amell

Greetings, fellow Acurans:
I am brand new to this forum, being on the verge of becoming a two-Acura family. My wife has an MDX (she swears by it as the best car she has ever had), and I just test drove the '05 RL and (no surprise to anyone on this forum) loved it. I currently drive an '01 Lincoln Continental, and I'm looking to upgrade and go a bit sportier. Looked at the Audi A6 and MB E-class 4-Matic, but I like the Japanese vs. German ride and reliability (haven't yet looked at the Cadillac STS).
Although I'd prefer something a bit bigger, the RL looks like it meets my needs, and is clearly the best value in its class.
Before I plunk down the $$, I need some help from folks:
(1) Has anyone found an aftermarket solution to the lack of a cassette player?
(2) Has anyone installed a Phatbox (trunk-mounted integrated MP3 player)? The Phatbox folks said they have not yet "certified" the '05 RL as compatible and offer a 30-day trial installation.
(3) I have followed the threads on the problems with Hands Free Link and Bluetooth on the Treo 650, both in this and Treo forums, - if anyone has any updates, it would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
amell

legendguy

Amell-just a warning you should know; the RL practically only seats two in the back. The middle person rides up so high as not practical for an adult in that position. That said, the car is plenty roomy and big feeling inside. The trunk is smallish but you should have noticed that in your test drive and decided if it was fine already.

Others are, I'm sure, more knowledgeable about your questions, but here's what I know:
1) I have heard it is possible to install an input to your CD player and could play an external cassette player while your CD is on pause.
2)The RL plays MP3s already. However, I don't know what a Phat player is.
3) I too am following the Treo 650 with interest. No new developments as of today. Status is that people are able to link, but are not able to keep the link going after they hang up.

amell

Legendguy - thanks for the heads-up on the rear seating...
My understanding was that the CD player could play MP3 files burned onto a CD, but there's no interface for a digital player. I like to carry my music and audio books in digital format and forrgo CD's. Actually, that's the main use for me for a cassette player - I have an adapter which goes into the cassette player through which I can hook an MP3 player (actually I use my Treou) directly to my car stereo. The Phatbox creates a similar interface, and has a removeable cartridge to port between one's PC and car.

legendguy

Amell-
This is a good forum, someone may have an answer for you. I would be happy if I could figure out how to add song titles that would show up on my CDs when played in the RL. I have found my first CD (John Mayer-Heavier Things) that has the text info included, but burning it on seems to have eluded me.

dseag2

Amell, since fewer and fewer cars are coming with cassette players, my recommendation would be to buy a CD burner and burn your cassette tapes onto CD.

I have old music on tape that I don't want to lose, so I've burned it onto CD. The sound quality is much better and it will now last indefinitely. Sorry, but I can't answer your other questions.

amell

Well, i acutally use the cassette to interface, with an adapter, to my mp3 player, which I prefer to burning CD's (I actually "rip" a lot of CD's to extract the digital files). The PhatBox is a nice mp3 interface - anyone have any experience with it?
thanks,
-amell

8-)

Couldn't you just purchase one of those adapters that sends the MP3 output to an FM station?

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

I was about to suggest just that.

Another option is to get the adapter and link an iPod directly to the factory headunit. This would give you the ability to play .mp3 files and give you something very portable that you can easily access from the driver's seat.