Review: Insignia 21W X 4 In-Dash CD Deck with HD Radio Tuner Model NS-C5112

Just imagine rolling down the road jamming out to your favorite tunes care free with the wind in your hair. This is the dream of every 16 year old about to get their license. Now with Insignia's inexpensive car audio CD deck with integrated HD tuner it is possible for about anyone with a compatible car. The budget CD deck sales are going through the roof now that summer is coming around so I'm going to tell you about a few that I've gotten my hands on.

The Insignia Model: NS-C5112is a 21W x 4 in dash CD deck with an integrated HD radio tuner and comes with a detachable Faceplate , all for about $100.00 making it one of the most popular budget CD deck's on the market today. If you're a brand centric person then you can rest assured because Insignia is one of Best Buy's house brands and has great customer support. Even if you don't get any sort of extended warranty plan (which I never do) you still get the standard 1 yr parts labor warranty although I'm not aware of any particular problems with this deck.

A great feature about this deck in particular is that is comes with an auxiliary input so you can hook up that standard mp3 player or video iPod /nano directly to the deck. No more fumbling around with FM transmitters to hear your MP3's over your car's stereo speakers. You probably want to have this professionally installed although it can be a relatively easy job depending on your year and model.

Another great feature is the color LCD and the remote gives it a high dollar feel. This deck also includes the ability to get HD radio stations which delver near CD quality broadcasts over the air and that includes both AM as well as FM. Another cool feature about HD radio is that it will broadcast the title and artist of the song being played, so no more waiting around for the whole song only to not be told by the DJ who the artist was.

In the end this is a great all around CD Deck that should make any average consumer happy. I recommend it for the younger less "picky" consumer. I'm going
to end with some basic stats:

Features:

84w peak; 16w RMS x 4 channels

HD radio (both FM / AM with artist and song display where available)

Supports the following formats: CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3 and WMA

Color LCD

Includes detachable faceplate for additional security

Auxiliary input (for MP3 player support)

AM and FM radio

4 equalizer modes, including pop, rock, classical and flat

Single DIN mount

Includes small watch battery powered remote