Head unit and quality questions

[beckSHO 10+ year member]

I've been doing some reading on sound quality issues, and the effects of compression. From what I've read, the quality of CDs is 1411.2 Kbps. The average downloaded song, from Limewire, is about 128-192 Kbps. Looks to me like a pretty big difference. I've been ripping all of my CDs to my Windows Media Player, in WAV (Lossless) format.

Now, on my journey for finding a HU that offers all I want. I would like to be able to load all of my files onto some type of external drive. Then, I would like to hook that external drive up to my new HU, and be able to play all of those songs. However, doing so without losing the quality. Would a USB Flash Drive be able to accomplish this? So, I should be looking for a deck that has a USB port. Or, would any auxilary input work?

The deck I was looking at was either the Kenwood eXcelon x590, maybe a higher model of the same line, or the Pioneer Premier DEH-P680MP. The x590 has all I would need, including the USB port. The Premier unit has everything I need, however, it doesn't have the USB port. Help me out guys, and if you are doing something similar, let me know. Thanks.

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[mnaines 10+ year member]

Don't bother with an external drive...Its a waste of money, and finding a compatible HU is hard, so stick with something simple, like burning to a CD or switching formats. You will rarely find downloaded MP3 files higher than 192kbps, and WMA Lossless is a waste of disk space. Alternately, you can look for some device that would allow you to play music wirelessly through the FM radio or whatever those things are. I run 64kbps ATRAC3plus, which makes a file size of 1.9MB for a 4-minute song, and the quality is about as good as a 320kbps MP3.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

umm, if you're considering the kenwood, just get the music keg

it's a hard drive that connects like a cd-changer

 

[mnaines 10+ year member]

I'm going to say this: Don't waste your money. It looks to me like you are buying the most expensive thing you see just because "it has all the features I need". You don't need an external harddrive for music, you don't need a head unit with a USB port, you don't even need satellite radio. Do not waste your money on things you don't need. Don't waste $500 on that Kenwood head unit when that $500 could go to better use, like a new set of speakers, an amp, subwoofers, or even performance mods for your car. I know some people are going to bash me for this, but if you are looking for quality, stick to either store-bought CD's or use Sony's ATRAC3plus, which has better quality at lower bitrates. 64kbps ATRAC3plus has the same quality as 320kbps MP3, and file sizes are very small, 1.9MB for a 4-minute song. Don't waste your money buying top-of-the-line shit that you don't even need.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

do you work for sony?

 

[mnaines 10+ year member]

No, Heyman, I do not work for Sony. I only stand behind them because I have had very good experiences with Sony, Sharp, Toshiba, and Insignia products. I have not had any problems with any of those 4 brands, so I am basing this stuff on the experiences I have had. I go with ATRAC3plus because it has higher quality at lower bitrates, its cheaper, and I can fit the songs onto a CD, which makes things very simple, since all 190 songs on my playlist can fit onto a single 700MB CD-R disk. I also like it because I can get coupons for free downloads from the Connect music library. At 64kbps, I can fit up to 350 songs on a 700MB disk, assuming all songs are 4 minutes in length. (64kbps is 1.9MB for a 4-minute song).

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

I'm going to say this: Don't waste your money. It looks to me like you are buying the most expensive thing you see just because "it has all the features I need". You don't need an external harddrive for music, you don't need a head unit with a USB port, you don't even need satellite radio. Do not waste your money on things you don't need.

You realize this is a car audio forum right? Around here we don't try to be other people's fathers and tell them what they should and shouldn't spend their money on. He has his mind set on an external drive so if you know of one thats fine, other than that don't bother posting about what he "shouldn't waste his money on".

I know some people are going to bash me for this, but if you are looking for quality, stick to either store-bought CD's or use Sony's ATRAC3plus, which has better quality at lower bitrates. 64kbps ATRAC3plus has the same quality as 320kbps MP3, and file sizes are very small, 1.9MB for a 4-minute song.

I don't know what MP3s you've listened to but ATRAC does NOT sound as good as a 320kbps mp3. And I would bet the house that atrac does not even come close to VBR at Ubernet standard.

Don't waste your money buying top-of-the-line shit that you don't even need.

Who are you to tell him what he needs? Car audio is a hobby. None of us NEED any of this but it is what we love and therefore it is worth the money. Satellite radio kicks ***. You don't need it but I for one feel its worth the extra money every month.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

I'm going to say this: Don't waste your money. It looks to me like you are buying the most expensive thing you see just because "it has all the features I need". You don't need an external harddrive for music, you don't need a head unit with a USB port, you don't even need satellite radio. Do not waste your money on things you don't need.

