New Car Stereo Packs Plenty of Road Music
NY Times - 11 Mar 99
Users of a new car stereo may opt to bring it inside every night, but not just to prevent theft. Rather, they may want to hook the stereo to a PC to load it with music.
The Empeg stereo, which is scheduled to be shipped later this month, is billed as the first MP3 stereo designed for use in a car. MP3 is a format that allows songs to be downloaded from the Internet and stored and played in digital form.
But unlike compact disk players or changers, with their relatively limited capacity, the Empeg player could test the musical endurance of the most determined road tripper. The two-gigabyte model, which will sell for $999, can store and play up to 35 hours of music, and the six-gigabyte model, which will sell for $1,399, can play up to 100 hours. That compares with the more modest 32 megabytes of memory (about 60 minutes' worth) found on the popular Rio PMP300 personal music player.
To load the stereo with music, users pull it from the car, plug it into the PC and load it with songs downloaded from the Internet or converted into the MP3 format from CD's. The stereo also comes with an FM receiver but does not get the AM frequency because the on-board computer interferes with AM reception, said Rob J. Voisey, customer service manager for the stereo's maker, Empeg Ltd., based in Wells, England. Voisey said the stereo would appeal to high-end audiophiles who would appreciate its ability to store a lot of music, play songs in any order and hook up to home stereo and PC speakers.
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