PhatBox Reviws....

[RobG]

I imagine when everyone starts receiving their Phatboxes they will have some comments, here is my take on the subject.

I just installed mine last night, things went well, the only complaints about the install would be, the trim piece that goes around the changer does not fit around the Phatbox, the screws that goes from the changer brackets to the vehicle have to have a thin head or it will not slide in with ease (I didn't have the VW screws) and for some reason they give you a 6' cable that you have to deal with, maybe for different install locations. Other than that navigating through songs is easy, Downloading the music to the DMS cartridge is quick, but I think it will take some time to sort it all out into the appropriate categorys ect. And the guy that tells you what genera or album your listing to also sounds interesting. It's worth every penny, no need to mess around with burning CD's anymore and Its one of the things you didn't know how much you needed it until you have it.

[tintin]

Re: PhatBox Reviws....

I imagine when everyone starts receiving their Phatboxes they will have some comments, here is my take on the subject.

I just installed mine last night, things went well, the only complaints about the install would be, the trim piece that goes around the changer does not fit around the Phatbox, the screws that goes from the changer brackets to the vehicle have to have a thin head or it will not slide in with ease (I didn't have the VW screws) and for some reason they give you a 6' cable that you have to deal with, maybe for different install locations. Other than that navigating through songs is easy, Downloading the music to the DMS cartridge is quick, but I think it will take some time to sort it all out into the appropriate categorys ect. And the guy that tells you what genera or album your listing to also sounds interesting. It's worth every penny, no need to mess around with burning CD's anymore and Its one of the things you didn't know how much you needed it until you have it.

What trim piece is that?

[Mr. Burns]

Re: PhatBox Reviws....

I have had my Phatbox for close to a year now and I love it. I agree that it was worth every penny (and I paid wayyyyy more than you guys did)

For those that don't know you can customize the voice prompts as well. (change from man to woman, slow down, speed up, change volume, etc.) If you get any errors while it is creating the voice prompts you have to disable your virus scan software.

[Stampfan]

Re: PhatBox Reviws....

I'm not crazy about the way it sorts things - I'd much rather have ONE option : when I rip a CD, that CD automatically becomes its own separate playlist "disc" on the Phatbox.

I'm old fashioned - when I listen to a CD, I want to listen to that CD. I don't want mixed playlists, I don't want to search by song, etc. Instead its forcing me to type in each playlist separately, it wants to default all songs by one artist into the same playlist, etc.

I guess I'm just complaining that for people who simply want to pick an artist, find that artist, and then pick which CD, they could have simplified the software. Instead, they made it easier for people who just want misc. shuffled playlists (ie. "sync" feature.)

Granted, I'm still playing with it, I may find some shortcuts.

[Mr. Burns]

Re: PhatBox Reviws....

If you sort it by album each album IS its own playlist. As long as you have your ID3 tags filled out consistently.

EDIT: I don't copy any playlists to my phatbox. just the music files I let the phatbox do the sorting.

[Mr. Burns]

Re: PhatBox Reviws....

I guess I'm just complaining that for people who simply want to pick an artist, find that artist, and then pick which CD, they could have simplified the software.

What I was trying to say above is that the Phatbox DOES do exactly that. You'll figure it out in time. It took me a few days to get it down.

[RobG]

Re: PhatBox Reviws....

The piece that didn't fit was the plastic piece that snaps on to access the two screws to pull the changer out. the PhatBox it too wide. And I'm going to try to mess with the voice prompts, see what I can come up with.

[Dubcentric]

Re: PhatBox Reviws....

Just curious what everyone is using to cut the panel in the back with?

[Deuce]

Re: PhatBox Reviws....

I just installed mine last night...

Any pics???

Cheers...

[Stampfan]

Re: PhatBox Reviws....

I spoke too soon - when I upgraded my Phatnoise software it downloaded the "Phatnoise CD Manager", which has made my complaint and problem unbelievably simple - I now put in the CD, it checks the internet for the album, song titles, etc., and now converts to MP3 and installs it DIRECTLY to the Phatbox without having to save the MP3's on the computer first. Insert CD, press one button, done. It installs each CD as a playlist, which is exactly what I want. Awesome software, it now takes 4-6 minutes to put an entire CD on the Phatbox.

Now I just have to find a place to get a cheap 40 or 60 Gig replacement disc, as this 20 Gig is filling up fast when you use 192 to encode the MP3 for sound quality.

[Khyron]

Re: PhatBox Reviws....

I didn't have the monsoon unit so there's no cd changer/amp at all. Are all you guys already pre-wired or does the thing come with everything? I'd be tempted to go back to factory deck if it would work with it.

Khyron

[tintin]

Re: PhatBox Reviws....

I didn't have the monsoon unit so there's no cd changer/amp at all. Are all you guys already pre-wired or does the thing come with everything? I'd be tempted to go back to factory deck if it would work with it.

Khyron

I don't have Monsoon either, but all MK4s were pre-wired (to the stock deck) for a CD changer in the trunk/hatch. The phatbox plugs in just like the CD changer would to the wiring in the trunk/hatch meaning there is no additional wiring you need to do.

[Khyron]

Re: PhatBox Reviws....

Can another after market deck control it or is it meant for stock decks? I like the look of my stock deck, but the sony I bought off ryan pounds 10x better. Huge dilema which one to use...

Khyron

[R_Ethug]

Re: PhatBox Reviws....

geoff the phatbox is actually made by phatnoise which was made originally by kenwood so you can actually buy a kenwood phatbox but you need a kenwood deck

actually your best bet is to buy a sony mp3 changer to go with your deck think about it 10cds of mp3s thats like 70+ albums right there! and it will show ID3 info on the deck!

i want one so bad for my pioneer but for god knows why pioneer doesn't make an mp3 changer when EVERY other manufacturer does.. (weaksauce)

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: PhatBox Reviws....

I would love to get a phatbox rolling in my Smart