Hi gang,

Does the HK stereo support CDs with MP3 files? You know, not an audio CD but a CD with a hundred or so MP3s.

If it does, any tips/tricks to burning the CDs. I burned one as an standard audio CD, and it skipped quite a bit. I will try burning at a slower speed.

Thanks,
Nando

 

I don't think the current stock audio CD or HK head units can play burned CDs with MP3 songs on them. If you have the MP3 songs on a separate player it can be plugged into the auxillary input jack for the stock radio and played.

 

It is rumored that the 2005 will play MP3's but I have yet to find anybody that has actually had it work. Here is a thread from MINI2.
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59438
As far as regular audio CD's go, I haven't had any skipping problems.

 

The version in 2003 and 2004 MY cars does not play MP3s.

As for the 2005, well I believe it when I see it...

 

The cars delivered in England that have the "boost" option, which is standard in the U.S. have been shown to play MP3 files from a burned CD. Not every head unit in the UK will play MP3's, but all the U.S. models should.

Every player is sensitive to CD brand, so try to use good quality disks (name brands.) I have also noticed that DVD writers tend to have better electronics and lasers, and the MP3 disks I write with my NEC 2500A read very well on almost any device. (Almost every DVD writer also burns CD-R and CD-RW disks.)

I also find that MusicMatch Jukebox or AudioGrabber 1.83 work best for ripping. They look up album and track ID's on the internet from different sites, so sometimes if one does not have a track listing, the other does. Also, if ripping from a CD, I prefer to use a 160KB encoding speed. The files are a little bit bigger than the standard 128kb speed that they offer as "CD Quality," but the base response is better and they tend to sound cleaner.

I just burned some CD's for when I pick up my MCS. You can get about 12 albums on a single MP3 disk. Its like having 2 6-disk CD changers in the dash!

 

The problem lies in the age of the HU. The reason why certain HU does not play is not because of the sensitivity of the Disc but rather the HU design is at least 3 years old.



Which means that you are dealing with a HU that was sold in the aftermarket well over 3 years ago?


That's usually how long it takes for the manufactures to develop the car.


As for MP3? It's good as long as you are severely compromising the SQ of the music.



The MP3 does keep most the frequency bandwidth. The compromise is that any computer generated format compresses the headroom.



Meaning, if the original CD headroom was 12dB, the MP3 will compress it to less than 6dB. So, the outcome is that the soft passage to loud passage will be very close.



Because of the massive compression is the reason why you can cram so much music into a MP3 or iPOD.



Even CD is severely compressed. That's the main reason why DVD Audio is starting to come into the market.



For example, let say that from a master recording we recorded music on to a CD and it used up 650MB.
Now, if we were to take that same music and recorded on to a DVD Audio, it will take up 4.7Gig? Yes, that much gets compressed even with CD.


So, imagine how much compression and compromised music we are listening to in regards to MP3.



Now, if you are running a factory system or an amp with regulated Power Supply, you'll never notice but to me they all sound very mono-tone.



Meaning, the loudness difference between the vocals and drums are about the same?



Bottom line, we never get something for nothing. So, if one can't tell the difference? Then one can disregard this post.

 

I think you might be able tell the difference on a sound stage but with the stock audio setup, the super charger whining, windows and sunroof open you would be hard pressed to tell the difference.

I use Music Match 8.1 set to MPPro CD quality 64k for my burned CD's.

Here is a picture of the new headunit as shown on Motoringfile.
http://www.motoringfile.com/2004/07/...p3cd_head_unit

 

The automobile environment is an awful place to "listen" to music. The signal to noise ratio of a CD is about 96 DB. The signal to noise ratio of a car interior is much less. Background noise makes soft passages inaudible, and loud passages tend to stretch the abilities of the amp and speakers, which of neccessity have little acoustic loading because they are not in sealed or ported environments. Car doors make poor speaker cabinets.


When we used to record very high quality cassetes for auto use before car CD players were available, we used a compresser to reduce the signal to noise ratio on purpose because it worked better in a car. The DSP unit in the HK system does this for you as well. So if you think that higher quality audio from a CD audio file will sound better than an MP3, you may be wrong, since the signal processor in the HK system will mess with the SN ratio in the background anyway, compressing the CD signal more than the MP3 signal. There is no way a car system will sound as good as a home system.

There is no way that the system in the car will even sound as good as my computer, which has a 24 bit sound card running 7 self powered real home stereo speakers and a powered subwoofer in a 6.1 environment.

People who tell you that audio in a car is as good as audio in a home are the same people that will tell you that sex in a car is better than sex in a home. It means that they still live with their parents, who won't let them have sex, or a decent stereo at home.

Save your money for a house.

 

Sex in a car better then sex at home? It's possible since some people are exhibitionists...think about it.

 

True exhibitionists exit the car first......

