[NefCanuck]

Hey folks, I've owned my '05 Focus for two weeks now, love the car, love the steering wheel audio controls... hate the single disc CD player.

Based on my desire to not mess with anything that's still under warranty and owing to the fact that my physical disabilites make the steering wheeel audio controls a must have, I decided to take the :censored2: kicking from the Ford dealer to install the 6 CD/mp3 changer deck (Why FoMoCo Canada doesn't offer the single disc mp3 capable HU up here is beyond me)

So, my question becomes, are there any tips/tricks to burning CD's with mp3 files on em? Any particular CD brands I should use/avoid? Thanks

NefCanuck

[focusonthis88]

NefCanuck,Apr 28 2005, 11:17 AM Wrote:So, my question becomes, are there any tips/tricks to burning CD's with mp3 files on em? Any particular CD brands I should use/avoid?  Thanks

NefCanuck
[right][snapback]105170[/snapback][/right]

There's not really a trick or a tips tu burn your cds. Just try to burn them at a normal speed. Like if your cd burner burns at 48x, burn your cds at around 28x so you know that you will keep the quality of your sound and the cd skipped or anything like that. I don't know what about people but, when I burn cd I can't do nothing else... To be sure, when you burn a cd let it burn and go get yourself a beer and wait! :)

[ANTHONYD]

I burn my CDS that I want to sound good... like my "unplugged" cd's and certain jazz albums at 1x speed. It takes a hella long time, but the sound quality is superior.

Also, like anything... don't cheap out on the cds. Buy a brand name you've heard of. I've bought cheepo discs in the past and found that some can have bad water marks (noises) and skips in them.

And, if your MP3 player has track name abilities, make sure you have your files named with a (.mp3) or else they won't play.

Most importantly... Welcome! As you will see, we are all a wealth of useless knowledge here... but if there is ANYTHING you need to know ABOUT YOUR CAR... we know it all.

[NOS2Go4Me]

One thing I'd caution you against, unless you find it listed SPECIFICALLY as supported somewhere by Ford, is that all of your MP3s are burnt at a constant bit rate (CBR). This means 192Kbit/sec, 320Kbit/sec, etc. The alternative is VBR, or variable bit rate. Some people have been getting in the habit of encoding all their music to VBR MP3s as they're supposed to "enhance" the sound quality and bring out the quality while saving file size at times. That might be true, but some MP3-capable headunits are NOT VBR-friendly.

If that's all greek to you, then just smile and nod and ignore the techie guy. If it makes sense, you might want to look into that if you're into encoding your MP3s as VBR MP3s.

:hi: by the way!

[NefCanuck]

NOS2Go4Me,Apr 28 2005, 01:58 PM Wrote:One thing I'd caution you against, unless you find it listed SPECIFICALLY as supported somewhere by Ford, is that all of your MP3s are burnt at a constant bit rate (CBR). This means 192Kbit/sec, 320Kbit/sec, etc. The alternative is VBR, or variable bit rate. Some people have been getting in the habit of encoding all their music to VBR MP3s as they're supposed to "enhance" the sound quality and bring out the quality while saving file size at times. That might be true, but some MP3-capable headunits are NOT VBR-friendly.

If that's all greek to you, then just smile and nod and ignore the techie guy. If it makes sense, you might want to look into that if you're into encoding your MP3s as VBR MP3s.

:hi: by the way!
[right][snapback]105208[/snapback][/right]

Thanks, oh don't worry, I'm a tech geek from way back (Commodore PET ringing any bells to ya?)

Yeah the reason I ask, is because from the Ford literature I've been able to find, all it says is the magic words "MP3 capable playback" without any regard to the details, and darnit I'm a details kinda guy! :icon_mrgreen:

Now to grab a decent CD R on my way home from work and see whether I can burn an mp3 disc that this player will like (if the deck took CD RW's I'd be laughing but theres no way I'd get that lucky now would I?

