2000 XJ CD and MP3s

i tried to play a burned CD with MP3 format songs on it and the stock CD/AM/FM/Cassette player wouldn't accept the CD.
did i burn it wrong, or does the stock CD player only play normal .wav file tracks?

i like the layout of the buttons etc on the stock CDs.. if the 2000 player doesn't play MP3's, how about a stock player from a newer model?

It's a normal CD player so it has to be in standard Redbook format (aiff?) format in order to work.

r@m

Most stock units wont play MP3's. Has to be burned like a store bought CD and even then I've heard of units that wont play them. I'm not up to speed on most of this stuff tho so hopefully one of the audio dudes will chime in.

Sarge

Had that problem with my 01, and it seems that it won't play audio (not MP3) CDs that are burned to near capacity. I dropped my recordings down to around 50-55 minutes of music and haven't had a problem since. The stock player won't work in .mp3 file format.

On the subject of a 2000 stock stereo...

I have an iPOD and decided to run it through a cassette adapter (cheapest option). However, the stock stereo won't eject the cassette adapter...it seems to be jammed and I can't get it out. Also, the front speakers don't work which really stinks. Something must be wrong with that toggle switch that acts like a fader.

I'm gonna buy an aftermarket cd player and get one of those FM transmitters for my overpriced iPOD.

rumblebelly said:

I'm gonna buy an aftermarket cd player and get one of those FM transmitters for my overpriced iPOD.

Click to expand...

When you buy an aftermarket CD player you can get one with an auxilary input on the front. It will look like the earphone plug. You can then plug you ipod right in there and it will sound better and be cheaper.

Pioneer89XJ said:

When you buy an aftermarket CD player you can get one with an auxilary input on the front. It will look like the earphone plug. You can then plug you ipod right in there and it will sound better and be cheaper.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I had no idea! I heard that the sound quality sometimes isn't that great with those transmitters.

rumblebelly said:

Thanks, I had no idea! I heard that the sound quality sometimes isn't that great with those transmitters.

Click to expand...

I have heard good and bad about them too.

just buy an MP3 CD player

Only some of the very new factory radios will play MP3 formats.

The native format for a CD is a .wav.

Additionally, some of the older players won't be able to play some burned CDs. Sometimes they accept some colors better than others, sometimes none at all.

I would bet that nearly any player newer than about 97 should have no problem with a burned CD, however only a select few factory units will play MP3s. Then again, come 2004/5 most, if not all, factory units will now play an MP3. And nearly every aftermarket CD player will.

This link has a good idea as well.

http://www.colorado4x4.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=26448

sweetjeep said:

I would bet that nearly any player newer than about 97 should have no problem with a burned CD, however only a select few factory units will play MP3s. Then again, come 2004/5 most, if not all, factory units will now play an MP3. And nearly every aftermarket CD player will.

Click to expand...

Were MP3's even around in 2000?

My suggestion would be to find an "FM-modulated" add-on CD changer that handles MP3 CD's... then you just hang the adapter inline with the antenna, put the remote somewhere, and cruise with several hundred songs on-tap.

Sound quality won't be as good as an all-digital solution... but it'll be a damned site better than the radio sound quality. Should run $150 or so.

Den

my 2000 plays burned cds but not mp3...
however, i will be tossing the factory unit out and replacing it soon...check out the 2xDIN unit from pioneer...

biscuitboy87 said:

my 2000 plays burned cds but not mp3...
however, i will be tossing the factory unit out and replacing it soon...check out the 2xDIN unit from pioneer...

Click to expand...

Won't fit in your dash. The opening is DIN-and-a-half.

it won't play mp3 but it will play a burned cd it all depends on the rate at which you burned it.

Here's a funny little story. I had a new Pioneer cd installed at Cartoys (free install) yesterday to replace the stock radio. The front speakers didn't work (figured the old stereo was the problem) and thought just getting a new stereo would solve my problems. Wrong! The guy tells me after the install "did you know your front speakers don't work" DOH! I never even bothered to check them. I went out and bought some Jenson 6.5" speakers with the idea in my head the stock speakers might be blown. I decided to install them myself because I was dumping enough dough into this new jeep...Cartoys said they could do it for $50 but if the wiring was bad it would cost more.

