RCD 310 - fitting a CD changer

[jodanuke]

I have a 2010 1.6 tdi se There is an usb connection in the arm rest, along with a slot for a cd changer? Is this where the cd canger fits? Will an arm rest cd changer from a mk5 fit this car, or if not what will?

Thanks

[james_tiger_woo]

I can't offer a solution but why a CD changer?

Don't the newer stereos have the cd changer built in to the HU though?

[lucid]

Not sure about the cd changer but it sounds as though you have the MDI unit fitted. The car should have come with 2 leads, 1 an MDI to ipod lead & also the MDI to socket USB connection lead. Instead of using a limited number of CDs you could use a large memory stick or even a 2.5inch USB hard drive. I have the same setup with RCD310 and MDI and use a USB powered 500GB hard drive formatted to FAT32. There is the the space to put about 5000 albums on there. Much easier than fitting a cd changer as a hard drive will only cost about £50 and all you need do is convert yr cds to mp3 and put each album in a folder with a name and copy to the drive.

[Keithuk]

Welcome to the forum.

I see you've asked the same question on another forum I use so I will post the same answer.

Well the pin configuration says so Volkswagen RCD 310 pin assignments even though it says 5. Multi-pin connector 4, 12-pin, for CD changer control and CD audio input signals it doesn't show 5.

Overview of connectors on radio RCD 310

Again you can add your car spec to your signature as it saves users asking.

[27litres]

Not sure about the cd changer but it sounds as though you have the MDI unit fitted. The car should have come with 2 leads, 1 an MDI to ipod lead & also the MDI to socket USB connection lead. Instead of using a limited number of CDs you could use a large memory stick or even a 2.5inch USB hard drive. I have the same setup with RCD310 and MDI and use a USB powered 500GB hard drive formatted to FAT32. There is the the space to put about 5000 albums on there. Much easier than fitting a cd changer as a hard drive will only cost about £50 and all you need do is convert yr cds to mp3 and put each album in a folder with a name and copy to the drive.

The sound quality from a CD will beat MP3 anyday.
Just depends whether 'jodanuke' is an audiophile or not, and how good the factory amp and speakers are.
Does the RCD accept .wav files? Whilst not quite up to FLAC compression, .wav does give near CD quality sound.


...One of these days people and manufacturers will wake up to FLAC (even OGG would do) and stop using MP3/AAC, but that's for another thread...

[J400uk]

another idea would be to upgrade to the rcd510 which has a built in 6-cd changer, also adding an SD card reader and large colour touchscreen. it's a straight swap, very easy to fit and can be had of eBay for under £200

[lucid]

I use both and encode all my audio to LAME MP3 320kb/s. In reality it is nigh on impossible to tell whether it is CD or high quality mp3 at that data rate in the car. Granted if you use higher compression and lower data rates you have a point.

Checking the instruction book re the RCD310 with MDI reveals that supported formats are: MP3 (48-320KB/s), WMA, OGG Vorbis & AAC