Sponsored

CD Player

Karl_in_Chicago

Badlands
Well-Known Member
First Name
Karl
Joined
Jul 19, 2020
Threads
5
Messages
1,685
Reaction score
3,656
Location
Chicago
Vehicle(s)
Badlands
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Based on the number of (mostly accurate) comments in this thread it's clear to see why CD players aren't offered in cars anymore - people don't want them. I wish they did; guess one of the benefits of keeping my cars forever is I still have that "old tech" (LOL). Corvette has a 6-disc magazine and my Acura has a 5-disc tray and also plays DVD-A and SACD. Shame these formats didn't last - once you've heard a properly mastered SACD you don't ever want to go back and DVD-A allows me to rip a bunch of CD's and write them out to a cheap DVD blank and pack in a ton of music.

Time marches on. After being a long time Google Music subscriber - which had the benefit of allowing me to upload my own purchased music to stream along with what they offered - I was forced to seek alternatives when they chose to shut it down (because the YouTube Music that Google thinks I should switch to sucks out loud). I've found Spotify to be pretty good. While it lacks some of a number of the cool features that GPM has it mostly scratches the itch for me.

As to how to get your own collection portable, rip it and write it. Ripping CD's is time consuming and boring so best done in stints paired with adult beverages and something to read. There are a number of formats, and methods, you can choose to rip and store so do some research before making the commitment. Choosing a lossless format will get your the highest quality but will take the most time and use the most storage. The upside is you will have made the time investment *once* and will be free to write that music into any format you want, including "lossy" (but smaller) ones like MP3 (kind of a universal standard for a lot of players). Similarly if you want to listen to that music in higher quality you can create lossless formats like FLAC for other players.

For lossless ripping I recommend Extreme Audio Copy. It's free and runs on Windows or Wine/Linux (your original post mentioned you don't want an Apple solution so I assume this would work for you). For the simplest lossy solution I'd echo what others have written here and point towards Windows native media player solution.
 
OP
OP
Skip2a

Skip2a

Black Diamond
Well-Known Member
First Name
Pat
Joined
Oct 22, 2020
Threads
14
Messages
145
Reaction score
228
Location
Pennsylvania
Vehicle(s)
2020 Sahara
Your Bronco Model
Black Diamond
Clubs
 
Karl:

I searched for Extreme Audio Copy and I can't find an exact match. I am totally clueless on ripping/saving/storage devices and finally being able to play the music.

If you get bored drop me a PM and give me some pointers on how to get started without wasting a tone of time and effort.
 

Beach_Bum

Black Diamond
Well-Known Member
First Name
Ken
Joined
Aug 12, 2020
Threads
28
Messages
6,143
Reaction score
19,267
Location
St. Augustine, FL
Vehicle(s)
2022 Black Diamond Bronco, 2023 Outerbanks Bronco
Your Bronco Model
Black Diamond
Clubs
 
Karl:

I searched for Extreme Audio Copy and I can't find an exact match. I am totally clueless on ripping/saving/storage devices and finally being able to play the music.

If you get bored drop me a PM and give me some pointers on how to get started without wasting a tone of time and effort.
Exact Audio Copy - You can go back to see my response back in November. I'm a semi-Luddite and it was easy for me.
 

jswing

Base
Well-Known Member
First Name
Jeff
Joined
Jul 18, 2020
Threads
0
Messages
154
Reaction score
343
Location
NJ
Vehicle(s)
2020 Ranger
Your Bronco Model
Base
I had about three 8 tracks in a Volvo station wagon I had during college. I drove that thing in the boonies between home and college, so no radio. The main 8 track I listened to was Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. I also had Seals & Crofts Summer Breeze (I think that was the name). No, I am not THAT old, but my dad made sure I had technology and features in my cars from bygone eras...and often other parts that were from bygone eras. After the Volvo threw a rod, I had to drive a 3 speed pinto with no ac and no 8 track.

Anyway, OP, get spotify and be done with it. You can play every song you've ever heard and make play lists, etc. Plus podcasts and a huge variety of things you've never heard of before. Be your own DJ.
This post brings back memories. My first concert was Elton John on the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road tour at the Spectrum in Philly in 1976. My first car was a 4 speed Bobcat (Mercury's version of the Pinto.) I had to install an 8 track in the Bobcat.
 

