Conservative view of this 3 IN 1 CD/MP3/WMA RECEIVER

First of all, it installed fairly easily in my '92 Protege. Simply followed directions from the black, red and blue manual, and bought a wiring harness conversion at Fry's for $20 which allows removing the radio upon sale of the vehicle and easy old stock radio replacement to transfer the new one to another vehicle. Just a 45 minute job in the shade of an old oak tree. ;)

AM and FM reception is excellent. I was really pleased that the AM section was good, as I listen to alot of talk radio and the sound is excellent as well. So much for the need for HDRadio capability! CDs and MP3 CDs sound great! Could have something to do with the Infinity Reference 6012i speakers I installed. This unit sounds a whole lot better than the stock one, and I thought IT sounded pretty darn good! (I installed them before I bought this head unit.)

This unit will not play protected files. By downloading a conversion program from the Net, it's easy to unprotect all your downloaded MP3 and WMA material. The USB input plays thumb-drives without error. Just download from the internet and insert in the slot. Playback is automatic upon insertion even when the unit is off. [UPDATE 9/25/06]Recorded my favorite talk show host, Rush Limbaugh to an SD card in MP3 format. Inserted into the front SD media slot, and it played without hesitation and with excellent quality. [UPDATE 1/25/2007]My vehicle was stolen and returned without the VR3 unit about three months ago, so I've started over after about a month using the stock unit. This unit will, from time to time, lock up when trying to play an SD card. Using a paperclip, I have to reset the unit. A minor inconvenience, all things considered.

Preset EQualization curves sound good, particularly the ROCK curve, as well as the ability to set bass and treble to my own taste for a wide variety of music, from rock to classical, which is stored in memory. A loudness control is a very, very nice plus. In fact, I was listening to Tina Turner( I don't remember the title of the song) on XM (which is plugged into the front eighth inch diameter front input) thinking:"Wow!, this sounds really good! My speakers must be broken in because the bass is really coming thru and the whole sound spectrum is sounding really fine!" Then, I thought:"check the loudness control to see if it's on!" I hit the LUD button, and ZOWIE!, it blew me away!!! It had been off! I can't wait to see what tunes sound like when I get my 12" sub hooked up this weekend![UPDATE 9/24/06]Installed a 150w RMS subwoofer single channel amplifier driving a 12" enclosed sub. I AM STOKED!!! Still lovin' it!!! Even more...[UPDATE 1/25/2007] Replaced the stolen SUB with another Walmart bargain 10" SUB/AMPlifier package costing only $50. Sounds just about a good!

This unit has a detachable face, with a nice frosted light blue hinged box for storage, with a blinking red LED in the main chasis face for theft deterrence. [Didn't help in this case ;)]Control buttons and knob are fairly easy to use, once you get used to them. Pressing any button turns it on, which is cool. Volume/function control isn't flimsy on this model as some have reviewed, although it does have some lateral play in the shaft. You can turn the "button pressed" beeps OFF or ON which is nice since I don't much care to hear a beep since if the sound doesn't change, I assume I need to push the button again! Pressing and holding the volume knob for 3 seconds, allows the setting of EQ curves, Woofer on/off/,balance, fader, 2 SEEK settings, and button beep on/off. It has a clock feature which is easy to set and a clock display button. Mono/stereo option, auto station scan to scan and save the strongest stations as presets. Allows random play, repeat, multi-session reading and a whole lot more: See the on-line manual at http://www.roadmasterusa.com/manuals/vrcd400sdu_eng.pdf for detailed info.(copy and paste into your browser address window).

Regarding the dimmer function, I have the same complaint about that, but I think the problem is user error on install. I have emailed customer service at VR but haven't received a response as yet. Will be testing leads to see if I need to wire unit directly to dash light dimmer, or if my wiring diagram is incorrect for the wiring harness. Will update progress. [Update: response received from CS. Said control must be wired directly to dash light dimmer. I will check it out.][UPDATE 9/25/06] Looks like I'll have to wire the unit directly to the dimmer as the stock radio doesn't have a dimming function. At least, that's my take on it. I don't drive at night very often, so I doubt I'll go to the trouble of hooking it up.[UPDATE 1/25/2007]Rewired directly to the dimmer switch. Dims when unit is OFF. When it's on, there is no way to adjust the brightness. Please advise if someone has had a different experience.

The remote works as well as any remote I've used with a head unit. I've used Sony, Jenson and JVC and this one is just as good, though not as good as a good TV remote. Of course, it's very small, and its' power can't be as good as a remote using 4 double A's. Battery is included, BTW.

I paid $79.97 for this unit at Walmart, which is $50 below MSRP and quite a good bargain at MSRP, if I do say so myself. My concern is whether the unit will hold up for a good amount of time or fizzle out on me as has happened to others on this site. I've tried to remember to turn the unit off using the power button instead of the ignition switch, hoping this will extend it's life. So far, so good. Six days and counting, as of September 22, 2006. ;) If it craps out, I'll be sure and let ya'll know.[UPDATE] The replacement has been installed since 12/15/2006 or so.

[UPDATE 1/25/2006] I'm still happy with this unit in spite of the dimmer and reset problems.

[UPDATE 3/10/2007]Still happy. Have found little to complain about. Using a paperclip to press reset button on front of unit if the unit doesn't function as advertised from time to time. The SD card skips from time to time, or won't play when it's inserted. Turning the unit off and then inserting the SD card seems to clear it. Or, reset, which will loose all the presets! It takes about five seconds after powering up before the unit can be turned on, so be patient. Haven't used the CD player much, but the complaints about it might be fixed by resetting. Still recommended buy.