I must have a CD Player for my 2018 Leaf SV

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SalemCat

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 25, 2021
Messages
65
Yes, I know everyone will tell me to use my Android phone.

But it is so inconvenient, and frankly, dangerous to use as I drive.

Plus, I would have to stream my old CD's to a computer, and them somehow add them to my phone. Too much work.

I WANT: A stand-alone CD Player that will interface with my OEM Head Unit. Probably by Bluetooth, but USB or even Audio Jack might be ok.

As far as mounting goes, I would prefer to mount it above my Head Unit, with velcro, on the horizontal Dash. I am assuming the horizontal dash has no airbag underneath.

Advice, Please.
 
My memory is foggy from those days but wouldn't something like a Sony Discman do the trick? I assume a phono jack comes standard on most portable CD players from the era since they were mostly intended to be used with headphones or the like. Velcro would work and stick on velco pads are available at any hardware store. I don't think there are airbags in the top of the dash but a check of the service manual confirm that.
 
Yeah, portable CD player from headphone out to the aux in jack should be fine. Believe it or not, I still have 2 of those but I no longer have a car w/aux in ('22 Niro EV doesn't have it).
 
cwerdna said:
Yeah, portable CD player from headphone out to the aux in jack should be fine. Believe it or not, I still have 2 of those but I no longer have a car w/aux in ('22 Niro EV doesn't have it).
Click to expand...

Just be very careful with the "headphone's" volume input level. You want it to stay low or it will overload the amp. Better still to find a portable CD player with a Line Out jack.
 
Learjet said:
how about just copy the CD's to a USB stick? Doesn't the car play off of USB's also...or converter them to MP3 files?
Click to expand...

That actually sounds fine, and I have not tried it.

But some members have found choosing the music to be played difficult. Or that is what I believe they are saying.
 
But some members have found choosing the music to be played difficult. Or that is what I believe they are saying.
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, the issue is with songs buried in albums, buried in playlists. I think that if you just copy each album onto a USB stick by itself (maybe changing or preceding the first letter of each album name with another letter to put them in the alphabetical order you want), they should play ok like that. Keep in mind, though , that I haven't done this myself. You might want to first try using an MP-3 player loaded with the songs, and connected to the car via Line In. Why? My recollection of using a portable CD player in a car is that you have to have one with anti-skip memory, and that that function must be on while you are moving. It eats battery life that way, so you'd want to use a power adapter as well. The MP-3 player would simplify the process.
 
I suppose I could buy a bunch of cheap, low capacity USB Drives, and copy a single Album onto each.
And write, with a very fine sharpie, the name on each.
Might as well try this with a USB DRive with one Album, and see.
 
SalemCat said:
I suppose I could buy a bunch of cheap, low capacity USB Drives, and copy a single Album onto each.
And write, with a very fine sharpie, the name on each.
Might as well try this with a USB DRive with one Album, and see.
Click to expand...

You can use a single USB drive and make folders for every album you want. Last I remember, the built-in player can work with 1 level of folders that way. I do understand the want for it because it's easier to use the steering wheel buttons to control the CD (or USB drive) playback than to use the phone which has no physical buttons and requires you to take your eye off the road to navigate the touch screen.
 
Ok, like so many newer vehicles, my 2018 Nissan Leaf SV lacks a CD Player.

I find playing podcasts or music from my Android Smartphone very inconvenient, and dangerous while driving.

A simple auxiliary CD playing, that is powered by USB, and uses Android Aution would be ideal. But here is a very limited selection on Amazon or eBay. Crutchfield has none at all.

So....

As I understand it an Audio CD has a capacity of 700MB. So why not buy a bunch of 1GB drives, for about $2 each ?

https://www.amazon.com/RAOYI-10PCS-...lja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1

Insert a CD in my Desktop, copy the files to the USB Drive, use a sharpie to write the Album name on the Drive, place it in the vehicle USB. Change the source on the Head Unit to USB, and play.

