car cd changer or not?

bach230

I bought an 03 Seat Leon 1.4l last saturday as my little saxo that i'd had for 5 years was on it's way out. The Seat has a tape deck in it with a really good radio on it. Some of the buttons on the tape deck/radio relate to being able to play cd's and there is a function button to use a cd changer but there isn't one in the care. We assume one would go in the glove box as there is a space for one in there.
My dad thinks that if we can get a decent cd changer and have that put in it would be better because the radio is so good but we are still considering buying a cd player and just replacing the tape deck.

My husband works with a few people who have Seat Leon's and they've said that these tape decks are standard in them and you have the option when you buy it from new as to whether you want a cd changer put in or not.

Has anyone got any ideas about this and which is going to be better/cheaper for us? We're off on holiday in 4 weeks so would like to have something for then for us to listen to our cd's.

Nat

goldspanners

i would replace the original stereo with a half decent aftermarket one,there are plenty out there for a good price, but you might need to fit fascia adaptor plate,like this and fit additional wiring like this.
personally i would get a stereo with aux input so i can plug in my ipod which means no cds cluttering up the car.

anewman

Or you could get a USB capable head unit that can read MP3's off it. http://www.pioneer.co.uk/uk/products/25/121/61/DEH-P8100BT/index.html is probably the best option from Pioneer's most recent range. If you have one with a rear usb input and you hopefully would be able to hide the hard disk somewhere behind the dash or feed a usb extension cable into the glovebox or something. You also have the option of playing a CD with one. The only problem you can run into with these is the hard disk's power requirements exceeding that the stereo can provide so you may have to search for a compatible self-powered USB portable hard disk (the small 2.5" ones). I would hope that in their most recent incarnations they are better in this respect though.

You could have your hard disk setup like mine with the root directory full of folders with the name A, B, C..... XYZ relating to the first letter of the artists name. Then the next folder artist, and that filled with folders containing the albums. So say you want to listen to John Lennon - Imagine, you press list on the stereo, then scroll down to J and hit select, then scroll to John Lennon hit select, then scroll to Imagine, hit select and it will play. If you and your partner have different music you could have it arranged starting with a folder for each of your names.

Much more music at hand than a CD changer, much smaller, and much cooler IMO

I went for this option myself as I couldn't justify the cost of an ipod at the time and ipod capable head units were quite expensive back then. If you have an ipod already then one of those like GS mentions is probably better!

rsvtoddy

Research if the original head unit will take an Ipod connection in place of the cd changer - much better selection and easier to 'carry' in the car.

Dension make them, also Connects2 (I think)

HTH

creased-leach

Whilst you mull it over, and easy & cheap way to play your CD's is to get a portable CD player, and a tape head adapter from Poundland (8ish in Tesco) and away you go. It'll also plug into an MP3 player.

goldspanners

anewman wrote: »

Or you could get a USB capable head unit that can read MP3's off it. http://www.pioneer.co.uk/uk/products/25/121/61/DEH-P8100BT/index.html is probably the best option from Pioneer's most recent range. If you have one with a rear usb input and you hopefully would be able to hide the hard disk somewhere behind the dash or feed a usb extension cable into the glovebox or something. You also have the option of playing a CD with one. The only problem you can run into with these is the hard disk's power requirements exceeding that the stereo can provide so you may have to search for a compatible self-powered USB portable hard disk (the small 2.5" ones). I would hope that in their most recent incarnations they are better in this respect though.

You could have your hard disk setup like mine with the root directory full of folders with the name A, B, C..... XYZ relating to the first letter of the artists name. Then the next folder artist, and that filled with folders containing the albums. So say you want to listen to John Lennon - Imagine, you press list on the stereo, then scroll down to J and hit select, then scroll to John Lennon hit select, then scroll to Imagine, hit select and it will play. If you and your partner have different music you could have it arranged starting with a folder for each of your names.

Much more music at hand than a CD changer, much smaller, and much cooler IMO

I went for this option myself as I couldn't justify the cost of an ipod at the time and ipod capable head units were quite expensive back then. If you have an ipod already then one of those like GS mentions is probably better!

i did think about doing this but as my van was already capable of connecting an mp3 player i though "stuff it treat yourself for once" and i bought my ipod ( got it in florida so i still saved a few quid on it compared to uk price).
so it means i can transfer it from van to car easily and take it in the house to update.
i also made a special ipod cradle to fit into the dashboard so i dont need to hold it to change track. (keeping me legal).
the ipod is very user friendly,even my dad can use it and he hasnt even mastered his mobile yet.

ecosse306

I have a Seat Leon Cupra which has the optional CD changer in the glove box and the tape deck headunit. You might find that the cables are already there to just plug a changer in, but you would need to find a Seat one (clarion) - they come up for sale now and again, mainly on owners clubs.

Bearing in mind the size of the CD changer, you would lose 2/3rds of your glove box - I can only fit a couple of cd cases in my glove box, you would probably be cheaper and easier just to buy a cd/ipod headunit. Depending on what you go for, you can get them for around £100ish.

goldspanners

ecosse306 wrote: »

you would probably be cheaper and easier just to buy a cd/ipod headunit. Depending on what you go for, you can get them for around £100ish.

the ipod dedicated head units are around £100, but if you get one with just an aux plug or usb plug they are even cheaper again. you could get a jvc head unit with aux plug for around £60.

datostar

Being an MSE tightwad I got one of those cassette adapters from a car boot sale for £2. I use it with a 40Gb Venturer Digital Audio Player which cost me £5. Perfect! The radio thinks it's playing a cassette. The adapter can be used with anything that has a stereo audio output and my steering column controls all still work.

bach230

my husband's just had a look in the glove box actually and yes the original cables are in there. my brother can actually get me a cd changer fairly cheaply but will a general (or JVC, not sure what the make of the changer is) cd changer work with our tape deck (tape deck/radio is an Aura make)

ecosse306

It 'should' fit ok, but you may need to get an adaptor as the plug on the cable probably won't fit a general cd changer.

Personally, I would just get a cheap cd player headunit.