Home > Consumer Reviews > VR3 AM/FM Stereo CD & MP3 In-Dash Player w/ SD & USB

I just got this to replace the in dash unit in my mini van and I love it. I can load music onto a flash drive and use the usb port, I can play cd's, I can plug my laptop or dvd player in and listen through the speakers, but best of all I can load what I want to listen to onto an easy SD card and slip it into the card reader slot. Love all of that!

What I don't like...the clock function doesn't stay on so if you want to know the time you have to press a button to find out.

I purchased one of these radios based on features and the extremely low rice. After using it I was amazed at how well it performed. Even with the factory speakers still in my car! There are many advantages that are not advertised. I am so pleased that I just bought another for our SUV and plan to buy another soon for our RV. Ordering was quick and easy. Shipping was immediate. The warranty is a bit scary but extended warranty of 3 years is available for under $10.00. I'd rather buy it and not need it than need it and not have it. $10.00 is cheap insurance. Anyway this is a fantastic stereo. You can't go wrong on this one.

I agree totally with the other two reviews about problems with both the length of the unit (I had to install in the lower DIN slot because it hit the firewall in the upper) and it does not resume the song where you stopped, you must start the track all over again once you resume. My unit had a hardware error after three months and would not play the memory cards. The factory did confirm the unit as defective and will replace it. It's good for the price but don't expect miracles or good quality control.

I purchased this stereo at Wal-Mart for $80. I really liked it at first, but then I began to notice some problems. Maybe others didn't have these issues, but this is my experience with the unit.

Pros:
- Great (almost) for the price.

- Loaded with great features.

Cons:
- When playing from an SD card the stereo would skip the 1st second or so of the song, and sometimes skip the last second as well. I tried different bit rates and even inserted silence at the beginning of the songs...didn't help.

- The clock kept resetting itself. Display was overall buggy...spelled song names wrong sometimes(?) - weird.

- Couldn't get enough high (treble) out of it.

- If you like a lot of bass you need to use the "loudness" feature, but then you lose some highs.

- VR3 website claims it has a graphic EQ. What graphic EQ? Bass and treble, baby, that's it.

- song titles and other texts scroll very s-l-o-w...

- Tech support is poor. Never got through to a tech, NEVER returned my calls, NEVER answered my emails...after 4 days!

Perhaps I got a buggy unit, but it felt cheap and unfinished.

Recommendations:
Pay an extra $30 or so and get the VR500CD-BT - returned my 400 and got the 500 instead. I LOVE it! Even if you don't need the bluetooth, it is a far superior model. Sounds a LOT better, doesn't skip beginning of songs, weird to navigate through the menus to get to some controls, but once you get used to it, it rocks! Better bass and treble. Text scrolls faster.

Perhaps others didn't have the same problems that I did, but the 400 let me down. I stuck with VR3 though and I love the 500CS-BT!

Hi! Normally some people buy things because some brands are famous, Sony, LG, Pioneer, but this radio is amazing and in a very good price, I save all my favorite music in my USB Memory and I enjoy it too much. I love this radio and I recommend it 100% percent.