Ok, that can't possibly work. Or would it ?
 
SalemCat said:
Ok, like so many newer vehicles, my 2018 Nissan Leaf SV lacks a CD Player.

I find playing podcasts or music from my Android Smartphone very inconvenient, and dangerous while driving.

A simple auxiliary CD playing, that is powered by USB, and uses Android Aution would be ideal. But here is a very limited selection on Amazon or eBay. Crutchfield has none at all.

So....

As I understand it an Audio CD has a capacity of 700MB. So why not buy a bunch of 1GB drives, for about $2 each ?

https://www.amazon.com/RAOYI-10PCS-...lja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1

Insert a CD in my Desktop, copy the files to the USB Drive, use a sharpie to write the Album name on the Drive, place it in the vehicle USB. Change the source on the Head Unit to USB, and play.

Ok, that can't possibly work. Or would it ?
Click to expand...
The audio files on a CD would have to be converted to mp3, ogg, or flac first, but yeah, any usb drive with those files on it should work. I haven't used the usb player in a while, so I don't know if it changed on the Gen2 Leaf vs Gen1 Leaf stereo systems.
 
I just tried to convert and copy a CD to a Flash Drive using Windows 10 Media Player.

It is way dark and way cold in Salem, Massachusetts right now (just like most of the USA).

So I will see if the Leaf will play it tomorrow.
 
SalemCat said:
I just tried to convert and copy a CD to a Flash Drive using Windows 10 Media Player.

It is way dark and way cold in Salem, Massachusetts right now (just like most of the USA).

So I will see if the Leaf will play it tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Wife and I went to Salem, MA last summer...was very hot when we were there...but a neat town.
 
SalemCat said:
I suppose I could buy a bunch of cheap, low capacity USB Drives, and copy a single Album onto each.
And write, with a very fine sharpie, the name on each.
Might as well try this with a USB DRive with one Album, and see.
Click to expand...
Rube Goldberg.
If you are going to go to all that trouble (and expense) of ripping...just play them off your phone via Bluetooth. Screwing around with skipping CDs is a much bigger hazard than controlling your phone player via the center display.
 
SalemCat said:
I just tried to convert and copy a CD to a Flash Drive using Windows 10 Media Player.

It is way dark and way cold in Salem, Massachusetts right now (just like most of the USA).

So I will see if the Leaf will play it tomorrow.
Click to expand...

I've tried playing my MP3 music collection via USB stick, but I find the Leaf's digital music player lacking. I now play my collection on the car from my phone via the MediaMonkey app and Bluetooth.

If you want to take that step from CDs to digital files, and want to stick with using a USB drive, then I would suggest copying each CD to a separate folder (e.g., use "Artist - Album" name as each unique folder name) on your computer, then copy those folders onto one large USB drive. (I'm not sure what the max allowable USB drive size is for the Leaf's player.) You can carry a CD collection on that one USB drive for your car and select the album to play from your car screen.
 
Thanks to Learjet for their pleasant review of Salem. Salem isn't Disneyworld, but Disneyworld isn't Disneyworld any more, either.

Anyhow, I finally jumped in and used Windows Media Player to rip several Mannheim Steamroller Music CD's to a USB Flash Drive.

It worked perfectly.

I am happy I did not prematurely purchase an expensive and awkward CD Player for my Leaf.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0742DGN5V?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

This little gem arrived today, and I am adding my favorite songs as we speak.
 
I don't get it. How is creating and handling a box of thumb-drives more convenient than Bluetooth?
 
Bluetooth has its own issues, like poor reception even at relatively short distans, lack of compatibility between Bluetooth devices (my PC claims to have Bluetooth, but it has never - not once - successfully connected to another Bluetooth device), and lousy sound reproduction. Once those thumb drives are made, and assuming the drives themselves are of reasonably good quality, they represent hours of hassle-free listening pleasure.
 

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