Andres G

I thought about getting the PhatNoise for my A6, but I can't really justify the $340 + shipping they ask for it on e-bay.

I'm not a real fan of MP3, but this thing is convenient enough to hold 100 or more CDs in full size files (w/80 GB).

Anyone has this on his car? Does the original wiring for the (in my case missing) CD changer work on this thing? Is it a fairly easy DIY?

Thanks
Andres

Kirill

standard drives.

MarkW

The larger capacity drives are way to expensive in my mind. But 20G of MP3 holds 3000 songs, but you can get more on if you use a lower encoding rate. I use 192 myself. If you are paying only $340, that is a good deal. Installation was a piece of cake, but I have a '01 that was pre-wired for a CD changer. Not sure what year your is.

I like how integrated it is to the factory system. You don't see anything on that dash that is eye candy to get stolen like the iPod. This way I keep a clean dash. Steering wheel buttons work for skipping back and forth between songs. Sound quality is excellent. I couldn't have another car without a mass storage device like it. This is another reason that the C6 is a no-go in my mind. I haven't seen a way to get MMI to pick up a Phatbox.

Li3ny

I got it for her a few years ago when they first came out, it was like $600. I think it was worth it. Every time I drive my wife's car I wish I had it....I think they go up to like 200gb now. It's a lot of music that's for sure. Also it doesn't have to be MP3, you can copy a CD without converting it.

Randy Welch

If you like carrying around a lot of music with you, the phatnoise is the only way to go.

It integrates with the head unit nicely so there's no hacking required for things like an iPod for example.

Ritz

I got one for my A6 a few weeks ago for a little bit less than $340 with all the brackets and shipping.

I have a few thousand CDs and have been popping them on the 20gig cartridge at 320kbit/sec. I can't tell the difference. This is, after all, a car stereo. And I've got very high end audio gear in the house (KRELL/Vandersteen/VTL) so I think I'd be able to tell if the quality was any different from playing a CD in the head unit.

In any case, I've managed to put 35 discs on the cartridge so far and it is only about 10% full. So after I fill this up, I'll probably spring for the 80gig cart. The phatbox can play uncompressed wav files, but I don't see any real benefit of doing so and it uses about 15X the space to do it.

I'm very happy with it. It's hard to beat the convenience (a ten minute install and the ability to use the factory head unit to control it).

Cheers,

Ritz

don't involve a cheesy mounting bracket (like the ipod solutions). But if you know of some other magic solution that uses standard drives, please share the wealth. I'm all ears.

Cheers,

nemesisa6

You appreciate it more on long road trips. You can impress your friends too. It plugs right into the cd changer plug. Installation was 5 seconds. Did I mention it talks

2tuŽbos1mission

A few thousand, not a few hundred.

Andres G

IIRC, A few thousand =MP3 / a few hundred = WAV