H&B CA-5555i – first impressions
Today I had time to install the new audio MP3 receiver in my car. I bought this receiver since it offers USB 2.0 and iPod support (according to the information on the web). My plan was to connect my old iPod Mini or a USB hard drive to this receiver.
The installation went smoothly within a few minutes. The user interface is easy to understand and without looking at the manual I was able to select radio stations and store them as preset.
Next I connected my 100GB Seagate USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive. The blue LED of the Seagate drive did not go on at all. So obviously the USB port of the CA-5555i does not provide enough power.
The Seagate comes with a double USB cable with 2 plugs, one for data+power and one just for power. So I plugged the power plug into my laptop and now the blue LED went on. The laptop did not mount the drive and the CA-5555i also displayed USB-Drive, but that was about all. It did not scan the drive for mp3 files. The hard drive has one FAT32 partition and according to the manual, this should be supported. So maybe connecting it to the laptop is a problem, but without a car USB-charger I can’t think of a better way to test it.
The interesting questions would have been, if the CA-5555i supports large USB drives like this one at all and I wonder how many files it can actually handle. As you can see, the manual mentions 200 folders and a maximum of 500 files. Would be nice if those were 500 files per folder, because otherwise it would be pretty useless connecting a regular hard drive or iPod. The manual does not provide any information otherwise about USB storage and iPod support, which is a bit strange since it is being advertised as ‘optimized for iPod’.
Last but not least I connected my old iPod Mini. It started charging but was not mounted as USB-Drive. Since the battery of my iPod Mini is hardly working any longer I was not able to try it with a charged iPod. Because I don’t have a SD/MMC card, I wasn’t not able to test this feature either.
The last image shows the CA-5555i at night.
Update – 2005/02/22:
I connected a different iPod Mini and an iPod Photo 30GB today and both worked fine and I did not notice a file limit. When the iPod is connected, you can not use the iPod controls, just like when you connect it to the computer. Both iPods have been initialized for Windows systems (as far as I know using FAT32). I also tried a CD-RW with ISO 9960 file system and some normal mp3 files but that did not work.
Update – 2005/02/25:
The reason why it did not read the CD-RW was, that the CD drive does not work at all! I would like to send it back but then I would have to send the package all the way to France (bought it at an Dutch online store!) on my own costs, so I am wondering if I need the CD drive at all. Today I also tested a 2GB SD card and it worked well but what I don’t like is the mp3 display and navigation of the CA-5555i. Finding a mp3 while driving would be a dangerous and almost impossible activity. So, the USB port for the iPod might seem like a good idea but it is not really a practical solution.
… to be continued
Technorati Tags: ipod, CA-5555i
Comments(17)
Hi, I found your review most useful. I would like to ask you a couple of questions about your unit. When you have an IPOD connected can you select an album to be played? The reason I am asking is because I bought a CA-5555i for my girlfriend and fitted it but it would not work properly with IPOD. It didnt display the album names eg. Robbie Williams etc it just had a for random letter foler like AHZR and each folder had about 8 random songs from different artists in them. It was impossible to get to an artist you wanted and therefore I sent it back, H&B have failed to respond even after 3 emails to them so now I am trying to find a user to help me out.
Regards,
Richard
My CA-5555i is also on its way back since the CD drive does not work, so I can’t test it now but as far as I remember you can only search for track names. Cou can also browse through folders and files (H&B calls this file search) and this way you could find your album – at least if they are organized in folders. I probably will use the AUX-in to connect the iPod, so that I can use the navigation on the iPod. If you want a car receiver with better iPod support, you will probably have to look at more expensive models like the Alpine CDA-9857.
So your stereo allowed you go go to Robbie Williams by doing a file search for Rob? This is what mine did not do. I want to buy another one but not if it is unusable. Let me know how you get on with your new unit.
Hi Richard,
It did on the SD card. Don’t remember testing it with the iPod and it might be different there, since Apple changes the file/folder structure to something very user unfriendly.
OK if you can let me know when you get your new unit I would really appreciate it. I dont want to buy another if its going to be the same.
Here’s my dilemma. I have the H&B CA-5555i (With the attached “iPod” sticker.), granted the Face-plate clearly states, “H&B CD MP3 Player / Reciever CA-5555″ Seems like the manufacture would stincle the proper modle number on the face-plate as well.
Anyway, I have a 97 Dodge Intrepid, I purchased the Wiring kit and Mounting harness for it as well. Matched all the wires and so forth. Got everything set to go, hit the [Power] button and the system will not come on. I get the flashing light and the glowing [Eject] button. When the door / face is closed and I push the [Power] button, nothing happens. No lights, no screen, no nothing. I can put a CD in, hear it access the disc, close the face / door, and still get nothing. I hit [Eject], and the CD comes right out. So I know I’m getting power. But the Face-plate itself is getting nothing. Has anyone else had this problem? Or am I missing something here in order to get it working. By the way I even hit the [Reset] button as stated in the manual and still have a blank display screen. I spent damn near the whole day trying to figure out what’s wrong with this thing. My final thought is that it’s defective and I need to return it. But I thought I’d see if any of you guys here have had this issue during install. Thanks for any help you can offer.
