I received my sony changer yesterday and installed it today. I guess I should say "hooked it up", because I haven't actually finished the install (the changer isn't mounted yet).
This process took all of 10 minutes to do. Here's the info:
Sony 10 disc changer with MP3, model CDX 757MX
Soundgate Sony to BMW converter
2002 BMW 330 convertible, HK sound, no Nav
A shot of the left tray before removing:
Same area with the tray removed. The black roll is the fabric covering for the CD changer connections.
Here's the connections and the soundgate adapter:
And finally, all of the trunk pieces put back in and the changer hooked to the adapter:
I have not decided exactly where or how I plan to mount the unit. It has 10-second ESP (read-ahead buffering), so skipping doesn't seem to be a big problem. It does fit inside the existing left-side tray, but then I lose this area for storage. I may just figure out a way to soft-mount it in the rear of the trunk.
As has been noted before, accessing discs 7-10 is not as simple as one would hope, you need to get to the end of CD6 and then advance forward. Pressing the CD buttons twice does not take you to them like has been reported on some of the other units (Pioneer???) without the soundgate adapter.
However, I am not noticing much significant lag-time while advancing tracks like was reported with the Alpine MP3. It's slightly longer than the in-dash CD, but not enough to be a nuisance. The MP3 cd that I am using to test right now hs about 120 songs on it, nested up to one directory deep with 3 directories total. The Sony instructions indicate that although you can nest files in directories, the more directories, the longer accessing will take. Their instructions also include details on the order songs will be played based on the directory structure of the CD.
The place I purchased from (autotoys.com) indicated that there is supposed to be a noise filter included with the package which is on backorder. I have not detected any interference thus far, but then again, it only has about 30 minutes of use thus far.
The changer and adapter (and noise filter) were sold as a combo package and ran $344 shipped to my door. Seemed reasonable with the Soundgate adapter included.
This install was about as "plug and play" as they come. So far, no complaints. I just have to get around to ripping more audio cd's to MP3 and then organizing them on MP3 cd's appropriately. I have about 600 CD's in my two home changers, and then another 15 or 20GB of MP3 files on my home audio controller PC, so obviously everything isn't going to come close to fitting.