My new truck will have the mp3 player. It replaced the base radio of the 2004 model so unless they changed the dash along with the radio, you should be able to retrofit one into a 2004 model.

 

Looked the same to me just said MP3 on the front. Didn't try it just saw one in the truck I test drove.

 

how does the mp3 player actually work, is there mini disc or anything?

 

Ahh, I don't understand your question...mini discs won't work you need a special player for those, you can fit more songs on a CD-rw anyway. :?

 

how does the mp3 player actually work, is there mini disc or anything?

You just burn MP3s on to a data CD, mini-disc is a dead format that is not compatable with CDs

 

i guess what i meant to say like a mini hard drive or something that u take out burn on to then put in?

 

there are two ways to burn a cd, one by burning songs based on lenght (ie, max is 80 mins), or another is to burn data on there (max 800 mb). I think that an mp3 player lets you play cds burned by the data method, therefore, you can burn many songs (since most of them are around 3 mb) onto a data cd and listen to it on a mp3 player.

 

how does the mp3 player actually work, is there mini disc or anything?

MP3 disc are just encoded differently and need a special decoder built in to most radios today. Quality isn't usually as good with MP3 but with a normal stereo you probably won't know the difference unless the bitrate is well under 128kb. MP3 tends to cut out the "fat" in the songs that usually aren't needed or heard.

 

how does the mp3 player actually work, is there mini disc or anything?

You ment like the sony mini disks?

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSH ... MDW80CLKIT

 

http://www.mp3-converter.com/mp3codec/

That link will explain what mp3 is. It could be overly technical though. Basically MP3 starts with a song that's in CD Audio format, like the way you buy one at the store. Then it takes out all the frequencies of sound that humans can't hear, which is a lot, and then compresses what's left into a new format - the .mp3 file. In file size terms, the mp3 is wayyyyyyyy smaller.
Then using a CD-R or CD-RW drive, you put those files onto a standard sized CD, formatted as an MP3 CD. That will play in a player that can play that kind of CD.
So instead of having one album on a CD, you can have several. Maybe even dozens.
It's not a mini-disc. There's not a hard drive in the car. It's just that the CD player can also read mp3 format CDs.

 

Dagnabit, mp3 was the only reason why I needed to replace my head unit, but I really wanted this as an option on the '04.

Anyone happen to have a part number for this radio so I can order one from gmpartsdirect?

 

OK, so while the clinerado was in today getting the oil change, I asked at the parts dept. Looks like there are 2 different part numbers, 1 with mp3 and 1 without. I couldn't get a good description of either one, but the numbers are (I think)

15138488 - with mp3, gm list ~640
10357894 - without mp3, gm list ~575

 

so the radio's are the same size then? i guess it'd be possible to purchase a 2005 radio and put it in the 04?

 

So you guys would rather have CDs formatted for MP3 rather than running an MP3 player through an Aux port (not FM)? Is there anyone who uses MP3s WITHOUT an MP3 player such as iPod Rio, or whatever? If so I guess this makes sense - otherwise you'd need separate MP3 CDs for your truck, and an MP3 player for other times (for me that's working out, doing yard work, walking to lunch mostly).

Just curious why this is such a great thing.

 

I've already got about 15 CD's full of mp3 music, and I've been using an FM transmitter with a MP3 CD player. A new head unit may not be the best option for everyone, but I like the fact that this one's stock and has RDS, along with the fact that there's no extra harnesses to buy or mess with.

 

I've been doing it the same way as clinerado in my current vehicles. But it means batteries or auxilary power for the separate units. It would just be more convenient built in.

 

I have a 30 gig creative labs nomad zen Xtra plugged into my alpine deck through a set of RCA's this thing has a 14 hr battery life. I use the thing all day long and plug it in at night. I never have to mess around with the extra power cord or anything in my truck but carry one for long trips away from home. It is so simple to use, and I have my whole CD collection in the palm of my hand. If you turn the quality up above 128 kbps wen ripping you won't notice the difference unless your going for competitions. The problem lies in the mp#'s that you download off the internet. You never knw what you may get. That's the beauty behind the software that creative labs provides. You rip your own mp3's at your desired quality. I have a picture of my mp3 player hooked up in my gallery and it doesn't take up much room at all. Actualy, the center consol makes a perfect cradle for it. Also Alpine is comming out with an interface that will allow the user to interact with their iPOD through their Alpine deck. Check out the site: http://www.alpine-usa.com/company_info/press_release/070704_ipod_flrl.html or also at http://www.alpine-usa.com/products/leading_technology/leading_tech_kca-420i.htmThis would allow you to hide the unit away all together. Just some food for thought. 8)[/url]