Sponsored

j_anderson

Outer Banks
Well-Known Member
First Name
Jason
Joined
Jan 24, 2021
Threads
12
Messages
831
Reaction score
1,462
Location
Fort Wayne, IN
Website
www.instagram.com
Vehicle(s)
2021 Bronco
Your Bronco Model
Outer Banks
Clubs
 
Upload all your music to YouTube music then use the CarPlay/AA app to stream. This will still use and depend on your phones data connection but will save you from having to load all your songs on your physical device. If you have your music library already converted to mp3, you might be able to find some kind of economical MP3 player then output via aux cable assuming the Bronco has an Aux input. However, the MP3 player I linked above also has Bluetooth.
 

smrpilot

Badlands
Well-Known Member
First Name
Scott
Joined
Aug 3, 2020
Threads
6
Messages
265
Reaction score
536
Location
PNW
Vehicle(s)
'15 Silverado 3500HD, '68 FJ40
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
I have a flash drive that I've ripped a bunch of my cd's onto that I keep plugged into my rig. Including some of my favorite wheeling mixes that are in their own folders. That way when you are out where there is no signal for spotify and the mountains are too steep and the trees too thick for Sirius radio reception, I have my tunes. I'm assuming the Bronco will be able to do the same.
 

Raptor911

Raptor
Well-Known Member
First Name
Raptor911
Joined
Jun 17, 2020
Threads
161
Messages
5,347
Reaction score
11,808
Location
Broadlands, VA
Vehicle(s)
2021 F150 Raptor, 2022 Wildtrak
Your Bronco Model
Raptor
Pandora has several metal channels so just use apple carplay or android auto and install the pandora app and it will appear on the infotainment screen. Pandora is free but you will get ads.

Pay for it and no ads then you get set your own playlist.
 

Natai

Badlands
Well-Known Member
First Name
Sean
Joined
Jul 21, 2020
Threads
29
Messages
1,438
Reaction score
5,284
Location
Sacramento
Vehicle(s)
Nissan Sentra, Mercedes GLC
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
The good news is, it's easier today than when I did it (apparently)
SmartSelect_20201114-075000_Google.jpg


I can't even recall what software I used in the past. But I'm talking well over 1,000 songs in my library. And yes back then, you still fixed the names yourself.

I can't say much about Spotify, as ads drove me nuts. I do use Amazon Music (paid service) quite a bit for their stations (Iron Maiden my favorite) plays a mix of similar bands.. Spotify should be very similar.

And yeah I'll ait it, I've downloaded plenty of cd's as well... But only downloaded music I already owned. Google rewards (a survey service) gets you Google play money, which I used to purchase and download newer songs I hear and like.

So any of that will take some time, but for Metal Heads (with few options out there, yes Sirius repeats songs quite a bit), it's just what we have to do.
You can use this process, or something similar, to rip your CDs to MP3. Then I would recommend uploading those MP3s to Youtube Music (used to be Google Play Music). You will then have your complete library uploaded to the cloud. You can play albums like usual via the app (and download the ones you want when you expect to be out of coverage) using Android Auto.

Note that you can avoid the tedious process of ripping the discs if you're willing to spend money on the monthly service for Google music. Then you can add basically anything from their catalog to your personal library with a simple click.

Also note that their auto-playlist and radio functions are a nightmare right now if you want to listen to something specific, but that doesn't impact playing individual albums.
 

Efthreeoh

Banned
Black Diamond
Banned
Banned
Joined
Nov 6, 2020
Threads
5
Messages
1,672
Reaction score
3,090
Location
USA
Vehicle(s)
Hummer H3T
Your Bronco Model
Black Diamond
So what I did is buy a Sony Walkman. Sony has several models from a few hundred to over a thousand dollars. The device is bluetooth, USB, and audio minijack compatible. The storage capacity is up to 128GB, which can hold a few thousand CDs depending on what compression format you choose.

I'm going to rip all my CDs to it and use it as my main music source.
 

Sponsored

Blitzjb

Banned
Outer Banks
Banned
Banned
First Name
Joel
Joined
Jul 25, 2020
Threads
10
Messages
442
Reaction score
831
Location
Long Island
Vehicle(s)
2021 Ford Bronco OBX
Your Bronco Model
Outer Banks
Clubs
 
I know you said you don't like radio because it doesn't have what you want. Try Sirius. It generally DOES have everything someone could want and its satellite, so it reaches anywhere
Especially the grateful dead channel and jam on !
 

BEM-S4

Black Diamond
Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2020
Threads
3
Messages
500
Reaction score
856
Location
Philadelphia
Vehicle(s)
BMWs & Porsches
Your Bronco Model
Black Diamond
If you already have a bunch of CDs you like, get a FiiO X1 Gen 2. You can convert all your CDs to lossless FLAC, and the player has a "car mode" so it automatically turns on when you start the car and off after a few minutes when there's no power. Set to random and it works just like a jukebox. Cheap too like $100 last I checked. Hell I have an extra one I've been thinking about selling, PM me if you cannot find one online.
Sponsored

 
 


Top