I am happy, but not 100%. Pioneer just annouced the 2008 lineup, and the only deck that has USB control and the famed top-quality Burr-Brown D/A converter is a double-din unit, due out in March. My quest to fuse maximum audiophile fidelity with huge USB storage convenience may now be possible, if I can get over this huge faceplate that doesn't appear to be detachable. I'll have to install my switches in my ash tray now I guess.:runaway:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/Source/CD-Players/FH-P800BT?tab=B
Alpine has a couple of new decks with USB control, but I can't find out if it can navigate folders(instead of ID3 tags like an iPod) like the Pioneer units do, or if it can handle large hard drives. I HATE not being able to navigate actual file folders. I have many mp3's that are not tagged and they are virtually impossible to locate on my stupid Creative Zen mp3 player. I think iPods are stupid like this too. I have a large folder I've created called "Misc" with some favorites and there is no way to play this folder on this damn Creative mp3 player(or iPods I believe, but could be wrong)
The difference in sound quality between the burr-brown chip and the standard ones is substantial, if you compare them side-by-side, provided your source material is top notch. If you rip your CD's using the latest version of dbPoweramp on the highest quality settings, I'd say that 99% of human ears can't tell the difference between the original CD track and the 320 bit mp3.
I ripped a high-quality CD track into .WAV(uncompressed) and then again into 320 bit mp3, and listening through the very high quality monitors and sound card in my pro-recording studio, I couldn't hear any difference for the life of me. Yet when I play my mp3's on my Pioneer USB deck that has the cheapo D/A converter, it sounds digital, like a lower quality mp3. My previous Pioneer CD player had the burr-brown D/A, and it sounded much better than my new deck. It was also $1000 new
By the way, I didn't even look at Sony or Panasonic decks because during the entire 5-years I worked in car audio a few years ago, those brands ALWAYS had much worse sound quality than Alpline or Pioneer, and this opinion was universal throughout our staff. I assume they still suck
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/Source/CD-Players/FH-P800BT?tab=B
Alpine has a couple of new decks with USB control, but I can't find out if it can navigate folders(instead of ID3 tags like an iPod) like the Pioneer units do, or if it can handle large hard drives. I HATE not being able to navigate actual file folders. I have many mp3's that are not tagged and they are virtually impossible to locate on my stupid Creative Zen mp3 player. I think iPods are stupid like this too. I have a large folder I've created called "Misc" with some favorites and there is no way to play this folder on this damn Creative mp3 player(or iPods I believe, but could be wrong)
The difference in sound quality between the burr-brown chip and the standard ones is substantial, if you compare them side-by-side, provided your source material is top notch. If you rip your CD's using the latest version of dbPoweramp on the highest quality settings, I'd say that 99% of human ears can't tell the difference between the original CD track and the 320 bit mp3.
I ripped a high-quality CD track into .WAV(uncompressed) and then again into 320 bit mp3, and listening through the very high quality monitors and sound card in my pro-recording studio, I couldn't hear any difference for the life of me. Yet when I play my mp3's on my Pioneer USB deck that has the cheapo D/A converter, it sounds digital, like a lower quality mp3. My previous Pioneer CD player had the burr-brown D/A, and it sounded much better than my new deck. It was also $1000 new
By the way, I didn't even look at Sony or Panasonic decks because during the entire 5-years I worked in car audio a few years ago, those brands ALWAYS had much worse sound quality than Alpline or Pioneer, and this opinion was universal throughout our staff. I assume they still suck
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