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Audio books, best method?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by goldfinger, Feb 22, 2016.

  1. goldfinger

    goldfinger Active Member

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    I currently use one of those tape adapters and my Kindle to listen to audible books in my 2005. The audio quality is good enough for books, but there is deck noise and of course a wire.

    Some Ford and GM vehicles have audio book players, but I don't think Toyota does. I suspect it's Bluetooth or the aux wire. Here's what Audible recommends. How can I listen to Audible Audiobooks in my car?.

    Thoughts, recommendations?

    As a safety note, I find my control of the car is not diminished by listening so long as I start the book while stopped and don't fiddle with the controls. An integrated app with voice or steering wheel control would be nice. Also, I only listen on my commute which requires no navigation, just the lizard brain.
     
  2. Brent H

    Brent H New Member

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    Copy the files into a thumb drive and plug it in. the MODE button will take you to USB. I have 64 Gb of music in my Prius Two, not II because you don't own a 2010 and only 2010 used uppercase roman numerals for model designation.
     
  3. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

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    I don't have a tape deck or AUX on my 2005. I use this to listen to podcasts and audiobooks.

    It's not the best sound quality but it gets the job done for audiobooks. My phone Is connected BT to the device and the device connects to the radio through FM. Since it is powered through the 12 volt, it turns on and off automatically and connects to my phone whenever I start the car. Phone calls don't work as well as the mic is on the device which is near the passenger footwell where the 12 volt socket is.

    On my other car which does have AUX, I buy that version of the adapter which has superior sound and saves me static when I drive under power lines. If I had a tape deck, I'd get the tape deck BT adapter which saves connecting a wire. The static really is distracting and inevitably I'd get static while I am in the middle of an audible file and miss an important part.
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    we listen to dvd's from the library when on road trips, then mail them back. i haven't noticed any cognition or distraction problems like a cell phone conversation, but i suppose that would be best left to a third party study.
     
  5. goldfinger

    goldfinger Active Member

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    bisco likes this.
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    how does that compare to talking on the phone?
     
  7. goldfinger

    goldfinger Active Member

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    AAA rates hands free phone call a category 2 distraction. Using voice activated automation is even worse and depends on the brand vehicle. Mazda has the most distracting system at 4.6. A category 5 corresponds to a highly-challenging, scientific test designed to overload a driver’s attention.
     
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  8. I'mJp

    I'mJp Senior Member

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    I prefer to make the books portable with me, so I use the little sansa players. They can hold 4 or 5 books.
    You need the two cables, usb for power and the mini jack to connect to the aux.
    The yellow papers, list the book titles.
    Can use them in the prius, the pickup, my wifes car. With ear buds, you can take them with you.
    Most importantly, when they loose power, or you shut them down, they retain their playing position in the track.
    Handy for some of those 45 minute tracks.

    IMG_0973.jpg

    Been listening for 20+ years.
    There are many intersections I come up to and I recall what was going on in many of the books at that location, sorta wierd.
     
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  9. goldfinger

    goldfinger Active Member

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    I can now answer my own question from direct experience. Took the plunge on a model 3.

    It turns out playing audio books is seamless, wireless, and intuitive. Sync your phone, install the Audible app, switch to Bluetooth input, and it just shows up on the screen.
    IMG_20160528_180955-600x800.jpg

    Pause/play works on either the phone or the car. Turning the tune/scroll knob moves you 30 seconds backwards or forwards for ever click just like in the app. Best of all turn the car off and back on and picks up right where you left. The sound is of course excellent. The only control not on the car is ability to move chapters, but who listens to books that way.

    Conclusions are its easy and works the way you want. Started the book shown above in my 2005 and will finish it in my 2016.
     
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  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats on the new car! when you said model 3, i was thinking...(n)
     
  11. Danny Troy

    Danny Troy Member

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    I just tried to play MP3 files on my Four radio, using a thumb drive, in the USB input. There is no USB option that appears on the screen. I guess I can as a last resort "read the manual", but do you know for sure whether MP3 can play from a thumb drive?
     
  12. Kenrico

    Kenrico Member

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    Try a smaller USB drive , 8gb or below .. my 32GB has a different file format and is not recognized by anything but a computer ...no xBox car etc .

    Kenny
     
  13. Danny Troy

    Danny Troy Member

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    Yes, the file format was the problem. I checked and it was, for whatever reason, NTFS. I formatted to Fat32 and the 32GB card works fine. I've yet to try 64GB or 128GB. Funny, it lists the files not in folders, but in a sequential list. So if you have several albums on a thumb drive, it will not allow you to choose a particular album, instead lists all the songs in one long list. At least this is what I've found so far. Renaming the files with beginning numbers will solve the problem somewhat.

    UPDATE: The Entune system is smarter than I thought. All I had to do was click on "browse", then scroll to "album". It lists the album and you can scroll the list of songs in that album. No need to rename the MP3 file names. It even shows the cover art on the screen. Pretty cool!
     
    #13 Danny Troy, May 31, 2016
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2016
  14. 155

    155 Member

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    I use bluetooth and a cheap $50 street, $35 on sale Kindle Fire 7 Tablet with Bluetooth to play audiobooks.

    I've found that many audiobooks on Audible are abridged and I prefer to buy Kindle Books and use the Fire Tablets Text to Speech function via bluetooth audio in my Prius. You don't really get fast forward or backwards control, but you can easily listen to audio books with this method.
     
  15. goldfinger

    goldfinger Active Member

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    My Kindle keyboard has speech to text. Maybe it's gotten better, but I could not listen to book this way. There are allot of full Audible books at least in the genres I read. Try Don Quixote narrated by George Guidall, 39 hrs, 42 min.

    The narrator can bring a book to life. I have favorite narrators and often pick books that way. For example Will Wheaton is a great Scalzi narrator.