Today I finally completed my 2-month long installation of the Dension MP3 player. I've been looking for an MP3 hard disk player intended for a car ever since I took delivery. The 2 best choices were PhatBox and Dension DMP3 (I have an iPod, but it does not integrate well and it is not intended for a car player to start with). Anyway I decided to go for Dension - I know there are a lot of PhatBox enthusiasts around, but I personally prefer on-screen selection instead of voice (and the price difference is significant).
I bought the player around New Year (got a $100 discount); it arrived sometime in January. The package is nice - pretty much everything you need (including the computer cradle and the separate power adapter). The sound quality when played on my home system is impressive despite the not-so-good specs. I got the BMW package, so it came with all adapters necessary, and I also got a satelite display so I can have it trunc-mounted. It plugs in the CD-changer wiring, but requires an additional +12V (the hard disk needs more power than what is provided for the changer).
Eventually I used a professional installer (StreetEffectz - really nice job) - and that was back in January. It worked exactly for 5 min - and then the hard disk gave up on me (on my way home from the installer). I knew the disk was quirky - it was an old one I had laying around. So I bought a new drive - 5400 rpm 40 GB Seagate. Then I figured with the temperature around in the 20s and 30s - way below the disk specs - I better wait (I presume the trunc is not really heated). Eventually I remembered yesterday, and now I have it working. I have the satelite display in the ash-tray (perfect fit) and it is completely hidden when you close the door.
The player is recognized by the head as a CD changer - the steering wheel controls work (incl. skipping song forward and back). Also, you can click on any of the buttons for CD 1-6 and get a pre-selected album (the trick is - it's played in random order). The player also has a great function called "my radio" - where you can select a huge number of songs which are played randomly. I have several such selections (one of which is all the music on the drive). I still haven't used it long enough, but so far it is great. I'll post some pics when I get around to it.
I bought the player around New Year (got a $100 discount); it arrived sometime in January. The package is nice - pretty much everything you need (including the computer cradle and the separate power adapter). The sound quality when played on my home system is impressive despite the not-so-good specs. I got the BMW package, so it came with all adapters necessary, and I also got a satelite display so I can have it trunc-mounted. It plugs in the CD-changer wiring, but requires an additional +12V (the hard disk needs more power than what is provided for the changer).
Eventually I used a professional installer (StreetEffectz - really nice job) - and that was back in January. It worked exactly for 5 min - and then the hard disk gave up on me (on my way home from the installer). I knew the disk was quirky - it was an old one I had laying around. So I bought a new drive - 5400 rpm 40 GB Seagate. Then I figured with the temperature around in the 20s and 30s - way below the disk specs - I better wait (I presume the trunc is not really heated). Eventually I remembered yesterday, and now I have it working. I have the satelite display in the ash-tray (perfect fit) and it is completely hidden when you close the door.
The player is recognized by the head as a CD changer - the steering wheel controls work (incl. skipping song forward and back). Also, you can click on any of the buttons for CD 1-6 and get a pre-selected album (the trick is - it's played in random order). The player also has a great function called "my radio" - where you can select a huge number of songs which are played randomly. I have several such selections (one of which is all the music on the drive). I still haven't used it long enough, but so far it is great. I'll post some pics when I get around to it.