I am looking for a solution to get a CD player connected to the car speakers by USB or bluetooth through our new 2023 Niro. I get that there are better solutions, but this is my wife's car and she really wants the CD solution. I haven't seen any good solutions. Does anyone have any ideas that work?
CD Player
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baileysteve1964
41 - 60 of 100 Posts
I have a couple of different external blu-ray/dvd burner drives. No optical drives in my laptops (one did not come with a drive, the other had the drive die) or desktop computers, am thankful to have the external ones.
My wife loves to go to swap meets & garage sales to get stuff for her hobbies. I think when I retire, my main hobby will be managing my music collection. Between 1,500 CDs (which is down from 3,000 after a recent purge) and about 4,000 digital albums, I know I'll never listen to most of it again. My daughters just don't understand why I don't use Spotify / Pandora / whatever....
We borrow audiobooks on CD for the kids and I don't have the time/energy to rip those even though I have the know-how. For anyone less technologically inclined, I can completely understand why they'd just want a CD player built into the car.
As @Deadlytx kindly shared, there are options on Amazon when you search; I found a bunch when I used "usb car cd player" as the search term.
I haven't yet gone this route but am definitely investigating; I had an old external portable DVD burner powered by USB (Samsung SE-S084), but that did not work. Upon plugging in, the CD inside the DVD burner whizzed up, but there was an error message on the screen saying that the USB Media couldn't be connected or something like that. Also tried plugging it into a cigarette lighter to USB adapter; that powered up the DVD burner but nothing happened. I did as @Deadlytx said, to go to Media, then USB: for me, that button was grayed out. A computer drive wasn't going to be ideal but it was worth a shot
A slot-fed CD player would be needed for one-handed operation, whereas my external drive requires two hands to open the tray and secure the CD center down over the center area of the tray.
As @Deadlytx kindly shared, there are options on Amazon when you search; I found a bunch when I used "usb car cd player" as the search term.
I haven't yet gone this route but am definitely investigating; I had an old external portable DVD burner powered by USB (Samsung SE-S084), but that did not work. Upon plugging in, the CD inside the DVD burner whizzed up, but there was an error message on the screen saying that the USB Media couldn't be connected or something like that. Also tried plugging it into a cigarette lighter to USB adapter; that powered up the DVD burner but nothing happened. I did as @Deadlytx said, to go to Media, then USB: for me, that button was grayed out. A computer drive wasn't going to be ideal but it was worth a shot
A slot-fed CD player would be needed for one-handed operation, whereas my external drive requires two hands to open the tray and secure the CD center down over the center area of the tray.I bought the $99 one from Amazon with the following description:
Vehicle CD Player, Cidava OE Integrated Vehicle CD Player via USB Radio Connection – (See Vehicle Fit Chart Image)
3.6 out of 5 stars 176
I mounted it with the slot up to the side of the console with heavy duty double sided tape.
Vehicle CD Player, Cidava OE Integrated Vehicle CD Player via USB Radio Connection – (See Vehicle Fit Chart Image)
3.6 out of 5 stars 176
I mounted it with the slot up to the side of the console with heavy duty double sided tape.
I have almost a thousand CDs, including collections of rare and hard to find tracks, as well as my own library of my own music you can't find anywhere else. How many flash drives would this take and at what cost, and how many hours (or months) or ripping CD after CD into my laptop (which itself doesn't have a CD player so need an external one) with almost no storage left would that take. It is like they design these vehicles as if everyone is 20 years old and nobody has a vast music collection they prefer over all the sucky commercial radio channels.
The size of the music files will vary, depending on how they are ripped and (of course) the length of the track. Looking at some music tracks I've ripped using iTunes, I see file sizes between 5-10 MB per file. These are mostly in the length range of most songs today, about 4-5 minutes. These are in the MP3 or M4A format. So you could probably store between 2500-3000 music files on a 32GB USB drive. But you can get much larger USB sticks for well under $50. I can find a 128GB stick online for only $10, but I'd probably spend a bit more for a name brand. So storing more than 10,000 files should be easily done on a single USB stick.