Again, please stick with computers as audio is obviously not your "thing". And this is not "defamatory"....this is the truth.

With that said...just because you do not want or need something, it does not mean everybody should not want or need something. For whatever reason, you think your way is the only way and because of that your opinion should be taken as fact. Face it, you know little of what you are talking about and have very little experience in this field and hobby. And your opinion does not dictate everyone else's feelings, wants or needs. Just because you do not want something, it does not mean nobody should.

Don't waste $500 on that Kenwood head unit when that $500 could go to better use, like a new set of speakers, an amp, subwoofers, or even performance mods for your car.

But what if he doesn't need any of that, but instead needs a headunit with the features he is looking for? Did you ever take into consideration that not everyone has your same goals, wants and needs?

I know some people are going to bash me for this,

Yes, you are....because you have been proven time and again to be incorrect.

but if you are looking for quality, stick to either store-bought CD's or use Sony's ATRAC3plus, which has better quality at lower bitrates. 64kbps ATRAC3plus has the same quality as 320kbps MP3, and file sizes are very small, 1.9MB for a 4-minute song.

You need to hop down off of Sony's dick, because you are wrong.

Don't waste your money buying top-of-the-line shit that you don't even need.

Again, your opinion does not dictate the world's views. Just because you can not afford something and you do not have a need for a specific feature or product, does not mean no body does. When will you begin to understand this?

Now please Mr. Autistic Computer Whiz with superhuman hearing.....stop posting unless you are going to post something worthwhile that isn't filled with useless and incorrect marketing propoganda bullshit. Otherwise yes, almost every post you make is going to be responded to in a manor that points out your obvious idiocy.

 

[sparky33 10+ year member]

I'm going to say this: Don't waste your money. It looks to me like you are buying the most expensive thing you see just because "it has all the features I need". You don't need an external harddrive for music, you don't need a head unit with a USB port, you don't even need satellite radio. Do not waste your money on things you don't need. Don't waste $500 on that Kenwood head unit when that $500 could go to better use, like a new set of speakers, an amp, subwoofers, or even performance mods for your car. I know some people are going to bash me for this, but if you are looking for quality, stick to either store-bought CD's or use Sony's ATRAC3plus, which has better quality at lower bitrates. 64kbps ATRAC3plus has the same quality as 320kbps MP3, and file sizes are very small, 1.9MB for a 4-minute song. Don't waste your money buying top-of-the-line shit that you don't even need.

Utter hogwash. I have the Kenwood DDX-8017 with the DVA-4100 NAV, plus Sirius, plus a Kenwood music Keg CX-910 with a 100 Gigabit hard drive and I couldn't be happier. I have the Voice Index on Tap (VOIT) software and can find any song in my collection within mere moments. You can put it into playlist mode, genre mode, artist mode, or album mode just by hitting the scan button. Then, if you're in one of the 3 latter modes, you can tap RR or FF once and then hold it down and it will go through the alphabet and READ IT to you without ever taking your eyes off the road. For example, let's say I get in my car and want to listen to rap, specifically "LL Cool J". I have my music organized into playlists so I'd just go to my rap folder and either hit the direct access file button with my remote (if I knew the file I wanted) or, browse by genre and advance to "Rap" and toggle to the "L's", or browse by artist and do the same thing. I have over 10,000 mp3's and flac files and I guarantee you I can find songs faster and have more immediately available than 99% of the population.

On ebay you can get a Keg for around $200 and it interfaces perfectly with the Kenwood head unit. The VOIT software is $75 extra, but if you get a later CX910 Music Keg that came with the 20GB DMS cartridge then it should include VOIT. Also, there is a site that contains a very easy to use "hack" so you can upgrade the Keg with any size laptop drive that is available. It's http://www.phathack.com

Email me if you need any more info - I don't work for any companies having anything to do with audio!

Shawn

shawn@"nowayspam"goldcmics.com

Remove the "nowayspam" to send email

 

[sparky33 10+ year member]

I know some people are going to bash me for this, but if you are looking for quality, stick to either store-bought CD's or use Sony's ATRAC3plus, which has better quality at lower bitrates. 64kbps ATRAC3plus has the same quality as 320kbps MP3, and file sizes are very small, 1.9MB for a 4-minute song.

A friend of mine bought a Sony ATRAC3plus device and it sounds like crap at the lower encoding levels; every song is small but the encoding sounds HORRIBLE.

Besides, it's a PROPRIETARY format from Sony. Do you want to spend the next month converting all your mp3's to ATRAC+? I don't think so.

