Archive for November, 2010
Sony’s MEX-BT3800U is a great way to add Bluetooth and media power to your vehicle, with 52 Watts through four channels. Make hands-free calls or stream audio from your compatible devices. You can also play back CDs and CD-R/RWs, along with MP3/WMA/AAC files. A front auxiliary input is great for connecting external devices, and you can enjoy full iPod control right from the receiver.
Sony MEX-BT3800U Detachable Faceplate
The MEX-BT3800U features a detachable faceplate for added security, with a 1-line, 13-segment LCD display and blue control illumination.
Sony MEX-BT3800U Bluetooth Functionality
The MEX-BT3800U features Bluetooth hands-free with an integrated microphone (or through an external microphone), as well as audio streaming functionality using your compatible Bluetooth music device.
USB 1-Wire for iPod, iPhone, and Other USB Devices
USB 1-Wire lets you directly connect, charge, and control your digital music player via the USB jack in the front of the unit, as well as view metadata like song title and artist on the front display.
Quick-Browzer Technology With Jump Mode and ZAPPIN Features
Quick-BrowZer lets you search and select songs by category, including artist, album, genre, or playlist. Jump Mode gets you closer to the song you want by allowing you to fast forward through a music category in 10 percent increments. With Zappin, you can play music in six-, nine-, or 30-second clips until you find the song you’re looking for.
MP3/WMA/AAC Playback With DM+
Multi-format playback lets you play CDs, CD-Rs, or CD-RWs loaded with hundreds of MP3, AAC, or WMA songs. Hear the music on your recorded CDs and MP3s in their original vibrancy with DM+ (Digital Music Plus), an original Sony codec enhancer that reproduces detailed and high-frequency sound from compressed audio.
Sony MEX-BT3800U Satellite and HD Radio Ready
The MEX-BT3800U integrates seamlessly with satellite radio Sony Bus adaptors (sold separately) so you can receive digital satellite radio broadcasts. HD Radio capability lets you receive digital audio broadcasts when used with an optional HD Radio tuner.
Sony MEX-BT3800U Radio Data System (RDS)
The Radio Data System (RDS) feature displays radio broadcast information such as artist, title, and album.
Sony MEX-BT3800U Front Auxiliary Input
The front auxiliary input lets you connect almost any portable audio device to your car’s sound system.
Sony MEX-BT3800U EQ3
Customize the sound with Sony’s EQ3 feature, which includes 7 preset tone curves and a 3-band equalizer.
Sony MEX-BT3800U What’s in the Box
MEX-BT3800U, Installation Hardware, User’s Manual
Sony MEX-BT3800U user review
You get a lot for your money with this unit. Between the front auxiliary in, USB, and Bluetooth you have plethora of connectivity options so you should be able to connect anything to this unit for a long time. That’s the unit’s biggest plus. In fact, it can be a little bit annoying to have to switch through so many inputs via the source to get to the one you want (you can turn off aux in the settings though). You can also add optional HD Radio through an expensive adapter. I don’t mind the lack of HD Radio since from what I’ve read, the execution isn’t great yet with radios switching back and forth between the HD and analog signal and the signals themselves not being in sync.
The display is easy to read at a glance, and RDS (displays what is currently playing on the tuner) makes finding new radio stations easy. The iPod controls on the unit are a bit too complicated to bother learning, especially since you can use the iPod’s own controls if you switch to “passenger mode”. The buttons on the bottom of the unit used to switch stations and perform other operations have kind of a sharp edge a the bottom, which can make them sometimes a little painful to press if you don’t aim high when you hit them. The USB will charge your iPod or other device fine.
The Bluetooth connectivity works really well, and sounds great. I use the Bluetooth stereo to stream music from my Motorola Droid with no problems. The Bluetooth hands free functionality is a bit basic since the unit won’t display who is calling you, just that you have a call. Not that big of a deal at this price point. My phone will automatically pair the hands free profile when I turn the stereo on, but seems kind of hit or miss with pairing the Bluetooth stereo profile automatically. From using my phone with another Bluetooth speaker, it seems like it’s more of an issue with the Droid.
One thing I find really strange with this unit is the remote functionality. If I use the head unit controls to turn on the unit / change source, the only control on the remote that will work is the off button. Vice versa, if you turn the unit on with the remote, all the remote functions work perfectly fine, but you can only use the volume controls on the head unit. Seek buttons, etc will not work. It took me a while to figure this out and at first I thought the remote control was defective. Again, this is not that big of deal to me since I would hardly use the remote, I just wish it was documented somewhere.
