One of the key premises behind the Empeg-Car is that you've got enough onboard storage that you don't need to meddle with CDs. For this I THANK the Empeg team -- my music collection goes everywhere with me now; CDs are a thing of the early 90's.

As for ripping -- I would think that having a built-in ripper would subject Empeg to all kinds of scrutiny regarding copyright laws. Again, I'm thankful that there's no such support in the unit because that kind of scrutiny could kill a good thing... (You know how lawyers can be...)

There are also the issues of space and cost: A CD-unit would occupy crucial space and add to costs. I'm sure a lot of vehicles don't have double-DIN space to which the unit can be installed -- reducing who would actually want it (i.e. demand) and causing costs to remain high as time passes.

The last issue I see is one of maintenance: If you couldn't remove the unit how would you upgrade it? Take your PC to the car? (Most people don't have laptops...) I ask because another premise of the Empeg-Car is that it can be upgraded to support new audio formats as they take hold in the marketplace; rather difficult to do if you've weighted the unit down by adding a CD reader such that it never has to be removed from the car -- and even if you could remove it would you want to lug all 10 lbs of it around???

I'm with Jazzwire on this one...

-- Bleys



"If you would judge, understand." -- Seneca