I had a 6 disk CD Changer in the trunk of my 1994 Camry that came with the car. The magazine was stuck. I took it to the only car stereo/CD/Radio shop in town. He cut the cables completely and handed me the CD changer, without the cables, which is now useless. I would like to replace the CD changer which hooks up to my radio/tape player in the dash, but I cannot find a replacement for my 1994 Toyota Camry. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions. I miss my 6 CD Changer while driving long distances. Can I use only a 1994 Toyota CD Changer or is there something out there instead and where? Please help. Maxine
I hope there is someone out there who will have some good suggestions.
I’d get a replacement radio that can read MP3 files off either the disk or a USB stick. MP3 files sound pretty decent for use in the car and one disk with MP3s hold 8-10 regular albums.
They are relatively cheap now.
Edit: This one looks okay, for instance.
It playsUSB media only. It doesn’t even have a CD player so no more disks to scratch up - all for $60. There are several others.
Agreed much cheaper and easier and honestly better to get a new head unit with USB/mp3 capability. You will be much happier in the long run.
One more thing:
Places like Crutchfield (the above link) can provide you with an in-between cable that allows you to plug the new radio right into the factory cable.
This means that installation is really easy. Even if you end up having someone install it, it will be almost* fool proof so you get a neat clean installation that just works without having to splice and cut wires.
USB/MP3 media is the way to go. Hours of decent sounding music on a simple cheap memory stick. You can make your own mix selecting only certain tunes off albums you like. The radios are cheap now so nobody will steal them.
- Almost fool proof" because fools are just to ingenious in hosing things up.
You might be able to get someone to splice the wires to the CD changer, but for goodness sake, don’t go back to that same shop.
The others have a point. CDs are outdated technology. Get yourself an MP3 player or an iPod. Once you experience the convenience of a digitized music library (not just digitized music), you will wonder how you ever managed with only 6 CDs at a time.
By the way, you won’t have to repurchase your music. You can copy your CDs onto your computer, and if you adjust the quality settings on your software (iTunes, Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, etc.), you can prevent any loss of sound quality.
If the hard drive on your computer doesn’t have room for your music library, you can purchase an external hard drive to hold your music library. They have really come down in price recently. However, if you have a laptop computer, be sure you buy an external hard drive that either has its own power supply or buy a cable with two USB plugs on the end, like the one in this picture. The extra USB plug will give the hard drive the extra power it needs to operate.
I hope that idiot didn;t charge you.
I wholeheartedly agree with Remco on his suggestion to get an adapter cable to install whatever you choose. An adapter cable is attached to your new unit on the kitchen table and then plugs into the original wiring harness.