Panasonic CQ-C1300U Car CD / MP3 Player
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Similar in In Dash Receivers
- MP3 / WMA Playback: MP3 Playback
- Anti-Theft Protection: Detachable Face Panel
- Player Type: CD
- Controlled Devices: CD Changer
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Great Value for the Money
Pros
MP3/WMA cheap, good radio tuner, 50X4 power, quick random access, easy to operate
Cons
slow to get from folder to folder, display could have more characters
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
This player is by far the best I've seen in it's market. It's a must buy if you want a player with MP3/WMA around 100 bucks less than it's competitors
I've owned a home Panasonic DVD Player with MP3/WMA ability for over a year. Car MP3/WMA players were expensive at the time so I didn't take full advantage the format. When I saw that Crutchfield had it for $159.00 (with the wire harness and installation manual, plus more) I ordered it two days later, just shop around and, let it sink in a bit. Most of my review is on the MP3/WMA abilities since the rest of the product is run of the mill.
I've now had it three weeks and have some time logged in. First of all it had no problem reading two CD's I've burned with WMA's on it. Getting from "Folder" to folder is just a little slow but still faster than a disk changer. The player can display, Track time, folder name (Disk name), File name (Track name), it scrolls through once each time you toggle through the choices. It lets you scroll through at any time at a touch of a button. I found the scroll speed to be slow but acceptable. For the size of the dot-matrix display I thought it would be able to display more characters, so I find myself scrolling through if I can't get the info I want in the first characters.
I recorded the WMA's as Windows Media Player Version 9 with variable bit rate. They had worked in the DVD player which was a year old so I figured it would work for the new player. It worked without any problems. I read the manual and it suggests using a fixed bit rate of 64kbs or higher. So I'd gather you can follow the manual and it would work, but with "VBR" there's no need to decide which rate to go with, simple is better in my opinion.
When playing random I forget I'm even using the player. This is because it gets from track to track as fast as any normal CD player would get from consecutive tracks. If you don't like the random track it gives you at a press of a button you can force it to select another one. You can use random through out the whole disk or within just one folder. This is nice if you have a wide arry of music which shouldn't be mixed together.
The two CD's I've recorded have 296/312 songs from 28/25 albums respectively. I used to keep around 10 CD's in my glove box. Well no longer. I've got the two CD's and am happy to get rid of the clutter. Until I memorize the corresponding folder name/number, I need to hunt from one to the next.
The player tracks slower than I'd like from folder to folder. For instance: when I'm folder 5 and want to get to folder 10, I press the folder up button 5 times. The player receives the signal to go from 5 to 6 on the first press, and the other 4 presses are ignored. If I press slow enough it might get the second press and go to 7. Eventually I'll learn how much time it wants to get from folder to folder, but for now I find it irratating. However it's still faster than trying to swap CD's from the glove box. A work around is to scan through the folders. At the press of a button the player will play the first 10 seconds of each folder (disk). If you're within a folder you can have it play the first 10 seconds or each track (file).
The radio tunes in stations well, and stores them like most any other player in the market. It has a 50 Watts X4 amplifier which is good enough for me these days (I'm 30 now, if I was 18 again I'd say it's not loud enough, but that's why it has 2 pair of Pre-Outs).
This player has slot in the face to insert/retract the CD from. I personally prefer this over the fancier flip down face. There is a motor which draws the CD in and forces it out. This surprised me the first time but now I prefer it over the more forceful push I gave my Pioneer. It even has a nice light centered just below the slot to make it easier to find the target in low light conditions.
I've been very happy with the player. Leaps and bounds better than the player I purchased in 1999 for $225. The MP3/WMA ability is great "look ahead" features. So even if you don't currently need the MP3/WMA ability this player still stands out in the price point it's in.
04/20/04
I've now had it three weeks and have some time logged in. First of all it had no problem reading two CD's I've burned with WMA's on it. Getting from "Folder" to folder is just a little slow but still faster than a disk changer. The player can display, Track time, folder name (Disk name), File name (Track name), it scrolls through once each time you toggle through the choices. It lets you scroll through at any time at a touch of a button. I found the scroll speed to be slow but acceptable. For the size of the dot-matrix display I thought it would be able to display more characters, so I find myself scrolling through if I can't get the info I want in the first characters.
I recorded the WMA's as Windows Media Player Version 9 with variable bit rate. They had worked in the DVD player which was a year old so I figured it would work for the new player. It worked without any problems. I read the manual and it suggests using a fixed bit rate of 64kbs or higher. So I'd gather you can follow the manual and it would work, but with "VBR" there's no need to decide which rate to go with, simple is better in my opinion.
When playing random I forget I'm even using the player. This is because it gets from track to track as fast as any normal CD player would get from consecutive tracks. If you don't like the random track it gives you at a press of a button you can force it to select another one. You can use random through out the whole disk or within just one folder. This is nice if you have a wide arry of music which shouldn't be mixed together.
The two CD's I've recorded have 296/312 songs from 28/25 albums respectively. I used to keep around 10 CD's in my glove box. Well no longer. I've got the two CD's and am happy to get rid of the clutter. Until I memorize the corresponding folder name/number, I need to hunt from one to the next.
The player tracks slower than I'd like from folder to folder. For instance: when I'm folder 5 and want to get to folder 10, I press the folder up button 5 times. The player receives the signal to go from 5 to 6 on the first press, and the other 4 presses are ignored. If I press slow enough it might get the second press and go to 7. Eventually I'll learn how much time it wants to get from folder to folder, but for now I find it irratating. However it's still faster than trying to swap CD's from the glove box. A work around is to scan through the folders. At the press of a button the player will play the first 10 seconds of each folder (disk). If you're within a folder you can have it play the first 10 seconds or each track (file).
The radio tunes in stations well, and stores them like most any other player in the market. It has a 50 Watts X4 amplifier which is good enough for me these days (I'm 30 now, if I was 18 again I'd say it's not loud enough, but that's why it has 2 pair of Pre-Outs).
This player has slot in the face to insert/retract the CD from. I personally prefer this over the fancier flip down face. There is a motor which draws the CD in and forces it out. This surprised me the first time but now I prefer it over the more forceful push I gave my Pioneer. It even has a nice light centered just below the slot to make it easier to find the target in low light conditions.
I've been very happy with the player. Leaps and bounds better than the player I purchased in 1999 for $225. The MP3/WMA ability is great "look ahead" features. So even if you don't currently need the MP3/WMA ability this player still stands out in the price point it's in.
04/20/04
