The installation is really fast, you have to insert the enclosed adapter plug between the existing wiring harness to the car radio, and one of the 3 plug segments on the radio side then replace the wiring harness for this MP3 Adapter. So far so good.
Function 1: Using an SD card or USB stick as a memory
At the concert, the integration takes place as a CD changer. This means that the adapter on the radio the first 8 (!!) directories in the root directory (eg interpreters) announces a CD, and he sorted within these directories then all other subdirectories (eg the CD of an artist) in succession as a single track until a maximum of 99 (!!). This means that the adapter can be used in conjunction with the Concert manage only 8 * 99 tracks. Disadvantage 1, but due to the system due to the radio.
Disadvantage 2: All album and track names are not visible due to the system again. After all CDs are simply hung in the 8 CD slot of the CD changer control of radio in succession, you have no chance of finding a particular song. You have to practice to print a list in which "virtual" CD (1..8) and in which track number (1..99) is what song. That's extremely impractical.
But now a real faux pas, the programmer of this adapter, and a bungling that really annoys me in connection with MP3 enabled devices (as always occurring): The adapter sorts the title in one of the CDs sometimes wrong. At least such was my first impression after I had repeatedly changed the directory structure on my SD card and copied songs have to cope with the 8/99 structure described above.
It is already used to that some equipment Sort by name (and one before the title must always write the track number therefore), others do it by means of the tracks in the MP3 Tag himself. This one makes it totally different: He just reads sequentially, in which the tracks have been copied in a CD on the card / stick! So make sure that when copying the songs are clean sorted in ascending numerical order, so again provided with leading track numbers, as in the last millennium! So not only the second CD, for example, to an audiobook draufkopieren, then the first, no. It must be copied into the correct order. And if you want to replace a song later, it may be that you have to copy everything new again, so that the physical order on card / stick is right again. Seriously, Asian programmers of this part: this can not be serious.
This realization took me a few hours time. Everything experimenting with file name or MP3 tags have been in vain. The thing ignored all that.
TIP: There is always played the last inserted device. So I did as "basic care" always drinstecken an SD card, and if necessary insert a USB flash drive. So I have some thematic or ordered by artist sticks here, because you find yourself then faster it cope.
Function 2: External input jack for MP3 player or smartfone
This is relatively easily solved. The cable can stay plugged into the adapter once the cable is plugged in and a device signal, the adapter switches to external.
BUT: The switchover to the jack input volume control. For longer pauses or very quiet passages, it may happen that the adapter suddenly switch back to SD or USB. So if you have just run Meditation music through jack, and it is very quiet, suddenly the automatic switch comes on, for example, AC / DC (only as an example ...) This can be a pain. So possibly in feed per catch the SD card or the USB stick unplug!
Conclusion: This adapter brings the possibility of making an older factory radio MP3 and trunk line capable for relatively little money. In MP3 mode, the disadvantages compared to modern radios are very serious. For a little more money, you get a radio (eg Sony), which has a good MP3 support. But: This China, Korea and Japan have radio to 99.9% a gruesome design with a terrible operating concept (see my review for Sony MEX-5000). This destroys the appearance of the dashboard total (in my Audi A3), and is also difficult to operate while driving with mice paws little buttons.
The adapter is the lesser evil, but also not really good.
But we are to blame. By greed is Geil mentality we let the German car radio manufacturers all go bankrupt, only Becker is there, but with the Mercedes prices. And now we have the salad with the terrible Asia-car radio stuff.