NefCanuck

[NOS2Go4Me]

Actually, it should... as my single disc AM/FM/CD Ford headunit played CD-RWs burnt as audio CDs. You might just luck out there :)

OT - VBR MP3s crash my Philips DVD player at home to the point I have to pull the power cable from the power bar... hence the reason I launched into that long-winded rant. Powering off might allow you to retrieve the disc if it does crash... or not. :(

The damn DVD player was made in January / February 2004!!! At least everything else it does is damn good

/OT

[NefCanuck]

ANTHONYD,Apr 28 2005, 01:49 PM Wrote:Also, like anything... don't cheap out on the cds. Buy a brand name you've heard of. I've bought cheepo discs in the past and found that some can have bad water marks (noises) and skips in them.

And, if your MP3 player has track name abilities, make sure you have your files named with a (.mp3) or else they won't play.

Most importantly... Welcome! As you will see, we are all a wealth of useless knowledge here... but if there is ANYTHING you need to know  ABOUT YOUR CAR... we know it all.
[right][snapback]105205[/snapback][/right]

Yeah, like anything else, you get what you pay for I suppose, so I'd better grab at least one decent CD-R on my way home from work for the mp3 test disc I'm gonna burn tonight (I bought a huge stack of cheap CD R's years ago, just coming to the end of the stack, some of the CD's will play in the stock Ford HU that's in the car now, some won't, very hit or miss)

Yeah, hassle is that some of my discs are imports so I'm unsure whether I'll be able to rip em with proper track tags on em :unsure:

I bow to your knowledge :bowdown: this is my first Ford product in a long time, the last one having left a rather bitter taste in my mouth ('86 Taurus 4 banger I bought used back in '93 and had for four fun years)

Now if I could only figure out whether I have the upgraded alarm system or not :blink: my system doesn't react either of the two ways described in the manual (Lock doors with fob, lights blink, hit it again, one beep of the horn?)

NefCanuck

[NefCanuck]

NOS2Go4Me,Apr 28 2005, 02:54 PM Wrote:Actually, it should... as my single disc AM/FM/CD Ford headunit played CD-RWs burnt as audio CDs. You might just luck out there :)

OT - VBR MP3s crash my Philips DVD player at home to the point I have to pull the power cable from the power bar... hence the reason I launched into that long-winded rant. Powering off might allow you to retrieve the disc if it does crash... or not. :(

The damn DVD player was made in January / February 2004!!! At least everything else it does is damn good

/OT
[right][snapback]105219[/snapback][/right]

Cool, I have an HP branded CD RW that should pass muster (If I can find the darn thing in my junk pi^H^H^H I mean computer room :yikes: )

Yeah I plan on staying far, FAR away from VBR mp3 discs, more trouble than they're worth, now I just have to figure out if 128kbps is "hi fi" enough, given a car's inherently craptastic acoustic qualities :throwup:

NefCanuck

[NOS2Go4Me]

I've found anything I've converted to Audio CD from 160 kbit and up sounds good... 192 and up sounds really good.

[Phantom]

Hey, I just finished taking my 6disc in dash mp3 hu out was the 2005. All my cds full of mp3s are vbr 320 that I've ripped. VBR offers best sound quality with best file size, when sound is detected the bit rate goes to 320, when there is no sound it goes to 192 for me cuz that's my setting. Which gives great songs with lower file size. But I have not had one problem with any song on that deck. Only reason I removed it was for my subs. Also the stock hu has like no power at all for the power oem speakers. Which sound 10x better with my kenwood in there now. And I don't believe putting in a aftermarket deck/stereo void the warrenty. Least I was told they don't at my dealer.

[ANTHONYD]

NefCanuck,Apr 28 2005, 03:30 PM Wrote:

ANTHONYD,Apr 28 2005, 01:49 PM Wrote:Also, like anything... don't cheap out on the cds. Buy a brand name you've heard of. I've bought cheepo discs in the past and found that some can have bad water marks (noises) and skips in them.

