Interest in a Bluetooth CD changer Emulator for the CM5908?

[calypso rot]

Will a trunk mounted CD player work with the 5908? It does appear there is an unused connector for something that looks similar to what you posted above. I'm pretty sure I've seen a trunk mounted CD unit that was BMW branded made by Alpine so I assume it would work. I may be mistaken however, wouldn't be the first time.

I know next to nothing about audio but I did successfully repair the capacitors in the radio and get it working clear and well.

[bradnic]

Some news next month. Not a cd changer emulator.

[bradnic]

Will a trunk mounted CD player work with the 5908? It does appear there is an unused connector for something that looks similar to what you posted above. I'm pretty sure I've seen a trunk mounted CD unit that was BMW branded made by Alpine so I assume it would work. I may be mistaken however, wouldn't be the first time.

I know next to nothing about audio but I did successfully repair the capacitors in the radio and get it working clear and well.

hmm never answered this apparently. The answer depends on which 4 channel OEM E30 CD-ready radio you use. You can see an example of a KE83 compatible dealer installed trunk mounted cd changer in the ad on post 15. There were Alpine and Pioneer offerings from BMW, incompatible with each other.

When the early CD ready radios came out in the E30s you could only use the Alpine with the Alpine changer and Pioneer with Pioneer. BMW's bulletin said:
"These components are only compatible with each other, the use of other components is not possible and may cause damage to either unit." The original CD for the Alpine was the drop down door 12 disc unit, later the shoe-box sliding door 6 disc unit, from Alpine. My info from AAMP says "aftermarket Alpine CD changers do not use the same command protocol as BMW's Alpine built changer. Consequently they will not work on any BMW system."

If you were asking whether an aftermarket trunk CD changer of the period will work with the CM5908, no. Unofficial BMW had a post about this a very long time ago. It's the only definitive info I've ever found. The KE83 pioneer was compatible with a specific "M-series" range of pioneer cd changers including the CDX-M30.

BTW I can't emphasize enough how "not worth it" it is to run one of the original gen CD changers, even if you could find one (I have 3). Supports only the original CD audio format, so no MP3, no track info, hard to shuffle or navigate to a specific track, fragile, audio quality barely better than a good FM station..

Unofficial BMW CD changer OEM radio compatibility table from 1993(!)
Top two are E30 era radios, rest E36 era. The adapter mentioned in the table is long gone.
Full description of the table is in the unofficialbmw.com link referenced above.