Posted: 12/25/2009 5:07:54 PM EDT
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A couple of years ago the CD player in my Taco crapped out. Today the wife gave me a JVC KD-R600 to replace it. I told her I wanted the Alpine CDA-105. The key difference between the two is that the USB connector on the JVC is on the front and the Alpine has it on the rear. The USB is going to be my primary source and I have a 16GB stick. I'd planned on using an extension cable routed to the glove box. I really don't see having to fuss with the stick much unless I buy new music. This is why I wanted the rear mount. I'm also concerned of two other things: 1) the Cruzer will stick out about 2" and I see it as being prone to getting accidentally hit; 2) the connector on the head already wiggles a little and I wonder if it'll break after repeated insertion/removal of the stick.
So my question for arfcom is this: are my concerns well-founded? Does anyone have a USB stereo using the stick as the primary source? I can see how the front port would be advantageous for connecting an iPod but not when it's primary. Of course the price difference is about $60 but I'm less concerned about that. Any insight would be appreciated. |
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I installed one for the father-in-law for his birthday. He's quite the geek as he teaches computers at the local college. The one thing we've found is that the larger USB drives get pretty cumbersome with too many files on them. He's actually found with his radio that the 1 Gig drives are right at the limit for finding stuff and fast access. The more files the slower the access. As far as the drive sticking out the front, if you swap around a bunch it shouldn't be a problem. Going for a semi-permanent install I would get the rear input and glovebox stash it like you said.
You could also try something like this to get it out of the way. |
Interesting. I hadn't considered it being cumbersome with a larger drive. Since I posted I keep bouncing around the idea of getting the iPod Touch. The stereo is iPod ready so it'd mean I'd still have a cable sticking out the front all the time but maybe that'd make navigation easier doing it through the Touch instead of the radio itself. I've been using a tape adapter and my MP3 player since the CD crapped out so I guess it wouldn't be that much different. Of course I'm trying to cut down my cable clutter. 
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I have a cheapo Clarion with a USB port in the front of the receiver.............really like how much music I can take with me, and how easy the front mounted USB port is to use........why they would put these in the rear of the receivers baffles me (like most things).
vmax84 |
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I did find a 16GB stick about half the size of a SD card so I might get that.
vmax84, what size stick do you use and do you find it easy to navigate? My logic behind wanting the rear connection is that I didn't plan on fiddling with the stick a lot. I'm not constantly adding new music so it's rare that I'd need to remove the drive. |
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I used the Sony MicroVault Tiny drive with my last car's stereo. It had a front-mount USB jack.
If you look around, you can find HUGE USB drives with very small form factors. How about this one? Jim |
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The USB port on my wife's fusion is in the bottom front of the console. One 4 gb flash drive has 52 CD's recorded on it (copy them to my PC then transfer to the stick). With the SYNC system in the fusion you can tell it which artist or which song to play, or even what type (genre) of music and it will sort through what's on the stick and play that.
I want to get one for my truck (CD/stereo with a USB port) but I want one with the port in the rear of the unit so I can run the cable from the back of the stereo through the back of one of the little storage compartments in the dash. That way (as stated above) if I wear out or break the connection points it'll be on the cable not the stereo. |
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Quoted:
I did find a 16GB stick about half the size of a SD card so I might get that. vmax84, what size stick do you use and do you find it easy to navigate? My logic behind wanting the rear connection is that I didn't plan on fiddling with the stick a lot. I'm not constantly adding new music so it's rare that I'd need to remove the drive. I use a 4gb drive and it works just fine. Can't remember how many "albums" I have on it, but there are a LOT!!! Once you get tired of what's on there, delete and add as you like. Really like the USB stuff in the car. As far as navigationg with the Clarion, seems pretty easy. I generally just turn the thing on and let it play.........don't fiddle with it that much. Good luck! vmax84 |