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Add-on USB CD Player

16K views 50 replies 29 participants last post by  liresong  
#1 ·
I'm wondering if anyone has added a USB CD player to a 2022 Bolt EUV. I'm looking for the external drives that have a single USB connection and are recognized as an audio device by the Infotainment system. I've tried two (links below). Both purportedly work with lots of modern cars, including Chevys, but neither worked for me. They powered up just fine through the USB but the system did not know they were present and I got no sound through the speakers. An older thread mentioned a Gueray player, but those look like they need a separate connection to an Aux port.

If any of you have had success, please let me know. Thanks!

(And kindly please do not reply to tell me I can just use a flash drive, or that CDs are obsolete, or that streaming exists. That might all be true, but I still want to play my CDs in my car.)

My two failures:
 
#4 ·
How about a CD player with bluetooth?

I'm not going to question your life choices here because who am I to judge? I still use an MP3 player for my audiobooks. It gets way better battery life than my phone and it's old enough that when I sync audiobooks from the library, it ignores the DRM so they never expire.

I used to connect my player to the audio jack port in my 2020 Bolt. It was removed in the 2022 Bolts. Fortunately my player also has bluetooth which works with only a bit extra fiddling required to get it connected to my EUV.
 
#9 ·
In the audio menu; you're selecting the right input right?
On my '21; I have to choose - XM radio, USB1, FM radio,
USB2, AM radio, AUX.
I think the '22 must be different. USB only shows up on the menu after I've inserted a flash drive with music tracks on it. And I don't think I have an AUX input at all.
 
#8 ·
My first assumption reading this is that these devices act as a USB Mass storage device when talking to the car via USB. It probably transcodes (probably the wrong technical term) and buffers whatever you are trying to play in advance.

Did you check the format of your discs? not all formats may be compatible.

I would just use a large USB drive instead as others have mentioned, less unsupported software to go wrong.
 
#10 ·
My first assumption reading this is that these devices act as a USB Mass storage device when talking to the car via USB. It probably transcodes (probably the wrong technical term) and buffers whatever you are trying to play in advance.

Did you check the format of your discs? not all formats may be compatible.

I would just use a large USB drive instead as others have mentioned, less unsupported software to go wrong.
The descriptions for the drives suggest that, yes, the car will recognize them as a USB storage device. I don't think they buffer the entire disc, but they do take a second to index the number of tracks. Then you select, play-pause, skip, etc. through the car just like you would any other audio. It's just that I can't find one that works with the 22 Bolt.
 
#12 ·
It is possible of course that the car can do more than suggested in manual. If it is running some form or linux or QNX then the kernel may have built in support.

I guess I could try it to see. Normally the usb or other device has to be mounted and then it has to be able to go through the filesystem then it can present the media to the user. That doesn't happen with a typical cd/dvd. I suspect it is closer to zero but you never know.
 
#16 ·
There are two easy options.

You could use a Bluetooth-enabled CD player, like this: Amazon.com: Rechargeable Portable Bluetooth CD Player,Lukasa CD Player Portable,Compact Music CD Disc Player for Car/Travel, Home Audio Boombox with Stereo Speaker & LCD Display,Support CD USB AUX Input,2000mAh : Electronics

Or, if you already have a CD player, just plug it into an FM transmitter like this: Amazon.com: JETech Wireless FM Transmitter Radio Car Kit for Smart Phones Bundle with 3.5mm Audio Plug and Car Charger (Black) : Electronics

The only downside to using a CD player that you already own is that it's probably not rechargeable, requiring AA batteries. The Bluetooth-enabled CD player above is rechargeable, so you can just keep it plugged in all the time. Note that while some reviews say that it works with the Bluetooth connection in their car, others say that it didn't work with their car, but it's worth a shot. Just return it if it doesn't work.
 
#17 ·
There are two easy options.

You could use a Bluetooth-enabled CD player, like this: Amazon.com: Rechargeable Portable Bluetooth CD Player,Lukasa CD Player Portable,Compact Music CD Disc Player for Car/Travel, Home Audio Boombox with Stereo Speaker & LCD Display,Support CD USB AUX Input,2000mAh : Electronics

Or, if you already have a CD player, just plug it into an FM transmitter like this: Amazon.com: JETech Wireless FM Transmitter Radio Car Kit for Smart Phones Bundle with 3.5mm Audio Plug and Car Charger (Black) : Electronics

The only downside to using a CD player that you already own is that it's probably not rechargeable, requiring AA batteries. The Bluetooth-enabled CD player above is rechargeable, so you can just keep it plugged in all the time. Note that while some reviews say that it works with the Bluetooth connection in their car, others say that it didn't work with their car, but it's worth a shot. Just return it if it doesn't work.

Audiophiles note: The FM standard only modulates audio frequencies up to 15kHz.

My old ears really don't care, but some young-un's might.
 
#20 ·
Thanks for asking the question -- I too am of the CD generation and want to add a CD player -- I never judge those older than me driving their even older muscle cars listening to surviving cassettes or -- gasp -- 8 track tapes -- if I could I would -- the CD's were just designed to last longer than tapes -- and I do hate rapid planned obsolescence
 
#22 ·
or -- gasp -- 8 track tapes --
I think I've only seen the car record player in museum pieces, but my Dad did start with 4 track tape players before moving up to the 8 track. Didn't have to listen too closely to either to hear the channel crosstalk!

