Swiss Audio - Import Tuner Magazine

Swiss Audio may be the new kid on the block compared to some of the mainstays of the car audio world but it is made up of well-seasoned folks that know how to maximize the cost/performance ratio from many years' experience. The new SCD2000 CD/MP3 player is a sample of this synthesis.

The silver faceplate is motorized for access to the CD slot, and detachable for theft-prevention. A section that looks like brushed aluminum surrounds the display area, which has a contrast adjustment with 10 levels to maximize visibility at your viewing angle. The display has a pair of VU meters at the bottom, topped by a set of 12 dot-matrix characters. The buttons and the rotary encoder (for level settings) all have backlighting that can be set for red or green to match your dash illumination. Finding the buttons needed for various operations was not difficult, although the button labels are not easy to read when you are looking at them from the side. The rotary encoder, which also selects the source when you press it, could use a bit more height to make adjustments easier. To the left of this knob are up/down buttons for selecting presets and MP3 folders. To the right are up/down buttons for tuning and fast forward/reverse. Across the bottom of the faceplate are buttons for power on/off, direct access to the primary functions of the deck, and the eject function. To the right of the display there are six buttons that select tuner bands when the tuner source is selected, and the various CD playback functions when the CD or CD Changer sources are selected. These buttons are too close together for my taste; I had trouble pressing one without hitting the one next to it.

Discs that can be played include CD, CD-R, and CD-RW. Supported formats include CD-ROM XA, Mixed Mode CD, enhanced CD (CD-Extra), and Multi-Session (Track At Once and packet writing are not supported). ISO9660 Level 1 and Level 2 MP3 formats are supported. Other formats such as Joliet can be played, but filenames longer than 64 characters will be truncated when displayed as scrolling text. Bit rates from 8kbps to 380kbps are allowed, and VBR (variable bit rate) files are also supported. Sampling frequencies from 16kHz to 48kHz are allowed. There is a memory buffer for the data coming off the disc that prevents loss of audio when the transport receives a physical shock. This buffer can be set for longer skip prevention time (40 seconds with CD audio, 1:40 with MP3 at 128kbps compression) at the cost of lower sound quality by enabling compression of the data stored in the buffer.

When playing audio CDs, the transport has audible fast-forward and reverse, pause, track up/down, track repeat (disc repeat is always enabled), random track playback, and intro scan (plays the first 10 seconds of each track). Direct track selection is also provided, with selections made by turning the rotary encoder. There is a track program that can memorize a sequence of tracks to play on the current disc but this memory disappears when you remove the CD. Control of an external CD changer is provided, with the same transport controls, except that the intro scan function only plays the first 10 seconds of the first track on each disc.

When playing MP3 discs, the same functions exist with the exception of the fast-forward and reverse functions. The repeat function can be applied to either individual tracks (files) or to entire folders. There are three modes for accessing tracks directly: direct track access, direct folder access, and wildcard search. Direct track access steps through each individual file on the disc, and direct folder access steps through the folders. The wildcard search gives you the ability to search for a file by entering characters for the search; you can then select the file you want from the search results.

Each of the three FM and two AM bands has six presets, for a total of 30 station presets. You can enter your own custom names for the stations and set the display to show the names instead of the tuning frequency. Manual tuning can be performed in steps, or you can hold the button a bit longer to cause the tuner to automatically move to the next frequency that has signal. In addition, the tuner will automatically scan for any stations it can find and store them in FM band 3 and AM band 1. By pressing the LOC button before you run this scan, you can prevent storage of all but the strongest stations. A preset scan will play each preset in the FM bands for six seconds until it has played each preset once.

Tone controls are given for Bass and Treble, with center frequencies at 110Hz and 20kHz respectively. These controls give you about 12dB of cut or boost in 1.7dB increments (7 above zero and 7 below zero). Another function, called S-Bass, introduces a boost into a narrow frequency range centered at 65Hz with three level settings that can add as much as 15dB. Each source has a level setting that can be adjusted to match the level of the tuner. The subwoofer line output has its own level adjustment as well, with up to 20dB of gain in 5dB steps. It also has a low-pass filter with three roll-off frequencies (50Hz, 80Hz and 120Hz).

Stereo outputs for front and rear speakers are provided as powered speaker connections and as high voltage line level RCA jacks. Other wires provided include remote turn-on (for external amps), power antenna, cell phone mute, and illumination (to dim the display at night). There is also a DIN connector for interfacing with optional CD/DVD changers.

Swiss Audio's SCD2000 head unit has a good feature set and the ability to play your burned MP3 discs, and is worth checking out.

SpecificationsSwiss Audio SCD 2000 Line Outputs:Frequency Response: +0/-3dB 60Hz-20kHz,+0/-12dB 20Hz-20kHzOutput Level: 3Vrms (< 0.1% THD+N)Distortion (THD+N, 1kHz): < 0.04%Signal to Noise ratio: > 84dBStereo Separation: > 55dBBass 12dB at 110HzTreble 12dB at 20kHzS-Bass +3db, +9dB, +15dB at 65HzSub out lowpass filter frequencies 50Hz,80Hz, 120Hz

Power Amp Section:Maximum Continuous Power: 23.8W x 4(4 ohms, 5% THD+N)Distortion (THD+N, 1kHz): 0.04% (4 Ohms, 16W)