Car CD Receiver

JVC KDHDR50 Car CD Receiver

If you’re shopping for a great sounding JVC car CD receiver, you can end your search here. This head unit might just be the best “bang for the buck” model on the market right now. I can tell you after auditioning one for 48 hours, the KD-HDR50 has become my new personal favorite car audio source component.

It’s worth mentioning an often ignored part of the mobile music experience ~ the radio. If you’re like me, you may have such a large personal song collection that you don’t think about the AM/FM selections that much. Well, spend some time with HD radio and you will change your mind.

Click here to visit the JVC KD-HDR50 product site

Car stereo has evolved, and technology convergence has recently put “iTunes Tagging” in the dashboard. This is a new feature that enables HD Radio receivers to remember songs you tag on HD Radio stations. Song information will be uploaded to your iPod so you can preview and purchase them from the iTunes Store.

The HD radio format also allows you to get a variety of text information displayed on your JVC deck. Radio stations are offering a variety of useful messages that appear on radio display screens, including:

• Artist name and song title
• Live weather and real-time traffic updates
• Local news, sports scores and school closings
• Emergency information and much more

Of course, this JVC system lets you do everything else you expect from high-end car CD receivers. Standard equipment includes a CD player that supports traditional CDs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs, as well as those outfitted with MP3 & WMA music files. You’ve got a USB 2.0 connection, a 7-band EQ (graphic equalizer), a wireless remote, and the detachable face for security. With a rated 200 watts of peak power, rocking out on the highway was a breeze.

I do have one minor complaint: setting up the preset HD stations was a bit of a hassle. The JVC menu has so many options that navigation wasn’t as quick as I would have liked. You get 18 digital stations that can be saved, but they are all displayed by their call sign letters (for example, KXYZ), and not their band frequency number. I suspect most people memorize the number, not the letters. I couldn’t find any way to switch the display; I actually started to get distracted from the road, and had to pull over. The moral: set up your HD radio BEFORE you leave for work!

All in all, the JVC KD-HDR50 is a feature-packed bargain. The MSRP is $179, and it’s one of the company top selling car stereo models. If you have a special music lover in mind on the holiday shopping list, this would be a most welcome gift. Or, maybe, do like I did and treat yourself!

Click here to learn more about this JVC car CD receiver

Pioneer Car DEH-P7100BT Car CD Receiver w/ Built-In BlueTooth

Music is a large part of getting into a car and enjoying the ride to where ever your destination is, whether you are in an old muscle car, sport car, or cruising in the family mini-van.  When you are driving to the grocery store, to the park with your children, to work, or just for a Sunday drive, your CD player can make or break your driving experience.

Having a good car sound system, most likely with a JVC car CD receiver or a Pioneer car CD receiver will get you the sound quality and listening experience everyone desires, when trying to blast your favorite songs.  If you purchase the best car CD receiver with the latest technical advances, the sound quality should sound as if the band was right in your car.

The latest technical advances have given car CD players a new, and even better experience than most cars come with, from the factory.  One advancement car stereos and CD players have developed are the amount of speakers and types of speakers which can connect to the stereo.  A car CD receiver is able to connect many speakers at one time.  Depending on the CD player, you can hook up to as many as 8-12 speakers, ranging from tweeters, to regular speakers, and even to multiple subwoofers, for that added kick of bass to the music.

Another advancement to car CD players is better overall sound and product quality.  When car CD receivers first came out, many problems occurred with reading CDs, playing CDs, and the sound quality, which sounded as good as a guy singing into a tin can.  Fortunately, the technological world has given us some advancement to make the sound quality better for everyone driving in a car.  Between tweaking the bass, increasing the power output of most car CD receivers, giving options to send more sound to certain speakers around the car, and by building speakers which are capable of making some houses shake, the car audio industry has truly broken many barriers to produce better sound and product quality.

The third technological advancement is placing graphics on the screens of many CD players.  Some graphics include dolphins jumping, jets flying, waves, gauges, and bars, which will all change and move with the music.  Graphics on car audio CD receivers don’t seem like a great advancement to CD players; however, they can actually give passengers, such as children, some added entertainment.  Some of the more expensive car CD receivers even come with television capabilities.  Many newer, very advanced CD players are able to play CDs and DVDs, in order to play either music or watch DVDs on the provided screen, which range from 2”-10” screens.