And, if your MP3 player has track name abilities, make sure you have your files named with a (.mp3) or else they won't play.

Most importantly... Welcome! As you will see, we are all a wealth of useless knowledge here... but if there is ANYTHING you need to know  ABOUT YOUR CAR... we know it all.
[right][snapback]105205[/snapback][/right]

this is my first Ford product in a long time, the last one having left a rather bitter taste in my mouth ('86 Taurus 4 banger I bought used back in '93 and had for four fun years)
NefCanuck
[right][snapback]105225[/snapback][/right]

Enjoy your Focus! :lol:



























I keed I keed....

[NefCanuck]

Phantom,Apr 28 2005, 04:05 PM Wrote:Hey, I just finished taking my 6disc in dash mp3 hu out was the 2005. All my cds full of mp3s are vbr 320 that I've ripped. VBR offers best sound quality with best file size, when sound is detected the bit rate goes to 320, when there is no sound it goes to 192 for me cuz that's my setting. Which gives great songs with lower file size. But I have not had one problem with any song on that deck. Only reason I removed it was for my subs. Also the stock hu has like no power at all for the power oem speakers. Which sound 10x better with my kenwood in there now. And I don't believe putting in a aftermarket deck/stereo void the warrenty. Least I was told they don't at my dealer.
[right][snapback]105236[/snapback][/right]

Cool, I'll just stick to 128kbps CBR ripping for now since my luck is likely to be not as good as yours was and I want to see what kind of sound quality I get vs. the original CD's (I'll bring the mp3 compilations and at least one original CD to compare)

Well, I'm not looking to blow my ears off, I mean I'm still gonna have the stock speakers in the car. I'm mainly looking for the convience and safety of not switching discs while driving & keeping my hand on the steering wheel, which is why I'm taking the blood bath through Ford. I mean there are hacks I could use to install a non Ford deck and get at best some of the functionality that I have now with the steering wheel controls, but all things being equal, life is too short for me to be hacking...

I wanna be driving! :lol:

NefCanuck

[Phantom]

NefCanuck,Apr 28 2005, 06:30 PM Wrote:

Phantom,Apr 28 2005, 04:05 PM Wrote:Hey, I just finished taking my 6disc in dash mp3 hu out was the 2005. All my cds full of mp3s are vbr 320 that I've ripped. VBR offers best sound quality with best file size, when sound is detected the bit rate goes to 320, when there is no sound it goes to 192 for me cuz that's my setting. Which gives great songs with lower file size. But I have not had one problem with any song on that deck. Only reason I removed it was for my subs. Also the stock hu has like no power at all for the power oem speakers. Which sound 10x better with my kenwood in there now. And I don't believe putting in a aftermarket deck/stereo void the warrenty. Least I was told they don't at my dealer.
[right][snapback]105236[/snapback][/right]

Cool, I'll just stick to 128kbps CBR ripping for now since my luck is likely to be not as good as yours was and I want to see what kind of sound quality I get vs. the original CD's (I'll bring the mp3 compilations and at least one original CD to compare)

Well, I'm not looking to blow my ears off, I mean I'm still gonna have the stock speakers in the car. I'm mainly looking for the convience and safety of not switching discs while driving & keeping my hand on the steering wheel, which is why I'm taking the blood bath through Ford. I mean there are hacks I could use to install a non Ford deck and get at best some of the functionality that I have now with the steering wheel controls, but all things being equal, life is too short for me to be hacking...