Sony MEX-BT3800U video review
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I tested the beat 275 for a month back at the start of the summer, now its time to share my findings. Upon receiving the stereo I was rather impressed, for the low price tag of £45 it was fully packaged and very good looking, Not like one the Chinese import units that tend to come in a plain white box with the units product code on. The box promised a lot and it certainly didn’t let me down.
The unit says it is capable of playing almost any media file, a bold statement but one that is very true. The unit can handle quite an impressive list of formats; CD, SD-Cards, MP3, Aux in and USB in. Some of these formats are not supported by units twice the price. I found the USB connection to be the most useful as it allowed me to connect my iPod to the unit. It does not have full control from the unit itself and you have to select songs from the iPod however considering the price of the unit this is something that can easily be overlooked.
The appearance of the stereo is quite impressive, it has the look of a far more expensive unit. The controls are very easy to use with the menus being intuitive. My grandad who is in his late 60’s is technically classed as a technophobe however he managed to pick up the basic control and function within a couple of minutes. All this is helped by the clear colour dot matrix screen.
Where most cheap stereo’s fall down is the quality of the sound they produce. This is one of the Beat 275’s strongest areas. For the £45 price tag you are getting a very strong unit, I ran it alongside a Cerwin Vega 15” sub and the clarity of the audio was highly impressive. It was easily on par with units in the £120-150 price range. The unit also features the now standard equalizer allowing you to fine tweak the sound to the type of music you like listening to.
It is very hard to find a fault with a unit costing less than £50 especially when it is crammed full of features like the Beat 275. I suppose the only downfall of the unit is the fact that Beat is still a new brand. Given the choice between this and a Sony most people will go with the best known brand, perhaps this is where the product will struggle.
In Summary, if you want a good solid bargain stereo then the Beat 275 is perfect for you. If you want a stereo that is crammed with features and plays a multitude of formats, the Beat 275 is for you. Put simply the Beat 275 is the stereo for everyone. If I had to pick one of the stereos I have tested in the past 6months to keep, this would be the one.
Beat BEAT275 video review
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When was the last time you walked into a store and purchased a CD? If it takes you a few moments to come up with an answer, you’ve probably made the jump to digitally distributed and stored audio. If so, Alpine may have the car stereo for you, the Alpine iDA-X100 digital media receiver.
The iDA-X100 eschews physical media in favor of a purely digital approach. Music is played back over a USB pigtail that features full-speed iPod connectivity. An intuitive interface makes it easy to find the song you want, and advanced audio controls ensure that your digital music sounds as good as the day you ripped it.
Alpine iDA-X100 Design
The first thing you’ll notice about the Alpine iDA-X100 is the huge knob in the center of the faceplate. The Double Action Encoder, as the instruction manual calls it, is twisted to adjust volume, navigate menus, and choose songs. Pushing the large select button in the knob’s center makes selections in menus and enters the search mode when a digital-audio source is selected. The outer ring of the knob can be pressed and rotated for the Percent Search mode, which is used to quickly jump through long lists. If, for example, you want to quickly get to an artist beginning with the letter Q, you can press, twist, and hold the outer ring to quickly jump from A to B and so on, instead of endlessly rotating the dial and scrolling through all of the artists on the device. The Percent Search is also used to jump between radio presets and MP3 folders and playlists when not in search mode.
A full color LCD display fills the right third of the receiver’s face. Here you’ll find song and menu information and, if connected to an iPod, album artwork. Buttons flank the center knob and fill the left third of the front panel. The Alpine iDA-X100 cannot display video content from a connected device, but at 2.2 inches diagonal, it’s probably too small for comfortable viewing anyway.
The iDA-X100 lacks an optical media player, so if you’re the type of user who listens to many CDs or burns MP3s to disc, then this is not the player for you. In place of the disc slot, the iDA-X100 gains a full speed USB connection for lightning quick access to music stored on MP3 players, iPods, and other USB mass storage devices. The iDA-X100 plays back MP3, WMA, and AAC files and can even handle DRM protected digital audio.
Alpine has curiously decided to make the faceplate only partially detachable. The user is able to remove the left two-thirds of the faceplate, which includes the buttons and the center knob, but the LCD screen stays in place. The faceplate’s buttons and the LCD screen feature blue edge illumination and backlighting, which can be changed to red illumination through the menu.
Alpine iDA-X100 Features
Outputting an average of 18 watts into four discrete channels (50 watts per channel max) the Alpine iDA-X100 represents a notable upgrade in volume and sound quality over most stock car stereos. For those wishing to further tweak the sound, the receiver features three 2-volt full-range preamp outputs with a third dedicated subwoofer preamp output with level controls for adding additional amplifiers and speakers.
