Eric E
12-11-1998, 04:36 PM
I've noticed that there's been some confusion on this board about whether the Panasonic DP-801 8-disc changer works with the Concert head unit. So, since I just installed mine, I thought I'd confirm that it does.<p>I got the changer from Executive Photo (they advertise in the back of Car and Driver) for $169.90.<p>OK, so that was cheap, but I got totally ripped off for the connector cable, which is made by BlitzSafe (800-597-SAFE); the part number is AUDI/PAN V.2. They told me they don't have a dealer in Wisconsin, but agreed to sell it to me directly for *only* $62.50. If you saw this cable, you'd see it cost maybe $1.50 to manufacture--it's an 8 inch long cable with a simple connector at each end.<p>I looked at the connector from Peripheral Electronics (it's the one that Crutchfield sells for the 6-disc changer), thinking that all Panasonic changers must use the same plugs--i.e., if it works for the 6-disc, it should work for the 8-disc. Wrong. For reasons I don't understand, the plug doesn't fit the 8-disc changer at all. Very annoying.<p>So, it looks like BlitzSafe has a monopoly on this one, and they charge accordingly. I would be curious to know how much people paid for this connector through a local dealer, rather than directly from BlitzSafe.<p>Anyway, as others have said, you can get to discs 7 and 8 by using the up and down tuning buttons, since the station preset buttons only go to 6. No big deal. The only thing that doesn't work is the random function, which is pretty useless anyway since it only shuffles songs from a single disc at a time.<p>I mounted the changer under the package shelf, using the excellent directions posted by Charlie in August (check the archives). It worked out great, so you definitely don't need the Audi mounting hardware, which is quite pricey as well.<p>