Looking at eBay, there are a lot of Alpine changers that look alike, came with Acura, Honda, BMW, others. Units are interchangeable on my 98 Acura and 96 Accord, but I can't see a CHM, CHA, or A88 model number on either of them. Now I need a used one. How can I be sure these others for sale will play? Sometimes not enough photos to tell if plug is the same, but the cassette is the same across a lot of models.
Thanks for any clues available!!!

 

Does your radio have a button that says CD on it? If so, it can handle a CD changer. On my radio (for a '99 LX) there's a button that says "TAPE CD".

If so, your head unit will take the signal from a CHM changer but you'll need an adapter to plug it into the back of your OEM radio. Or, you can get a CHA changer with two adapters - the first adapter to change the signal from CHA to CHM, the second adapter to plug it into the back of your OEM radio. This is what I have in my '99 LX, a trunk mounted CHA changer (620?) and two adapters, then my OEM tape deck.

But... keep in mind that if you get a changer and have it hooked up to your head unit, you'll just be able play music, skip songs or CDs, and limited fast forward / rewind. All you'll see is the CD number and track number, no artist information, not even a clock telling you how much time has elapsed or is left in the track / CD. You won't have shuffle mode, and most likely you won't be able to play .mp3s. Before putting money into a changer, consider picking up a new head unit from Crutchfield (or wherever) for about $140 or $150. There are some incredible units out there in this price range. A few months ago I picked up a new Sony head unit (GT410U) for my Camry - it plays .mp3s, .cdas, and/or .aacs (non -DRM) from either a CD-R or a flash drive. Plus I can easily plug my .mp3 player up to it. Just pick up a CD changer if it is cheap - CD changers are obsolete.

For my Honda, I'm waiting for Alpine to release a model with a USB port on front which I think will be early next year.

A little more food for thought - if you do get a new Alpine changer, the cord that goes from the changer to the head unit comes with it. If you buy a Honda CD changer, the cord comes with the mounting kit, not the changer, so you have to buy their mounting kit to connect the changer to the radio. At least this is how it was back in late '98 when I bought and installed my CD changer.


Modified by Heat at 9:18 AM 9/24/2007

 

Thanks for thorough info. My case is simpler, I jusst want to replace the dead factory CD unit in my 96 Accord. I know it interchanged with the one in my 98 Acura, which I sold. I just need to know which other ones are plug and play. I don't need to display artists, I don't think my factory Honda radio has that capability.