An advanced equalizer and the Imprint audio processor allow users to fine tune the dynamic range, staging, and individual speaker delay to meet the needs of their unique vehicles and optimize the sound for the full vehicle or specifically for the driver’s seat. So that you don’t waste all of that processing power playing back compressed digital audio, the receiver also features a Media Xpander (MX) setting that helps correct information lost at time of compression. The MX can also be applied to analog sources, such as FM radio, to boost sound quality, but it sounds best with digital sources.
The iDA-X100 is also upgradable via external modules for additional functionality. Satellite radio, HD Radio, Bluetooth hands-free, and an external CD changer are among the modules that can be connected to and controlled by the iDA-X100 through its proprietary Ai-Net connection. When connected to the Bluetooth module, the iDA-X100 also gains the ability to stream music from A2DP Bluetooth-enabled devices.
When connected to Alpine’s HD Radio receiver–the TUA-T550HD–and an Apple iPod, the iDA-X100 gains the ability to iTunes-tag songs. If the HD Radio broadcast contains artist/song information, holding the center select button stores the song’s metadata onto the connected iPod. Later, when the iPod is reconnected to iTunes for syncing, a playlist is created under the Store heading called “Tagged.” Users can then listen to a 30-second preview of the song or purchase the song for downloading.
Alpine iDA-X100 Performance
We tested the iDA-X100 with a 16GB iPod Touch. Upon connecting the iPod, the iDA-X100 began scanning the device. After about a 10- to 15-second search, the receiver started playback. The receiver picks up playback wherever the iPod left off, so if you were listening to a song or podcast as you entered your car, the iDA-X100 would resume at the exact spot you paused.
The full-speed iPod connection allows for extremely quick navigation of artists, albums, genres, and podcasts–nearly as quick as the iPod itself. The direct connection to the iPod means that the iDA-X100 can play back any format that an iPod can, including MP3, AAC, and Apple Lossless. We’re very happy about that last one, as most iPod-compatible receivers don’t play the lossless format.
When connected to a USB key, we were able to browse folders full of MP3s just as quickly as with the iPod. The center knob and its Percent Search feature make it very easy to jump from folder to folder without drudging through menus.
We only ran into one consistent glitch during our test of the iDA-X100. While listening to audio stored on an iPod, if we powered the unit off while leaving the iPod connected–for example, to step away from the vehicle–upon restarting the car and the receiver, the iDA-X100 would forget that a device was attached and require that we disconnect and reconnect the cable to rerecognize. The glitch didn’t occur with music stored on a USB key, so it may be more of an issue with the iPod’s firmware than the iDA-X100, but it was annoying nonetheless.
Alpine iDA-X100 final verdict
The good: The Alpine iDA-X100 features a full-speed USB/iPod connection for speedy browsing of songs with the large search knob. Percent Search mode allows for quick scrubbing through long lists. Alpine Imprint audio processing allows drivers a great deal of freedom to adjust audio for best possible sound.
The bad: The iDA-X100 occasionally forgets that an iPod device is attached if the vehicle is started or stopped while a podcast is playing. The lack of an optical disc player can be a bit of an inconvenience for some users.
The bottom line: The Alpine iDA-X100 is a great receiver for people who transport all of their music on an iPod or MP3 player. The unit offers fantastic digital-audio integration without the need for a separate adapter, but should you ever want to just play a CD, you’ll be out of luck.
Alpine iDA-X100 Digital Media Receiver user review
And here is the creation of the new Alpine …. and a real I-pod to car … all-digital … WARNING possibility of Bluetooth connection, however, is not available for all versions of phones as it needs of the Alpine KCE-300BT.Grazie i-pod controller to navigate through folders Ankora is easier and faster …
Included is delivered to the processor PXA-H100 IMPRINT Audio connected to the device which eliminates the distortions of the interior of a resolution allowing superb sound quality.
In addition to mobile phones and i-pod, can be connected to device anke usb pen drive thanks to the entry with FULL SPEED anke function that allows high speed transfer of data from pen drive even if its brand new nos.
I forgot … the fold and pull;)
I enclose the overall product data sheet:
* Power: High Power Amp 50W x 4
* Display: TFT color display
* Control: Dual Action Encoder
* Color: Gunmetal
* Key Illumination: Red / Blue
* PreOut: 3 PreOut
* PreIns: PreIns 2 (duplex)
* DAC: 24-Bit DAC
* Versatile Link: Versatile-Link Ready
* AUX-In: via Full Speed
* Steering Wheel Control Ready
* OEM Sub Display Ready
* Removable Front Panel
Dimmer Input *
Service * Power antenna
* Power Output Amplifier
* Audio Interrupt Input
* Built-in Audio Mute
* Remote control: preparation.
Alpine iDA-X100 Digital Media Receiver video review
