2020 - No CD Player - The Solution

I've noticed it depends quite a bit on the bluetooth too. I've got two different bluetooth setups in different vehicles and one of them sounds absolutely horrid.

 

A YouTube automotive reviewer I like (Savagegeese) tests the audio on vehicles using an outside consultant. This review feature is a recent addition, and he hasn’t done a Tacoma yet, but the results are surprising; a lot of expensive sound system upgrades (Harmon, etc.) get slapped in without any sense of the way they work in that car’s particular cabin. He gives you charts but also gives a non-audiophile a basic assessment.

 

I tried a USB drive with FLAC (lossless format) files. Didn't sound any different from MP3s. Could just be my ears or my speakers though
That said, there doesn't seem to be any downside to FLAC files except for file size.

 

That looks like the interior of an 83 Monte Carlo that I previously owned

 

The Insignia from Best Buy. It has a 1/8" stereo out put so you use a 1/8" stereo cord directly into the Aux Jack. It does take 2 AA batteries but the first set I put in played over 10 CDs and still has juice. It also had auto off so if you forget to shut it off it does so by itself.

 

The best part is almost anyone can hear the difference. I've witnessed many "blind" comparisons where the person had to pick the better and more detailed sound without knowing which component was more expensive or which one was played first. People who knew nothing about equipment would mention the additional things they heard. If you don't want to hear the difference or believe it's even possible you can just skip it. Few realize just how much of the music they are missing.

 

I thought my truck stereo sounded great till I got a better set of speakers in the living room.

 

Cambridge Audio is good stuff, you are already better off than 99% of the people out there. The next big step for you is spiked/leveled speaker stands if you don't already have them. $200 spiked stands will give you a better result than a tube McIntosh. The biggest improvements are cheap if your system isn't set up well.

 

I'll be honest I have not personally experienced current offerings of high end audio implementation in autos. I do know that they rely heavily on digital processing to make things sound crisp, clean, and even. I'm sure it sounds great and for 99.9% of people it would be the best audio experience they've ever had. This ain't true for the Tacoma tho

 

I can tell in HT setups, specially if designed correctly, the different from ATMOS 7.2.2 and standard audio and it is amazig.

 

I enjoy music in it's pure raw form. I only select the best speakers.



Just keep them away from water.

Great way to listen and eat at the summer BBQ's.

 

My 2 cents,

earlier this year, maybe end of last year, new album dropped, wife order digital version. Listened to it many times, at home, in the car, Bluetooth speaker, etc.. back in early March I decided to get an turntable, and order the same record (Home by Billy Strings) she got digitally. I was playing it one day, and she just stopped and was so impressed by the sound. My son, who hears music well, he continues to listen to music and then learns to play it. Well, he wouldn’t shut up about the difference. Now this is at home a
On a set of 301s, so ya huge difference than the truck. So that all being said, there is a difference in audio quality, and even if your old, the system is only playing what sounds the source is providing.
Do you want Thanksgiving Dinner with just Turkey and potatoes, or you want the fixings with it.

 

Correct.

 

Any Mac will format a drive to FAT32.

I had been listening to music in my '16 TRD OR with my iPhone and BT, and sort of forgot how poor the resolution really was until I put in a CD. Big difference, despite all the ambient road noise. Then I stuck the same CD in my wife's Subaru Forester Touring rig which has less road noise, and an upgraded (for Subaru) system. The difference was like a boom box versus a good quality home system.

 

Hello, I am a new member and I've run into this dilemma. I just purchased a 2020 4Runner and was thinking I would be able to work around this problem. I am a bit of an audiophile and I do not want to suffer the lower sampling rate at a lesser level than a CD. My system at home is analog focused and vacuum tubes. I thought I would upgrade speakers to FOCAL (what I use in my system at home) and then upgrade the amp with a nice multi-channel hi-end amp. I've hit a wall. It feels like a waste of time if I have to listen to Blue Tooth and a phone... yuk. Does anyone know if a head unit with CD player out of a 2019 can be transplanted into the dash of a 2020?

 

My 2019 Tacoma is vintage.....the last Tacoma ever built with a CD player! $65,000 or will trade even for your vastly inferior 2021 TRD Pro.

 

No TRD Pro, here.... Venture

 

Much as I like the 4Runner, I need a Tacoma for the bed. Now that I think about it the 5 foot bed would be a downgrade from my current long bed.

 

yes