Mechless Car Radios

[rblakeney]

Anyone streaming from their webOs device to a mechless car radio? If so, can you offer any suggestions or recommendations on the radio? Anything to look for?

[OldSkoolVWLover]

Wow had never heard the term Mechless before....

Anyways we have been using the cheap Clarion that came out a few years back. Pairing 2 webOS devices, no problems (obviously only one active connection at a time). I don't know how many devices it will keep in memory but I have yet to delete one. 2 centros, 2 Pres, 2 Veers, and a Pre2. Maybe it has just been auto deleting when I add new devices.

For a cheapo deck, it is pretty clean looking and has held up well with 3+ years of use. Not the cleanest looking deck we own, but the streaming has been great. I also like that the SD slot is in the back of the faceplate so no slot in the front of the faceplate for that, also Aux input comes out the back of the deck which I prefer.

This deck is in the "daily driver" so I don't have much audiophile information on it (no amps or subs in this car). It pushes the factory speakers as nice as the stock Kenwood that the car came with (I have never been a fan of Kenwood).

The current version is sub $150 US, and looks cleaner than the one we have from the first generation of their first mechless design.

[ntjoe]

I've used this in multiple vehicles with virtually no issues:

ToothPik Hands-Free Bluetooth Cell Phone Car Adapter | eBay

While the sound quality is good, its not as good as a streaming head unit, but I can move this from car to car easily. I have used it streaming music, either my mp3's or Pandora, while using Sprint Nav and they work great together...even taking phone calls on its good.

[rblakeney]

I hadn't heard the term "mechless" before either until about three weeks ago when my radio started dying and I started looking for a replacement. Crutchfield uses the term "digital media receiver" for what is essentially a good Bluetooth enabled iPhone/Pad/Pod radio with no CD/DVD player. Perfect for me since the last time I touched a CD was to rip it to my PC.

Coincidentally, was at Fry's today and spotted the Clarion FZ501 at $109. Looks to be perfect and Clarion actually lists the Pixi Plus as compatible. Hoping my Pre2 will have no issues.

Thanks for the suggestion, ntjoe. I have been using the Motorola T505 to do the same thing with very good results and would still be using it if my radio wasn't crapping out.

[OldSkoolVWLover]

You should be good with the Clarion and Pre2, my wife is hooked with her Pre2 to our older Clarion and my Veer has been great too (streaming podcasts to and from work on a daily basis when I have that car).

Ohh and @ NTJoe, I might have to pick one of those up for 20. I hate FM transmitters, but the 2 trucks I borrow don't have BT or an Aux input.

[rblakeney]

Installed a Clarion FZ501 in my car last night. These things are a great buy at Fry's right now. $109.90. You'll probably need an adapter for your car.

The Bluetooth radio in the thing must be discoverable all the time because my Pre2 found it immediately, identified it properly, and never looked back. I didn't have to do anything on the radio itself.

Phone calls are handled well, with microphone gain adjustments in the menu system. Someone did tell me it sounded a bit like being on speaker. An external mic can be added but doesn't come with the unit.

Music sounds very good and works as expected.

[ntjoe]

Originally Posted by OldSkoolVWLover

You should be good with the Clarion and Pre2, my wife is hooked with her Pre2 to our older Clarion and my Veer has been great too (streaming podcasts to and from work on a daily basis when I have that car).

Ohh and @ NTJoe, I might have to pick one of those up for 20. I hate FM transmitters, but the 2 trucks I borrow don't have BT or an Aux input.

That's why I use one...it's not the greatest but it accomplished my nav needs, music, and being able to make calls during it all and the sound is decently good if you can find a part of the "dial" with nothing. Plus when we went on vacation this summer I just put it in the rental!

[OldSkoolVWLover]

Originally Posted by rblakeney

Phone calls are handled well, with microphone gain adjustments in the menu system. Someone did tell me it sounded a bit like being on speaker. An external mic can be added but doesn't come with the unit.

Music sounds very good and works as expected.

Glad you like it, the original version we have came with the external mic....

[rblakeney]

In case anyone is watching this, I've been quite pleased overall with the Clarion unit but ended up buying and installing a wired microphone to improve phone calls. The built-in mic is not very good. The wired mic improved calls tremendously with mic gain set to almost lowest setting.

Overall, I'd say this is a very good radio once you get past the difficulty using the single big control knob. The menu structure is hard to navigate and trying to figure out which way to twist or tilt the knob is a pain.