How do you listen to your music while you drive

Started by roadman65, August 04, 2018, 11:27:02 AM

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Just how do you obtain your music while you drive

From your phone via Aux Port/Bluetooth/USB (CarPlay/Android Auto) into your car's speaker system
15 (28.8%)
CD/Cassettes
7 (13.5%)
Typical Radio
15 (28.8%)
Satellite Radio (Sirius XM)
12 (23.1%)
Like AM Talk or other
3 (5.8%)

Total Members Voted: 52

roadman65

Just wondering how we listen to music in our drives in our own personal vehicle.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe


AsphaltPlanet

Sometimes I'll just drive in complete silence for hours actually.  Often I'll do this with the window down.

Other times it's loud music, with a fast beat.
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abefroman329

Mainly terrestrial radio, but if not, I'll play music from my iPhone, connected via Bluetooth.

How does everyone feel about whether BT is more/less convenient than connecting using an auxiliary cord? I have the iPhone 8, which doesn't even have a headphone jack, just a Lightning jack, and I have zero desire to find an auxiliary-to-Lightning cord, so BT is definitely more convenient for me.

1995hoo

#3
Depends on which of our cars I'm driving.

My Acura TL has XM radio, a cassette player I seldom use, and a six-disc CD/DVD-Audio changer I use all the time. The Bluetooth capability in that car doesn't work for music–it's for calls only. I did use the cassette player a few weeks ago when our relatives from Fort Myers visited and the kids didn't know what it was. Every once in a while I use it for my old mixed tapes. Can't easily rip them to CD because I normally used C-90s or C-100s, and it'd be a nuisance to try to create a DVD-Audio because some of the tracks are things I have on vinyl only (I don't much want to pay to repurchase tracks I already own) and because when I made mixed tapes I was really good at minimizing or eliminating the gaps between the tracks. Hard to do that when you're burning a disc. I guess I could record once side of a cassette to a CD-RW, rip that disc to my PC, erase the disc, and then repeat with the other side, but that all takes more time than I'm inclined to spend when I can just play the tape in the car.

My wife's Acura TLX has only a single-slot CD player that allows you to rip to a hard drive. It also has various USB connectors, an iPod interface, and Bluetooth for music and phone calls. I almost never use the Bluetooth. If we travel, I put my iPod Classic in the car and use that–it has way more music on it than my phone does. Plus I struggle with selecting music via the Bluetooth menus when I'm driving. We have some CDs ripped to the hard drive. She wasn't interested in paying for satellite radio, so we don't have it in that car, although I've thought about seeing what it would cost to add it to my account as a second receiver since I assume there would be a discount.

My wife's Acura RSX has a six-CD changer, a cassette player we've never used, and AM/FM radio. Since we don't usually take it on trips anymore, I listen to the CDs, the news on FM, or sports (usually baseball) on FM. I hardly ever listen to FM for music.

My Mazda RX-7 has a single-disc CD player that no longer works (and it won't eject the CD that's in it), a cassette player I've never used, and an AM/FM radio I almost never use because sometimes the motorized antenna is finicky.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

TheStranger

Ever since I got bluetooth with the new stereo setup (JVC head unit, Alpine speakers if I'm not mistaken) last December on my 1997 Thunderbird, I've been using that car as essentially a mobile stereo!  I have the audio settings EQed for clarity (my love of 70s rock means I'm going for fidelity over sheer volume usually).

I rarely listen to FM radio now and haven't yet used the CD player function in the system, instead preferring to wade through all the different music genres I listen to via phone/bluetooth. 
Chris Sampang

Max Rockatansky

#5
I still use an AUX jack for a SanDisc MP3 player.  For some reason using the USB on my Sonic cuts out the first second of each MP3 track.  Plus I like being able to have the MP3 in my lap where it is easier to control than a touch screen.

