Recommend bluetooth car stereo!

shortys94

Hey guys,

Want to buy a Bluetooth car stereo to wirelessly stream music/ answer calls from my phone and was wondering if anyone could recommend any in particular? I have already bought this:

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/FORD-FIESTA-MK-4-1995-2002-PANEL-SURROUND-ADAPTOR-FASCIA-STEREO-FITTING-KIT-F8-/150752261066?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item231988f3ca#ht_2151wt_922

I have an mk4 fiesta, I suppose around 150 price mark but if people suggest it won't get a good enough unit I'll go more.

On a side note I live the idea of the parrot asteroid with the android apps such as tune in radio, I use this app all the time and hopefully android enabled units become more prominent. Does anyone know how the asteroid connects to 3G, is it via a sim card or what?




Anyway any recommendations for head unit would be great, hopefully will be able to make a post in today I did something to my car thread soon!

galwaytt

shortys94 wrote: »

Hey guys,

Want to buy a Bluetooth car stereo to wirelessly stream music/ answer calls from my phone and was wondering if anyone could recommend any in particular? I have already bought this:

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/FORD-FIESTA-MK-4-1995-2002-PANEL-SURROUND-ADAPTOR-FASCIA-STEREO-FITTING-KIT-F8-/150752261066?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item231988f3ca#ht_2151wt_922

I have an mk4 fiesta, I suppose around 150 price mark but if people suggest it won't get a good enough unit I'll go more.

On a side note I live the idea of the parrot asteroid with the android apps such as tune in radio, I use this app all the time and hopefully android enabled units become more prominent. Does anyone know how the asteroid connects to 3G, is it via a sim card or what?




Anyway any recommendations for head unit would be great, hopefully will be able to make a post in today I did something to my car thread soon!

I ordered a Kenwood BT unit, and should be here today......I was looking at an Alpine CDE-135, but the Kenwood was a good but cheaper....

shortys94

How much was the kenwood and where did you order from?

Let me know how it is!

djimi

I had a Sony Xplod bluetooth radio in my old car and it did the job nicely. The one I had (or the updated version now) is often on special offer in Halfords.

shortys94

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_868887_langId_-1_categoryId_212600#tab3

Sae this one today in halfords, seems quite nice, does anyone have any advice? Different brand?

dahamsta

Don't buy from Halfords unless it's on special. And TBH "quite nice" is a terrible deciding factor.

Amazon is a good place to start your research: Find the correct category, choose the features you need and a 4-5 star rating, and then start drilling down by price and other features. Then look at the reviews: see the star ratios (5s and 4s V 2s and 1s, rather than just ratings); read the best and worst, see if the 1s are cranks or morons, or the 5s are shills. Look on YouTube for video reviews and (god forbid) unboxings to see what they actually look like; use the manufacturers sites to find local outlets for testing. Then start googling for the model number you decide on for the best price; and don't forget to check locally for offers, and give them the opportunity to price match.

I've found JVC bluetooth units at great prices and with great reviews on Amazon, but my searches have been restricted to double-DIN, can't speak for single. In general, I've had great experiences with Sony units recently, apart from the flashy-flashy; and in the past with Blaupunkt, although they did go a bit weird when they started trying to attract the younger market. Ditto Pioneer.

franksm

These are pretty good, I have one in an MX5 and the sound quality is fab. Got it from Amazon, it was the best price at the time incl. free shipping !

I went for this model because it handles USB, phone and BT really well - and the three-text-line display is good.

http://www.kenwood-electronics.co.uk/products/car/cd_receivers/bluetooth/KDC-BT52U/

galwaytt

franksm wrote: »

These are pretty good, I have one in an MX5 and the sound quality is fab. Got it from Amazon, it was the best price at the time incl. free shipping !

I went for this model because it handles USB, phone and BT really well - and the three-text-line display is good.

http://www.kenwood-electronics.co.uk/products/car/cd_receivers/bluetooth/KDC-BT52U/

Similar to mine Frank, mine is the Kenwood KDC-BT61U.
Got it from Kenwood Direct in UK, £135.

shortys94

Theres just so many to choose from, I think ill narrow my search down to Kenwood and Sony for a start, and just research tonight, any more recommendations welcome

Independance

my aldi one is great, bought it 2yrs ago for €60, fitted it myself

MidlandsM

OP, get one with a seperate wired mic - very good call quality then.

I've a lidl one in one of my vehicles.......its very good..........

biko

Just wait for one from Aldi/Lidl. It's 60 or so and well worth it.
I've had one for years and can't fault it, works very well with my iphone.

podgeandrodge

Got the Sony BT3000 in Halfords €169. Very happy with bluetooth feature. €35 to fit.

shortys94

"OP, get one with a seperate wired mic - very good call quality then"

Would this be built into unit?

I've ordered the facia and adaptor as per first post

MidlandsM

shortys94 wrote: »

"OP, get one with a seperate wired mic - very good call quality then"

Would this be built into unit?

I've ordered the facia and adaptor as per first post

Some headunits have the mic built into the radio......I'd not be a fan of that. mine has a seperate mic of a wire with a call answer button on it to place closer to you on the A pillar in the car. Works well.

shortys94

So have four which I like, all bluetooth, but dont know which to choose!! Any help, here are the four:

Sony MEX-BT3900U
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-MEX-BT3900U-Bluetooth-Stereo-Radio/dp/B004I1JMU6/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1344453596&sr=1-1

Sony MEX-BT3800U
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-MEX-BT3800U-Bluetooth-Stereo-Front/dp/B0033C27GM/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1344453596&sr=1-4

Kenwood KDC-BT41U
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kenwood-KDC-BT41U-iPod-Ready-Bluetooth-Lighting/dp/B004JHY2XG/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1344453596&sr=1-6

Kenwood KDC-BT52U
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kenwood-KDC-BT52U-Direct-Stereo-Bluetooth/dp/B0077KQNP2/ref=sr_1_13?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1344453596&sr=1-13

Any suggestion which to go for??

