I've been pleasantly surprised at the quality of the basic radio with single CD. Good FM reception and signal separation. I haven't heard the upgraded speakers, but found the stock speakers to be adequate - although a little heavy on the bass for my liking. Then again, I can always turn down the bass. My 11 year-old daughter on the other hand likes the heavy bass. I've noticed much less listener fatigue than with the basic stereo in my old Ford Focus...even with the attenuated bottom end. Went for a four hour rural drive on two lane blacktop today, and really enjoyed the radio. :smiley_thumbs_up:

Same here. Although I appreciate the AUX port, I wish that it was an MP3 capable CD player. :(

Haven't tried the AUX port yet. The warning sticker on the MP3/cellphone/PDA holder in the armrest advises against using it while in motion. An iPod could fit in the space under the radio. I don't own an iPod, but my daughter does. :) True, an MP3 capable CD player would allow you to burn your iTunes library to CD, and take up much less CD real estate.

Same here. Although I appreciate the AUX port, I wish that it was an MP3 capable CD player. :(

I hear ya. This was a big oversight by Chrylser. I'd rather keep a few CDs loaded with MP3s in my car than an MP3 player. If the CDs get stolen, I can just burn new ones for a few cents. But if an MP3 player gets stolen, it is a lot more expensive to replace.

Aftermarket stereos that are MP3-capable and have an AUX input have been available for years; I don't understand why it is taking auto manufacturers such a long time to catch up.

My initial thoughts are just the opposite I would rather carry my MP3 player with me and just plug it in rather than writing a several cd's.

My reasons are:
- mp3 player ussually goes into work with me anyway.
- cd's get scratched and take more time to write in addition to copying them to mp3 player... just a waste of time in my opinion.
- just a waste of cd's
- lack of storage to carry all the cd's in the truck.

:banana:I like the cd player i put in my venture lately, it has a SD card slot. I have a 1 GIG card that holds about 250 songs.......playing random......cool.....

:banana:I like the cd player i put in my venture lately, it has a SD card slot. I have a 1 GIG card that holds about 250 songs.......playing random......cool.....
nice! what model is that? i have the JVC KD-G820 (http://jvc.ca/en/consumer/product-detail.asp?model=KD-G820) which has a front USB port. i have a small 1GB flash drive on my keychain, so if im at a buddy house and he/she has some good new tunes, i copy it to my drive and can play it on the way home. it also has an iPod hookup, where my iPod sits in the glove.

My initial thoughts are just the opposite I would rather carry my MP3 player with me and just plug it in rather than writing a several cd's.

My reasons are:
- mp3 player ussually goes into work with me anyway.
- cd's get scratched and take more time to write in addition to copying them to mp3 player... just a waste of time in my opinion.
- just a waste of cd's
- lack of storage to carry all the cd's in the truck.

i agree 100%, i have not even put a CD in my Riot yet

i agree 100%, i have not even put a CD in my Riot yet

Just played Eric Clapton & J.J. Cale - On The Road To Escondido while driving around this afternoon (actual purchased CD - yeah, I know. Some of us still like to support the artists who create this stuff). Again the basic radio/CD performs well, better with a CD than radio due to a lack of processing (compression, limiting and all the other tricks radio station engineers add to their signal to get it to pop out of your speakers). With settings flat, mids and highs and stereo separation were well defined. I actually didn't mind the bottom end (bass). Getting used to it. Lovin' it.

Just played Eric Clapton & J.J. Cale - On The Road To Escondido while driving around this afternoon (actual purchased CD - yeah, I know. Some of us still like to support the artists who create this stuff). Again the basic radio/CD performs well, better with a CD than radio due to a lack of processing (compression, limiting and all the other tricks radio station engineers add to their signal to get it to pop out of your speakers). With settings flat, mids and highs and stereo separation were well defined. I actually didn't mind the bottom end (bass). Getting used to it. Lovin' it.

i still purchase CDs, but they go directly on to my ipod, and stored in case something goes horibbly wrong......

I'm a sirius junkie but I keep a few CDs in the radio. I've been really impressed with the stock sound system in the Patriot. I've got some JL amps here that I was going to put into the Pat, but the stock system just sounds pretty dang good.

i still purchase CDs, but they go directly on to my ipod, and stored in case something goes horibbly wrong......

Good backup plan. The CD player on my Focus died. It started making this grinding, whirring sound, then thankfully ejected the disk. Cost $125 to fix a few years ago. Then when it stopped working again, I started singing and humming more. Makes sense to back up. Or have faith in the technology. ;)

My initial thoughts are just the opposite I would rather carry my MP3 player with me and just plug it in rather than writing a several cd's.

My reasons are:
- mp3 player ussually goes into work with me anyway.
- cd's get scratched and take more time to write in addition to copying them to mp3 player... just a waste of time in my opinion.
- just a waste of cd's
- lack of storage to carry all the cd's in the truck.
That's pretty strange. I can fit 200 high quality MP3 files on a single CD. No need to shuffle discs around or carry more than a single CD. The downside of the mp3 player is that you have to fiddle with it to change songs while changing songs on the CD is easy with the controls on the steering wheel.

In my Scion xB, I had only 4 mp3 CDs (separate folders for each genre) that I switched between in the 2 years that I owned the vehicle.

Good backup plan. The CD player on my Focus died. It started making this grinding, whirring sound, then thankfully ejected the disk. Cost $125 to fix a few years ago. Then when it stopped working again, I started singing and humming more. Makes sense to back up. Or have faith in the technology. ;) Sure the grinding, whirring sound was not the engine? :D

Sure the grinding, whirring sound was not the engine? :D

Actually, I think it was the transmission. ;)

Nope the transmission on my Focus sounds more like a scalded cat. Maybe cause it is low mileage. Well it will be a good first car for my son as he'll get exercise pushing it.

That's pretty strange. I can fit 200 high quality MP3 files on a single CD. No need to shuffle discs around or carry more than a single CD. The downside of the mp3 player is that you have to fiddle with it to change songs while changing songs on the CD is easy with the controls on the steering wheel.

In my Scion xB, I had only 4 mp3 CDs (separate folders for each genre) that I switched between in the 2 years that I owned the vehicle.

I have over 14,000 songs on my little iPod so the aux jack definitely works better for me! I'd have to carry 60 MP3 CDs around with me! :D