 

[gordholio 10+ year member]

I'm the proud owner of a Kenwood x890, with the USB cable. The end of the cable sits in my glove compartment. I plugged in my wife's iPod the other day. It was excellent. That deck has three lines of customizable display, and I could see the artists name, album name, song title, track time, folder, etc. I played an MP3 version and a CD version of the same tune. I consider myself a bit of an audiophile, but I couldn't really tell the difference - particularly at 50 MPH. Of course, I was playing good quality rips of my own CDs, and not some crappy rips from a file sharing site, so that undoutedly helped. To have the capabilities of 50 or 100 or 500 or 1000 songs just sitting there on a tiny little player is superb, and the access time is quick. I bought myself a 1GB Sandisk Sansa player today for $60 Canadian. It'll hold a couple hundred songs, plus it has a built-in FM tuner for when I actually want to use it as a personal player at the gym or whatever, and abuilt-in voice recorder for whenever I get a brilliant idea that i want to remember. I'll probably invest in a 5GB mini hard drive sometime before the end of the year. The thought of no CDs flying all over the car really has me psyched. I absolutely love it.

One other thing - the USB cable powers whatever's at the end of it, so the batteries don't run down. This is a WAY better setup for MP3s than the old FM transmitter idea. Better sound for sure.

Good luck.

gordo

 

[gordholio 10+ year member]

I'll add one more thing - I chose the x890 because it has three lines of display versus the one line of display on the x590.

gordo

 

[sparky33 10+ year member]

I'm the proud owner of a Kenwood x890, with the USB cable. The end of the cable sits in my glove compartment. I plugged in my wife's iPod the other day. It was excellent. That deck has three lines of customizable display, and I could see the artists name, album name, song title, track time, folder, etc. I played an MP3 version and a CD version of the same tune. I consider myself a bit of an audiophile, but I couldn't really tell the difference - particularly at 50 MPH. Of course, I was playing good quality rips of my own CDs, and not some crappy rips from a file sharing site, so that undoutedly helped. To have the capabilities of 50 or 100 or 500 or 1000 songs just sitting there on a tiny little player is superb, and the access time is quick. I bought myself a 1GB Sandisk Sansa player today for $60 Canadian. It'll hold a couple hundred songs, plus it has a built-in FM tuner for when I actually want to use it as a personal player at the gym or whatever, and abuilt-in voice recorder for whenever I get a brilliant idea that i want to remember. I'll probably invest in a 5GB mini hard drive sometime before the end of the year. The thought of no CDs flying all over the car really has me psyched. I absolutely love it.
One other thing - the USB cable powers whatever's at the end of it, so the batteries don't run down. This is a WAY better setup for MP3s than the old FM transmitter idea. Better sound for sure.

Good luck.

gordo

First question - Have you ever tried a Music Keg with the VOIT software? I'm happy you like your headunit, but after reading this review I must say the Kenwood version of VOIT (mCD) doesn't sound too great:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-21szfdISFpW/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&tab=review&i=113KDCX890#Tab

"Does not adequately replace the Kenwood Keg

Written by Chris, CO on May 18, 2006

I bought this because I love the Kenwood Music Keg but they're discontinued. This is the obvious and logical next step, USB hard drives.

Kenwood COMPLETELY FAILED at transferring the functionality to this unit. Not only does the browser take forever, but it forces you to use only one of the categories. You can't scroll to Foo Fighters and then choose among their albums, You have to pick one album and go to it. Then if you want to listen to their next album, you can't just hit next, you have to do a complete new album search. It's completely non intuitive. If you're in album mode and hit next album it takes you to the next album alphabetically, instead of the next album by the artist you're on. If you switch to artist mode it takes you to the next artist. Using any of these modes takes you to playlist #1, all music, so you can't just switch to playlist mode and find the next album. Oh and to top it all off, they disable alphabetical browsing in playlist mode, so actually using playlists is impossible if you have more than say, 20. It forces you to do a search for every album you want to hear.

Then to top it all off, they removed direct playlist access, which the Keg had as a fallback in case you happened to memorize which playlist number was assigned to a particular disc. I could get to my most played discs in less than one second on the keg, with this head unit I have to cycle through search categories, then wait for it to slowly plod through the alphabet and then hit next disc over and over till I find the right album.

I hate it. Sound Q is good, browsing isn't. "

 

[BigProof 10+ year member]

i just use my 20gig mp3 player hooked up to my HU through RCA's, i rip all my cd's at 320kbps. as far as SQ goes i might not be an expert but it sounds pretty good to me.

 

[gordholio 10+ year member]

I just have a couple moments here 'cause I'm working, but no, I haven't tried anything else but the wife's iPod and this little 1 GB MP3 player I just bought. I haven't tried any complex searches yet - been too busy working thus far. I'll keep you posted if you're interested.