I dont know if there is much of a difference between the Sony's

cadaliac

The second Sony you posted would be my choice from what you posted. Did you try pixmania? I bought an LG with similar spec about 2 years ago from them and it has a cabled mic. It really does make a difference if you intend using the phone in the car. The other mic on the radio is si1t and you will end up shouting at the radio when the car is moving at any speed.
Also check the types of phone that the radio is compatible with. Some phones will not show the contact list on the screen. There should be a list on the web site of the radio with the compatable phones. I found out the hard way when I had a Nokia E52, as it wasn't supported by LG at the time. Calls would get through but some would drop.
You want USB 2.0 too. Playing music can be a pain if you have a lot of music on a key because you have to scroll through each track without a menu of music. I never remember what is on the key at the time.

shortys94

cadaliac wrote: »

The second Sony you posted would be my choice from what you posted. Did you try pixmania? I bought an LG with similar spec about 2 years ago from them and it has a cabled mic. It really does make a difference if you intend using the phone in the car. The other mic on the radio is si1t and you will end up shouting at the radio when the car is moving at any speed.
Also check the types of phone that the radio is compatible with. Some phones will not show the contact list on the screen. There should be a list on the web site of the radio with the compatable phones. I found out the hard way when I had a Nokia E52, as it wasn't supported by LG at the time. Calls would get through but some would drop.
You want USB 2.0 too. Playing music can be a pain if you have a lot of music on a key because you have to scroll through each track without a menu of music. I never remember what is on the key at the time.

Why did you say the second sony rather than the first? I am not sure what the difference is, as it is an older model but more expensive? I am using an Android phone and plan to stream music via bluetooth, I have read good things about the internal microphones in these systems.


Read one review on the 3800 that the bluetooth streaming music dropped occasionally.

cadaliac

shortys94 wrote: »

Why did you say the second sony rather than the first? I am not sure what the difference is, as it is an older model but more expensive? I am using an Android phone and plan to stream music via bluetooth, I have read good things about the internal microphones in these systems.

Thought the second one had a wired mic. I,m too lazy to recheck but here is why.
The a to b distance from your mouth to he mic can be reduced by using a wired mic. You can wire the mic up the A pillar across (or under) the visor and have the mic about 6 to 10 inches from your face.
The radio mic is much further away from your mouth (or anyone else's for that matter) in the car and while the mic is more sensitive it picks up more in car noise. I just found the wired mic far superior in quality of sound for the recipient.

shortys94

Ah cheers, pitty, the whole goal of this was to go wireless :P!!

cadaliac

shortys94 wrote: »

Ah cheers, pitty, the whole goal of this was to go wireless :P!!

Apart from installing the wired microphone once, everything will be wireless. Check your car and see how difficult it will be to separate the plastic/covering that runs along your A pillar and how difficult it would be to thread the cable into the correct position first before you make a decision.
Remember that you can stil stream your music and recieve a call while the music is playing. Your phone will take care of that. When a call comes in and you were either listening to the radio or listening to music from a different media, he radio will suspend the music and resume play when the call is finished.
The wired mic is just for the phone calls, a one off installation.

podgeandrodge

The Sony I got in Halfords had the built in mic and sound is fine. I wanted to avoid extra wires.

galwaytt

shortys94 wrote: »

Ah cheers, pitty, the whole goal of this was to go wireless :P!!

Put the Kenwood in my TT today - including a wired mic (essential, imho), took 20 minutes.

shortys94

What Kenwood unit was it? Where did you place Mic, wondering if its going to be difficult to hide wiring

franksm

All those Kenwoods come with a wired mic.

In the MX5, I placed mine just to the left of the steering wheel near the cigarette lighter. Wires were dead easy to hide, and thie mic is pretty discrete anyway.

Sound and mic quality are great in that location. I was hoping it would be, I didn't fancy putting it at the top of the A-piller or somewhere more 'normal'

shortys94

Didnt realise all kenwoods came with mic. Still hard to choose

shortys94

The kenwood i mentioned is only ten cheaper than halfords on caraudiodirect, on amazon with delivery it turns out more expensive

shortys94

Should I just go for the kenwood in halfords? For 180

Kenwood KDC-BT41U

galwaytt

shortys94 wrote: »

Should I just go for the kenwood in halfords? For 180

Kenwood KDC-BT41U

That's good value imho. If you are an AXA customer, you'd get another 10% off as well.......

galwaytt

franksm wrote: »

All those Kenwoods come with a wired mic.

In the MX5, I placed mine just to the left of the steering wheel near the cigarette lighter. Wires were dead easy to hide, and thie mic is pretty discrete anyway.

Sound and mic quality are great in that location. I was hoping it would be, I didn't fancy putting it at the top of the A-piller or somewhere more 'normal'

Lol, imagine if the but above the A-pillar....folded away......make a fine job of the Mic cable, that.......

shortys94

Exchange rate was different to xe, paid 190 for 52u, bought it anyway!

shortys94

Does anyone know if they are planning to bring out stereo systems similar to the parrot asteroid but instead of using a USB dongle just connect via wifi to your smartphone tethering?