SONY CDX-T70MX MP3
Changer

After just a CD Changer?....look here
SONY (CD only) ALTERNATIVE TO THE AUDI CHANGER: -
You could also get this package (£150)  and Audi bracket (£20) compared to Audi's £400
That's over over 50% cheaper than the Audi OEM unit.

 

Sony introduced this great little 6 disc MP3 changer and made its programming easy
 so a company is producing interfaces to standard OEM head units
.

I got mine from  In Car Express with the interface.

Your mp3 discs can have folder structures,  basically the unit presents a track list in the same logical sort order you would see them on a PC if your searched the disc for mp3 files. CD-R's and CD-RW's can be used in single and multi session formats.

As the Audi units only handle a display 2 digits they will go up to 99 and then show 1 again this introduces a limitation in that you can only record 99 tracks on a CD. At a decent bitrate of around 192kb thats about a CD full anyway.
You can record more than 99 tracks but tracks above 99 wont be selectable you'll have to let them play through and the changer will switch to 100,101,102 etc.
The unit works very well and it does "what it says on the tin" at the bitrate I use (192kb) the sound quality is excellent.

Customer Service has been excellent from In Car Express, David has been very helpful and ask to speak to him if you want to get some more information. (01223) 301212

Fitting in a TT Coupe:-

The kit consists of a Sony CDX-T70MX 6 Disc Audio/MP3 changer plus a Connects2 Sony-to-Audi Interface.
TOOLS:- Audi radio keys, T25 driver, 10mm socket, screwdriver set. Burn some Mp3 CD's in advance

The interface is a pre-wired male/female connector with the CD connections branched off to fit to a little box of tricks that interfaces to the Sony CD changer. The connections are very straight forward and its very easy to fit.

Assuming the thing is going to work, the first thing to do is remove the glove box to allow for cabling.
The dash end panel hides some T25 screws as does the upper edge in the glove box and a single lower right hand side screw.
You then need a set of Audi keys to remove the head unit, pull out the OEM plug corresponding to the interface plug and fit the interface between the head unit and OEM plug.
NOW is a good time to cable everything up and check it all works

Woohoo it works, sound is excellent, it is relatively slow to a CD only changer, to move from track to track but only slightly, however for the functionality it offers its not a big issue. So now you should start to feed the cable towards the original CD changer location

The Sony has a large control cable and a twin phono cable for the audio, its worth pairing these up and using a little insulation tape every 8 inches to wrap them together. The cable can be taken across the back of the glove box area and tape it to other fixed runs to ensure no rattling. The passenger kick panel has a single screw holding it down and it has 2 clips, 1 into the bodywork, the other into the side plastic sill. Lift it up hard to release it.

The side plastic sill has a number of clips holding it down, it requires a firm pull to lift it.

BEWARE...all the clips are metal and are sometimes detached from the panels when you pull.
Simply use pliers to retrieve the clip and refit it to the panel before refitting.


The rear end of the sill panel is unfortunately held in by the side panel in the back so you can only go so far.

In the boot you must release the back passenger seat and remove the striker it latches on to; a deep socket, pipe wrench or deep spanner should do it. Then remove the rear bench, it is clipped in 2 places on its front leading edge, simply pull up hard and then the whole seat base can be pulled up and moved out of the way.

With the seat folded down the side panel can be pulled away from the bodywork, approximately 7 clips hold it on, it is hard to remove.
Once removed you can detach the lower rear side sill. You will have to get your hand under the folded seat and pull the lower part of the panel to get the lowest clip out!

With the panel removed with the seat belt still running through it you can move it out of the way. You can see the inside speaker grill, flap mechanism, and a lower foam damper.
The OEM Audi CD location is visible if you have it, the bracket has 4 mounting bolts and part of the bracket includes a holder for the cable connector. Unplug the connector, undo the bolts and remove the whole assembly.
The bare Audi CD plug should be taped over with some insulation tape.

WHAT A RELIEF!!! the Sony unit is about 2-3mm smaller than the Audi/Panasonic unit...fantastic!
The CD door is on the wrong side, this means the the Sony unit needs to be mounted "upside down".
The OEM unit sits at around 20 degrees off vertical, The Sony has many angle settings but only from vertical to right way up.

Upside down, the Sony can only be set to a maximum vertical orientation,  so I  had to adjust the bracket to allow the Sony unit to sit as vertically as possible, The best I achieved was around 10 degrees off the vertical. It has not caused any problems, no skipping or music issues.

I used an angle grinder to cut a notch where a screw hole was needed to get the angle required. Large washers increased the surface contact area to provide a secure fix, this side was kept tight against the bracket to ensure the CD door had maximum access through the trim panel.

The Other side had a gap against the bracket, I drilled a single hole where needed and inserted 3 washers between the changer and bracket surface before screwing it tight. It felt very secure I didn't feel the need to fit a 2nd screw this side.

So from this point on, refitting is the reversal of removal, any excess cable should be folded, taped and tucked under the changer.

The fit was perfect , I am very pleased with the result. It works well sounds good, the limits are 99 tracks per CD, still a sizeable number of tracks to listen to and if you record at a lower bitrate for more tracks you will begin to notice degredation in sound quality so not a real limitation issue.

For anyone considering an Audi CD changer you'd be mad not to consider the Sony CD changer mentioned above
or this Sony MP3 changer.