Good head unit without a CD player?

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JEaton

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Good head unit without a CD player?
« on: 26 Jun 2012, 07:16 pm »
I'm contemplating installing a computer in my car for audio. It will most likely feed a USB DAC will be able to store up to about 3000 albums encoded in FLAC. So I'll have no need for a CD player in the car.

Can anyone recommend a decent head unit that has no CD player? It can be either single or double DIN and the only real requirement is that it must have a rear auxiliary input for the audio from the computer.

elite1967

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Re: Good head unit without a CD player?
« Reply #1 on: 29 Jun 2012, 09:40 am »
Interresting thread.
I will interested too in the alternatives available in Europe.

medium jim

Re: Good head unit without a CD player?
« Reply #2 on: 30 Jun 2012, 03:14 pm »
While there may be none that I know of or found under a google search, there are many that have multiple USB ports for computer connectivity.   

Jim

srb

Re: Good head unit without a CD player?
« Reply #3 on: 30 Jun 2012, 03:24 pm »
While many head units have USB ports, they are usually either (a) for proprietary iPod connection and control or (b) for playback of USB attached file storage (USB thumb drives or hard drives) but not necessarily to function as a USB DAC for connection to a computer.

Steve

JEaton

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Re: Good head unit without a CD player?
« Reply #4 on: 30 Jun 2012, 03:30 pm »
No, I wasn't expecting any of them to function as a USB DAC. Just something simple with FM radio and an auxiliarly input switch that would do little more than volume control of the input.

I did a quick check on Crutchfield. Apparently there are such beasts, or something similar to what I'm looking for, labeled "digital media receivers". It's fairly slim pickings, with many of them designed to work closely with Apple iPods. They have software to navigate the music, iPod docks or cables with the necessary connectors, even pockets behind the faceplate where you stash the iPod after plugging it in. The ones that can work with USB attached storage are interesting, but from what I've seen, the software is extremely limited and I want to navigate the library on the touchscreen computer.

I'll probably just end up with a standard receiver with single-CD player that will never be used.

toslink

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Re: Good head unit without a CD player?
« Reply #5 on: 18 Jul 2012, 12:19 pm »
How about this one from Alpine?

http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/ida-x305s

Alpine sells an optional aux-in adapter that plugs into the CD changer port.

--david

Bob in St. Louis

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Re: Good head unit without a CD player?
« Reply #6 on: 18 Jul 2012, 01:01 pm »
You could mount a Squeezebox Touch in the dash.
Just an idea.

medium jim

Re: Good head unit without a CD player?
« Reply #7 on: 18 Jul 2012, 03:20 pm »
You could mount a Squeezebox Touch in the dash.
Just an idea.

Bob:

That might work, to me the idea of still having a CD player isn't too bad and the cost is negligable. However, I do remember having a head unit way back that had both a CDP and a Cassette Player and I might have used the Cassette Player a few time in the several years I had it installed.  Still, it was an option and did except Metal Type Tapes, so the sound wasn't too bad.

Jim

JEaton

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Re: Good head unit without a CD player?
« Reply #8 on: 18 Jul 2012, 04:03 pm »
You could mount a Squeezebox Touch in the dash.

With a car computer and a touch screen I can run SqueezePlay on the computer and have nearly the same functionality and the same interface as a Squeezebox. I've actually worked a bit on migrating SqueezePlay to the native 800x600 pixel resolution of most double DIN touchscreens.