I'm thinking of getting a bluetooth car kit.. and I am pretty much thinking of one of the following (if i forgot anything, please tell me)

Raytel - 4000

http://www.raytel-llc.com/TellPhone4000Blue_index.html

I actually checked this kit out down in Newport Beach where I live.. seems intriguing, but something I realized is I don't care too much if there is an lcd screen or not. I figured I will just look at my phone and press "accept" if I want to see who it is. The problem with the screen anyways is there is no real good place to mount it in the tsx.

Pro:
+ Supposedly 'very good'

Con:
+ Pricy -- ~$600 bucks
+ No one really knows about this





Nokia CK 7W

http://www.nokiausa.com/nokia_access...:CK-7W,00.html

This kit is rather reasonably priced ($179) however I think it only supports Nokia phones.


Sony Ericsson HCB-300

http://www.sonyericsson.com/spg.jsp?...p4_1&pid=10141

I heard some people install the old hcb-30 or something like that, but this one now looks plain ugly.

Parrot CK 3100

http://www.driveblue.com/(dbte1y45f1...px?root=ck3100

I believe this is supposed to be the top of the line parrot kit now. Don't know too much about it. It has an external lcd screen which seems interestnig.

Motorola Car Kit:
JonDeutsch has pretty much thoroughly reviewed this one. And after talking to him on the phone via his car kit, the sound wasn't bad, but it sounded grainy.. or maybe that's how all the car kits sound.


I guess other than which one to choose (which hopefully some people here have experience with), I've been really debating two thigns..

+ To tap into the mute wire
+ To tap into the car speakers
+ How good is the external speaker?

To tap into the mute wire.. I wonder if there are situations where I want to listen to music while waiting on the line for something. This obviously can only happen if I install an external speaker

Tapping into the car speakers -- after poking around and asking some people, it looks like you can only tap in after the amp, directly to the speakers? My concern would be wouldn't the caller's voice echo right back into the mic?

And how good are the external speakers.. is it grainy or sufficient enough for the driver?

 

I have the parrot ck3000 (same as the kit you pictured but no lcd screen, just the buttons). I haven't installed it yet, but plan to this weekend. $600 for that first kit is absurd. I wouldn't spend more than $200.


To answer your questions....

mute wire = most installs I have seen don't use the mute, or people wish they hadn't. most of the bluetooth kits are set so that anytime the kit sees the phone as in use, it mutes the stereo... so if you just pick up the phone to look up a number, it will mute the stereo. I'm not going to hook up my mute, I figure I'd rather just turn the volume down manually.

echo = the kits won't echo, they cancel their own speaker noise out.


oh and the problem with the parrot kit is that it uses ISO connectors for everything, which are only used in European cars. To get it to work in mine I'm going to have to cut the wires out of the brackets and rig them out without the wiring harnesses. Not exactly sure how easy or difficult its going to be.

 

oh wow! I never thought about that.. that's pretty ghetto if that happens. So I'm imagining you are not splicing into your existing car speakers then. But I guess if you are bumping your music, you have the potential of missing a call?



iso connectors? So they don't leave the wires easily to be spliced for those of us who have done aftermarket systems?

And also.. how much did you pay for the kit.. and what do you think of the CK 3100?

 

I haven't figured this part out yet. I want to tap into the speakers, but I don't know if this could cause a problem if I don't do the mute (2 seperate signals into the same speaker). I wouldn't mind running a seperate speaker, I found a spot under the dash I could hide it, but I'd rather run through the normal speakers.



Right. Its designed for plug and play on a European car, and the instructions are very limited (the wiring diagram is very minimal, doesn't say which wire is which). So I'm going to have to do some experimenting to get it working I think. It should be fairly basic, power/ground/signal, and then a speaker output... but we'll see.

I got the kit from a friend. Haven't paid him yet for it


I liked the 3100 a lot, I think it looks awesome and has received good reviews. I'm actually happy I went with the 3000 though because its going in my s2k and there really isn't a place I would want the LCD display.

 

I think if you are goign to run it on the normal speakers, you are pretty much forced to do the mute


Can you point me to a place that has reviews of the 3100? The only thing about it which is a little odd is that the screen is next to the buttons. Which means you cant really mount it on the dash cuz i would imagine it would be too far to accept the call?

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ghlight=parrot

I had the same problem, there is almost zero info about the kit anywhere. No reviews, no technical details, nothing.


If you just mounted the screen/buttons near the radio I think that would work ok.

 

Did you get it for $180 like on the other thread?

 

no, I didn't buy that one. thats a pretty good deal for the 3100 though.