I can't argue with the fact it would take some time to rip that many files. It's not difficult, and there's many free software programs that can automate the entire process. But that still requires you to put the CD in the drive and remove/replace it with the next one. Yeah, it's going to be a tedious process. But it's worth the effort in the end. You mentioned your computer doesn't have an optical drive, so you'd need a portable drive. That's what I use on my wife's computer, which doesn't have one either. As for where to store the ripped files, you can either rip them directly onto the USB stick (although that will likely be a hair slower) or use a portable USB drive for that purpose as well. Then you don't need to open up your computer and try to install another hard drive.
I've ripped all of my DVD/Blu Ray discs to a media server. The cost is a bit more, simply because the files are much larger so I need to add significant hard drive space in my media server. I have a couple of 8TB disc drives, and a couple of 4TB drives, and I have them maybe half full. That amounts to over 6500 movie and TV episode files. The 4K rips are the largest, with each one in the 50GB range. DVDs run from 3-6GB per file, while the 1080 Blu Ray rips are in the 30GB range. A 30 minute TV episode might only need 1GB of space.
I can't say why they have dropped CD players from cars, although I can guess that it's a) cost savings and b) more and more people are putting their music collections on their phones, which then connect to the car via Bluetooth and stream the music. It's much easier to play your personal music over Bluetooth (or using CarPlay/Android Auto) than swapping out CDs while driving. Also, don't forget that leaving a CD inside a parked car on a hot day is very likely to severely damage the CD, making it useless.
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There’s no getting around that it will take hours/days/months to rip your music tracks from CDs to digital files but you mentioned that you have CDs with rare tracks. Do you really want to cart around those discs in your car all the time? Also, I don’t think you are going to be keeping the thousands of CDs in your car either. So you can start by converting your most popular CDs first. You can organize your music files on a couple of USB drives and switch them out depending on your mood. Much easier than having a giant CD case the size of a milk crate.
No, for the past couple decades I would just select the few CDs I want for whatever trip I am going on and take those with me. The rest remain filed on my shelves. Interesting that you thought the only alternative was to lug thousands of CDs around (and hundreds of pounds) in milk crates in my trunk. I already spent too much money on buying these CDs which work just fine. Most of them replaces vinyl and cassette copies I owned before. It is just too inconvenient to completely repurchase one's entire music collection to a new format, or convert it oneself. Apparently sticking a working CD player in a car is too much trouble for manufacturers. Probably half the crap they have in their mind-boggling console I need to pull over every time I need to figure out how to turn down the volume or change a radio station or whatever else I don't know is there and will never use was deemed more important. Apparently they don't even think I need a spare tire or donut even though having one saved me in a situation I had earlier this year in my last car.
It has nothing to do with being "too much trouble". The market for built-in CD players died a long time ago.
Same as when 8 track players died out, and then cassette players. The demand for them simply dropped away. That doesn't help the few that still desire them, I completely understand. But it is what it is.
I don't know what doesn't make sense as it has made perfect sense for the last 30+ years I've been driving around. You put in your CD, it plays, you can skip tracks, etc. What else do you want it to do? As I've said my CD collection has well over 500 albums as well as collections of rare and diverse selections you can't get in any one place, not to mention hundreds of CDs of my own music. Most of these albums I already owned in previous formats, vinyl or cassette. So it represents a serious investment and they all still play. Transferring them to flash drives would require - DUH - a stand-alone CD player/burner/ripper (since "the market" has deemed that not even laptops should have CD drives anymore) and HUNDREDS of hours I don't have.
Fine, if you want to play CDs, buy a CD player for a car.
I recognized the obsolescence of a built-in CD-player when I got my first car with USB drive support, a 2009 Honda Fit. Since 2009 USB flash drives have increased in capacity while decreasing in cost and size.
