I noticed the bitrates for the music box are weird: 105, 132. I did some searches for these two bitrates mentioned together and I turned up at Sony ATRAC codec every single time. I think the musicbox is ripping CDs to ATRAC format. ATRAC is a Sony codec designed to compete with MP3 and originally meant for use on MiniDisc. Can anyone confirm this for sure?

I know it does not sound like a 132 MP3 to me, it sounds a bit better. I couldn't find any official mention of what format the songs are encoded into...

Anyone take their hard disk out and look at the files yet?

 

I am also curious about this. I am planning on getting a g37 soon but do not plan on getting the navigation package (I think i can do better on my own for less). It bothers me that you get a 9.3GB hdd! Is it replaceable? Has anyone tried?

 

The HDD is 30GB. You get 9.3GB after the Nav and Voice Rec software for your music. Or 3000 songs, which ever limit you hit first.

It is not a standard HDD. It's a extreme temperature/shock/vibration resistance model.

 

I guess that makes a little bit of sense, would still be nicer though if you had like a terabyte or half a tera.

 

Before deciding you can do better on your own for less, spend some quality time playing with the integrated navi on the car.

Keep in mind that the OEM Navi in the G37 is integrated with your car's compass and speedometer, and only uses the GPS signals for correction. This means that if you have a weak or absent GPS signal, your navi will still work but it might be off by a few feet if the signal is absent for a long time. It also means that the OEM navi is much more precise in high zoom factors, since it is using two sources of information.

Plus, it is nicely integrated in the dash, controllable via steering wheel controls, voice controls, etc, AND you get the somewhat useful MusicBox and rear view camera ONLY if you get the OEM Navi.

 

Yeah... I Ended up going with the Nav package. The integrated Nav is pretty sick, touch screen, backup cam, music box, CF reader, etc. I ended up spending a lot more than I wanted to for this car, but at the same time... what's the difference when nothing else would have satisfied me as much.

 

Plus what is $2200 more when you are spending $35k+