[phamilyman]

Hi,

thanks for everyone who helped me out last time. I stopped short of buying the Kinivo then because my P5050UB headunit has a rear aux input jack. Has anyone installed their kinivo/ Tantra / similar devices in such a HU? What is the length of the AUX-IN cable supplied by Kinivo / Tantra devices?

PS: EDUP device looked nice but it does not have built-in noise cancellation, which is critical for me.

Originally Posted by aroonanand

Check this out - EDUP EP-B3511 Hands Free A2DP 3.5mm Stereo Output Micro USB Wireless Car Kit Bluetooth V3.0+EDR Music Receiver

I bought this on Amazon a few months back for 1000 bucks for my Sunny and works like a charm. Basically is an adapter that converts your music system into a blue tooth enabled one. All you have to do is plug this into the AUX port of your music system. You can play music from your phones and also use the car speakers to take calls using this device.

Originally Posted by narayan

Thanks. I already bought this at around Rs450 from PAYTM. Works well and feels good for the price.

https://paytm.com/shop/p/mobitron-bl...S2735075BEDB9D

Originally Posted by aswin ajith

If you are on a tight budget like I was, this thing is amazing VFM. Using it for more than 4 months on my Ritz. I have connected it to my Sony Xplod HU and does its job beautifully. The connectivity is seamless and audio quality is solid and very decent. Even after reading all the reviews I was a bit uncertain about this one but still went ahead. 2500 bucks well spent. I d say just go for it. Anything else you want to know I can be of help.
Cheers

Originally Posted by Hatari

Just picked it up myself. Had only an aux in.
The initial piece didnt fit the aux jack and was resulting in a lot of distortion.
The replacement piece works fine, I play music from my phone and now can talk handsfree. Great clarity on calls, no echo etc.
Nice buy for 1900! Best solution in the market currently.

[aswin ajith]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Hi,

thanks for everyone who helped me out last time. I stopped short of buying the Kinivo then because my P5050UB headunit has a rear aux input jack. Has anyone installed their kinivo/ Tantra / similar devices in such a HU? What is the length of the AUX-IN cable supplied by Kinivo / Tantra devices?

PS: EDUP device looked nice but it does not have built-in noise cancellation, which is critical for me.

Sorry for the late reply. I just changed over to a Pioneer in dash touch screen receiver couple of months back and it has rear AUX. I still had to keep the Kinivo since the HU doesn't come with inbuilt BT. The aux port is now in the glove box and I have routed the wire from dash to the glovebox directly from front itself. Not an ideal solution but I couldn't figure out a way to hide the wire. The cable is like more than a metre long. It's got enough length. Hope this helps.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by aswin ajith

Sorry for the late reply. I just changed over to a Pioneer in dash touch screen receiver couple of months back and it has rear AUX. I still had to keep the Kinivo since the HU doesn't come with inbuilt BT. The aux port is now in the glove box and I have routed the wire from dash to the glovebox directly from front itself. Not an ideal solution but I couldn't figure out a way to hide the wire. The cable is like more than a metre long. It's got enough length. Hope this helps.

Weird. My Pio had rear aux port. Using the included aux extender cable i was able to route it from near my steering wheel to the back of the HU itself. Neat and really clean!

[aswin ajith]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Weird. My Pio had rear aux port. Using the included aux extender cable i was able to route it from near my steering wheel to the back of the HU itself. Neat and really clean!

That sounds neat. Need to see if I can route it that way.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by aswin ajith

That sounds neat. Need to see if I can route it that way.

In the swift, it is really easy to bring out the front fascia with the dual din slot - it was just a matter of connecting the aux extender cable and letting it drop into the driver footwell.

[AYP]

It has been 4 years since I got my license, but I started driving regularly only in the last 2 years. Initially, the Fiesta(old) did not even have an aux-in. However, the unit was changed last year to the Sony wx-gt88ui which had an aux-in and USB but still no Bluetooth.
Aux-in is nice to use as long as you have a passenger who is willing to change the songs for you. Otherwise, the radio looks like a much better option. Yes, I was missing the convenience of playing music wirelessly and changing tracks without using my device.
Initially, I had no idea about the presence of such Bluetooth kits. I knew about the kits made specifically for taking calls, but I had no idea about kits which can enable Bluetooth via aux-in. I was searching for armrests for my car and stumbled upon these devices on amazon.
The first devices I came across were more like pen drives which can be had for as low as Rs. 250-

http://www.amazon.in/Bluetooth-Adapt...etooth+car+kit

However I was vary of the quality of these devices and hence decided to look up for more.
I then came across this device-

http://www.amazon.in/EP-B3511-Wirele...K2068F2V8Q7NT1

The EDUP had farely good reviews and it also had a built in battery with the help of which it could play music for upto 8 hours on a single charge. I placed an order for it which was an impromptu decision. Next day, I came to my senses and cancelled the order as I wanted to research more on these devices.

The next day I searched for more of these devices on amazon and came across these Kinivo devices.

BTC 450-

http://www.amazon.in/Kinivo-BTC450-B...eywords=kinivo

BTC 455-

http://www.amazon.in/Kinivo-BTC455-B...WBAANAHAJRQSMC

The BTC455 was looking like a good option and had very good reviews both on amazon.in and amazon.com. Also, these unit had buttons for playing music/taking calls and skipping the tracks. Thus making music playback very convenient.
Then I came across this very detailed article on Bluetooth car kits-

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/bes...ry-car-stereo/

Wirecutter announced the iclever Himbox HB01 as the best kit. I searched for it on amazon and found it-

http://www.amazon.in/Wirecutters-Han...ywords=iclever

However, this unit lacked two things which the Kinivo BTC455 had-
1. Apt-X technology.
2. Multi-Phone connection at the same time.

