Phatbox - how much music can they store?

Post by **Rich_C** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 2:31 pm

Gents,

Yet another question ... I've been looking at Phatboxes on Ebay. From what I understand it seems a straightforward swap for the 6-cd cartridge in the RS6 boot.

Firstly, do I need to order the fitting brackets that go with it or does it just slot in where the cd holder sits and then re-use the existing brackets?

Secondly, how many (in approximate terms) CD's worth of music can you actually get on a 20GB drive? I know it's subjective (espeicially if you have a lot of pink floyd albums like I do). I was thinking 20GB would give me about 40 or 50 albums of music - what do you reckon?

Thanks in advance,

Rich.

Post by **Brooner** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 2:44 pm

20g will hold up to 500 Cd's so more than enough for all your Pink Floyd should be a straight swap for the cd changer but might be som ajustments for the mounting hols the RS4 needs the outer cover modifided as their is not enough room to push back the box. myself and Golich are in the process of modifing the cover panel and will post some pictures when finished P.S don't buy from rally595 had problems with him got from phatnoiseuk much better prompt delivery very happy.

Post by **Scotty** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 7:45 pm

I recorded all mine at 320bps and hence it got filled very quickly. For £71 I put an 80Gb drive in.

All you need to do is get the patch : www.phathack.com

Post by **sitas3** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 9:25 am

I've got the 20gig drive in mine and find it is more than adequate. I rip at variable bit rate also - the higher bit rates are wasted on your ears.

Post by **peterb** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 12:27 pm

The mounting hardware is totally unneccessary - those brackets are used to bolt the unit to the exposed sidewall of the luggage space. On my RS6 Avant I managed to mount the unit in the aperture left by removing the CD changer. This did require a little bit of work with a hacksaw! When you have removed the changer, you will see what is required!

Capacity - I encode all my music at 128bit and find this to be more than adequate for in-car use. My 20GB cartridge is around 2/5 used with well over 100 albums.

Post by **Rich_C** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 6:40 pm

Thanks for the info.

Ordered one from Ebay so should be here in a couple of days. Only prob is it's going to be forwarded on to Santa so he can deliver it on the 25th - only 24 days to go

. At least it'll give me time to get my mp3's in order.

Appreciate all the help.

Rich.

Post by **Rich_C** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 6:41 pm

Out of curiousity, how much did these things cost when they first came out?

Post by **Scotty** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 7:30 pm

About £700 fitted !!!

Post by **bobjebb** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:16 pm

I was looking in to getting one, but have been told by an install guy (no one on here!) that they "ain't great" Really awkward to use, no track names etc, and a Dension ICE is a better option. Anyone care to confirm or deny before I take the plunge? Craig, if you see this, I'll be in touch about fixing a time to do the sat nav if that's OK, decision made now I'm keeping the car!

Post by **Scotty** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 9:06 pm

Downside is it's not portable like an Ipod.

Upside is I can access any album, track, playlist, etc without my eyes leaving the road.

I've never used the Dension ICE.

Post by **Rich_C** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 10:08 pm

Scotty wrote:About £700 fitted !!!

- I think Santa would have to sell Rudolph off to the glue factory if they cost that now - quite pleased with my £170 purchase!!!

Rich.

Post by **gavsteryoung** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 10:23 am

Why would you need track titles and album info when the nice AT&T lady reads them out. As Scotty says, you dont even have to take your eyes of the road.....

Post by **peterb** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 11:01 am

Back in May 2003, before they were available in the UK, I paid $699.95, plus $110 shipping (=£508.02 on my credit card). On top of that, duty, VAT and handling added another £126.67. So, the total was somewhat under the £700 which Audi UK ended up charging, but I did fit it myself.

Post by **Dippy** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 3:03 pm

I'm getting one for less that 200 quid. From what I can see all I need to do is make a slight mod to my CD chassis and it will swap over with the CD changer easy.

I think the comment about Phatbox vs Denison ICE is a bit like SatNav vs other aftermarket Navs. The aftermarket kit often does have more bells and whistles, and sometimes cheaper, but it always looks aftermarket. If you want OEM look then Phatbox must be the way to go.

Post by **Rich_C** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 6:27 pm

Santa also delivered my phatbox a couple of days back.

Started having a fiddle boxing day trying to get the existing cd cassette without removing the entire frame (I thought this would be the easiest route). The screws are impossible to get to (ended up using a spanner & screwdriver bit in the end in the absence of a 90 degree screwdriver). Unfortunately the third screw was unreachable which meant I had to take the whole frame out. Getting the screws out proved an easier job although the space is still a bit tight to work in. My biggest problem came trying to get the frame out. The left hand side of the frame is kind of clipped in place and the right hand side is wedged inbetweeb 2 other plates so it took attempt after attempt (with plenty of cursing inbetween) to actually get the angle to be unable to un-hook it out. Once out it was a simple case of swapping the cd cartridge for the Phatbox and starting the re-install. The re-install was actually a bit easier although getting in to tighten the screws was a little awkward - could have done with a third hand most of the time. Unfortunately during the process one of the square washer clips off the vertical struts dropped somewhere never to be seen again so I'm going to have to drop into Audi parts to get a replacement one (don't fancy my chances trying to get one). It all feels sturdy though so I'm not too bothered.

Other than the install the actual operation of the Phatbox and the software is all very easy to use. I'm very happy with the end result ... just wish the hardware installation hadn't been such a pain in the backside. I aslo downloaded the latest software of the web for the Phatnoise box & the music manager whilst I was at it.

Anyway, a few questions for existing Phatbox users ...

[quote="peterb"]This did require a little bit of work with a hacksaw! When you have removed the changer, you will see what is required!
quote]

Peter - I'm a little concerned that I might have done something wrong because my Phatbox just dropped straight in and didn't require any adjustment. What was it you had to hacksaw?

Peter - did you have to cut a hole in the cover to allow the cartridge to poke through or did you install the Phatbox further back in the frame?

Peter - did you drill some more holes into the phatbox frame. I've only attached mine with a screw each side using the existing holes in the cartridge holder. I was quite tempted to drill another one on each side of the phatbox to line up with the the lower cartridge holder holes but it seems stable enough without it. Just curious what you did.

Anyone - how did you cut hole in the panel cover? I got a dremmel type tool which I was going to use but was curious what other people had used. Any tips on how to get it lined up correctly? - I'd prefer to have a tight fit rather than a gaping hole with the cartridge point through.

Anyone - I've read somewhere you can get a bump put into the panel cover so you don't have a hole cut in. Is there a special panel you can buy for this or somewhere that adjusts the exisiting panel to suit. Who, where and how much?

Thanks in advance.

Rich.

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Phatbox - how much music can they store?

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