Incidentally who else despises touch screens?  The older radio sets in cars had easy to use buttons that were intuitive and didn't require looking over away from the road to press.  One of the best things about getting Enclave as rental recently was that it had not only a touch screen but actually buttons as well.  Maybe that's just me getting old but I can't get used to touch screens at all.  I even use a standard Desktop and Lap Top since I can't get used to tablets either.

The MP3 functionality in my Challenger doesn't have a delay on the USB and the touch screen is more user friendly.  That said the AUX jack is even easier to get to and still my preference.  My Fiance's Forester has a lot of knobs and buttons to go with the touch screen which makes it my preference out of the three vehicles I use regularly. 

I still listen to a lot of sports radio, it's a shame I can't find an MRN station locally. 

LM117

I still use CD's, though I don't turn the stereo on as much anymore these days. I did all the time in my teens and early 20's, but as each year passes, the less tolerant I get. I guess it's nature's way of preparing me for turning the 3-0 next year.
“I don’t know whether to wind my ass or scratch my watch!” - Jim Cornette

1995hoo

Quote from: LM117 on August 04, 2018, 01:39:52 PM
I still use CD's, though I don't turn the stereo on as much anymore these days. I did all the time in my teens and early 20's, but as each year passes, the less tolerant I get. I guess it's nature's way of preparing me for turning the 3-0 next year.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

oscar

Mainly by CD player. My older car has a six-disc CD changer. My newer one has just a one-disc CD player, and it took a little effort to get even that.

I have satellite radio, and when I was really, really bored I tuned into some of the music channels. Mostly, the satellite radio is for news, sports, and what little remains of major-city traffic reports.
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formulanone

#9
I'll have an iPod plugged in probably 90% of the time when driving alone; much less so with others in the car, unless it's a several hour drive. Depends on if there's much to talk about or a very short trip.

I'm a bit more apt to using Bluetooth audio for short trips of 10-15 minutes in the rental cars I borrow; most of them support it, though occasionally I'll get a base model without it.

briantroutman

Unless you want to count it under "phone via Bluetooth" , you might want to add an option for USB, which is how I usually connect my phone to my car and listen to most audio, whether it be talk or music.

I've mentioned this on other threads, but a couple of years ago, I bought a new Volkswagen Golf (the wagon model), and while I had been leaning toward purchasing a VW from the beginning, one feature that helped seal the deal was Apple CarPlay being standard on all VWs. Among other contenders, I had been considering the Mazda3 hatchback, but at the time, Mazda wasn't offering CarPlay at all.

The car also has satellite radio built in, and I keep my subscription going because I'm a sucker for having everything on the car functional as the day I drove it out of the dealership. In addition to music, SiriusXM data also powers the traffic and traveler data that's fed to the system.

I'll sometimes put on terrestrial radio and scan the dial–just to see if I pick up anything interesting or unusual, to check whether I can pick up various stations' HD feeds (a failed technology, in my opinion) or to see what distant radio stations I can get. There's something reassuring about still being able to pick up the scratchy signals of faraway AMs.

VW still includes an optical drive (DVD/CD), but it's buried away in the glove compartment and I think is primarily intended for installing software updates from DVD. I've used it exactly once. If I ever buy or am given a CD, I'll rip it once as a lossless file and then store it away. Next to the optical drive are two SD card slots; I've thought about loading up an old SD card with music files so I have something to listen to in case I'm caught without my phone for some reason.

Quote from: abefroman329 on August 04, 2018, 12:20:35 PM
How does everyone feel about whether BT is more/less convenient than connecting using an auxiliary cord?

I sometimes will use Bluetooth if I'm just in the car for a few minutes. If I was listening to something prior to getting in the car, I can usually select Bluetooth on the car's stereo, and it will resume wherever I left off (music album, podcast, etc.). But CarPlay doesn't work over Bluetooth; you have to plug in via USB. If connected via Bluetooth, the navigation and controls of the audio are via VW's media interface, which is less intuitive than CarPlay and slower...particularly via the Bluetooth connection. So to make use of the extra CarPlay features and to keep my phone charged, I'm plugged into USB 99% of my time behind the wheel.

