"Robert Morein" wrote in message ...
I have a 1992 Subaru, which does not accomodate a standard depth radio. I
want to make the transition from tapes to something better.
It occurred to me that considering the relative mediocrity of the speakers
and amplification, and the great cost of replacing it all, that mp3 and an
FM modulator would be a good choice.
Given that you've got a tape deck in the car, another way to go would
be to get one of those adapters that looks like a cassette. You could
connect the following to any portable audio player that has a
headphone jack:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...5Fid=12%2D1999
Or you could get a Discman-style CD player that includes that adapter:
http://www.radioshack.com/category.a...3%5F000&Page=1
This one plays MP3 files burned on CDs:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...5Fid=42%2D6039
(The above are examples. You should be able to find similar gear from
other makers, such as Sony.)
Another possibility, if you want to go with the FM idea:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...5Fid=12%2D2053
CD changers scratch CDs and probably
provide no audible difference, except with the finest car systems.
What bitrate is, to your ears, indistinguishable from CD, and how many hours
per gigabyte does one obtain?
The design that I desire would be a walkman size box that can sit on the car
seat, perhaps with a remote that can be attached to the steering wheel.
However, any form factor which is not in-dash could be used.
If I were you, I'd probably go with a Discman-style portable with the
car kit that includes the cassette adapter and power adapter to
connect to the car's cigarette lighter output. That should cover all
your needs. Just take the Discman with you when you leave the car; I
doubt anybody would steal the adapters. If you want to carry around a
lot of music, get a Discman that plays MP3 and/or other compressed
formats, then burn your own CDs.
I'll add that with the cassette adapter, you can use any music
portable, such as an iPod or other model. But an iPod or similar will
cost much, much more than the Discman shown above, and a Discman will
be compatible with your CDs, which is another advantage.
BTW, I had a car about a dozen years ago that had a tape deck, and
like you, I didn't want to spend a lot of $$$ on the car or upgrade
the car's audio gear. I tried the cassette adapter and my Discman and
was quite pleasantly surprised at the sound quality. It was much
better than I expected. I also realized that my speakers were better
than I'd guessed from listening to the poor quality of FM and tapes. I
never compared the cassette adapter to an FM modulator, because I was
happy with the cassette adapter and that was a convenient way for me
to go.
Are there any players which incorporate the following features?
a built-in FM modulator?
Not to my knowledge.
multilevel menus that can be edited on a PC
For that, you could use a hard-drive based player such as an iPod or
something like that. I don't know much about those kind of players. Or
you could burn CDs and organize the file as you make the CDs.
replaceable/upgradeable memory, ie., swappable drives?
Not to my knowledge, but I could be wrong. I think you could replace
the HDD, but it would take some surgery. Any HDD should hold more than
enough music for you.
If you really need to carry around 80gb of music, it might make more
sense to carry around several iPods (or similar models). Most of the
iPod's competitors cost less. For example:
http://www.circuitcity.com/searchres...ge=2&first=yes
purchasable as an OEM product, so I can install my own 80 gig drive?
Not to my knowledge. I don't think any of the portables use a drive
that big and if you could stick that drive into a portable, I don't
know if it would work. Besides, 80gb would probably hold much more
music than you'd need while driving.