my beliefs on MP3 players remain the same.

Also, I have a Kenwood HU in my truck now... got it about a week ago.

Serendipity

Man I was waiting for your Zune vs. CD comparison on the Taylos. But I guess it's not going to happen....

audiobliss

Blah, blah, blah...

When are you going to finish your system in the truck??

Shizelbs

Rock on. Good for you for choosing Zune. As mentioned earlier, it is clearly better for video playback due to the much larger screen.

I'd do the exact same thing if my commute to work was longer than 5 minutes.

dohcmark8

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

Also, I have a Kenwood HU in my truck now... got it about a week ago.

Still. Same thing. Pull the wood bezel and unscrew the radio. It's worth it to get a good direct stereo connection as opposed to a FM transmitter that may cut out here and now and not sound as good.

Why spend hundreds on a nice system in a truck only to be bogged down by a FM transmitter and its mediocre SQ?

Bill Ayotte

avelanchefan wrote: »

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50787

You saw mine right?

I thought that you had that one...It was late, I couldn't remember....I forgot the # I was looking at, it was pretty close to yours if I remember correctly, maybe high 200's, low 300's...

audiobliss

dohcmark8 wrote: »

Why spend hundreds on a nice system in a truck only to be bogged down by a FM transmitter and its mediocre SQ?

EXACTLY my thoughts. Sure, an FM transmitter is convenient, easy to hook-up, transportable, 'neat'. Then transport it to friends cars when you want to. But get a nicer, more SQ-friendly, more reliable connection going for your truck in your system. Especially if it's that easy. It's really not difficult to yank the dash off and pull the radio out. Really.

michael_w

Any first impressions on the player? I'm thinking about getting something too and have been looking at three different ones - Archos 404 ($230), Ipod 30gb gen5.5 (280) and the Zune (about 280/300). Since it'll only be for music, I'm actually tempted to go for the ipod just because it's the smallest and I can load rockbox on it. I hate apple with a passion but sometimes you have to suck it up and go with what's best. Right now I'm just using a very nice (and small) pocket pc with a 2gb sd card, but having a bit more than two gigs would be handy. One concern of mine is that I feel I'll be taking a big hit on downgrading the interface moving from a totally customizable pocket pc to living with an ipod or whatever I chose.

What colour did you end up getting?

audiobliss

I haven't had any complaints with either the interface or the functionality of my iPod. Now, a radio would be really nice, admittedly...

dohcmark8

Personally I did away with having an iPod or MP3 CD playing in the car... because I end up always fiddling with them and the song I want never comes on, etc.

So I just decided to get XM and have been loving it so far. I don't have to risk leaving my iPod in the car all the time and I get the music I want.

krabby5

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

I just hate Apple, kind of the same way I hate Sony, Honda, etc.

I'll avoid both like the plague. I like Microsoft products - Xbox, so forth. I originally wanted a Creative player --- but they only had the display and wouldnt sell it.

Either way... I still think the MP3 is going to be the gradual stretch to lower fidelity music reproduction. As more and more people download more and more music instead of purchasing hard copy -- it will slowly degrade to nothing and CD's and Vinyl will become one. Maybe a very long way away...

But the general masses does not care about music quality - and they didn't before.... but atleast they had an overall option to get good quality music. Now they pretty much are limited to 128 kbps....

This is my belief... that Zune will pretty much never leave my truck - and it will never touch the cones of my Taylos...

The MP3 player will do its job... but my beliefs on MP3 players remain the same.

Also, I have a Kenwood HU in my truck now... got it about a week ago.

You hate Sony, Honda, and Apple...but you like Microsoft?

dohcmark8

krabby5 wrote: »

You hate Sony, Honda, and Apple...but you like Microsoft?

I'm the exact same.

Not a fan of Honda at all. Sony, I just ignore all of their products. Apple... I own an iPod but I dont actually like Apple itself. I much prefer Microsoft over any of these companies. :eek: