2021 CX-5 CD Player Options?

M

MrLightSpeed

Hello,

I just got a 2021 CX-5 and there is no CD player. It is not a surprise to me in nowadays but I still want to do audio books (thru local library). Could anyone please recommend a reasonable priced CD player that works with it? I did some search on eBay and Amazon, all USB connection, seemed to be in upper $300 range. Really?? There are some cheaper portable CD players but didnt seem they will work with the car. Not sure what I should check when buying one. Thank you so much guys!!!

- Eric
 
hrmm this is an interesting request.

I suggest "cd player with bluetooth transmitter"
https:/smile .amazon.com/cd-player-bluetooth-transmitter/s?k=cd+player+with+bluetooth+transmitter
 
MrLightSpeed said:
Hello,

I just got a 2021 CX-5 and there is no CD player. It is not a surprise to me in nowadays but I still want to do audio books (thru local library). Could anyone please recommend a reasonable priced CD player that works with it? I did some search on eBay and Amazon, all USB connection, seemed to be in upper $300 range. Really?? There are some cheaper portable CD players but didnt seem they will work with the car. Not sure what I should check when buying one. Thank you so much guys!!!

- Eric
Click to expand...
Just out of curiosity, would you consider converting your CDs to lossless audio and then using a flash memory based player?

I converted my collection to FLAC and Apple lossless years ago and couldn’t be happier. I never found car based Disc players (either built in or via aux jack) to sound as good as the drive based players do nowadays.
 
CX5_Driver said:
hrmm this is an interesting request.

I suggest "cd player with bluetooth transmitter"
https:/smile .amazon.com/cd-player-bluetooth-transmitter/s?k=cd+player+with+bluetooth+transmitter
Click to expand...

Candurin said:
Just out of curiosity, would you consider converting your CDs to lossless audio and then using a flash memory based player?

I converted my collection to FLAC and Apple lossless years ago and couldn’t be happier. I never found car based Disc players (either built in or via aux jack) to sound as good as the drive based players do nowadays.
Click to expand...

^^ both excellent suggestions IMO. I'd probably explore converting to lossless audio and using a USB stick, or if your cellphone is capable, storing the audio on your phone and playing it back via bluetooth. It would be a little less cumbersome than a standalone CD player, but the CD player has the advantage of being really, really easy to use.
 
Thank you guys. I will explore your suggestions! Easier of use is really the concern here. I borrow audio books from local libraries and listen to them on my way to work (yea, hope the pandemic will be over soon). Popping CDs in/out on my 70 miles round trip daily is a great use of time.
 
Candurin said:
Just out of curiosity, would you consider converting your CDs to lossless audio and then using a flash memory based player?
...
Click to expand...
What flash memory player are you referring to? I have one with 1TB memory and I would need an Aux input to use it in the vehicle.
 
Sig cx-5 said:
What flash memory player are you referring to? I have one with 1TB memory and I would need an Aux input to use it in the vehicle.
Click to expand...

You can simply copy MP3s to a flash drive and then play it on the newer stereos.

"Operating Tips for MP3"

getting a bit off topic .. but yes you can get a flashbased MP3 player with bluetooth
http://smile. amazon.com/Bluetooth-BERENNIS-Portable-Lossless-Recorder/dp/B07D6KWPCY/

let's examine why @MrLightSpeed might want a CD player

1) computer at home has no optical drive (looking at you Chromebooks)
2) user doesn't have the time / patience to "simply rip MP3s to a flash drive" (new book picked up at the library on the way home.. slap the bad boy in the CD player NOW!)
3) user likes the nostalgia of CDs
4) user wants to use the CD player elsewhere
 
Last edited:
I typically use FLAC via the VOX app and Carplay, or 320kbps MP3s via a USB flash drive. For your situation, you could use a portable CD player (~$30) and a 3.5mm audio jack into the aux input inside the center console.
 
CX5_Driver said:
You can simply copy MP3s to a flash drive and then play it on the newer stereos.

"Operating Tips for MP3"

getting a bit off topic .. but yes you can get a flashbased MP3 player with bluetooth
http://smile. amazon.com/Bluetooth-BERENNIS-Portable-Lossless-Recorder/dp/B07D6KWPCY/

...
Click to expand...
Yes, we currently have over 1k CD's transferred to 256k MP3 on a flash drive in the vehicle.

