mike03a3

I have a lot (1000+) songs on my iPhone. I had been playing them by plugging an audio cable into the jack in the console and the phone. Worked great, but required plugging and unplugging. I tried a bluetooth adapter, but it had to be re-synced every time I started the car - it was a bigger pain than plugging in the cable.

But recently I found the on Amazon. It's the solution I have long been seeking. Plug two cables into the console, one for power and the other into the audio jack. Once it was synced it stayed synced. Now, all I have to do is get in and drive. The phone syncs to the HFL for calls and, thanks to the BTA-10, to the Audio AUX for music with no further action on my part other than picking a song to play on the phone.

It's a great solution.

MyGuti

can you elaborate on the install? I think your the first member I've seen go with this product for our cars. Could you post some pics of where you put the unit and what two cables you plugged into the console?
Also, if your Bluetooth on your iPhone is on, is there any issues with the phone connecting to the car's HFL and this Bluetooth unit?
How's the sound quality?

truonghthe

what OP has is a BT-A adapter that plug into the Aux port, I used them in 2 of my TL and the sound quality is pretty good.



the bonus about this one you can use the skip pause and play function without touching your phone. When I got incoming call the phone automatic switch to HFL system and when I hang up the phone go back to aux adapter. The only down side is that your top stack won't display song info. I got BTA module for the TL-S and the RL tho.

I recently ditched the XM subscribe and go for Spotify $14.99 with 5 different account is way better than paying to sub 4 cars through XM.

Spartan789

So does your phone pair both the HFL and these adaptors at the same time?

truonghthe

yes.

MyGuti

truong do you need both your adapter and the ops?

mike03a3

Not a lot of "ïnstallation" involved.
Plug the included 3.5mm audio cable into the BTA-10 and the AUX audio jack in the lower console.
Plug a usb cable into the BTA-10 and the power (cigar lighter) in the lower console. I have a dual USB outlet in that jack, one for the BTA-10 and one to charge the phone.
I keep the BTA-10 in the shallow upper console with the cables threaded through the hole to the lower concole.

Start the car or turn it to accessory
Pair the phone and BTA-10
Select AUX on the audio
Pick a song and enjoy the music.

It sounds great, so much so that I bought a second one for my home stereo.

You still use the phone to select songs, but the steering wheel controls will change volume.

It coexists flawlessly with the HFL. Incoming or outgoing calls work normally and the music pauses while you're on the phone. Unlike my previous adapter this one stays paired. The only difference between using the BTA-10 and simply connecting your phone to the AUX jack in the console directly is you just get in and go, no more connecting and removing an audio cable every.time you want music

Here's the requested photo of the installation:

mike03a3

My BTA-10 does. It works perfectly with HFL

mike03a3

Based on reviews and comments, your BT-A adapter automatically powers down when it goes unused. So you need to turn it on the next time you drive? That is one of the main reasons I got rid of my previous one and switched to the BTA-10.

truonghthe

mike03a3

Your BTA or my phone, either way we have to touch something to skip forward or back, play or pause. You still have to use your phone to select a song, album or playlist, the same as me.
I generally just let my phone go through a playlist and never touch it except for selecting the playlist initially. I never touch the BTA-10. In fact, until I took the photo today, I haven't even seen it at all since I installed it 16 months ago. With yours, you have to kick start it by pressing a button. Exactly why I got rid of my previous Bluetooth adapter.

truonghthe

I had a Blackberry Gate way adpter before and that one will automatic connect but I will have to go to the phone to skip the next track. This is the reason why I bought USA Spec BTA for the RL and the TL-S, everything use the factory steering wheel control.

MyGuti

so if I understand this correctly:
-the harmon kardon unit OP has posted, allows you to stream music via Bluetooth and using the aux input in your vehicle. Meaning no information regarding the song is displayed, and switching tracks still needs to be done via the phone
-the USA spec unit allows Bluetooth streaming as well, but install needs to be behind radio or to the xm tuner. In return the device will display song information and allow tracks to be changed via steering wheel controls.....also is 100 more

am I missing anything?

I've read up on the USA spec and looks like the company only provides updated firmware for units purchased through their recommended dealers, as such, if you purchase the unit through amazon you may get an older firmware without having the possibility of upgrading for free as it should be.......this is the deal breaker for me.

