endover Posted November 2, 2005 Share Posted November 2, 2005 I've got (actually it's my wife's car) an '02 Ford Escape with the basic 6 CD changer and it keeps crapping out on us which appears to be a common problem across all of Ford's CD changers. I'm tired of fixing it and want to put another CD changer of the same type in for $200 or less. It needs to be simple to operate (don't need a jillion gadgets and on screen programming) and I don't want one that you have to pull the CD cassette out. She really likes the fact that she can load them and eject them one at a time. She'd like one that plays CD's, CD-R/RW, and maybe even MP3's. You geniuses have any suggestions? I've been to Crutchfield and Best Buy, etc. but I'm looking for some personal recommedations which is what you guys and gal's are good at! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LebanonKlipschFan Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 I am assuming you are talking about a non-indash unit. If you are they will not be able to plug right to you factory. You will need to buy an adaptor that will fun anywhere from 50-125.00 plus the changer. I would reccomend Apline or Kenwood changers, Stay away from Pioneer etc they are junk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shade Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 Just pick up a FM modulated CD changer. It's not like the usual el-cheapo FM modulators for discmans, they generally plug in line with the antenna cable. Not sure about the previous poster's issue with Pioneer. I've had a Pioneer head unit & cd changer in my car for 2-3 years with no problems and they sound good. Alpine & Kenwood are also good brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endover Posted November 4, 2005 Author Share Posted November 4, 2005 Actually, I am looking for an in-dash changer which is whats in it right now but I can change discs 1 at a time without having to pull a "cassette" of disks out. You push "load" and then tell it what slot you want and it will move to that slot and then you put your disk in. You tell it "eject" and then tell it what slot you want ejected. I have had 2 Alpines over my 23 year driving career (still have one in my 1993 Z28 that I installed in 1993) and really liked them however, for the price, my wife would be happier with a few added features. I found that the Alpines had to go up quite a bit higher in price to get the CD-R/W, and MP3 capabilities where the Sony's did that for fairly cheap. Again...I'm not looking for Klipsch sound quality here. I'm just looking for a decent reliable unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LebanonKlipschFan Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 I would recommend staying away from Sony car audio, Alpine and Kenwood both have an indash single player with MP3 for 199.95. That should be a great price for a good deck. Alpine quite making indash changers years ago because even they could not do it without having them break. Never buy an Indash Changer, especially Factory Ford/GM etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indyjeep Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 Pioneer's great, Alpine's great, Kenwood is Ok, JVC is Ok, Sony is So-So to Ughh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efzauner Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 used to own a store...Sold Alpine, Pioneer, Clarion. All quite good. You wont go wrong with the low end Pioneers, and never had a return on a Clarion. but the Alpines have a really nice MP3 file search and scroll feature and change mp3 songs real fast. You probably wont find any aftermarket in-dash changers. One good option is to get an in in dash MP3 cd player and copy ten or so cds to a single MP3 cd. That way you will have lots of songs on one CD AND you will keep the originals from getting scratched up. If you wife is like mine, the CDs get tossed onto the seat and all scratched up. I have an Escape with an in dash CD changer. I changed the in door speakers to better aftermarket units with a dome tweeter. The sound improvement is amazing. The in dash changer is not that bad actually. I could not change it because it is a company suppled leased vehicle. Most fords fit 5x7 drop ins even if the spec says 6x8. Mine fit the Polk Momo 5x7 but the Carbon series will do fine too. I would be happy to help you some more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shade Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 Blaupunkt used to make an in dash changer a couple of years ago, but I just checked their site and it looks like they quit making it. Besides it was a 1 din unit seperate from the radio, and would have required a Blaupunkt radio to go with it. And a 2 din space in the dash. That was the last in dash changer I knew of. I don't think any of the major brands make one anymore. You're best bet is probably a single disk head unit with MP3 capability. Otherwise you're probably stuck with using a changer that is not in-dash. If you really want an in dash changer, you could always get a stock replacement, but that will cost plenty of $$$ new. You could try finding a used one online or out of a boneyard, but a used one is likely to run into the same problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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