![Image]()
I had always ripped CDs to iTunes, so all I had to do was copy them to a flash drive. Then, while driving a rental car in 2013, I realized that some cars (GM, in this case) would not play Apple's M4A files, so I converted them to MP3, for use in any car. Since I have always ripped CDs, no extra work was involved. Years ago, I also ripped about 20 LPs to MP3. That was tedious, as I had to go through each LP to edit out pops and scratches.
You chose not to, so you're stuck with playing CDs. That's not Kia's (or any other manufacturer's) fault.
I recognized the obsolescence of a built-in CD-player when I got my first car with USB drive support, a 2009 Honda Fit. Since 2009 USB flash drives have increased in capacity while decreasing in cost and size.
You chose not to, so you're stuck with playing CDs. That's not Kia's (or any other manufacturer's) fault.
I started playing music (mostly ripped CDs to iTunes) through an iPod touch using a proprietary interface years ago, then went to playing music from the iPod then iPhone through the USB port. Now I just use CarPlay to listen to my music library or streaming service through my iPhone. We have a van that we bought 5 years ago that came with a factory audio system with a CD that has never played a CD.
Having a large music library that is easy to navigate/search through albums, artists, and titles is a huge benefit using CarPlay vs a CD player. Granted the sound quality of a CD on paper is much better than the compressed digital audio files, but I am not so sure one can discern the nuances in a vehicle that is going down the road, even if it is an EV.
I think I have only a portion of my iTunes library on my phone, that being said, I think if all the songs were played I would have 3 days worth of tunes--on my phone. Can't imagine how many CDs that represents.
The vast majority of music that is consumed currently is via streaming like Pandora, Amazon, iHeart radio, or even Sirius XM. CDs are just not commonly used by consumers. Companies will try to tailor their products to the needs/desires of the majority of the users (unlike software companies that add features than only a handful of folks find useful).
Having a large music library that is easy to navigate/search through albums, artists, and titles is a huge benefit using CarPlay vs a CD player. Granted the sound quality of a CD on paper is much better than the compressed digital audio files, but I am not so sure one can discern the nuances in a vehicle that is going down the road, even if it is an EV.
I think I have only a portion of my iTunes library on my phone, that being said, I think if all the songs were played I would have 3 days worth of tunes--on my phone. Can't imagine how many CDs that represents.
The vast majority of music that is consumed currently is via streaming like Pandora, Amazon, iHeart radio, or even Sirius XM. CDs are just not commonly used by consumers. Companies will try to tailor their products to the needs/desires of the majority of the users (unlike software companies that add features than only a handful of folks find useful).
@blue , do you have a link/more info as to what rechargeable Bluetooth CD player your wife uses? Does it pair easily to the Niro's Bluetooth?
I think it is this one. That's the Canadian Amazon site. There are lots of others on Amazon and elsewhere.
She just uses it in the house, so I don't know how well it would connect in the Niro. Hers is a single CD player. I think a multiple CD player with random ability would be better for car use. I guess my original post was just to say that these devices exist, rather than recommending them.
Gueray Portable CD Player Bluetooth Rechargeable 1400mAh Battery CD Walkman Small CD Discman Personal CD Player Anti-Skip Protection LCD Display with AUX Cable for Car Children Audio Books (Black) : Amazon.ca: Electronics
Gueray Portable CD Player Bluetooth Rechargeable 1400mAh Battery CD Walkman Small CD Discman Personal CD Player Anti-Skip Protection LCD Display with AUX Cable for Car Children Audio Books (Black) : Amazon.ca: Electronics
www.amazon.ca
She just uses it in the house, so I don't know how well it would connect in the Niro. Hers is a single CD player. I think a multiple CD player with random ability would be better for car use. I guess my original post was just to say that these devices exist, rather than recommending them.
Newer cars, including the Niro no longer have the Aux in connection so that player will not work.I think it is this one. That's the Canadian Amazon site. There are lots of others on Amazon and elsewhere.