My new speakers wouldn't fit though, they were too big because the stock speakers are 5.25". I heard some 6.5" will fit but these wouldn't because the magnet was right up against the window and the mounting lip was still nearly an inch from the door. I could have slipped something in between the speaker and the door but I figured the door panel wouldn't go back on.

Turns out the only the wiring was bad. I threaded new wires in and installed the stock speakers...now it works!!! ...after about 4 hours of greif. The stock speakers don't sound too bad with the new stereo, I might eventually replace them but I'm kinda burned out with the whole thing.

It had an input in the back and Cartoys ran RCA wires for my iPOD underneath and into console which is pretty cool.

Thanks for all the thoughts, very useful ideas.

i've got little extra money at the moment.. so replacing the dash unit will have to wait. it will play my burned .wav cds, i just wanted to get more on each CD and wanted MP3's to work. but they don't so i'm stuck with it for a while i guess. i thought if a 2001 unit played MP3's i could locate one in a junk yard... or maybe does a 2004/2005 dash unit from a TJ or Grand Cherokee fit? i would think they could play MP3's. at least the one in my PT Cruiser did. i just like the knobs/button layouts on the stock units. the after market units have so many buttons that they make them to small... its hard to adjust the volume or change tracks when i'm bouncing all over the trail

and i've had to repair the speaker wiring already and it went out again the other day. this time i'm just running new wire so it will last. even the passenger side power window button only works 1/2 the time. they just made the wiring harness thru the door a little too short and a little too stiff.

The default CD Audio format is AIFF and not .wav as stated here. AIFF is an industry standard audio format whereas WAV files are a proprietary Microsoft format. Some CD Decks can't read CDRs, especially the blue ones. I've had better luck using silver faced CDRs for audio use.

The iPod isn't that overpriced when you consider ease of use. One of the better ways to pipe audio into the factory stereo system is using an FM Modulator for around $20-40. These hardwire inbetween the antena lead and the factory head unit. Most have RCA inputs and need to be wired with a simple switch for power and setting a station preset on the factory radio. Since all the soccer moms want a DVD Screen for the kids you can get these at about anywhere. Not as good as a head unit with an input, but lots cheaper. Way better than an iTrip or external modulator since they quite often get interference from other stations.

The door speakers go out because the wire gauge in the harness is to light and it fatigues from bending every time the door opens. Pull you door panel and solder on new wire - 3 ft is plenty - and feed it through the door grommets. Make note of the wire colors feeding the speakers. You don't need to go all the way to the radio, just splice in behind the kick panels and you'll be fine. It's only a 20 minute job.

- JP

The Ipod is the best investment ive made for my trucks audio. I had a 12 disc mp3 CD changer and i knew id romp the funout of it in 2 weeks or less. The Ipod never skips and lasts pretty long on the battery life. The only downfall about having 4,000 songs at your fingertips is selecting a song. Its really distracting when youre driving and you need to find that one special song you love the most.

Nernballs said:

The Ipod is the best investment ive made for my trucks audio. I had a 12 disc mp3 CD changer and i knew id romp the funout of it in 2 weeks or less. The Ipod never skips and lasts pretty long on the battery life. The only downfall about having 4,000 songs at your fingertips is selecting a song. Its really distracting when youre driving and you need to find that one special song you love the most.

Click to expand...

Okay, okay, an iPOD is probably one of the coolest things I own but I still think it's a little overpriced for what it is.
One of the best things about it is the playlist feature. If anyone has any tips on how to shuffle playlists without hooking it up to a computer, let me know.

It was actually easier for me to splice in new speaker wires from the radio than trying to find out which wires were speaker wires vs all the other 20 or so wires in the bundle. Do the other wires go out such as the power windows, mirrors and locks? That's what I'm really worried about.