CD changer
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,764
Likes: 375
From: Central Florida
It's worth it to me to have all that access without effort, but mine is a vert with headers, cam, and supercharger so audio sound is not so important to me
and it blows away the fm radio. But you have me curious enough to dig up a few cd's and compare same songs and I will report back my impressions. ( not that anyone cares what I think
)
and it blows away the fm radio. But you have me curious enough to dig up a few cd's and compare same songs and I will report back my impressions. ( not that anyone cares what I think) I absolutely can hear a substantial difference in sound quality between a cd and iPod going in through isimple through cd changer input, I played Feist 1234 on both a brand new cd and a iTunes download, the cd was much fuller than the iPod. 
I'm surprised it was this much and that I had not noticed, but compared to fm radio it is still a great way to listen to a lot of music with no commercials.
I did not do a road test, but if I'm honest, I will tell you it was enough for me to hear if I compared back to back no matter the background noise. I do have good ears for this, but my Vette is supercharged/cammed with headers and I don't drive it to listen to music
Thanks for pointing out what I was missing
.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,764
Likes: 375
From: Central Florida
but I will be honest I can tell you I will be able to hear it, it's that obvious, I never would have believed it was this obvious, but that is just how bad the fm radio is
I will report back, you will believe me right
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,764
Likes: 375
From: Central Florida
You know, I could have sat in my living room and done the same test you did, and would have reached the same conclusion you did. There's no disputing that CDs produce a better quality sound than downloaded music files. But we're not sitting in a living or in a Vette in the garage with the engine off. We're driving down the road while listening to the music, and that music is accompanied by engine and exhaust sounds, noise from tires rolling on the road, wind noise. If you think your ears can detect a significant difference between the two formats with all that background noise, then your ears are far better than mine. And I've still got pretty darn good hearing for my age. That's the real world test, that's the point of all this. Not that music from a CD is better than from an iPod/iPhone, because we all know it is. But can you really hear the difference in the environment in which you're listening to it? Because it's not your living room where it's nice and quiet.
remember I was on the other side of this thing.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,764
Likes: 375
From: Central Florida
Ok actually just got to dinner, played it for my wife going 65mph on us1, I did not tell her which was which, In her exact words after switching back and forth "number one" (cd) "by a lot", I could also tell easily. But I still aint bringing cd's along in the future.
Windows and top up, ac on, supercharged, cammed, headers, ti exhaust, vert.
Windows and top up, ac on, supercharged, cammed, headers, ti exhaust, vert.
Last edited by Forcedvert; May 1, 2016 at 09:29 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,275
Likes: 739
From: Miami FL
Ok, for anyone who cares what I think I absolutely can hear a substantial difference in sound quality between a cd and iPod going in through isimple through cd changer input, I played Feist 1234 on both a brand new cd and a iTunes download, the cd was much fuller than the iPod. I'm surprised it was this much and that I had not noticed...
Thanks for pointing out what I was missing.
I absolutely can hear a substantial difference in sound quality between a cd and iPod going in through isimple through cd changer input, I played Feist 1234 on both a brand new cd and a iTunes download, the cd was much fuller than the iPod. I'm surprised it was this much and that I had not noticed...
...I will do it on the road, but I will be honest I can tell you I will be able to hear it, it's that obvious, I never would have believed it was this obvious...
but I will be honest I can tell you I will be able to hear it, it's that obvious, I never would have believed it was this obvious...
Ok actually just got to dinner, played it for my wife going 65mph on us1, I did not tell her which was which, In her exact words after switching back and forth "number one" (cd) "by a lot", I could also tell easily. But I still aint bringing cd's along in the future.
Windows and top up, ac on, supercharged, cammed, headers, ti exhaust, vert.
Windows and top up, ac on, supercharged, cammed, headers, ti exhaust, vert.
. 
As I said before, in the end it is a personal decision, but an informed decision is always better than a blind one
There is no doubt that ease of access has its allure, but having all the facts give people the opportunity to decide when to favor one medium or the other if they feel like it.
On the other hand, for those that choose not to sacrifice quality, a 12-CD magazine can provide around 10 hours of continuous play time, which should be enough for any average trip, unless we are embarking in an intracontinental adventure
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 8,900
Likes: 1,074
From: Wisconsin
You are very welcome!
