mp3 player car accessories

Sony MEX-1GP: The Next Generation of Car MP3 Players

Summary by Dwayne Wright, edited by Ferdinand Rinaldy

For all of those MP3 music owners, the future of car audio is finally here for you. Sony recently released the MEX-1GP CD receiver, a CD receiver that also features a built-in 1 GB flash memory unit. So now your car audio CD receiver behaves in the same manner as your iPod or other type of MP3 player. Aside from playing MP3s, this CD receiver also plays CDs (as the name implies) along with burned CD-Rs and CD-RWs so that those who wish to play their old CDs can still take advantage of this nifty product. However, the real attraction to this new car audio head unit is the MP3 playability. The flash memory unit is located in the detachable faceplate. Once your faceplate is connected to your CD, you simply drag and drop the MP3 files onto the flash memory unit of the faceplate. The screen displays album, artist and track name when playing your MP3 music files. The selectable rear/subwoofer preamp outputs, controls the frequency and output level of an external amplifier.

For one, the sound quality when playing MP3s through this unit is nothing less than phenomenal.

Car Audio Connectivity

Summary by Nathan kartchner

The first and probably easiest is to simply burn a CD with digital tracks formatted to play in a standard CD player. While this solution is fairly simple, many older CD players can’t read burned CDs.

Another option is to buy an FM transmitter. The transmitter puts out a low powered FM signal which is picked up by your car stereo’s radio. Some FM transmitters also allow you to attach a USB flash drive (also called a thumb drive or pen drive) to the transmitter. The transmitter decodes the music files on the drive and allows you to play, skip, and pause your music, all while transmitting to your car radio. Many newer car stereo head units can read burned CDs. In deference to the burgeoning popularity of the personal media player, some car stereo head units also have an auxiliary jack so you can connect your iPod or other similar device to your car stereo via a cable. And a select few car stereos, like the VR3 Car Stereo CD Player, come even more options. Again, if you listen to podcasts or are constantly updating your music collection, this is the solution for you.

In the end, however, it’s nice to look back and realize that car stereo entertainment is really the everyman’s entertainment medium. Happy travels!

You may want to read more about Digital Mp3 Players and Car Mp3 CD Player