Everything in life is relying more and more on technology, technology itself keeps moving and keeps changing our way of life. Most of the time, the change is for the better, while in other times, the change takes away the things we were used to.
Cars are one of those things that move with the times and become more and more technology-reliant. It is not surprising to find modern cars that come without a CD player. So how do we play the CD collection we have built up over our lives in our car? Let’s take a look at some alternative ways we can get to have a modern car and still play our favourite songs on disc.
Can CD players be installed in new cars?
The possibility of installing CD players in your modern car will depend on a few factors.
The easiest way to actually have a CD player installed in your car dashboard is if the car actually comes with a CD player in a different spec version or model. In this case, you would be able to buy that dash that comes with a face containing the CD player housing and faceplate and then replace the dashboard you currently have in your car that doesn’t come with a CD player faceplate.
If, however, no version of your car comes with a CD player dashboard, then you won’t be able to take this direction.
You have to go for one of the third-party external CD players, that can connect to your car’s audio interface either via the auxiliary cable or a USB one.
What do you do if your new car doesn’t have a CD player?
Here are a few things you can do if you want to play CDs in your car but your car is too new to come with a CD player.
Install an external portable CD player
There are many fancy types of portable external CD players that have been created to fill this gap in the market. The exact type you will choose depends on your car’s interface and how the connection is going to be.
You can go with a portable CD player that will:
- Connect via USB or one that
- Connects via an AUX port.
- The 3rd version will be the Bluetooth enabled portable CD player.
Personally, while I do appreciate the wireless nature of Bluetooth, I don’t like fiddling with the connections and pairing needed every time you want to listen to something.
So if your car already comes with a hardware input for audio, it’s best to buy something quiet and have it installed somewhere near in your car’s footwell
Transfer your music over to your phone or thumb drive.
While this may not be one of the options you want to hear if you have physical CDs you want to slot into a physical DC player in your car, it is the direction you should consider going. In a more digitalised world, you stand a lot to benefit if you’re able to accommodate the trends.
Ripping the music from CDs is quite simple, even if you are not computer savvy. You should be able to insert the CD into a computer, use a file explorer to view the music files and then copy-paste them into a thumb drive or your phone’s memory.
You will now have your music on the tiny device or on your smartphone which always goes wherever you go.
Frequently asked questions FAQs
Here are some of the CD related questions we’ve also come across about this topic.
What has replaced the cd player in cars today?
There are many technologies and services that contribute to the disappearance of CD players in new touchscreen controlled cars. Here are some in the list below:
Internet audio streaming
The availability of Internet streaming services means that you can get music playing in your car as long as you have an Internet connection.
Bluetooth connection in cars that pair with your phone
Bluetooth is opening a world of wireless connections especially when it comes to audio. Cars now come with Bluetooth-equipped radios that can connect to any Bluetooth device. One of such devices is your smartphone. As long as you have your music on your smartphone you should be able to play that music through your car’s stereo system.
USB input ports
Most modern cars come with USB input jacks that can read external drives. This means that you can have your music transferred into a thumb drive and your car should be able to read and play the music through its sound system.
On-demand music apps pre-installed
There are quite a few on-demand music apps already installed in some cars’ modern infotainment systems. They come with their own music packages that can be taken advantage of.
What do I do if I don’t have an AUX port in my car?
Most modern cars that come without a CD player will have an auxiliary input jack. This is needed to be able to connect other external audio interfaces. If, however, your car doesn’t come with one of these AUX jacks, then your options basically get reduced.
There is a possibility where you can take your car into a shop and have a specialist connect an auxiliary connection to your car’s radio, so you can plug in and play music directly through your car’s speakers. This however is labour intensive job that might end up costing you more money than it’s worth.
if you have enough DIY courage and some technical skills, some patients to be able to dismantle your car’s dash, then you should be able to follow instructions on YouTube and how to splice in an aux jack.
Wrapping up
So, that’s a wrap with this article on playing your favourite CD in your modern car that came without a CD player. Sadly, technology keeps taking away from us while promising that newer systems are better. This is awful news for those of us that are not used to change. It takes time to swallow all of these changes, but if you look for adequate solutions provided by a third party, there are still many ways we can enjoy life the way we knew it. You can get an external CD player and keep rocking to your collection of physical discs.
If you are brave enough, you could also try the digital life, where everything is available in smaller packages. All your music collection could fit in a small USB thumb drive that can be plugged into your car’s system. Whatever way you get around this issue, the most important thing is to get the results you want. We hope this article provided some useful tips and shed more light on this issue.
All the best.