Need Bluetooth for playing music and talking through iphone in old car...

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

Hello. I have a 98 Toyota Avalon with only a cassette player and the lighter thing. I want to be able to connect my iphone to the stereo so I can play music and take calls through the cars speakers. The options I'm seeing are Bluetooth FM transmitter, Bluetooth Cassette and wired cassette. Which of these do you think would be the best option?

I know the bluetooth cassette needs to be charged which would probably become annoying. The bluetooth FM transmitter looks interesting, they have the option to push a button and take a call like newer cars have which is nice. Friend told me the wired Cassette would have the best audio quality of the 3 but I've not had any experience with these things.

Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[AllanGH]

The FM transmitters work fine (I put one in my father's car before he replaced the car), but the best option is to replace the stereo with one which supports Bluetooth linking for audio input and calling.

 

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

The FM transmitters work fine (I put one in my father's car before he replaced the car), but the best option is to replace the stereo with one which supports Bluetooth linking for audio input and calling.

Thanks for the quick reply. I actually went to the only guys I know in the area that do these things and he told me he only deals with pioneer stereo and it would cost $250 to put in a stereo like that. I was actually thinking I could do a stereo and put in some good speakers for better sound for around that price but he said that would be $550 for the pioneer stereo and 4 kicker speakers. Then there's the sub and amp lol. I'm not really trying to pimp out this 20 year old car but it would be nice to be able to play music and takes calls through bluetooth. I stopped by auto zone and they don't have much of a selection but I saw a stereo like that with bluetooth for Toyota for $20 lol.

 

[AllanGH]

Shop Amazon for car stereos, and compare the listings with auto audio gear reviews, and reliability tests.

I low-balled it on my Highlander and put a Pioneer AVH-270BT in my Christmas/Birthday list, and the wife peeked and bought it for my birthday, one year. I wound-up installing it myself (which, contrary to what the stereo installers tell you, is just another bit of electrical work--definitely not beyond me).

It's not top of the line, in terms of audio quality, but it is WAAAAY better than the stock stereo, and I use the Bluetooth connectivity daily for feeding audio from my phone. In my case, I never use it for phone calls, since I have a Plantronics headset.

Now, from what I've heard from people who do call me, using auto-integrated BT calling, I wouldn't bother with it. The sound pick-up quality literally sucks, because the mic picks up everything, and the person speaking spends more time repeating themselves than conveying information--just something to consider.

Of course, I'd never get rid of the BT audio input feature of that stereo, since I NEVER listen to commercial broadcasts, and it makes listening to my playlists and audio books convenient....and with the Echo Auto now added to the mix, I don't have to fumble with the phone anymore. I just speak what I want, and I get it.

 

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

Shop Amazon for car stereos, and compare the listings with auto audio gear reviews, and reliability tests.

I low-balled it on my Highlander and put a Pioneer AVH-270BT in my Christmas/Birthday list, and the wife peeked and bought it for my birthday, one year. I wound-up installing it myself (which, contrary to what the stereo installers tell you, is just another bit of electrical work--definitely not beyond me).

It's not top of the line, in terms of audio quality, but it is WAAAAY better than the stock stereo, and I use the Bluetooth connectivity daily for feeding audio from my phone. In my case, I never use it for phone calls, since I have a Plantronics headset.

Now, from what I've heard from people who do call me, using auto-integrated BT calling, I wouldn't bother with it. The sound pick-up quality literally sucks, because the mic picks up everything, and the person speaking spends more time repeating themselves than conveying information--just something to consider.

Of course, I'd never get rid of the BT audio input feature of that stereo, since I NEVER listen to commercial broadcasts, and it makes listening to my playlists and audio books convenient....and with the Echo Auto now added to the mix, I don't have to fumble with the phone anymore. I just speak what I want, and I get it.

Yea I'm checking on amazon now theres some pioneer bluetooth stereo and you can get it with 4 speakers for $120. That's just the first thing I saw. Obviously the guy at the shop wants to sell me some pioneer stereo which he will make at least double profit on. I think that for now I'll just try one of those FM transmitters since it's just $20 and I don't have to deal with installing anything. If I don't get a new car and later decide I want better sound and have the money for it maybe I'll do the research or try to find someone more reasonable.

 

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

Supposedly Nulaxy makes the best bluetooth transmitters

 

[AllanGH]

Sounds like that's the path of least resistance at this point. You have plenty of time to expand on it later, if you find that to be more to your liking.

 

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

Thanks man. How do I select best answer in this updated toms? lol