SC-901 Stereo

[Azza]

Hi all, i'm sure most of you are aware of the problems this particular stereo has with playing mp3 cd's. It just doesn't seem to like them!

I've managed to get it to work with 650mb CDR's, but finding them (even though there's probably mountains of them lying around somewhere!) is very tricky.

I wondered if anyone found any solution/CDR brands that work ok. I don't think the new 700mb CDR's work full stop, no matter what brand.

Would appreciate any input as i love my tunes, the thing is, most of the music i listen to is live so doesn't get released on retail CD's.

I've heard that some CDR-Audio cd's work better, anyone any experiences ?

I know swapping the head-unit or putting in a new multi-changer is an option, but it's a rather expensive one!

I'm wondering if newer versions of this stereo (mine's a 2001 model) don't have the same problems as they have newer lasers in them ?

Thanks

Azza

[Vikingxl]

The stereo in my pt cruiser is a bit fussy as well mate its just trial and error really i tried writing them at a slower speed and that seemed to help but sometimes they work and sometimes they dont even with discs from the same batch.

[Azza]

Yeah i've tried the lower speed burning. Believe me, i'm a pro at burning cd's

I'm presuming your pt cruiser is newer than 2001 though, hence the laser in the stereo would probably be newer.

These stereo's, to the best of my knowledge, just will not play the newer 700mb cd's, ever, any brand...

FujiFilm 650mb CDR's work EVERY time. But as i said, finding 650mb cd's is a nightmare! They became obsolete years ago when the newer media came onto the market...

Azza

[Vikingxl]

Cruiser is a 2001 mate yeah

[01c70t5]

Have you tried giving the player a good clean. I was having problems playing CD's (let alone the one's I'd burnt). It's amazing how much muck gathered in there in just a few years!

Haven't tried a 700MB CD yet, as have finally installed an Alpine changer in mine (which will play my MP3's too!).

[Azza]

Yeah that's worth a try i guess, but i would expect no discs to play at all if it was the case of a dirty lens.

Was it tricky to install the changer ? I've heard these systems are a bit of a nightmare to work with...

Azza

[01c70t5]

Was a bit of fun, only because I forgot to switch the changer to M-Bus mode (instead of AI-net). Apart from that a piece of cake. If you want it in the boot, you'll need to run the cable from the front in to the back, or you can choose to modify your glove box a little to fit the changer in.

[Liddo]

I didnt think the SC-901 played MP3's??? I thought they only playe music files!!!

[Azza]

They don't play mp3's in their original mp3 compressed format (i.e. 100 mp3s on a blank cd), they can't, they have no decoder. I'm talking about the old-fashioned way of getting mp3's onto CD, i.e. converting to WAV files..

Now they will play those, but only with the above stipulations on media, unless someone else has found anything different...

Azza

[madness]

i think it depends on the programme you use. some customer can do it, some cant.
i cant suggest one that's ok though.

other thing is, i think sometimes the failure of these units can be down to burned not original discs being used.
they might have a wobbler.....

[Azza]

Hmm, i can't see how one programme will differ from another. They're not DVD's so you don't set the Booktype on the CD itself.

No SC-901 stereo would be able to read an mp3-cd, that is a cd burnt with mp3 files on it as a data cd not an audio one, without any uncompression. Unless that is that the stereo has all of a sudden become mp3-ready.

They can however read uncompressed (i.e. WAVs) mp3 CD's. BUT the only thing is they will ONLY read 650mb cd's, and these cd's are very uncommon (of course they used to be standard, but nowadays they are few and far between). They cannot read 700mb blank cd's, that's the problem, well i can't find a media which they'll read.

I could see why newer versions of the stereo could read them, as they would have newer lenses in them, but on my 2001 car, it can't, which is a bloody pain!

Azza

[01c70t5]

Hmm, i can't see how one programme will differ from another. They're not DVD's so you don't set the Booktype on the CD itself.

No SC-901 stereo would be able to read an mp3-cd, that is a cd burnt with mp3 files on it as a data cd not an audio one, without any uncompression. Unless that is that the stereo has all of a sudden become mp3-ready.

They can however read uncompressed (i.e. WAVs) mp3 CD's. BUT the only thing is they will ONLY read 650mb cd's, and these cd's are very uncommon (of course they used to be standard, but nowadays they are few and far between). They cannot read 700mb blank cd's, that's the problem, well i can't find a media which they'll read.

I could see why newer versions of the stereo could read them, as they would have newer lenses in them, but on my 2001 car, it can't, which is a bloody pain!

Azza

They'll quite happily play 700MB Original discs...

[Liddo]

I use Record DX Now, and Im getting my new motor tomorrow which has the Sc-901, so i'll let ya know how mine goes

[Azza]

They'll quite happily play 700MB Original discs...

Define Original.... Normal cd's you've bought ?

If not, what make are they ?

Azza

[ad102]

mine plays maxell cd-r 80 700mb disc. i get them from lidle .

[Azza]

Aha, now that's the kind of info i'm after

How old is the stereo ?

Thanks,

Azza

[ad102]

1998, i find it is better playing them when cd is full , (over burn)skipping songs some times takes a while but always plays ok from the first song on the disc and i am burning at max speed with nero. so it can be done , and my stereo is a 901.

[ad102]

btw, the stereo struggles at playing when the disc is burnt at a slow speed .

[Liddo]

The SC-900 deffo plays copies! Well, mine does

[Azza]

What's the difference between the 900 and 901 ?

I'll definitely be giving the "burning at a high speed" option a go...

I've also found, that if my stereo is struggling to play the burnt cd's, not picking up on a track when you've restarted the car for instance, then gently pushing and holding the cd cartridge into the machine sometimes helps, which may support the "overburn" theory..

Azza