Quote from: abefroman329 on August 04, 2018, 12:20:35 PM
I have the iPhone 8, which doesn't even have a headphone jack, just a Lightning jack, and I have zero desire to find an auxiliary-to-Lightning cord, so BT is definitely more convenient for me.

Your phone came with a Lightning to 3.5 mm audio jack adapter in the box, so you don't need to buy any special Lighting adapters. But your car has Bluetooth and a 3.5 mm audio jack but not USB? USB would be the better way to connect all around–faster data connection, better quality audio, power to charge your phone.

abefroman329

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on August 04, 2018, 01:30:24 PMIncidentally who else despises touch screens?  The older radio sets in cars had easy to use buttons that were intuitive and didn't require looking over away from the road to press.  One of the best things about getting Enclave as rental recently was that it had not only a touch screen but actually buttons as well.  Maybe that's just me getting old but I can't get used to touch screens at all.  I even use a standard Desktop and Lap Top since I can't get used to tablets either.
Regarding touch screens in cars, other than feeling like it's one more thing to break and be really expensive to fix or replace, I think they're fine. My car has knobs for volume controls and tuning the radio; I just had a rental car that did not, and trying to set the presets for the XM was a giant pain as a result.

I own a tablet and it works fine 90% of the time, and I also have a Chromebook for the 10% if the time when my tablet won't cut it.

abefroman329

Quote from: briantroutman on August 04, 2018, 02:07:10 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on August 04, 2018, 12:20:35 PM
I have the iPhone 8, which doesn't even have a headphone jack, just a Lightning jack, and I have zero desire to find an auxiliary-to-Lightning cord, so BT is definitely more convenient for me.

Your phone came with a Lightning to 3.5 mm audio jack adapter in the box, so you don't need to buy any special Lighting adapters. But your car has Bluetooth and a 3.5 mm audio jack but not USB? USB would be the better way to connect all around–faster data connection, better quality audio, power to charge your phone.
You are right, it does also have a USB port, but I have a 2.4A charger in the cigarette lighter that keeps the phone charged just fine, even when connected via BT, and I don't really suffer from a lack of opportunities to charge my phone. Though I am intrigued by the idea of better quality audio...

And yes, I do have a Lightning adapter, but that is in the box and will probably stay there.

Takumi

Quote from: 1995hoo on August 04, 2018, 12:42:56 PM
Depends on which of our cars I'm driving.

My Acura TL has XM radio, a cassette player I seldom use, and a six-disc CD/DVD-Audio changer I use all the time. The Bluetooth capability in that car doesn't work for music–it's for calls only. I did use the cassette player a few weeks ago when our relatives from Fort Myers visited and the kids didn't know what it was. Every once in a while I use it for my old mixed tapes. Can't easily rip them to CD because I normally used C-90s or C-100s, and it'd be a nuisance to try to create a DVD-Audio because some of the tracks are things I have on vinyl only (I don't much want to pay to repurchase tracks I already own) and because when I made mixed tapes I was really good at minimizing or eliminating the gaps between the tracks. Hard to do that when you're burning a disc. I guess I could record once side of a cassette to a CD-RW, rip that disc to my PC, erase the disc, and then repeat with the other side, but that all takes more time than I'm inclined to spend when I can just play the tape in the car.

My wife's Acura TLX has only a single-slot CD player that allows you to rip to a hard drive. It also has various USB connectors, an iPod interface, and Bluetooth for music and phone calls. I almost never use the Bluetooth. If we travel, I put my iPod Classic in the car and use that–it has way more music on it than my phone does. Plus I struggle with selecting music via the Bluetooth menus when I'm driving. We have some CDs ripped to the hard drive. She wasn't interested in paying for satellite radio, so we don't have it in that car, although I've thought about seeing what it would cost to add it to my account as a second receiver since I assume there would be a discount.

