Bluetooth/parrot unit thingy?!?

[supanova]

Ok as titled. Im looking to change my head unit to something a bit more classy. The girlfriend has bought herself a nice brand new Audi A1 5door 2012 model and it is top class. My favourite thing about the car is her bluetooth system. when she steps into her car the bluetooth automatically connects to her phone and she is able to play songs from her phone via the unit and make calls etc.

my question is what would the best single din unit be to get? Im not too bothered about having a big fancy screen or anything as my main purpose would be the bluetooth feature so i can link the phone, play the music and make a few calls whilst driving so the screen isnt important. obviously less expensive the better but still holding the quality. I've googled and asked mates advice but i always know you guys would have good advice also.

cheers for looking!

 

[SCFC_Messiah]

I can't speak highly enough of this;

JVC KD-R821

It looks a bit naff in that picture, but honestly the quality is superb. The screen is customizable, so you can set it to any colour or shade that you want. I have my display set to red, so it matches the Audi interior nicely

It has in built parrot technology, external mic (avoid in-built mics - poor sound quality), full bluetooth connectivity, 2xUSB ports, Aux port, remote control. It syncs with your phones phonebook, so you can retrieve all your contacts, missed calls and dialled calls etc via the head unit. There's no need to touch your phone at all whilst in the car. The quality of the external mic is so good, people are always surprised to find out they're on hands free

To be honest though, I find the quality of the music isn't the greatest when you stream it via the Bluetooth. It's ok at low levels, but when you crank it up it doesn't hold all of it's quality. So rather than streaming the music through the bluetooth, I have a mini usb reader plugged into the front USB port with a MicroSD card containing all my music (loading times take forever if you have a massively sized SD card plugged in though, so instead of a 16GB card I have 4 x 4GB cards which I switch over every now and again when I fancy a change of music - but that's no big deal, you can still fit thousands of songs on a 4GB card so it's not often you find yourself switching them over)

I think I paid around £120 for it from Halfords at Christmas time. It's the best money I've spent in a long time. I think this model has been discontinued now, but I'm sure the replacement is as good if not better

I had slight issues picking up medium wave when I installed it in the Audi, because the Audi antenna isn't the greatest. But I bought a signal booster for £20 and it fixed the problem, so now FM and medium wave are crystal clear


It's not often you get value for money these days, but I was astounded at the quality of this unit for such a relatively cheap price. Couldn't recommend it highly enough

 

[Cruiser89]

Personally... Most all in one units are pants unless you spend a bit of money.

The Parrot Asteroid is a good example. Nice crystal clear screen with smartphone interaction. Due to it being Parrot it has the parrot Bluetooth chipset which is a big thumbs up!

You can go further and go for a double din unit. Something like a Pioneer.

 

[Pipsqueak]

Parrot asteroid looks good and it has apps

 

[Rom]

Ive been looking lately. Swapped from iPhone to Andriod. So my Alpine iDA-X305 is no use anymore.

Im more set on sound quality though, im after 3 x 4v or higher pre outs etc.

Think the Pioneer DEH-80PRS will be my choice once its released, doesnt look as slick as some others, but much higher spec.

Pioneers new App Radios look swish, double din, apps, full screen sat nav (from your phone) etc. But only has 2 x 2v pre outs. So ruled it out. But may be a bit pricey for your needs.

 

[brasiliangringo]

I speak daily to someone who uses a Parrot to call me at motorway speeds ave 80-90mph (but very little wind noise) and the clarity is beyond perfect. The parrot systems are spot on. Ive just sms'd him to find out what one he has and will update.

 

[Cruiser89]

Parrot options you have are:

- Ck3000 (no screen)
- Ck3100 (Best selling Parrot product
- MKI9000 (No screen, but has music streaming. Plus iPod, aux, USB connectors)
- MKI9200 (Same as above but with a nice big colour display)
- Asteroid (headunit with apps)

Bury Options

- CC9060 (2.5" touch screen display with full voice control)
- Music (Same as above but iPod connector and BT streaming)

If a customer does not want to pay for factory integration or it's not available our engineers fit these options. Just gives you some idea of what I consider the best aftermarket Bluetooth kits out there at the mo without spending serious amounts of money for double din all in one systems.

 

[brasiliangringo]

Parrot options you have are:

- Ck3000 (no screen)
- Ck3100 (Best selling Parrot product
- MKI9000 (No screen, but has music streaming. Plus iPod, aux, USB connectors)
- MKI9200 (Same as above but with a nice big colour display)
- Asteroid (headunit with apps)

Bury Options

- CC9060 (2.5" touch screen display with full voice control)
- Music (Same as above but iPod connector and BT streaming)

If a customer does not want to pay for factory integration or it's not available our engineers fit these options. Just gives you some idea of what I consider the best aftermarket Bluetooth kits out there at the mo without spending serious amounts of money for double din all in one systems.

Perhaps it was you who fitted his as a bunch of freinds had the Ck3100 fitted in Dorset. Jim Forshaw ring any bells ?