[KevinP]

I have many CDs, is there a portable compact CD player which will interface with the car audio system through the USB port

 

[SeattleCat]

Import the cds via a computer into your phones app of choice. Then play through the app via Bluetooth.

 

[KevinP]

Import the cds via a computer into your phones app of choice. Then play through the app via Bluetooth.

Thanks for the advice, the issue I have is I am 'old school', I don't use a mobile, I was looking for a simple solution.

 

[SeattleCat]

As a non youngster might I suggest you bend the old school and get a iPhone or Android and step j to the world of easy access to music.

To some cds are not old school and are still new tangled digital storage! Take one more little step you will not regret it. Promise.

Okay you might regret it but not in the music department.

One cell phone can store all the music you have probably a few times over!

 

[SeattleCat]

On another note. A portable CD player would be messy and a lot more dangerous to change discs as you swoosh along.

I heart my iPhone and I lived my cell collection.

 

[jay_man2]

IIRC with an ICE XC40 you could put mp3s on a usb stick, plug it into the car, and play them. With the Recharge there are complicating factors. You'd need to rip the CDs, move the mp3s to a USB-C flash drive, then plug it into the usb-c port in the car and see what happens. I've never done it, so I have no idea if the software exists to play the files in a Recharge like it does in an ICE XC40 with a Sensus display.

 

[SeattleCat]

And once ripped might add well stick them on a device!

Oh if you want to avoid a mobile there are dedicated MP3 players or an older cell phone with no phone plan.

 

[Rich T]

I’ve read the usbc ports don’t (currently) read data so no way to physically plug it in. You can probably get a Bluetooth adapter for a portable cd player though

 

[ColoradoNative]

As far as I know, the AudioWagon app from the Play Store is the only USB solution at the moment. There are about a hundred apps between Windows and MacOS that will make quick work of turning your CD collection into a pile of music files. Once those files are copied to a USB-C stick AudioWagon will organize them and make them available for playback. It supports lossless as well as lossy formats.

Edit: FWIW, I recommend Media Center from J. River to rip the CD's and catalog the music files on your PC. It can also copy the files to the USB stick along with the album art, which AudioWagon will present during playback.

 

[XCMac.40]

I’ve read the usbc ports don’t (currently) read data so no way to physically plug it in. You can probably get a Bluetooth adapter for a portable cd player though

Neither the USB nor USBC ports read data. One of the biggest disappointments in the Recharge. This has been standard on most base models of any car for over a decade.

That said there are workarounds if you want to avoid ripping/ converting. Here is one option that plays cds and connects via bluetooth or FM:

HOTT-CD903TF-Transmitter-Bluetooth-Rechargeable

Looks like there are other, similar products out there.

Fix our infotainment situations please Volvo. It's 2022.

 

[ColoradoNative]

Neither the USB nor USBC ports read data. One of the biggest disappointments in the Recharge. This has been standard on most base models of any car for over a decade.

Not true, especially for the 2021 XC40 Recharge P8. I have played music off a USB-C stick plugged into the USB-C port with the white circle surrounding it, as I described above. I suspect CarPlay and Android Auto, when they arrive, will utilize the same port for their data magic.

 

[XCMac.40]

Not true, especially for the 2021 XC40 Recharge P8. I have played music off a USB-C stick plugged into the USB-C port with the white circle surrounding it, as I described above. I suspect CarPlay and Android Auto, when they arrive, will utilize the same port for their data magic.

Interesting. What update are you running?

I'm running 1.7- This was one of the first things I checked after that update. I tried a phone hooked up to the 2.0 (with white circle). No dice. I'll have to try a USB 2.0 flash drive. Not sure why that would work and a phone not but stranger things have happened. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[ColoradoNative]

Interesting. What update are you running?

I'm running 1.8. I don't know if it worked with 1.7 - never got around to testing it before 1.8 came along. That said, Android on phones hasn't supported USB Storage Mode for a while. That mode that would let your phone look like a USB Drive. There's no USB mode I can select on my Galaxy S9 that will make the P8 recognize it as a USB stick. However an actual USB-C stick or an old school USB stick connected through a USB-C adapter works fine.

 

[XCMac.40]

I'm running 1.8. I don't know if it worked with 1.7 - never got around to testing it before 1.8 came along. That said, Android on phones hasn't supported USB Storage Mode for a while. That mode that would let your phone look like a USB Drive. There's no USB mode I can select on my Galaxy S9 that will make the P8 recognize it as a USB stick.

Yeah see this is the problem. Now you are talking about a VERY limited way to make the USB 2.0 "work" in the Android system.
People have iPhones- they have normal needs. Now we need to do "USB Storage Mode" on an Android phone to make the car see it? Are there instructions that come with the car?

No.

The problem is the XC40 cannot recognize phones or play data from devices in the "normal" way.
ie: I plug in my phone- it plays.

 

[ColoradoNative]

Yeah see this is the problem. Now you are talking about a VERY limited way to make the USB 2.0 "work" in the Android system.
People have iPhones- they have normal needs. Now we need to do "USB Storage Mode" on an Android phone to make the car see it? Are there instructions that come with the car?

No.

The problem is the XC40 cannot recognize phones or play data from devices in the "normal" way.
ie: I plug in my phone- it plays.

Well, it's too bad it doesn't work the way you want it to, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work.

 

[Jezza]

Every once in a while I have a moment when I am reminded I’ve got some years on me. When my dad brought home our first car with a cassette tape player, I sat in the garage for hours playing with it. I guess things can change pretty fast… I’m not that old!

Anway, to answer the original poster, @KevinP, you once could buy a very inexpensive and small FM transmitter that would plug Into the headphone jack of a portable CD player. You could then broadcast your CD to the FM radio in your car. You had to have that thing pretty close to the radio for it to sound halfway decent, but it did work. Not sure if they’re still sold today but I bet they are.

 

[SeattleCat]

Every once in a while I have a moment when I am reminded I’ve got some years on me. When my dad brought home our first car with a cassette tape player, I sat in the garage for hours playing with it, the power windows and door locks. Even before that, though, it was so exciting when we picked up our first car with an FM (vs. AM only) radio. I guess things can change pretty fast… I’m not that old!

Anway, to answer the original poster, you used to be able to buy a very inexpensive and small FM transmitter that would plug Into the headphone jack of a portable CD player. You could then broadcast your CD to the FM radio in your car. You had to have that thing pretty close to the radio for it to sound halfway decent, but it did work. Not sure if they’re still sold today but I bet they are.

We have an fm ratio?

 

[jay_man2]

We have an fm ratio?

Yes. Not sure how it's implemented hardware wise, but swipe right on the media bar to select the radio.

 

[SeattleCat]

Oh! I thought it was an lte app. Silly me. Well then I can listen to the radio messages in the appocilalyse in Margo then. Superb.

 

[Maddie.22]

Does Apple still sell iPods? I used to have one plugged into my car to play music. That might also be an option. In other words, the XC40 would just be a REALLY expensive speaker system.