My wife's Acura RSX has a six-CD changer, a cassette player we've never used, and AM/FM radio. Since we don't usually take it on trips anymore, I listen to the CDs, the news on FM, or sports (usually baseball) on FM. I hardly ever listen to FM for music.

My Mazda RX-7 has a single-disc CD player that no longer works (and it won't eject the CD that's in it), a cassette player I've never used, and an AM/FM radio I almost never use because sometimes the motorized antenna is finicky.
My TL is the generation between yours and your wife's, but is more like hers: single CD with hard drive saving, USB, Bluetooth, aux, AM/FM, XM. I've only used the CD and USB (for my phone) so far.
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
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1995hoo

DVD-Audio flopped commercially, but I love being able to play them in the car because I have software to burn my own discs. I can either burn hi-rez music in native .FLAC or I can burn extremely large amounts of CD-resolution music (seeing as how a DVD has around seven times the capacity of a CD). I find it a lot easier to load up the changer with those than to operate the iPod or Bluetooth in the other car, although no doubt part of that is having had the TL for 14 years this month such that of course I'm more comfortable with it.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

sparker

If I'm driving in a large urban area such as my own or L.A. metro, I tend to keep the radio set to whatever AM station provides the most frequent traffic reports -- primarily for defensive purposes (and ascertaining if alternate routes are required!).  Outside of that, it's always been cassette (up until the early '90's) and then CD.  Recently, the P.O.S. 6-disc changer in my old Camry died (without hope of resurrection), so I've gone back to cassettes.  My old collection of those has long since been given away, so I've actually gotten back to recording my own (reattached my old Nakamichi cassette deck to the audio system, biased it up, and have been cutting tapes now for a couple of months).  Kinda fun -- rerecording (and thus doing a bit of "re-listening") from a lot of my old LP's in the process (still have a lot more of those than CD's by about a 3:1 ratio).  Should have 30 or 40 done by the time I make my next trip down to SoCal.   

However, the CD player still works in our 4-runner that my GF regularly drives; I've essentially given her the big cloth 60-disc CD portfolio that used to reside in the Camry.  She's happy about that -- and that's what counts!

cpzilliacus

Sirius.  There's no terrestrial music station  that interests me.
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Mapmikey

When not commuting it is about 90% of the time listening to the Beatles Channel on Sirius/XM

During the commute it is only 60% while the other 40% is on WTOP for afternoon traffic...

jakeroot

Everything except aux and CD (no cassette deck in my car; I also don't own any). My 2015 Golf was apparently the first American VW model to drop the aux cord. I could get an MDI (VW's multi-media interface pre-2016) converter cable, but I just use Bluetooth.

When I got my car, I had an iPhone. Since it was the last year of the Golf without CarPlay or Android Auto, the only USB interface the car has native support for (via the MDI cable) is iOS. I have an Android device now, so my phone is plugged into the 12V socket, with the cable running under my seat and into my phone, which is mounted in a dock to the left of my steering wheel, with Bluetooth streaming being my method of connection. Yes, I have to unplug my phone to get out, but that doesn't bother me. I am hoping to plug in the phone directly to the fuse box at some point.

With satellite radio, I listen to all sorts of stations. Howard Stern quite often, as well as CBC Radio, as well as the 70s, 80s, and 90s channels. Also the Spectrum, Classic Rewind, Classic Vinyl, 1st Wave, Tom Petty Radio, Dave Matthews Band Radio (temp channel 3), and some of the R&B channels (hardly ever one consistently).

On FM (in Seattle), mostly talk (KIRO and KOMO), and a few classic alternative and adult alternative stations (Jack FM, the Jet, KISW, KZOK, and KHTP).

On AM, only KOMO 1000, which broadcasts quite far apparently.

Sometimes I drive without the radio on, but it's not that common.