Also it was priced more than the Kinivo and it didn't seem to be worth it.

By this time I was almost sure about the Kinivo and was on the verge of ordering it. However, after going through more reviews I realised that the device needs to be turned off along with the car so as to auto-connect to the last paired device. If the device stays on and the Bluetooth connection with the paired device is lost, it won't reconnect to the device on re-entry.
I remembered that in my Fiesta(and all Fords in general) the power outlet stays active even after the ignition is turned off. It can be pro or con depending on how you see it. But in this case, it was definitely a con, thus taking way the auto-connect feature.
Now I was in a fix. I remembered that the iclever device comes with a separate USB chord, which is not soldered to the power outlet, thus making it more flexible and fit for use even for that old home theatre. I could use it with the USB present in the stereo system itself and even if that didn't work, removing the USB wire from the power outlet was still a much better option than removing the whole power outlet every time. But then, the inflated price and the lack of previous two mentioned features was not very compelling.
And so I did a bit more research and came to know that iclever had released an updated version of the HB01 as the HB01+. This device had the above two missing features and also had an extra clip for clamping in the car.
However that device was not available in India and I was a bit vary of buying it from amazon.com. After not getting anything for a few days, I left all hopes and almost dropped the idea of getting such a kit. I don't know why but I decided to give it a month and if I could not get the HB01+ I would go for the Kinivo. I completely stopped my research after this.

One month passes.

At the start of this month I searched for the device on google- No results.
However, knowing how fragmented and huge amazon is, I searched for it on amazon, and Voila!, the device was listed.

http://www.amazon.in/iClever-HB01-Ha...ywords=iclever

Yes, it is expensive for what it offers( mainly due to 100% import charge).
In the USA, the Kinivo and the iclever devices are priced at par at 40$. But as it is doing the job for which I bought it, I think it is worth it.

Here are a few pics of the current install in my car-

The main unit has a central multi-function button and two buttons on sides to skip tracks/ change volume. It feels premium to touch. Also, the white ring which you see, glows blue when the device is on and looks great at night. It is not distracting unlike some other units, which have a blinking light.

This is the clip which was a new addition for the HB01+. The rear side of the main unit is magnetic in nature and sticks on to the clip very well. I have not noticed any movements in the position of the unit while being stuck to it.

In case you are wondering, the air-con of my car is not working currently and thus this arrangement. I intend to stick the magnetic pad which I got with the device, at the marked area after the AC work is done. I am a bit vary of the service guys loosing the magnetic pad while removal of the fascia.

I was not very confident about the working of the unit through the stereo USB outlet as these are rated for low power outputs=460ma. However, to my delight, it worked . The device shuts down with the ignition along with the stereo and reconnects to my device on start.

You can see that the power outlet stays on even when the car is switched off(blue light). And with my arrangement, it is not being used for th main device at all. It has three power outlets out of which two are rated for 2.4A and one is rated for 1A. The 1A outlet has Himbox written near to it, thus indicating it to be used for the main unit. I had a small Nokia USB chord which I am using for charging my phone. The charging is blazing fast and it charges my pone faster than my charger.


Summary of the features/functions-
1. Call accept by single press of the multi-function button.
2. Call reject by long press of the button.
3. Google Now/ Siri by holding the button for 2-3 seconds. You can make voice commands. You can hear the turn by turn navigation on your speakers.
4. Pairing mode is activated by holding the button for 5 seconds.
5. Two phones can be paired at a time.
6. The side buttons skip tracks on a single press.
7. Unlike the Kinivo, the iclever has in-built volume control too. On long pressing the side buttons, the volume changes. Also, there is a continuous beep like sound which comes when you bump up the volume to its maximum level, so as to let you know that the maximum volume has been attained.
8. The volume output is about 75% of the output which can be attained by aux-in at the same volume. But it is definitely not less. The music streaming is excellent.
9. The call quality is very good.
10. Last but not the least, this unit actually talks and not just beeps on doing a task. For example, when the power is switched on, the unit talks-
' Power on, your device is connected'. When it goes into pairing mode, it talks to let you know that it is ' Pairing'. The voice is of a female, sounds robotic( not completely though).

Also some users have reported a hissing sound when this device is connected. It is due to improper grounding in the car. To tackle this problem, a ground loop isolator needs to be used-

http://www.amazon.in/PAC-Ground-Isol...+loop+isolator

Overall, I am quite happy with the device and it is doing exactly what I bought it for- playing music without the hassles of wire. Of course, the excellent call quality is a bonus. The controls on the unit are very easy to use and is definitely much safer to use than that of the stereo controls. However, it is definitely not a replacement for steering controls and one must exercise caution while using the device.
Those who are looking for value and are not too concerned about call/call quality can go for the EDUP device which is great for what it offers. For those who value call over anything else should go in for the kits as mentioned in the first post of this thread. Jabra and Motorola have good products for calling purpose.
This is the best device for someone who wants the best(well almost) of both the worlds, that is, music streaming quality and call quality.
And lest you forget, the armrest is coming soon.

[Dead Head]

I recently bought the Tantra Fluke Bluetooth system. I must admit it has given my Honda Amaze a new lease of life. It works like a dream ,simple installation, amazing audio quality on playback, seamless transfer to and from phone calls to playback. I was contemplating selling the car as I have got used to the bluetooth in our new car but now I will continue to use the car for at least another year. Highly recommend this product, its for about 1600/- from Flipkart

[FuelInjector]

Originally Posted by Dead Head

Highly recommend this product, its for about 1600/- from Flipkart

My experience with this product has been great. Great audio quality, ease of connectivity, sound quality is avery good with noise cancellation. Would definitely recommend as a cheap option for prospective buyers.