I wanna be driving! :lol:

NefCanuck
[right][snapback]105306[/snapback][/right]

Hmm so Very true on the more driving part..
But for the part on blowing your ears off I have one quote for that

"If it's too loud your too old"

[NefCanuck]

Phantom,Apr 28 2005, 08:55 PM Wrote:

NefCanuck,Apr 28 2005, 06:30 PM Wrote:Cool, I'll just stick to 128kbps CBR ripping for now since my luck is likely to be not as good as yours was and I want to see what kind of sound quality I get vs. the original CD's (I'll bring the mp3 compilations and at least one original CD to compare)

Well, I'm not looking to blow my ears off, I mean I'm still gonna have the stock speakers in the car.  I'm mainly looking for the convience and safety of not switching discs while driving & keeping my hand on the steering wheel, which is why I'm taking the blood bath through Ford.  I mean there are hacks I could use to install a non Ford deck and get at best some of the functionality that I have now with the steering wheel controls, but all things being equal, life is too short for me to be hacking...

I wanna be driving!  :lol:

NefCanuck
[right][snapback]105306[/snapback][/right]

Hmm so Very true on the more driving part..
But for the part on blowing your ears off I have one quote for that

"If it's too loud your too old"
[right][snapback]105311[/snapback][/right]

:D agreed but tell that to my doctors who find new ways to depress me every time I visit them :yikes:

NefCanuck

[microbunny]

NefCanuck,Apr 28 2005, 09:24 PM Wrote:

Phantom,Apr 28 2005, 08:55 PM Wrote:

NefCanuck,Apr 28 2005, 06:30 PM Wrote:Cool, I'll just stick to 128kbps CBR ripping for now since my luck is likely to be not as good as yours was and I want to see what kind of sound quality I get vs. the original CD's (I'll bring the mp3 compilations and at least one original CD to compare)

Well, I'm not looking to blow my ears off, I mean I'm still gonna have the stock speakers in the car.  I'm mainly looking for the convience and safety of not switching discs while driving & keeping my hand on the steering wheel, which is why I'm taking the blood bath through Ford.  I mean there are hacks I could use to install a non Ford deck and get at best some of the functionality that I have now with the steering wheel controls, but all things being equal, life is too short for me to be hacking...

I wanna be driving!  :lol:

NefCanuck
[right][snapback]105306[/snapback][/right]

Hmm so Very true on the more driving part..
But for the part on blowing your ears off I have one quote for that

"If it's too loud your too old"
[right][snapback]105311[/snapback][/right]

:D agreed but tell that to my doctors who find new ways to depress me every time I visit them :yikes:

NefCanuck
[right][snapback]105315[/snapback][/right]

You too ehh?>

my doctor hates me... :lol:

[j3rt]

I always make sure my ID3 tags are in order too. I find on my Sony MP3 changer it can read extra long file names, but my no-brand MP3 player cannot. Have ID3 tags setup really helps.
Another thing is folder trees. The Sony will play each root folder in alpha order. All my Alice Cooper will play before say Cheap Trick.
On the no-brand player, it sorts ALL the folders alphabetically. So skipping from album to album (album = folder under root of artist name) would go from Alice to Cheap Trick, to Alice depending on the album (folder) name.

I also burn onto Cdrws, that way I can rercord a disk. It's less permanent. Almost like making a tape.....

[NefCanuck]

j3rt,Apr 28 2005, 10:06 PM Wrote:I always make sure my ID3 tags are in order too.  I find on my Sony MP3 changer it can read extra long file names, but my no-brand MP3 player cannot.  Have ID3 tags setup really helps.
Another thing is folder trees.  The Sony will play each root folder in alpha order.  All my Alice Cooper will play before say Cheap Trick.
On the no-brand player, it sorts ALL the folders alphabetically.  So skipping from album to album (album = folder under root of artist name) would go from Alice to Cheap Trick, to Alice depending on the album (folder) name.

I also burn onto Cdrws, that way I can rercord a disk.  It's less permanent.  Almost like making a tape.....
[right][snapback]105328[/snapback][/right]

I'm a little dumb in the realm of the "ID3 tag" does that mean what I get for a file name when I use, say Music Match Jukebox, and get what their database says is on my disk as I burn my mp3?

I may be a computer geek, but when it comes to mp3's I'm still wandering around in the dark (and bumping into things :lol: )

NefCanuck