As far as that player goes... Since I don't believe the CX-5's Bluetooth codec is aptX, it will be compressed after the fact. Quality would be similar to MP3. That said, I'm not really sure how much there is to gain going lossless in the CX-5 with the crappy Blose system. It will only sound as good as the weakest link.
 
Chocolate said:
I typically use FLAC via the VOX app and Carplay, or 320kbps MP3s via a USB flash drive. For your situation, you could use a portable CD player (~$30) and a 3.5mm audio jack into the aux input inside the center console.
Click to expand...
Wow, I had no idea there was an Aux port. I will try that to see how my FLAC's sound. It's a huge improvement in my Lexus with Mark Levinson. It's a little cumbersome not being able to control tracks through the vehicle, though.
 
Candurin said:
Just out of curiosity, would you consider converting your CDs to lossless audio and then using a flash memory based player?

I converted my collection to FLAC and Apple lossless years ago and couldn’t be happier. I never found car based Disc players (either built in or via aux jack) to sound as good as the drive based players do nowadays.
Click to expand...
Glad I’m not the only one bummed there is no CD player!! I also just bought 2021 Mazda CX-5. Really wish new cars had the option as I’m coming from 2005 Mercury mariner and use my CD player all the time!
 
A shame you guys don't get one. My 2020 CX-5 purchased here in Cali, Colombia came with one standard.
 
Since someone asked. I use a 6G iPod that I replaced the internals with 4x256gb memory cards. I have more music on my iPod than I know what to do with :)
 
Last edited:
Back to the OP's original question. Just get a relatively cheap portable CD player and connect it to the car's AUX input, not to USB. You should be able to find one for less than $50. Something like https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned) should work.

My library offers audiobooks that I can checkout online and download to my phone. You might see if your library offers something like this.
 
Last edited:
A tad off subject, but I have a question about using a USB drive to play music. Both my '15 and '17 CX-5's had no position memory and would always start playing music from the first song in the drive whenever I turned off the car and then restarted it. That pretty much made it useless as a music source except on a long drive. Have they corrected this in the '20? I've not bothered to try it since the Bluetooth to my phone is super convenient anyway, and I like that I can use a third party app called Poweramp that crossfades between songs like a radio station.
 
Ranman57 said:
A tad off subject, but I have a question about using a USB drive to play music. Both my '15 and '17 CX-5's had no position memory and would always start playing music from the first song in the drive whenever I turned off the car and then restarted it. That pretty much made it useless as a music source except on a long drive. Have they corrected this in the '20? I've not bothered to try it since the Bluetooth to my phone is super convenient anyway, and I like that I can use a third party app called Poweramp that crossfades between songs like a radio station.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to chime in and say that Poweramp is an amazing music app. Robust EQ, playback settings, and audio adjustment are excellent. Been using it since it debuted on the Play Store.
 
Ranman57 said:
I have a question about using a USB drive to play music. Both my '15 and '17 CX-5's had no position memory and would always start playing music from the first song in the drive whenever I turned off the car and then restarted it. That pretty much made it useless as a music source except on a long drive. Have they corrected this in the '20?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, no.
 
Ranman57 said:
A tad off subject, but I have a question about using a USB drive to play music. Both my '15 and '17 CX-5's had no position memory and would always start playing music from the first song in the drive whenever I turned off the car and then restarted it. That pretty much made it useless as a music source except on a long drive. Have they corrected this in the '20? I've not bothered to try it since the Bluetooth to my phone is super convenient anyway, and I like that I can use a third party app called Poweramp that crossfades between songs like a radio station.
Click to expand...
Ours always starts where it left off in our 2019.
 
Sig cx-5 said:
Ours always starts where it left off in our 2019.
Click to expand...
It seems I got a yes and a no so I tried it today. On a USB thumb drive with all the songs in the root it did indeed resume where it left off in my 2020. I didn't try it with multiple folders so maybe that's different.

One of the reasons I was curious is the OP want's to play audiobooks on CD. I suspect most external CD players plugged into either the aux in or USB won't remember their last position after you kill power to them which would make playing audiobooks a tough proposition since you'd have a heck of a time finding where you left off.

So...

If it was me I would just take the disc and rip it down to MP3 and put it on a thumb drive since they seem to resume now. I dunno about Mac world but on a PC you could use Exact Audio Copy and the whole process would probably take 5 minutes. That also gives you the benefit of having a permanent copy in case you ever wanted to hear it again or pass it along to someone else. And if you could check out multiple CD's at once you could do them all at once and save some trips back and forth.
 
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