RichardAllen Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 The stereo in the 90 is rubbish and my THB Bury phone hands free kit has thrown its hand in. (This is the second early failure unit I have had from them and the last one). I am looking to put in a bluetooth enabled stereo eg Sony MEX-BT5100, to kill two birds with one stone. I want to put the stereo in the front of a cubby box, rather than the dash but I notice that you cannot add a remote microphone for making calls, so you have to use the built in one. Has anyone any experience of such a setup ? In particular will the microphone in the stereo be able to pick up my voice against a noisy Defender background when I am making calls ? Especially if it is in a cubby box ? All help gratefully received as always. Regards Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8bowler Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 i had a sony stereo in my hybrid Soft top v8 stereo fitted top middle of screen and if you were driving nobody could hear you on the phone and it was hard to listen what they were saying sam with my garmin sat nav they seem to pick up background wind noise . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirkthe1 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 you could try asking halfords-they do sell/install them, and they could probably tell you-or one of the independant installers failing that, and if you dont want to risk it, you could always get a cheap stereo and a parrot-again i think halfords do them. or failing that a decent wireless head mic thing would do job-i used one (albiet briefly) for week or so, and they worked quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
najw Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I have one of these (not in a Defender I might add) and I am told by those who call me that the signal is very echoy (sp) and quite difficult to hear. I have now started to use a TomTom with bluetooth connection to my phone which I am told is clearer and is also a lot closer to my face HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I honestly doubt whether any handsfree would work "well" in a Defender. I have a Parrot kit in my Ford Ranger which is a hell of a lot quieter inside in every respect (engine noise, road noise and wind noise) than my Defender and I sometimes struggle to hear the audio clearly as does the person on the other end unless I lean forwards towards the microphone, so I discounted my original idea of fitting another one to the Defender on the basis it would be about as much use as a set of earplugs in a nuclear explosion. It works ok on smooth roads but on a rough road surface or heading into a strong wind you really struggle with it and I usually need to drop to 30mph or less to use it which kind of defeats the object. It works perfectly well it is just the limitations of the operating environment! Also the microphone on the Parrot is highly directional, I don't know if they are all like that. I occasionally bump mine when I am tuning the radio and if it is facing the passenger or the floor it doesn't work at all well. I'm guessing the mic in the set you are looking at will be "facing" backwards to point at the driver in a dash mounting so unless you talk into your left armpit it probably won't work too well in the cubby box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Twig Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I use a bluetooth ear piece and shout.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbocharger Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I've just put an MEX-BT3600 in my Tdi, on the lower face of the dash (just enough room between it and the handbrake). It's got a mike in the front panel of the radio apparently. Bearing in mind I've just installed the world's loudest turbo and it doesn't have any inlet ducting, you're welcome to ring me and listen to the other end of it to get some idea. I don't expect it'll work very well but I'd be interested to see - I haven't tried it when I'm driving yet. PM me if you want my number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I tried a few aftermarket type solutions before ariveing with my current setup. I use a Nokia Bluetooth handsfree kit (works with other brands too) wired into the dash with an external speaker and a microphone. The received audio is excellent with the speaker mounted on the dash lower tray. I have the microphone mounted on the sunroof surround and it seems to work OK for the most part. Best if someone who I have spoken to with the setup assesses the outgoing audio quality, but even on motorways I seem to be able to make myself understood. Having the microphone closer to ones mouth seems critical in a noisy car. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 i use a Parrot bluetooth kit, worked very well in the td5 defender wired into a Blau stereo, works well in the 07 too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I've spent (wasted) way too much money over the last couple of years on BT hands-free kits. The only ones I've found work are the Parrots. I've now had two in Land Rovers (200tdi & Td5) plus one in our van and I'm nothing but impressed! Most people don't seem to notice that I'm on hands-free, never mind driving! Best bet is the CK3100. The Colour one is more expensive and doesn't offer anything much more useful. Avoid the older type without a display. They work perfectly well but are hard to use (no real user interface having no display). Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 That's what I've got (CK3100) and I left a message on the work answerphone the other day to remind myself to do something, and I thought the audio was quite echoey when I listened to it later, was clearly not a normal phone call - maybe it doesn't like my Kenwood head unit or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacks906 Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 i had in me van my tomtom bluetoothed to my phone but the hands free going threw the sterieo the mic is threw the mic you get with the tomtom works very well for me but as bogmonster says i doubt you'll get a hands freeto work very well with all the back ground noise i know in mine i just pull over dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landmannnn Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 The only ones I've found work are the Parrots. Another vote for the Parrot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streaky Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 I have the same SONY MEX BT5100 head unit in my Discovery. When I'm using the hands free function some of the callers have said that it's not easy to hear what I'm saying and I end up reverting to the hand set or using the BT ear peice. Other callers have said nothing so it seems to be a hit and miss affair. I'd be very surprised if the BT5100 microphone would function properly if the head set was inside a cubby. The microphone on the unit is also behind the flip down face panel which would make the task even more difficult. I've only had the SONY head unit since October and will be changing it soon for the Alpine equivelent head unit instead. My mates dad has it in his Land Cruiser and the overall BT function combined with an external microphone is fantastic. As a stereo head unit the SONY is great...but for the hands free function I think there are better alternatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spcollins Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Hi folks, I Have a Kenwood system and it has a Bluetooth phone system (Kenwood but the microphone is like a real car kit; i.e. it is separate and the sound quality is top notch. I have the microphone installed at the top of the driver side window - near the sun visor. My vehicle is an Anniversary 90 Auto with extra sound proofing so it's fairly quiet in Defender terms. Never had a complaint. The display on the head unit shows the caller details etc. Hope this helps? Simon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobtail4x4 Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 I have 3 SONY MEX BT2500 radios fitted in 3 cars, well one car and 2 discos, the disco on bfg muds struggles to be heard, I would love an external mic, one thing I do like about them is the ability to play MP3 cds, 90+ tracks on one disc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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