What I meant to convey is that "Car Audio" is rarely about the audio. Its about flash, and conspicuous consumption and looks and other aspects. Very few car audio systems sound good. They sound loud, they have strong bass, they do lots of things like move speaker cones (a sure sign of gross distortion) and the like. What they most often do not do is "play music." They generate sound, they do not reproduce sound.

This is not to say that car audio is waste of money or time. I have read of people paying $4000 for wheels and tires on a Mini. This is an insane expression of excess - I am sure that in a blind test they would be undetectable from wheels and tires costing 1/4 of that. But I suppose it is worth it as an "artistic expression," i.e. aphrodisiac. When people say things like "I have $4000 in audio equipment in this car," the immediate thought is either "Wow, I'm impressed - This guy has so much money that he has met all his other needs and has $4000 to waste on this nonsense," or "God, could this person's priorities be more screwed up?" Often it is - "I bet this guy lives at home sponging off his parents and having his mother do his laundry while he spends all his income on his car - what a loser."

But to each his own. I know audiophiles who have spent $4500 on a granite base to hold their turntable so it won't pick up vibration from the room when they play vinyl records. Most of them are not married either.

 

Oh, and How would you know!?!?

 

Because we have you under surveillance.

 

So that was you!

 

Is this from actual experience? If yes, then can you share what you have tried?

Theory and reality does not mix very well cause, if theory worked, then we would be living in a perfect world.

I agree that the car is a bad environment. However, which car or what system have you referenced in a car?


I agreed absolutely. We use to compress because a typical cassette recording did not go down below 50Hz and by compressing, it gave more sound. However, it also saved the amp from thermal shutdown.
For the most part, I will agree with you. You would be surprised how Tube amps sound in a car or Class A amp for matter a fact.

However, all the processors doesnt make your system sound better. What makes the system sound better is the amount of power you have in the amp + speakers. Bottom line, 3dB of EQ boost = doubling the power of your amp.

You can have all the processing you want. That still doesn't change the fact that there's absolutely no power going into the Computer speakers. So, it's like comparing a lawnmower motor to a Big Block V8. No game.

So, what kind of Home Audio gear have you personally had experience and Car Audio Gear?

Save your money for a house.[/QUOTE]

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeDentist

True exhibitionists exit the car first......

From your tone of voice, I'm assuming you have been to regional Car Audio Sound Offs or events? Because if you haven't, please keep these opinions to yourself and try not to get mixed up with 18 year olds kids.



We use such things as:



Sealed chamber tweeters to lower the resonance, design speakers to be optimized for infinite baffle, we treat the doors to decrease vibration/road noise, 24Bit DAC in head units, time alignment, 31band dual mono EQ, hand built active x-overs and the list goes on...



So, before you start knocking car audio (a bit ironic being on this thread), I suggest you might want to learn more about car audio. If not? No biggy.



If you're happy with your system? I'm happy for you but it's probably not wise to "knock down" car audio so that you can justify what you have is good.



It's no different in dentistry. More Dentists prefer putting a Crown because it's fast $$$. In reality, they should offer the patient of the option of an On or Inlay. Most dentists don't perform On-lays because it takes time and the return is not as good. Also, they just don't have the technique.



It's same in car audio, we think we are doing the right thing. For some it's perfect but they should always be aware that there are other better options.

 

What exackly are you using?

Currently, my "Computer system" consist of:

Pair of Cerwin-Vega 5 1/4" 2-way Bookshelf speakers tuned at 60Hz

Pair of Cerwin-Vega Dual 8" Sub, powered by a 300watt Cerwin-Vega Mono Block Amp

Yamaha RX-V590 Receiver for my Bookshelf speakers (100w x 2) 3 amp current draw.

Kimber Cable speaker wires.

Running off of my Dell laptop. It's about speakers and amps. Not any "Prosessors" and 6.1 systems. Cause at the end of the day, it's all about sound.

Maybe I'm a bit more of a critic but it's been my hobby for 20 years of cars and sound.

 

The question is can you flash the firmware on an ’04 head unit to upgrade it to play MP3 CD-Rs? I flashed the firmware on my home Philips DVD player and it worked fine. Anyone done it to an ’06 HU? Anyone know any links where you can download a firmware upgrade?

 

I've spent a lot of money over the years on home stereo equipment and can truthfully say that I have never seen a high end system that simulated engine and road noise so it would sound better. An automobile is simply a noisy refelective vibrating box with mechanical noise in great abundance. No sane person would choose it as an audio listening environment unless the fact that it moved was much more important than the fact that it played music.


If a car is parked, with the engine off, then it becomes an audio reflecting box guaranteed to screw up any soundfield inside without extensive processing. I know most people try to have as many hard glass panes as possible in their listening environment. Its literally like listening to music from inside a boom box.