Gueray Portable CD Player Bluetooth Rechargeable 1400mAh Battery CD Walkman Small CD Discman Personal CD Player Anti-Skip Protection LCD Display with AUX Cable for Car Children Audio Books (Black) : Amazon.ca: Electronics
Gueray Portable CD Player Bluetooth Rechargeable 1400mAh Battery CD Walkman Small CD Discman Personal CD Player Anti-Skip Protection LCD Display with AUX Cable for Car Children Audio Books (Black) : Amazon.ca: Electronicswww.amazon.ca
She just uses it in the house, so I don't know how well it would connect in the Niro. Hers is a single CD player. I think a multiple CD player with random ability would be better for car use. I guess my original post was just to say that these devices exist, rather than recommending them.
Indeed. I'm disappointed by lack of AUX in bc I've given the kids an old, probably indestructible mp3 player with a few things on it that they can control from the back seat.
Has anyone had experience with the Bluetooth transmitter feature of such a CD player and if it pairs with the Niro Bluetooth to play over the car speakers? And if your car's steering wheel controls (like the play/pause button) does anything useful to it?
The CD player I linked is Bluetooth.
Thanks, I'm quite used to keeping my CDs safe in a car. I feel like I'm the only human on earth who can manage not to scratch up his CDs and DVDs (judging by the state of DVD rentals I sometimes still get from my library).
Converting all of my CDs into flash drives would still be a HUGE undertaking at this point - I can't see it taking over a year during whatever moments I can find to do it. I'm already overextended with my jobs and responsibilities that I have barely enough time to tend to that without throwing a huge job like this onto it, when it is avoidable or other alternatives should be available. I just can't find a product which has 100% good reviews or is clear will work with my vehicle or play mp3 files or requires a phone bluetooth hookup or whatever other complication will arise once I buy and try it. What I NEED is a PLUG AND PLAY. This shouldn't be rocket science.
Someone mentioned that there is no market for CD players in vehicles. I find that ludicrous. Have they expected everyone to have either thrown out billions of dollars of CDs, or died? Artists are STILL releasing CDs, so what are THEY expected to play them on? (****, some artists are still releasing on vinyl.)
In the meantime I've been tolerating a SXM station or two (the majority I have NO interest in), but even they become tiresome as their playlist is so limited than in a week I'll have heard each song a dozen times, and it is a miracle when I finally hear something I haven't heard before. In that sense it is no better than commercial radio. So when I tire of that I switch to talk radio. I MISS MY CDs! Apparently having one my car like I've always had (and a spare tire!) is too much to ask for what has resulted in being my BIGGEST single expense ever (aside from a home). If I have to sell one of my kidneys to afford a vehicle I expect I can play a **** CD in it. Apparently I'm being unreasonable and am asking too much.
Converting all of my CDs into flash drives would still be a HUGE undertaking at this point - I can't see it taking over a year during whatever moments I can find to do it. I'm already overextended with my jobs and responsibilities that I have barely enough time to tend to that without throwing a huge job like this onto it, when it is avoidable or other alternatives should be available. I just can't find a product which has 100% good reviews or is clear will work with my vehicle or play mp3 files or requires a phone bluetooth hookup or whatever other complication will arise once I buy and try it. What I NEED is a PLUG AND PLAY. This shouldn't be rocket science.
Someone mentioned that there is no market for CD players in vehicles. I find that ludicrous. Have they expected everyone to have either thrown out billions of dollars of CDs, or died? Artists are STILL releasing CDs, so what are THEY expected to play them on? (****, some artists are still releasing on vinyl.)
In the meantime I've been tolerating a SXM station or two (the majority I have NO interest in), but even they become tiresome as their playlist is so limited than in a week I'll have heard each song a dozen times, and it is a miracle when I finally hear something I haven't heard before. In that sense it is no better than commercial radio. So when I tire of that I switch to talk radio. I MISS MY CDs! Apparently having one my car like I've always had (and a spare tire!) is too much to ask for what has resulted in being my BIGGEST single expense ever (aside from a home). If I have to sell one of my kidneys to afford a vehicle I expect I can play a **** CD in it. Apparently I'm being unreasonable and am asking too much.
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