bljohnson

I just purchased a 2004 Nissan Armada SE this weekend. It has the DVD entertainment system and Bose stereo system. Does anyone know if the stereo system supports MP3 CD's? I.e. CD's with MP3 files burned onto it. I've read where the 2005 supports it, and I saw a blurb or two saying the 2004 model with the Bose stereo also supports it.

I tried it and it didn't seem to work (just burned some MP3 files onto a "data CD" not as audio tracks from Windows XP).

Also.. I traded in my 2001 Pathfinder LE for the Armada and the dealership told me that the Pathfinder body style was changing to be a "smaller" version of the Armada in 2005. I havent been able to find any pics of the 2005 Armada.. but the 2005 Pathfinder does not look like a smaller version of the current Armada styling. Is Nissan planning on changing the body style of the Armada for 2005?

Thanks

 

jadcock

The 2005 Pathfinder, as I understand it, looks like a scaled-down version of the Armada, much like the 2005 Frontier looks like a scaled-down version of the Titan. The styling is much different from the current Pathfinder.

__________________
Jason Adcock
Always Tread Lightly!
1995 4x4 XE King Cab - 189,000 miles
1997 Cadillac Seville - 141,000 miles

2fastdre

No - the 2005 Armada is not changing the body design. It may have new accesories, like chrome running boards and such. The Armada still has a curved roofline, and the 2005 Pathfinder has more of a straight roofline. However, if you ignore the roofline detail, then the two start to look very similar (especially the front and the read side windows).

Sorry, can't help with the MP3 question.

2FastDre.

bljohnson

Thanks for the info. So dang.. no one has any ideas about the MP3 compatibility? I burned a few MP3's to a data CD and stuck it in the player and it recognizes that there's a "CD" there - and starts playing.. but it just shows one track at about 8.5 minutes.. and nothing plays.

Ahh well.. I'll check back tomorrow and if no one has any ideas I'll give the dealership a call. Although they probably wont have a clue.

jadcock

BLJohnson, I think there's a difference between a "Data" CD with a bunch of MP3s on it and a real "MP3" CD. I say this because Real player will let you burn a "Data" CD with MP3s on it, but you have to upgrade to the premium version to be able to burn an "MP3" CD. I don't know what the difference is, but apparently there's enough of a difference to warrant them charging for the capability. Maybe your player will only play an "MP3" CD, and not simply a "Data" CD with MP3 files on it?

__________________
Jason Adcock
Always Tread Lightly!
1995 4x4 XE King Cab - 189,000 miles
1997 Cadillac Seville - 141,000 miles

 

b67

Jacdcock, there is no difference between the two - what you mention with the real player is some scheme by them to charge for anything they can. An mp3 is a standard 'ISO data' cd with mp3 files on it.

bljohnson, what app did you use to burn the cd? I don't know anything about the armada having a mp3 player but you may try buring some mp3s with short filenames(8 char or less) onto a cd and/or 'finalizing the cd after the burn (no multisession)

Good luck

PS: Anyone who burns cd's should get a copy of Nero Burning Rom - it usually comes with retail Burners.

bljohnson

Yeah thats what I thought.. an MP3 CD was simply a data CD with MP3 files on it. I used the standard Windows XP stuff to burn the files onto a CD. I have a copy of Nero around here somewhere.. I'll try to find it.

Also.. I bet you're right about the multisession. Windows XP probably doesnt finalize the CD when it burns it.. I'll try that out. I'll also rename the files to be the standard 8.3 format.

Thanks for the help. I'll post my results here in case any other Armada owner happens to run across this thread

b67

The XP burning functionality integrated into XP is convienent though its slow and has numerous compatability problems with anything but XP.

make sure to let us know if you have any luck.

bljohnson

Well I guess it doesnt work. I'll give the dealership a call today just to make sure. I used Nero (with BURN-proof on.. not sure if that matters), told it to finalize the disc with no multisession, changed the filenames to follow the 8.3 format, and burned at the slowest speed of 4x.

When I put the disc in it just says there's one track, and plays.. but I can't hear anything. So Im guessing it doesnt work. Dangit! I thought most all car mfr's with decent CD players nowadays could support MP3 cds.

b67

If you do decide to go aftermarket there is a bose or blaupunkt stereo that reads mp3s burned onto a dvd. Most people could probobly fit their whole collection on 1 or 2 dvd's.

 

bljohnson

OK I contacted the dealership. The 2004 Armada does not support MP3 CD's But, the 2005 version will support it. So that feature isnt available.

EDIT: I may look into an aftermarket system. Wonder how they could aftermarket it? The stereo seems to be embedded in the console.. so there's no real "slot" to replace the stereo with.

jadcock

I wonder if you couldn't just replace the head unit when the new ones come out. That'd be the most expensive way to do it for sure, but it'd be the way that looks the best, in my opinion. I hate adapter plates.

__________________
Jason Adcock
Always Tread Lightly!
1995 4x4 XE King Cab - 189,000 miles
1997 Cadillac Seville - 141,000 miles

Noellus

If it doesn't take mp3 files, get player with a 1/8 in stereo jack and go into the aux jack on the Bose system. My ipod sounds great through it.

bljohnson

Yeah thats what I'm planning on doing. I'm going to look around and see what sort of fairly-inexpensive portable MP3 players I can find that can output thru a stereo jack that'll work for the AUX port.

Thanks for the help.

armada

I also have the Armada and no it does not support the MP3 format