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

Need not worry about HFL problems with any add-on interface device.
HFL will always take precedence and mute anything when there is an incoming call.

Bluetooth capable USASpec or iSimple (ISHD651) will cost more but allow full integration with the car radio (song display, steering wheel control, browse artist, playlist, song, genre, album, etc).
An AUX bluetooth receiver like the OP's will not allow you to change songs with the car radio or steering wheel. You set it and forget it. The TL AUX input just transmits audio, no data.
It's VERY handy if your passenger(s) want to control music and throw their song list on from their phone.

My method for music before I went the Nexus 7 tablet route was iSimple (ISIM71) which was already an old model when I bought it in 2012 for $30, new.
Used an old 1st gen iPod touch I bought for $40 (back in 2012, probably cheaper now!) and just load music on it via iTunes, throw it inside the car and never touch it unless I need to update the iTunes library. It's essentially like a hard drive in the car; full car integration.
Not as handy for people who download music on the go with their phone or for people who use their data plan for music (youtube or spotify). Handy for the set and forget type people who want full car control.
The cool thing about my ISIM71 is that it has 2 inputs; one from iPod OR one from 3.5mm AUX. If I wanted, I could buy a bluetooth module like the one OP has and add bluetooth capability to my iSimple (no car control of course as the AUX does not transmit data).
The ISHD651 has mutliple inputs; USB, iPod, 3.5mm, and Bluetooth. Each input allows full car control, expect the 3.5mm of course.

Here's the thing though. Full car control isn't helpful to browse through your many songs/artists. It takes a long time to browse as everything shows up on the display one at a time. If you have a lot of songs and lots of different artists, it can be dangerous to find your song while driving and you'd have to wait until you're at a stop light.

truonghthe

yes your are 90% correct, however about the firmware update, its a load of crap. I have 2 units and still using without firmware update, as you can see Amazon listed as $150 vs USA Spec website listed as $249.99, you can decide is the firmware is good really needed beside you get 1 year warranty with the seller from Amazon anyway.

Bonus about USA-spec BTA is that it can become HFL (it does read out incoming call phone number) and you can hang up or pick up phone call using your channel +/- on your steering wheel. This is a great option if OEM HFL bite the dust, Oh and you can use Siri or Google for a lot of thing like send a text message without even touching the phone.

MyGuti

thanks for the info! can you link where you got your iSimple?

MyGuti

Just wanted to update this post and say thanks to mike03a3 for mentioning the Harmon Kardon Bluetooth adapter.
I too took the plunge and ordered this nifty little unit. It's a great great upgrade over the stock audio system.
The audio in my car is louder, crisper/clearer/ and bass is louder and crisper as well!

mike03a3

So, it's three years later and both my s are still working flawlessly. I have one in my 07 TL Type-S 6MT. It lives in the console, where I haven't seen it since I took the photo earlier in this thread. The other is connected to the digital input of my home stereo, a high end Sony component system. The sound quality with both systems is excellent.

dhmolson

I stumbled upon this thread and looked into the Harman Kardon BTA-10. I almost bought it, but I noticed that it uses Bluetooth 2.1, which is quite outdated. I looked into a few similar alternatives and found this:
.
This device is much cheaper (coming in at just under $30 as opposed to $70 for the Harmon Kardon BTA-10) and uses Bluetooth 5.0. While I haven't personally used both devices and compared them, the 1Mii B06 Plus should have less latency due to it being Bluetooth 5.0 instead of Bluetooth 2.1. The device has great reviews as well. It has 4.5 out of 5 stars (and 8,575 global reviews). It can be powered via USB and comes with cables to connect it to RCA or a 3.5mm. It also supports 3D audio, taking full advantage of the sound system in my 2008 TL. One of the top reviews of the device explains that when he plugged the device into a switched outlet, he was able to turn the device on and off just by turning on the switch. This means that, if plugged into a car, the receiver should turn on when the car is turned on, and off when the car is turned off; no need to touch the device at all. Once a device is paired, that device is remembered and automatically connects when the receiver is turned on and the device is nearby. All you should need to do is hit play on your phone.
All this being said, I haven't received the unit and tried it for myself yet, but I will try to remember to come back and update the thread once I do.
I hope this helps someone!

Sgt1411

Thanks for the heads up on that device, I ordered one yesterday came in a day, tried it tonight the sound is very impressive.