RE: CD Changers for 98 Jettas

[Bruce Stapley <BStapley@compuserve.com>]

Attention David Andrew Robertson:  I just went through the CD changer thing
with my 3-week-old GLX, and here's what I have learned:

I don't know how much this applies to previous years for you older Jetta
owners, but for '98, the only audio system that appears to come in any GLX
is a Panasonic head unit with the Bose 10-speaker setup.  For this head
unit, the Panasonic CDXP601 mentioned by several others is definitely the
right changer, and you do need the Panasonic/VW adapter.  Both are
available from Crutchfield, as John Kiekhaefer and others wrote.  Be
advised, however, that the CDXP601 has already been discontinued and
replaced by the 801 (an 8-disc unit), which Panasonic *claims* is
controlled by their VW head unit, but one shop I went to (which had no more
601s) actually hooked one up and tried it, and it didn't work.  (Since this
shop was selling changers to local VW dealers for far less than VW's price
of $450, and the dealers were then selling them to the public for the MSRP
of $508 w/o installation, they were pretty bummed that their cash cow had
dried up!)  Crutchfield does have 601s in stock (and *not* listed on their
website, as John Kiekhaefer also wrote), but for how long?  It seems to be
the only aftermarket changer option available for the stock head unit.

I personally blew the whole changer thing off and went for CD in-dash,
which is what I really wanted anyway.  I got a Sony refurbed Mobile ES unit
(And please, no elitist Blaupunkt/Alpine flames for that, Ok?  For sticking
with the stock amps/speakers, the Sony does pretty well.) for about $50
more than it would've cost me for the changer setup, and not only do I have
better security and in-dash convenience, I also have immeasurably superior
sound versus the original head unit -- and that's all I replaced.  And I
can always add a changer later if I want to.

Bruce Stapley
Chicago
Blk 98 GLX
no mods yet