Greetings,

I'll most likely be purchasing a 2026 IS which loses the built-in CD player. Any recommendations for portable CD players? I have hundreds of CD's so I will not be subscribing (paying) for a music service.

Thanks.

 

I have transferred dozens of music tracks from favorite CD's to my retired iPhone 6.
Keep it wired to the USB port and select as AUX. Advantage is that I only took the
2 to 7 tracks I like rather than the entire disc. Leaving it plugged in keeps it charged.

 

Unless you want to continually carry around an extra outdated piece of hardware, spend the time and convert the cd's to digital files. Yes, it might take a while since you have so many but you can load the tacks you want on your phone, make your own playlists and there's no subscriptions needed.

 

Rip to digital and put on a thumb drive.

 

If the IS can play from a thumb drive, that’s the way to do it.

 

Bro seriously?! Lol keep those relics at home and digitize them. Put them onto your phone or onto a thumb drive. Ask your great grand kid for help if you need

 

The CD player was paired with the Mark Levinson system in the IS for a reason. It was to create the most immersive sound experience possible. When you rip a cd into small audio files like mp3 you lose some of what is captured on an official CD. While most of the public won’t hear or care as the convenience of ripping your entire music into small files is unfortunately what’s taken over. For those who appreciate music and are a true audiophile, the CD with the ML is then best sound you will get without going aftermarket. Call it a relic or old technology but there was a reason it was paired together in the IS cabin.

 

I get what you're saying about sound quality and all that but that is not the reason a CD player is in any Toyota or Lexus vehicle, ML sound system or not. The reason is Toyota doesn't care about upgrading tech inside the cabin because they know the vehicles will sell based on other factors. My 2017 without ML sound has a CD player in it. On top of that, if the OP is using a portable CD player plugged in through an aux cord, that is certainly not going to give you audiophile quality sound.

 

Actually, Apple Music's Lossless is higher quality than CD. Pair with Mark Levinson in my 3IS, the sound is pretty amazing. MP3's died almost a decade ago. Practically as ancient as the CD at this point.

 

Funny, but no grand kids to assist. Currently working on ripping my CD's into WAV files. Hoping the IS can play this format.

 

Literally this^ I do the same with my RC. Having apple music + unlimited data idc I have streaming Wifi, Data, and download as lossless or hi-res.

Aux has been dead to me for a while but if you want the best sound you should look into it. I have a 15 pro max and got a USBC cable that supports both PD charging and Aux with DAC. People saying you cant get a higher quality unless you play from CD cult will be shook and then grumble about their unwillingness to pay for a music service.

 

FLAC is a good alternative to WAV files. Lossless compression, so the files will sound as good as WAV files, but will take up a less space. FLAC is also open source and widely supported.