Of course, some of the more recent advances that are sure to strike your fancy include built-in bluetooth technology with voice control and USB direct control of your IPod. You’ll find these more sophisticared features in the Pioneer Car DEH-P7100BT car CD receiver.

Finally, one of the nicest features is a removable faceplate, which will help protect you from theft.  With the easy press of your finger, the faceplate will pop out of its locked in position, making it look as if your car doesn’t have a car CD receiver at all.

Now that you know the several advances to car CD receivers, which are number and different types of speakers, the quality of sound, visual graphics, and removable faceplates, you should be able to have a more enjoyable drive, more entertainment, and better theft protection, when you purchase the best car cd receiver to fit your needs.

JVC KDR600 Car CD Receiver

As the holiday season approaches, retailers will begin their annual onslaught of sales, discounts, and promotions. In this slowly recovering economy, the consumer is in the driver’s seat. Now is a great time to look for deals in electronics, and car cd receivers are no exception.

Shopping online is very convenient, but when you’re looking to buy audio components, there is one obvious drawback: you can’t audition the gear first! With a car sound system, even if you went to a brick-and-mortar store, any car cd deck you listen to won’t sound the same as it does in your own car. The solution is to focus on three things:

• Popular standard features and specs
• Trusted brand-name manufacturers, and
• A solid return policy from the online merchant

When these bases are covered, you can be confident in your purchase.

What are the key features to look for in a car cd receiver? Well, obviously we want to play compact discs, and almost all models also have an FM/AM tuner built-in. But what about digital media? Ipods and other mp3 players are ubiquitous now; shouldn’t your car’s music system keep up with the times? This is the twenty-first century, after all. The ideal unit will have some kind of plug-in ability for mp3s. Some systems even have USB ports, so you can upload your favorite tunes from your PC or PMP (Personal Media Player) right into your vehicle!

If you still have a large collection of CD’s, you might want to look for a changer system. This will allow you to keep five or more discs loaded in the tray at all times.

Another important feature is a detachable face. This is possibly the best way to protect your investment when your away from your car. If the thief can’t see your car cd player, then he can’t steal it. Simple and effective.

Finally, you want to choose from a brand you can trust. Fortunately, there are lots of reputable companies in the car audio market. JVC, Kenwood,  and Pioneer are three such firms. They have all been making high-quality, affordable components for years.

Happy hunting!

Taking out, then installing new car CD receivers can be a difficult, long, and frustrating task.  There are many problems you can run into; the worst problem is touching the wrong wires together or having “hot” wires come in contact with the metal frame of the dashboard.  Here is a tip to prevent your car from being damaged or, even worse, you getting hurt from an electric shock, while installing a car stereo system into your vehicle.

Safety should always come first.  With that said, you should to take certain precautions during the installation process, while also keeping track of certain wires for easier installation.  Basically, when you are uninstalling your car stereo, in order to install a new car CD receiver, you want to be careful of “live” or “hot” wires, which are wires with electricity flowing through them.  You can get a small wire tester, which looks like a pen, in order to check if a wire is hot, or not, just to make sure you don’t get an electric zap from cutting the wire.

A good caution to take is to take is to tape off the hot wires which are exposed, in order to prevent them from hitting other metal objects, possibly causing major damage to your car.  Often times, when a hot wire touches a piece of metal or another wire, the majority of the people installing their car CD receivers get a small shock noise, some sparks, and a blown fuse.  Unfortunately, some other people cause major damage to their cars, from only a little touch of a wire that was hot, which came in contact with the metal frame of the dashboard.

The results of the hot wire meeting the metal frame could mean fried car CD receivers, a burnt out car stereo system, a couple blown fuses, extensive electrical wiring damage, or an electrical fire.  Nobody would ever want to experience any of these frustrating time wasting, and life threatening events.  Taping off all of the hot and potentially dangerous wires will allow you to install your car work in a safe and less risky environment.

The best way to have an easy, safe, and successful installation of a receiver is to buy the best car CD receiver, along with the adapter for the receiver, which is specific for your car.  This will come along with instructions on which colors to attach to the adapter, from both the car and the CD receiver.  One of the best is the JVC car CD receiver, as they offer very quality products.  Another great choice is the Pioneer car CD receiver, as Pioneer offers products which will work with most cars.

Now that you know how stay safe from the blown fuses and electrical fires by taping off those hot wires, you should be able to concentrate on installing one of the best car CD receivers, without as much risk or frustration.