Spec me a iPhone compatible stereo

Stinky · 8 Feb 2011 at 23:48

I'm after a new stereo for the van! At the moment I've got one that allows me to plug my phone into it to play music but it doesn't charge! So when using the sat nav it drains the battery so the new stereo must have

iPhone compatible USB port
Bluetooth hand free again iPhone compatible (I assume iPhone allows this)
Have a remote

That's all I need but the only thing I have seem is the pioneer deh7300bt

Are there any others to choose from or is this my best bet?

Stuff · 9 Feb 2011 at 00:11

I have a Sony MEX-BT2800. It's awesome. It connects to my BlackBerry via Bluetooth and then streams music, whilst also acting as a hands-free when a call comes in. You could do this and charge the iPhone via the cigarette lighter-socket?

Stinky · 9 Feb 2011 at 00:26

i want to try and keep the cig lighter socket free. cos i end up with stupid wires everywhere then.

i didnt think you could stream music through bluetooth on the iphone. i could be wrong

Kol · 9 Feb 2011 at 00:35

Stinky said:
i want to try and keep the cig lighter socket free. cos i end up with stupid wires everywhere then.

i didnt think you could stream music through bluetooth on the iphone. i could be wrong

Yep, after iOS was updated many revisions ago the iPhone can play music over bluetooth (A2DP) and very well it does too

Was handy in my old work car. Used to jump in and start her up and it immediately connected and I just hit play on the steering wheel - even displaying the track name etc. on the display.

West · 9 Feb 2011 at 00:40

I have this: http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/alpine-ida-x311.html

Stinky · 9 Feb 2011 at 02:43

does that work as hands free also

West · 9 Feb 2011 at 04:49

Stinky said:
does that work as hands free also

Yup

Infact I have the 313 - they still do the offer for both the unit and the BT module. (Only a small thing, mine is hidden inside my steering collumn)

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/alpine-idax313-bluetooth.html

Hands Free is excellent quality, don't have any problems pairing both my Blackberry Torch and Mums IP4 with it. (So 2 new Phone OS) and supports full phone book browsing and charges my Ipod off the USB Cable

Stinky · 9 Feb 2011 at 05:05

does seem pricey though! compared to the http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/pioneer-deh7300bt.html

dont you think?

MrMoonX · 9 Feb 2011 at 06:48

Sony MEX-BT3800U

installed one the other day, works great with ip4 bluetooth streaming and usb connection, also comes with an ir remote and loads of pre-outs and handfree works great, was only £110 reduced from £200 from the rain forrest

ganesh · 9 Feb 2011 at 07:33

I'm very interested in this also, current headunit in my car is crap and i hate having to listen to CDs.

SB118 · 9 Feb 2011 at 08:58

I ended up with a JVC KD-R711, does everything the OP needs.

Think it's a previous generation unit, so i found mine quite cheaply.

Vita · 9 Feb 2011 at 10:13

Alpine CDE-113BT.

Stinky · 10 Feb 2011 at 00:01

you guys have defo given me a few ideas thanks

going to take a trip to a car audio place and have a play with some i think and go from there

ganesh · 18 Mar 2011 at 08:31

What did you end up with in the end? I'm hoping to buy one soon and have the same criteria as yourself.

ScarySquirrel · 18 Mar 2011 at 09:18

Alpine X305S. I have the X305 (earlier version), and it's fantastic, although the fascia is a bit cheap feeling.

andrewdodd13 · 18 Mar 2011 at 09:25

With the iPhone, is it only the iPod app you can play over bluetooth or can you play other things eg. Spotify? Not sure how effective it'd be signal-wise whilst driving but it would mean I could get rid of my now fairly-broken iPod Classic that sits in the glovebox attached to my CDX-GT44UI.

Nomisf · 18 Mar 2011 at 09:36

andrewdodd13 said:
With the iPhone, is it only the iPod app you can play over bluetooth or can you play other things eg. Spotify? Not sure how effective it'd be signal-wise whilst driving but it would mean I could get rid of my now fairly-broken iPod Classic that sits in the glovebox attached to my CDX-GT44UI.

Spotify works from the iPhone with my Pioneer DEH-6100BT, over both cable and BT. No need to keep a solid signal, as you can make playlists available offline in spotify!

ganesh · 18 Mar 2011 at 09:59

ScarySquirrel said:
Alpine X305S. I have the X305 (earlier version), and it's fantastic, although the fascia is a bit cheap feeling.

What is the sound quality of Bluetooth streaming like? That's my main concern really, after doing a bit of googling on the subject there are people saying it's fine and others that say it's rubbish.

Myshra · 18 Mar 2011 at 11:46

Depends on your phone sometimes and it's ability to do A2DP correctly.

andrewdodd13 · 18 Mar 2011 at 18:16

Nomisf said:
Spotify works from the iPhone with my Pioneer DEH-6100BT, over both cable and BT. No need to keep a solid signal, as you can make playlists available offline in spotify!

Hmm. I might have to invest at some point, I'm still on the free version of Spotify (albeit because I was in the beta I'm not limited to 5hrs/wk). It'd also be nice to able to charge my iPhone - the Sony one at the moment will only charge the older generation iPod kit.

Thanks, though I do hate you now, I was planning on saving for a while!