do i need StereoClip if i have a bluetooth car stereo?

[soooti]

do i need StereoClip if i have a bluetooth car stereo? Will an ordinary bluetooth car stereo be able to pair anyway and play music from my phone and/or use the x ones sat nav through car speakers without the need for the stereoclip accesory?

 

[ItsaRaid]

I have a.2012 Camry Hybrid, I had no problems pairing with bluetooth, and it plays thru the audio system. Entune sucks.

 

[icebike]

Works on most recent Chrysler products as well.

 

[bawboh86]

I have a 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid and it too pairs and plays well with my phone.

 

[hybrid06339]

Probably not - the phone should be compatible with most car audio BT units. I use an Alpine BT-400 in my car for calls and BT stereo audio and my HOX works fine with it.

 

[BdawgTrap]

Depends on the stereo. Some stereo's and other Bluetooth devices only support HFD or HSP profiles that allow hands free calls but that is about it. Other devices Allow for the A2DP Profile and that allows music.

Alpine - 2011 and older had an add on BT Module. The KCE-BT400 Supported A2DP and the KCE-BT250 only supported hands free calls. Some of the newer Alpine radios have Bluetooth built in and most (if not all) have A2DP Built in.

Kenwood - The 2010 Models with bluetooth built in had A2DP although the Double sized units only allow music to be played through the front speakers. 2011 Models did not have A2DP although you could add* it with the KCA-BT300 module. The new 2012 Models with BT should all have A2DP

Pioneer - Any pioneer before the newest line with BT built in did not have A2DP. You could add* on the CD-BTB200 module for A2DP. Any of the New Models that have BT have A2DP.

Other Brands - if you ask me ill look it up or you can just look up the model number and see if it supports the A2DP Profile or "bluetooth audio Streaming"

Factory car systems - I am not quite as familiar with all the factory systems as I am usually replacing them (I am a car audio Tech) but most of the factory ones do have A2DP. If its the factory stereo I can still look it up for you if you ask.

* You can only add bluetooth modules to stereos if they dont have bluetooth built in. so if you have a BT stereo with only hands free calls you SOL.

 

[Impulses]

The posts above probably answered your question but anyway... I actually bought HTC's Clip to test the claim that the BT 3.0 aptX codec actually sounded any better than standard BT 2.0 CBR.

I actually performed two blind tests with it, against my car's BT and against a pair of cheap ($100) Samson powered speakers + a $35 Miccus BT adapter from Amazon... I couldn't tell then apart in either instance, so either aptX is even more of a gimmick than Beats, or you need a gifted ear and/or pretty high end audio gear to notice a difference.

FWIW I CAN notice the difference between Bluetooth and a regular 3.5mm cable in either test case (car stereo and my desktop's powered speakers), BT audio seems a little flatter usually, bass is a bit softer in particular, but it's not a big enough disparity to prevent me from using BT in the car on a daily basis out of sheer convenience (just get in and hit play, phone still in my pocket, hard to beat).

I just EQ the bass up a bit to make up for the BT compression. I dont use BT at home at all tho unless it's in the patio or the garage or something. The best part of using BT in the car is having steering wheel playback controls, way safer.