I have the exact same problem as you had Richard. If you have any updated info on the subject could you let me know at j l s a l t e r @ b t i n t e r n e t . c o m ? Without the spaces, of course! If there’s no solution I’ll be sending it back too.
Thanks in advance,
Jon
I just got this player brand new, hooked it up and it looked great. Installing it i noticed it sounded like pieces inside were loose or off and after i got it hooked up it wont play any CDs, gives me Error01 which isnt even listed in the manual.
I was so excited to see this thing waiting for me on the doorstep. Three hours later it had been kicked and crushed on my doorstep due to aggrivation. All I know currently is that the Radio works, thats all. I put a CD in and I get Error 4, I was wondering Walker, if this is the error you got. Cause if so I’ll start packing it back up.
Oh and the packing this came in was Ridiculous. The box was 4 sizes too big and had to Fedex envelopes shoved in it that helped nothing as it rattled around easily. NY to Las Vegas..Wonder why the CD player doesn’t work. But that is probably Fedex’s fault.
After waiting more than 3 months, I finally got my CA-5555i back. Looks like a new device. I would prefer to get my money back, but it’s too late for that now. I haven’t been in the mood to try it out again – actually, I am going to work by public transport since 2 months now – so I don’t really care about a car stereo any longer.
I’m in the US and deal with the distributor from NY. I say “deal with” because he and I seem to be on a first name basis. First let me say, I really love the idea of this stereo – obviously you do too or you wouldn’t have bought it. The only problem is, it has too many problems!
The first unit I bought worked great… at first. Then, problem after problem. This was a CA-5555″i” unit as well, but the faceplate clearly stated CA-5555. Trying to use an A-DATA 512MB usb stick – didn’t work. Seemed to read it, somewhat, but then just crashed out to ‘tuner’. I bought another USB stick figuring mine was incompatible. It worked, to my relief. The SD card also worked.. for about a month, then you had to wedge a paperclip in between the card and the outside slot for it to make contact. Hit a bump – it would start from the beginning as if you just inserted it.
There was also a high-pitched whine from the beginning that I figured was my wiring problem. Nope. Also, paint flakes off the buttons after about 2 months, revealing white-cheap-plasticky underneath. After about 2.5 months, the usb drive reader no longer works.
I got a 2nd unit after pretty simply returning the old one. They claim they hardly ever get returns – but let’s just say there was zero argument on my part to get a new unit shipped to me instantly upon the old units arrival (no testing whatsoever was performed).
Installed the 2nd unit – I get the CD no workie problem everyone else seems to have. I just emailed him telling him I want my money back. I doubt I’ll get it – probably will have to send it back, again, at my expense and wait for another new, probably faulty unit to arrive. I may just toss it in the trash.
*sigh*
I just installed it… the SD reader works fine with 256MB generic card and an aux input of the Dell DJ through the headphonejack and cable to the RCA inputs. Will test with my USB drive in some time… but as far as the CD-Drive goes… does not work at all. Also the rubber USB cover is too flimsy and broke off. Will call the 212 number supplied by Newegg to see if H&B can fix this ERROR-04 problem. Will be going mountain biking tomorrow… so the USB and SD will get a crash course. Also to note… the ZEN MICRO (rebadge 1 gig MUVO) works great through USB… does not waste battery power when plugged in.
Hi guys, – did you have any luck fixing the error-04 problems? It’s happening very often in my machine now. I don’t know if there is dust in the machine causing it to fail when trying to read the disks. After about 8-10 goes it starts reading, but often crashes out with an error-00. The manual is useless and H&B’s info@jpf-europe.com address doesn’t work anymore… hope you managed to fix yours and can help me fix mine!
Never got the CD working. And now, the AM band has stopped working (or MW1, MW2).
You might say I’m frustrated with this radio, but that would be untrue. I’m truly frustrated with the customer service guy. He basically called me a liar when I told him the 2nd unit they sent me was also defective. Apparently I have some devious plan to cheat these guys out of billions of dollars by installing, testing, and paying for return shipping on a defective radio. In most companies, this is known as quality control testing. They should put me on the payroll already (or at least pay for the return shipping after the first unit).
*sigh*
I am actually using it now in my car, but only the radio and aux-input on the back where I connect my iPod. Basically it is a cheap product, which is not worth it’s money. I’ve seen a very similar looking audio MP3 receiver in a French supermarket. Same design, just a different color and brand name – that tells us enough about the origin of this product.
Has anyone got a power lead for the CA-5555 radio, I accidently left mine in a car which got scrapped. I’ve got in touch with H&B, but they’ve stopped supplying spare parts for it. If anyone has a faulty unit with the power lead could you get in touch at d e v a n s 2 3 4 @ y a h o o . c o . u k (with out the spaces)
Does anybody know how to adjust the lighting on the CA-5555? That is to say my lighting is off for the main display, the others are on. It went from bright to dim to none at all. Is there a way of altering the display light in this way and have I inadvertently turned the light display off? My email is de3de@hotmail.com