Monsoon play burned CD's?
 

I haven't been able to play any buned CD's in my Mansoon CD player in my 98 Camaro. Sometimes origionals wont work!!!!!!! could it that it is just dirty or do all stock systems read error when a burned cd is inserted? can i just buy a 00 cd player from a newer camaro and just intall it? any infro would be greatly appreciated.

I was able to play regular format burned cds in my '01, but not MP3 or WMA. That's what finally drove me to invest in a head unit.

The Monsoon CD head unit will play CD-Rs but not CD-RWs. They have to be recorded as a standard audio CD - as ded71 said it won't play MP3s or other formats.

Yes, you can buy a CD head unit from a later model and it will bolt and plug right in. In fact, later model (after mid-99) CD head units were capable of controlling an external CD changer. You may not want one of those but it also gave the ability to use an adapter to connect an external auxiliary source such as satellite radio or MP3 player.

I have burned .WAV files onto CD-R and it plays just fine in my stock Monsoon deck. :)

You need to be careful about the grade of blanks. The
cheapos I've hed play in the HU but not the changer.
I have had good luck with Maxell "CD-R Pro" which are
not too crazy priced; Verbatim "Datalife" are good if you
can find them. The darker the dye, the better. Any that
say "superior archival life" are probably OK. But the 100-
count spindle at Office Depot, Wal-Mart, etc. that's the
cheapest? Nuh-uh.

:P I play the cheapo 100 count spindle packed cd's in my monsoon and changer all the time no prob.

Yes, WAV files are uncompressed audio so you created a standard audio CD when you burned them to a disc. The Monsoon can't handle compressed files like MP3 or WMA.

Whatever you do, don't buy the so-called "music" CD-R blanks. They cost more and there is no physical difference between them and data discs. The extra cost is because of an agreement where a royalty is paid to the music publishing companies on every "music" disc sold. There is a bit set differently in the header of the "music" discs that a very few home players check before playing the disc but there are no car players that check that bit.

If i remember correctly, the seperate home stereo CD recorders (not the computer ones) only record on the blank "music" CDs. If you have a cd burner in your computer, buy the regular "data" CDs. Like, WhiteBird00 said, no need to waste any money on the "music" ones.

Thanks for the information guys. I guess my CD player is dirty because sometimes i have trouble playing store bought cd's. The radio is just not cutting it for me. Will those lens cleaners work? Or any ideas on how to clean my stock unit? Thanks.

I've been having the same problem with any cd, store bought or burned, wont play lately. I can use advice on cleaning or what the problem might be.

I've been getting an E20 code. I looked it up and it says focus error. Any thoughts or suggestions on curing problem much appreciated.
thanks

My stock monsoon played everything I threw at it as far as copies go. Especially if you are having problem with proper audio CD's, then it is likely your lens is out of alignment, or if you are really lucky, just dirty.

In all the CD players I've ended up tearing apart in my life, I've only seen one where the lens was actually dirty/dusty enough to be the problem. This is out of maybe 10 total across PC drives, car stereos, home players, etc., and it happened to be a PS2 which was so filthy and dusty I was surprised the thing even worked.

The rest were just the laser being out of alignment. Those old-school cleaners with a bristle on the CD are generally not a good idea, but I would give one a shot if your player is already acting up, or maybe a good shot of PC compressed air. There's a tiny chance you might just have a big dust glob or hair or something on the lens.

Past that, you are probably looking at a lens alignment. To my knowledge it would not be cost effective to have that repair done on a factory h/u. Probably $50 minimum. I remember being quoted $120 on an Alpine many years ago. That could have been a rip off quote but any shop's going to charge you at least $50 for the smallest of repairs.

Oh, and if you have a player that is just a little wishy-washy about burned discs, I've had the best luck with blue-dye media, burned at the slowest speed possible. They have the highest level of reflectivity, and tend to be better media overall. Fuji's are the most common of this type. If you can find a spindle of Fuji's with a "made in japan" logo, those are some of the very best. If those don't work then you should probably just give up.