As to using a portable CD player, I have my doubts it would work. The car's USB port is most likely programmed to look for either static memory containing media files, or to function with an Android or iPhone for using the car's display (CarPlay or Android Auto). The CD player circuitry isn't going to be recognized as a playable device. I would also worry about the power provided by the USB port being sufficient to power a mechanical motor.
 
#25 ·
My quest continues. I saw a YouTube video recommending an LG SP80NB80, a computer USB optical drive that has a "TV mode" that is supposed to mimic a USB flash drive. Worked in an older bolt, but I can confirm that it does not work in the 2022 EUV. I'm considering a Bluetooth CD drive, but many look like you have to re-pair them every time you turn them on. I'm also curious if the car could handle the phone and the player at the same time. Alas. These drives seem to work on so many other cars, but the newer Bolt is stubborn.
 
#26 ·
I'm also curious if the car could handle the phone and the player at the same time.
Most cars support the correct Bluetooth protocol to allow a separate connection for media streaming, and still having a phone connected for communications. I haven't tried it on the Bolt, but I do know it works with my phone connected via wireless CarPlay (which uses BT and WiFi) and my wife's phone connected via Bluetooth.
 
#27 ·
If you're willing to have a wire (USB cable), why not just use the AUX connector? No worries about pairing, nor audio quality losses. Yes, you still have to get power from somewhere

I might expect the Bolt to understand a CD burned for ISO 9660 file system format (making it look like a USB stick), but it's less clear it would have support for Redbook format.
 
#30 ·
I can't recall if the original AM Stereo system was the same that iBiquity now offers as HD Radio, but there's no question it provides better audio quality than standard analog broadcasting, and certainly better than SiriusXM. I was extremely disappointed that the Bolt doesn't offer it. I've had HD Radio in my cars for more than the past ten years, and it's a worthwhile addition.

The HD Radio web site lists 47 music stations, 9 talk/news stations and 5 sports stations in the Seattle area. Often their sub-channels are similar to what you find with broadcast TV, with some sub-channels repeating another prime channel feed. Here, some sub-channels are the main feed from an AM station, so the broadcaster gets the benefits of the higher quality signal without needing to upgrade both their AM and FM transmitters.
 
#33 ·
Hey, have you ever found a solution to this? I have a 2023 Bolt and am getting back into listening to cd's. I've tried a portable cd player with bluetooth, but it just doesn't seem to be compatible with the car... The car shows up on the player, but not the other way round.

Was thinking about getting one of those external usb transmitters that plugs into a headphone jack, maybe those are better? What worries me is that I have no trouble connecting the portable player to a bluetooth speaker, so I'm not sure if any bluetooth (other than a smartphone) will work

Sidenote: seems like a lot of people really don't get the appeal of listening to cd's. I personally like the restriction of having a couple CDs in the car and listening to them for weeks. I am trying to remove the temptation of constantly skipping from album to album, artist to artist and really zone in. I work as a jazz pianist and can say from personal experience that having the physical CD with liner notes gives you a completely different way of relating to the music. Some things in life don't need to be streamlined.

That being said, if I don't find a suitable solution for this I will probably try a thumb drive, only load 2 or three cds on it and take the liner notes with me..
 
#34 ·
seems like a lot of people really don't get the appeal of listening to cd's.
The biggest problem with CDs in the car is they can become damaged if not stored correctly. And even with proper storage a CD will still degrade faster in the varying environment found in a car. In the summer it can get too warm, in the winter too cold. Humidity can vary wildly in a parked car as well. I've seen many CDs left in cars that become warped or begin to delaminate because of the environmental extremes encountered.
 
#36 ·
An external usb dvd burner that can be placed in data mode by pressing the eject button for 5 to 10 seconds should read a music cd as data. Possibly will play the tracks that way. Otherwise you can get a double male ended audio cable to plug into a portable cd player, and the aux input on the Bolt. Watch the volume level, start low on the cd player. And remember, batteries go dead fast in portable devices.
 
#41 ·
I'm technically compromised... (born WAAYYY on the other side of the digital divide) so a lot of this thread was way over my head (enjoyed the humor) - but I also am a musician, like one other writer, and like to listen to CD's of my choice when i'm studying for ex. an opera I have to perform. I also have some lectures on CD that I want to listen to. Neither of those options exists in the "normally available" audio stuff out there, which is designed for just background, not serious listening. That's why it matters to me. Time sitting in the car is otherwise really wasted.
as for deteriorating CDs, I can just not leave them in the car when I'm not driving - thanks for that alert. And I spoze I could go the upload-to-a-stick (USB) route...
 
#43 ·
It feels a lot like there are no CD players currently compatible with the 2022/23 Bolt models. Older models of the Bolt seemed to have some compatibility with external CD drives, but not the newer models. Not sure if Chevy just decided to pull this functionality or what. I am not sure I've seen any actual upgrades to the software in the year that I've owned mine.

Also, there is no Aux. port on the 22/23 models, so you can't just use a aux. headphone jack cable to connect from a CD player to the car.

Yes, you could drop your CD into a computer and rip the tracks from the CD to a USB drive and play them that way as I believe that is a supported feature. Or use a SD card. There are options, but for those of us who just want to listen to a album we have owned for years, it's not really as convenient as just putting in a CD.

Would be awesome if Chevy came out with a add on player which worked well with the car.