Car audio is what it is - a huge compromise designed to get around the horrendous audio environment of an automobile. Its not Severence Hall, it is the inside of a friggin car! Don't insult people's intelligence when you say you can go in there and listen to symphony music like it is not. Its like all things portable - a portable TV, a portable radio, a portable air conditioner, a portable hair dryer, a portable toilet. No reasonable person expects it to be as good as the real thing.

I know that car audio is a big thing for some people, but quite frankly I doubt that 10% of them really care about how it sounds. That is why so much car stereo equipment is made to be visible. Lots of gold contacts and big red cables, and head units that have animated dolphins and separate amps and lights that flash. You know - real AUDIO stuff.

Back in the old days we talked about "Golden Ears," people who could really hear the music. Nowadays the average American has experienced measurable hearing loss by age 20.

I have no problem with anyone spending their money any way they want. If they want to to try to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse, I say let them try. But I contend that there are no true Audiophile car audio systems. Just something you listen to as you travel someplace to the real thing.

 

Message to TruTech:

Any audio system is only as good as its weaest link. That sound chip in that Dell Laptop probably causes enough distortion to eliminate any possibility of quality sound coming out of your speakers. Anyone who says something like "its all about speakers and amps" knows very little about audio. Its about low distortion signal sources. Its about having the right power for the speakers, and its mostly about the listening environment.

As I sit here in front of my computer, I count 14 speakers from my various systems, ranging from M&K Subwoofer with DBX amps to AR powered speakers and subwoofers. Plus my prized Yamaha NS-1000's. THX surround sound from my rack mount Onkyo system, with a rack mount P4 computer feeding MP3's into the system as needed, to augment the CD, Cassette and two vinyl record turntables. It s not like I have not paid my dues in audio. I also have 4 other computers networked below this desk, two of which have Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS 24 bit sound cards, outputting to all the stereo systems as needed by Russound patch bays. I've probably thrown out more computer equipment and audio equipment than you will ever own.

I am very much in favor of people playing music in their cars. Also on the beach, up a tree, in the backyard - wherever. I love music. But lets not try to make a car out to be even a good place to really listen to music. Its a great place to play it, however.

 

To Dan the man:

I believe that the laser beam needed to read cd-r And cd-rw disks is of a different type, intensity, or frequency than that needed to read regular audio CD's. I doubt that a simple flashing of the firmware would enable the ability to play MP3's. Commercially produced CD's are "Pressed" and then a reflective media is sublimated on the pitted surface. MP3 disks are "burned" when a laser burns away a dye to reveal the reflective surface below. Those reflective spots are not as reflective as the pits, so the laser needs to be stronger to reflect enough energy to read. So I really doubt that it is possible. Your DVD player already had a high power laser in it. I've even been told that some NEC 2500A single layer DVD writers can be flashed to be dual layer recorders, but only a certain percentage of those lasers are good enough to make the transition.

 

That would be b/c the 2005's don't come out until October!!!

Yes - the 2005's will play mp3 CDs.

 

JoeD, That's a bummer. Thanks for the insight.

 

My 05 MCS has the CD changer in the back. The only CD I have in it is one I burned from the cumputer. So yes the CD changer plays burned CDs.

I asked the dealer if I can get the MP3 adapter added to my car and he told me "for now I can't, you can only have either the CD changer or the MP3 adapter. "
I hope they fix this soon so I can get an adaptor or better yet I want the IPod port that was mentioned as an option for BMWs.

http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ja...lbum?.dir=/2494

2005 MCS HB/W, Premium, Sport, Cold Weather, Nav, HB Trim

 

First '05's are hitting the dealers THIS WEEK. Have a confirmation that Crown MINI in Richmond VA has their first two '05s. Nobody's gotten in them to play with the radio yet, I would expect that we'll know for sure in the next few days on the MP3 situation.

 

OK - lets get this straight for hopefully the last time - the Head Unit in the 05's will play true MP3 computer files off a burned cd-r or cd-rw. This means songs burned with a ripper like Music Match or Audiograbber. It has been documented and it is true. The "CD changer" is a separate unit made to hold 6 audio CD's, i.e. disks with CD type audio files - these are NOT MP3 disks, but seemingly the unit will read burned COPIES OF AUDIO CD'S.



So, to rehash. The head unit in U.S. spec cars will play true MP3 files off a burned CD - this means about 120 songs on a single CD. (Actual time available depends on the encoding frequency and thus quality) Obviously it will also read commercial CD's. The optional 6 disk CD Changer will read "burned" CD's, i.e. home-made, but only if the files are duplicates of a true audio CD file. It will NOT decode MP3 files. These disks will only hold a maximun of 80 minutes of music. You can still make "Mix" cd's which will play in the 6 disk unit by moving CD format files from various audio CD's to a single disk using a product like Easy CD Creator or Nero.

I have read that the first 05's are now at dealers, so hopefully it will not be long before some computer hacker will let us know how to display song titles using ID tags on the MP3 disks - at least if it is possible.