I haven't read much about the Acura MP3 player option on this board. Of the people who have it, do you like it? Was it worth it? Are there better alternatives?

I understand that if you use this device, then the AUX port on the stereo is used up... and then you can't use an iPod or other device.

Correct?

Any info appreciated.

 

IMO its not worth it. You can buy a portable MP3 player and adaptor for less money, and have something with more features that can be used outside of the car for less money. On the other hand the OWM device will fit like a glove, and you can probably use the steering wheel controls to advance songs.



But I just dont think its worth the money.

 

I agree.. Not worth it. It only holds 1 CD worth of mp3's..and for the price they want you can buy a 20 - 30 gig player.

 

Is there a way to hook up a 3rd party device that will work with the steering wheel controls?

 

Not that i know of..

I wouldnt pay retail for mine again but I would get it again, while an ipod/portable player is all nice and fun I prefer having a cd-r based player just because its nice to have a disc for various moods, sure you can put together playlists in portable devices but lets say i was just in the mood to listen to a particular band or a particular style of music i can burn a cd in a few mins and enjoy 10 hours of music (mp3s roughly adding up to a meg a min)

Now what would make it really worth the money is if it could read dvd-r's.. Then you would be looking at 78 hours on a disc

 

I read somewhere that the OEM MP3 player treats "folders" as different virtual "discs" -- is this true?

How do you manage your 10 hours or so of content on a disc?

 

yes..

if you burn the cd with all the files in the root, then you just end up with something that plays like a 120 song cd

however if you break them up into folders it works like this

disc 1 root folder
disc 2 ................. beastie boys
disc 4 ................. ................. check your head
disc 5 ................. ................. ill communication
disc 6 ................. busta rhymes
disc 7 ................. ................. It aint safe no more

On the stock unit you will notice that when using the in dash cd changer that the 1-6 buttons go right to the disc, but underneath 5-6 you will see disc - and disc + and thats how you navigate the folders.

 

Is there any way to keep the flip down door in the area where the stock MP3 player is installed? It looks a bit "unfactory" in the pictures I've seen.

 

Looks fine to me

 

I dunno... looks like it's just stuck in the middle of an area that's not designed for it. IMHO, it'd be cooler if it were top or bottom-justified, and have a pocket for CD-Rs above or below it.

Ultimately, I'd rather see the original flap fold down over it, retaining the factor two-flap look of the center stack.

I'm guessing this is not possible?

 

Yea i wish/hope that is possible too.

 

i took it apart last night looking for a place to mount my sub control and it wouldnt be possible

 

bummer, and lame.

 

I like mine. Buy it online and install it yourself and it's not a terrible deal. My only complaint is that it doesn't do ID3 tags, but that is easily remedied with a logical and alphabetized folder and file-naming strategy (for example, set your ripping software to put a two-digit track number before the title of the song so the songs are read in order that they exist on the real albums).

 

Oh, I bet it's a nice unit, and I think I want one. The problem is that it looks soooo aftermarket, when in fact it's designed to work specifically for this car! I wish there were another place to put it where it didn't break up the center stack (which looks pretty slick when with the 2 cubby doors).

I just think Acura cheaped out on getting this integrated better into the car's interior. I'm a bit surprised that not everyone sees it this way.

Jon

 

I hear you, but personally I love the look. I really wouldn't want it to be top-justified at all... I like things centered. I like factory integration, too but in this case I think the DIN unit looks pretty cool since I'm used to aftermarket systems anyway. To each his/her own...

 

I didn't think it was worth it for the money. I was able to get a 20GB portable + Aux-in for less money and the added portability and longer play.

Now obviously it's not as "integrated" but that's not an issue with me. See my crappy little webpage below for pics of my install.

 

i c it ur way too, thas why i totally dont wanna put anything there. And if i have to, i wish u could close the door over it...

 

I had it. The pic in this thread was my car. I liked it (sold it to dalokster), but wanted an ipod.

If you buy it (and the kit for it), you can add more than one AUX connection. The head unit will show the MP3 player as "cd-P". If you add a SNHOND03 adapter it will show "cd-C", which allows both to be hooked up at the same time.

Pros,
1 MP3 music in your car
2 The steering wheel butons work for it
3 The display on navi will give you a disk(folder) up down option.
4 Sound better than Ipod or any other alternative on this site.

Cons,
1 You loose the cubby
2 the price is outrageous
3 No ID3 tags
4 No cover (just as in the pic)

If you only have 100 or so song that you use the OEM mp3 player works great. If you have 3000 songs (like me) go with the ipod.

BTW, if you go with Ipod you'll spend
$300 on the Ipod
$100 on snhond03 adapter
$20 on Ground loop Isolator
$30 on a car charger
For a total of $450. Plus it will never look like part of the car and depending on where you try to put it, it is a pain to plug, unplug, change folder, song, see display.

 

And that's for the iPod. You can save over $100 if you go with the Rio Karma or the Neuros Audio...although you will sacrifice size for price (2.5" drive versus 1.8")

 

If you go with the snhond adapter and an Ipod, you can buy an adapter "ice link" that can use the factory buttons. However, it doesn't work with Navi yet and costs about $150. Not to mention that it is bulk and akward (doesn't look good with TSX design).

BTW, if you deside to go with factory MP3 player, that is great. If you deside to go another route, I wouldn't recommend anything but the Ipod. I went through a lot of trial runs with other MP3 players (Good thing Circuit City has that 30 return policy).

 

I agree...iPod is the gold standard. I prefer the Neuros due to lower cost and more usable features (and integrated FM transmitter). The Karma I've just heard good things about.

 

how about the iRiver IHP-120 (or IHP-140)...? those are the MP3 players that I'm seriously considering purchasing to round out my SNDHOND setup....

 

I've read nothing but great reviews on the iRiver IHP's. The thing thats also cool about them is that the wired remote they come with would work great coming out of the wire slot in the armrest...and unlike some of the other players, you can do about everything with the remote that you could do with the actual player in-hand.

 

Never tried it.

 

plus, the black and chrome with blue backlighting matches my TSX...

 

Yeah, mine too