As I said before, in the end it is a personal decision, but an informed decision is always better than a blind one
There is no doubt that ease of access has its allure, but having all the facts give people the opportunity to decide when to favor one medium or the other if they feel like it.
On the other hand, for those that choose not to sacrifice quality, a 12-CD magazine can provide around 10 hours of continuous play time, which should be enough for any average trip, unless we are embarking in an intracontinental adventure
As I said before, in the end it is a personal decision, but an informed decision is always better than a blind one
There is no doubt that ease of access has its allure, but having all the facts give people the opportunity to decide when to favor one medium or the other if they feel like it.
On the other hand, for those that choose not to sacrifice quality, a 12-CD magazine can provide around 10 hours of continuous play time, which should be enough for any average trip, unless we are embarking in an intracontinental adventure
Last edited by JR-01; May 4, 2016 at 09:15 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,747
Likes: 224
From: Hillsboro Oregon
While I agree that a CD has a better playback sound than an iPod.......I still find myself listening to most of my music through my old iPod Video in my C5. When I bought my 99 back in 07 I couldn't find the adapter I really wanted as I wanted to retain my CD changer, add an iPod hard wired, and add a Sat radio hard wired. What I eventually found with the help of some really helpful guys at PIE was their PIE # V3 Triple Input Auxiliary Interface. This unit allowed me to add three high quality devices and keep my CD changer. The system works via a switch box mounted next to the CD changer along with a custom PIE interface cable. The switch box has three sets of RCA inputs and a wired remote that is connected via a CAT5 cable to wherever you want it. Once I got it installed it has worked flawlessly since and sounds great. But it was quite a bit of work to hide 6 long RCA cables plus the Cat 5 from the CD changer to the radio location. So when I got my 2003 I didn't move the PIE X3 over to the 2003. Rather I use an iSimple and settle for just my iPod and stock head unit. I found that I rarely used the CD changer or the SAT radio in the 99. The PIE X3 is no longer being made and PIE has disappeared, I think into PAC which has also merged with other brands. But I did just find one on eBay.....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251867250118?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251867250118?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,764
Likes: 375
From: Central Florida
You are very welcome!
As I said before, in the end it is a personal decision, but an informed decision is always better than a blind one
There is no doubt that ease of access has its allure, but having all the facts give people the opportunity to decide when to favor one medium or the other if they feel like it.
On the other hand, for those that choose not to sacrifice quality, a 12-CD magazine can provide around 10 hours of continuous play time, which should be enough for any average trip, unless we are embarking in an intracontinental adventure
As I said before, in the end it is a personal decision, but an informed decision is always better than a blind one
There is no doubt that ease of access has its allure, but having all the facts give people the opportunity to decide when to favor one medium or the other if they feel like it.
On the other hand, for those that choose not to sacrifice quality, a 12-CD magazine can provide around 10 hours of continuous play time, which should be enough for any average trip, unless we are embarking in an intracontinental adventure
You were right though the cd sound is better by far, I'm not too stubborn to admit I was wrong, but the sound is not that bad on the iPod input, if I were not comparing back to back of the same music I would not really know.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 8,900
Likes: 1,074
From: Wisconsin
I appreciate the advice you've shared, but see, here's my problem with CDs. There's rarely ever been a CD that I've liked most or all of the songs on. In fact, with probably 90 - 95% of CDs of artists I like, there's only one or two songs on said CD that I want to listen to, that I actually want to own (another 5 -8% perhaps three or four songs). So I'm not going to buy a CD just for one or two songs. That's why I choose to go the iPod/iTunes route. I download ONLY the songs I want, and don't get 10 songs I really don't if I had bought the CD. Am I sacrificing some quality by not buying the CD? Sure, but I'm willing to do it by going a la carte and having an iPod full of ONLY the music I want to listen to. That theoretical 10 hours of music on 12 CDs would in reality be more like 90 minutes for me. So yes, I'm trading off a lesser quality sound for having the convenience of bringing along ONLY the songs I want to listen to, and also having much more of that music to choose from on an iPod than I could possibly carry with me on CDs. It's a choice, and that's the way I ride.
Advanced
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 51
Likes: 7
From: Ca
will look into fixing the ERR issue myself