new head units with USB inputs on them...

(brucemac) · (brucemac) **Join Date: Dec 2005** 03-27-2006, 1:49 PM

Was just killing some time at lunch and saw this new Kenwood Head unit has a USB input right on the front for flash drives, hard drives, portable players, etc. it says it will even power compatible devices!

I'm wondering if any of you have seen these yet?

I'd really like to see how the usb interface works with a flash drive or portable hard drive. that could be pretty slick--that is, if there is an interface. :-)

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-L49JogFXa0y/cgi-bin/Prodview.asp?readmore=true&g=300&id=essential_info &i=113MP532#Tab

it says it is ipod ready and has changer capability, so i'm guessing you can still use the kenwood rca input adapter. anyway, thought that was pretty cool.

(spelsh) · (spelsh) **Join Date: Feb 2006** 03-27-2006, 4:51 PM

they work great. My friend has a 512 MB flash drive and it works perfectly. Makes carrying my Ipod feel cumbersome.

(brucemac) · (brucemac) **Join Date: Dec 2005** 03-27-2006, 4:58 PM

which one does he have do you know?

how's the interface? do you have folder control? or just track skip? it would be sweet to get a 100GB+ bus-powered drive for one of these.

(spelsh) · (spelsh) **Join Date: Feb 2006** 03-30-2006, 4:43 AM

unfortunately his does not allow folder control, just track skip. His is a generic brand (not sony, kenwood ect) but it was the only head unit available at the time that had a USB input. I believe he purchased it 8 months ago

(brucemac) · (brucemac) **Join Date: Dec 2005** 03-30-2006, 9:26 AM

huh, okay

i can't wait to see one. sounds like the kenwood is going to be available middle of april. maybe time for an upgrade. :-)

(newty) · (newty) **Join Date: May 2005** 03-30-2006, 9:39 PM

I was at a local shop and saw that Kenwood has several different decks with USB con. They are wired off the back, I bet you could do a little USB binding style post plug on the dash. Pretty trick though.
http://ces.engadget.com/2006/01/08/kenwood-adds-usb-equipped-auto-systems/

(cyclonecj) · (cyclonecj) **Join Date: Jul 2001** 03-31-2006, 12:46 AM

I made this volume control for my boat with a USB input for an Ipod Shuffle. 20 hrs of tunes, pull it out at the end of the day. Upload

(brucemac) · (brucemac) **Join Date: Dec 2005** 03-31-2006, 6:09 AM

ryan, there new one's are supposed to have an input on the front of the deck i was told.

i think it's in the lower left corner if you look closely on that 532u

(jrhurst) · (jrhurst) **Join Date: Mar 2006** 03-31-2006, 6:42 AM

Alot of the 06 JVC decks have this same feature !!!

(brutto_76) · (brutto_76) **Join Date: Feb 2005** 03-31-2006, 10:05 AM

psyclone, your volume control/shuffle connector looks genius! Was it tough to make?

At the moment I connect my shuffle directly to an amp via a headphone jack to twin phono cable. No head unit involved. Can't be ideal. Yours looks a way better solution.

(supraman) · (supraman) **Join Date: Jan 2002** 03-31-2006, 10:48 AM

Don't most burned CDs carry 700MB? Would you be better off with a disc player that read MP3 discs (very common) and leaving a disc with 700MB of songs in it? Nothing sticking out of the player etc. I suppose the downside is that you can change out the songs on a 512 stick or a Shuffle without having to burn another disc, but still.

(yosquire) · (yosquire) **Join Date: Jun 2005** 03-31-2006, 10:38 PM

I'm kind of agreeing with Matt here.. In addition I'm failing to see the big advantage to a USB input.

CD's are much more water resistant than I-Pods -- And they float.

(timmy) · (timmy) **Join Date: Jul 2001** 03-31-2006, 10:43 PM

i have had cd/mp3 in my boat since '02 and I couldn't be any happier. 10 hours of music, almost never skips, and cds are cheap and disposable

that being said, I have had a rental car with Sirius for the last month, and I might get a new deck with cd/mp3 and satellite capbility.

(az862001) · (az862001) **Join Date: Apr 2006** 04-03-2006, 2:19 PM

I bought a new JVC deck, it has the jack for a mp3 player, but even better it is a gigadvd player. I can burn mp3's on a dvd and play them on that, or play movie dvds when I get a small monitor. I've got a dvd camcorder also, so it might be fun this summer replaying some good faceplants.

(brucemac) · (brucemac) **Join Date: Dec 2005** 04-10-2006, 6:53 AM

matt and craig, the usb port will power some of the usb bus-powered portable 2.5" hard drives out there that are becoming more common (at least that's what the kenwood decks are saying). no need for a 12-volt power cord, or an rca cable. pretty sweet i think. still i see what you're saying, but it would be pretty cool as an option and it doesn't look like it's adding much to the price of them.