Brandon

Sticking a flash drive full of music mp3 and mp4a files directly into the car.  The car's radio will play them direct with no need for a special player.  I also listen to SiriusXM, and some terrestrial radio (usually WBBM AM & FM for traffic & news).
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cjk374

Quote from: 1995hoo on August 04, 2018, 01:48:53 PM
Quote from: LM117 on August 04, 2018, 01:39:52 PM
I still use CD's, though I don't turn the stereo on as much anymore these days. I did all the time in my teens and early 20's, but as each year passes, the less tolerant I get. I guess it's nature's way of preparing me for turning the 3-0 next year.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Wait til you start looking the big 5-0 in the face like me, 1995hoo, and others. You have lots of tolerance now. LOL!
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

hbelkins

iPod (connected via an AUX port, since my vehicle does not have built-in Bluetooth). But generally, I'm listening to podcasts instead of music unless I run out of podcasts. The Mark Levin podcast is free, and there's a guy who posts commercial-free MP3s of Rush Limbaugh's show to alt.binaries.sounds.radio.misc, and I download the shows I don't hear live, convert them from music to podcast format in iTunes, and load them to my iPod. I let my Rush 24/7 subscription go a few years ago due to financial constraints and was very happy to find the files on a Usenet newsgroup.

I will use my iPhone or iPad to stream Limbaugh and Sean Hannity live if I am traveling, through the iHeart Radio app listening to either WLAP-AM (Lexington) or WKRC-AM (Cincinnati). I also use iHeart to listen to WLAP for UK basketball and football games.

On Sundays, it's the MRN or PRN app as applicable to listen to NASCAR races. I let my XM subscription go, also for financial reasons, so listening to the races or the ballgames or the Patriot channel, which carries Hannity and Levin, is no longer an option.

Truthfully, I'm just as content to drive in silence as I am to play music, even though I have hundreds of albums and CDs. I've played the classic stuff a zillion times and there really isn't any new music that's coming out that I'm interested in.

One thing I never got into was sports talk radio.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

jon daly

My CD player got jammed so it's AM/FM radio for me. I listen to whatever appeals to me at the moment: talk, jazz, classical, rock, et cetera; even sports radio. The latter is hate listening so that I can complain to my brother that the main topic on WEEI is WEEI itself. I Usually turn it down if I have passengers; unless I'm listening to a game.

plain

Depends on what I'm driving. Either my thumb drive plugged into the USB port or my music phone (I turned one of my phones into a music player, it's not active) plugged into the AUX port. Either way it's music I've downloaded and saved to both. I don't stream music and I very rarely listen to the radio because radio sucks now.
Newark born, Richmond bred

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: abefroman329 on August 04, 2018, 02:33:29 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on August 04, 2018, 01:30:24 PMIncidentally who else despises touch screens?  The older radio sets in cars had easy to use buttons that were intuitive and didn't require looking over away from the road to press.  One of the best things about getting Enclave as rental recently was that it had not only a touch screen but actually buttons as well.  Maybe that's just me getting old but I can't get used to touch screens at all.  I even use a standard Desktop and Lap Top since I can't get used to tablets either.
Regarding touch screens in cars, other than feeling like it's one more thing to break and be really expensive to fix or replace, I think they're fine. My car has knobs for volume controls and tuning the radio; I just had a rental car that did not, and trying to set the presets for the XM was a giant pain as a result.

I own a tablet and it works fine 90% of the time, and I also have a Chromebook for the 10% if the time when my tablet won't cut it.

The problem I noticed with the Chevy MyLink system is that essentially every function of the radio is only available on the touch screen.  The button and knob layout for the AC is pretty traditional below the touch screen.  Comparing it to the other two cars it definitely is a poorer design but I get the feeling it was meant to attract younger buyers.  The menus selection is vertical and to the left were as the Challenger and Forest both have it on the bottom of the screen more where you'd expect it to be. 

As for PC versus tablet that might be just a age preference thing.  I used DOS based PCs growing up and anything that requires me to not use proper typing position generally isn't my speed. 



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