cheap ebay usb/sd car music player - any opinions?

Looking at the specs, one is 2 x 11W output, the other is 2 x 25W - not very powerful, normal car stereos are 4 x 40W - and no front/rear fader option, so no use if you want to chose between cockpit and saloon speakers, unless you add a switch. The audio spec of the first unit isn't good - 5% THD, 100hz - 10kHz +- 6dB frequency range, and there is no spec at all for the second unit. While the option to use SD cards and USB dongles is useful, no mention of any size limit. Frankly, I wouldn't bother.
 
greenalien said:
Looking at the specs, one is 2 x 11W output, the other is 2 x 25W - not very powerful, normal car stereos are 4 x 40W - and no front/rear fader option, so no use if you want to chose between cockpit and saloon speakers, unless you add a switch. The audio spec of the first unit isn't good - 5% THD, 100hz - 10kHz +- 6dB frequency range, and there is no spec at all for the second unit. While the option to use SD cards and USB dongles is useful, no mention of any size limit. Frankly, I wouldn't bother.
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well I already have a switch for cockpit cabin as its a pain to keep fading it in and out. I can get a newer one like the sony I have (but with sd card/usb)but looking at the cooling fins, wattage, and coloured display I reckon it will suck the amps. The problem with higher powered ones is the quiescent current they take evan at lower sound levels.
That said, 11watts isnt much. I wonder if thats rms or this peak music power nonsense...?

anyone else have a low powered (consumption) sound system that plays from a memory stick.

I must add we are talking about a sailing boat and some classical music here not the chav boat (floating sound system with wakeboard tower and 1.21 giggawatt surround speaker system plus led lightshow) that I was forced to share a lock-out with the other day. dum tss dmm tss dum tss dum tss.....
 
As I never use the radio or CD player I threw out my car stereo and installed one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/electronics/dp/B006VK009Y which i put together myself following the super easy instructions. It sounds great, I mounted it in a perspex box which can be hidden anywhere just leaving a headphone jack to plug your mp3-player into.

I just use my iphone to adjust the volume so don't need to access the box at all, it's wired to a spare switch on the switch panel so turned on and off there
 
Why do you think the Sony would be power hungry? I have a fairly up to date Sony CDX GT300S with inputs for iPod and auxiliaries. It consumes 0.8 amp with a CD playing, less with just the radio. I would have expected a bottom of the market player to consume more, not less.
 
mikecontessa26 said:
As I never use the radio or CD player I threw out my car stereo and installed one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/electronics/dp/B006VK009Y which i put together myself following the super easy instructions. It sounds great, I mounted it in a perspex box which can be hidden anywhere just leaving a headphone jack to plug your mp3-player into.

I just use my iphone to adjust the volume so don't need to access the box at all, it's wired to a spare switch on the switch panel so turned on and off there
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perfect! thats the one for me! gonna get me one of those. thanks!
 
vyv_cox said:
Why do you think the Sony would be power hungry? I have a fairly up to date Sony CDX GT300S with inputs for iPod and auxiliaries. It consumes 0.8 amp with a CD playing, less with just the radio. I would have expected a bottom of the market player to consume more, not less.
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I consider 0.8a quite a bit if I just want some gentle background music. given that my pc chartplotter takes 0.6a or 1.2 with the monitor on.

Im sure its the fancy multicolour backlit displays that sap the power on the fancy stereos judging by the heat the display gives off...
 
the_branflake said:
Hello,
I wanted something a little smaller than a standard car radio so I got this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281068085868 very pleased with it. Sound quality is good it will drive hi-fi speakers, plays mp3 from USB or sd card. Fm radio with auto tune and a line in on the back. Not sure if its suitable for your needs but might be for someone.
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even better thats awesome! thanks!
 
contessaman said:
has anyone tried any of these or similar:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200809296...AX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2648#ht_7232wt_986

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140980802...WAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2648#ht_850wt_721

was thinking of trying one to replace the power hungry sony cd/radio that i currently have...
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I use a Logitech remote speaker that I run through Bluetooth off my phone or iPad. It is great, portable unobtrusive, sounds great and comes with me when I want to go very portable!
 
thanks all especially branflake. I have ordered one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281068089...AX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_2492wt_978

its similar to the one you have branflake but with no display which might mean even less power consumption. its goes all the way up to 2x20w RMS which given how loud my 20w guitar amp is should be ample. Only 2channnel output but thats fine as I use a c/o switch between cockpit and cabin. It seems to accept a wide range of impedance speakers so I might swap the old harry moss car ones in the cabin for the set of wooden cased technics hifi speakers I have sat in th garage. I shall report back with how it performs when or if it ever arrives from china. at that price its worth a go.

thanks to all who have offered their advice enjoy the weather this weekend!
 
Searush said:
Ahh, but what do you do for Radio 4 Longwave? ;)
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+1 I got caught out by that one, too. I bought a car stereo for the boat and was it wasn't until I'd had it a couple of weeks that I realised that it did VHF & MW, but not LW :(

Still, Solent CG is pretty good about forecasts and, having finally discovered that a smartphone is one of those things you didn't know you couldn't live without until you had one, I can get an on-line one any time I have a signal, which for my sailing is pretty much all the time. My boss would become suicidal (or homicidal) if he couldn't get the cricket, but for me, it's an exquisite torture that would have me confessing to anything within an innings.
 
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I have a little roberts radio with longwave for the shipping forcast. cant remember the last time I checked the shipping forcast though I tend to leave port with 8 days of grib file...

that said. I can cant get properly cosy onboard without listening to sailing by while im half asleep.
 
alisdair4 said:
This looks to be exactly what we are looking for! I can't see from the photos if it has an external antenna feed? If not,how have you found the FM reception?
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Hello,

They have a metal aerial on the back but no socket, unless you were to open it up and maybe connect something yourself - Reception so far on mine has been good-very good. It has a plug on the back to connect the remote sensor lead so that you can hide the unit and still operate it from the remote.

Glad its been useful.
 
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I had a car stereo similar to the eBay ones in my last car for a couple of years, it was a 'Beat 175' IIRc.
The idea of SD cards and USB sticks is great, but perhaps unnecessary if you have the music you want stored on your phone.
In a car, it saves the fiddle of plugging things in though.
The controls and indexing on my unit were crude compared with a phone where you can search by artist, genre or track name.
Left to its own devices it tended to give me about a week of the Stones unless you advance album by album to what you want.
I'd like to fit one to my current car, but don't want to lose the steering column controls or spend a lot of money.
I will probably get an FM transmitter to connect my phone to the radio.

By the way, I found micro SD adaptors to be unreliable, which causes the player to lose its place in the album.
 
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