From the recent thread on this newsgroup "Is there any way to play a MP3
player thru Auto CD". I learned a lot about the modern car stereos, and
their features. It's been years since I bought a car stereo, and they
sure have changed.

Anyhow, I began my "shopping' at the local Walmart, but intended to buy
from a larger electronics company, such as Best Buy, or maybe even buy
online, after using the store's displays to get familiar with them. I
mainly was looking at the Pioneer brand, since I have known their name
as a good product.

However, i am back to Walmart, and another brand of stereo. I went to
Best Buy in a big city, and was bombarded with a salesman who seemed to
be speaking "greek", since he babbled off all the features and kept
trying to get me to select the most expensive units ($200 range). He
made it sound like I needed all the 'smartphone' features even after I
clearly told him I dont have a smartphone or intend to get one. His
sales pitch was obviously driven by making the biggest commission by
selling the most expensive unit, and he spoke in 'geek' rather than
common terms. Needless to say, I did not stay long, and left there more
confused than anything else.

So, I went back to Walmart, where they have all their stereos on a
display for customers to try. No one bothered me, and I was free to test
different stereos at my leisure. I first tried the lower priced Pioneer
units, and found them confusing with too many features that are geared
to smartphones and without any sort of manuals, I could not really
figure them out, with what seemed to be too many buttons....

Then I looked at some other brands, and found a Dual (brand) model
XDM280BT. On minutes I had that one figured out, and it seemed
relatively easy to use. It has AM FM CD, USB, AUX, CLOCK, and BLUETOOTH.
It has 18 presets for FM and 12 for AM radio. It sounds good, and has
plenty power, but not excessive power that will likely blow out my
factory car speakers (I am not changing speakers). It sells at Walmart
for $50, which is about what I wanted to pay, although I would have paid
$60 or $70 for the two lower priced Pioneers. However, I have no need
for streaming radio, WIFI, and all those smartphone things. And when I'm
driving, I surely dont want something that is confusing. I was able to
quickly find and download the manual for this Dual stereo online. It
also comes wth a remote control (which I really dont see a need for).

My main needs are AM FM CD USB (for playing MP3s), and a Clock. This one
has all of that.

I'm wondering of anyone knows if the Dual brand is of good quality, and
if it's warranty is decent? ANYONE KNOW?

I almost bought it, except Walmart dont have a power adaptor plug for my
96 Plymouth Voyager, and I'm not sure how to shop (online) for an
adaptor that will match both this model stereo, as well as my vehicle.
I'll probably also need a faceplate, but it says one is included,
whether or not it will fit my vehicle. But I'll make the stereo itself
to mount somehow in my dash.

By the way, does the USB on these stereos also double as a cellphone
charger? (just curious).

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