Bluetooth kit for 2010 NC

Noddycar · Postby **Noddycar** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 8:39 pm

Hello

I believe that many of the after-market bluetooth kits won't work with the latest model MX-5..... Has anyone found a way around this, without resorting to the factory version? I think $500-$600 for a basic bluetooth kit is a bit steep. I know I can use a microphone cable connected to the iPhone via the aux input, but would prefer to avoid wires running around the car.

Thanks

TieNN89 · Postby **TieNN89** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 10:58 am

I was just about to suggest the GROM Audio Unit but after having a search it isn't available for the series 2

Hopefully they have something soon for you

Noddycar · Postby **Noddycar** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 12:36 pm

Yes, had seen that one. There are quite a few similar units, but none of them have connectors suitable for the Bose in the latest MX5. I think it has something to do with the fact that the signal coming from the Bose had unit is not amplified (is there a separate amp in the car)?

Meanwhile, I have grabbed a Belkin Aircast Auto, which uses bluetooth and plugs in via the aux connector on the radio. I will still be looking for a "proper" bluetooth solution.

TieNN89 · Postby **TieNN89** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 2:51 pm

Noddycar wrote:Yes, had seen that one. There are quite a few similar units, but none of them have connectors suitable for the Bose in the latest MX5. I think it has something to do with the fact that the signal coming from the Bose had unit is not amplified (is there a separate amp in the car)?

Well the older MX-5s has Bose in it as well

The head unit isn't actually by Bose, I read somewhere there was a few manufacturers doing them Sanyo, Clarion to name a few off the top of my head. And there isn't a sticker on the back of the head unit saying Bose that I could see It's just the speakers that has a Bose Label on it behind the door cards

With the GROM unit and many others they hook up to the CD Changer port on the back which may not be on the newer models because the head unit now has a different design

Your other option is getting an after market Bluetooth like the Parrot put in
http://www.parrot.com/au/products/hands-free-car-kits

I'm not sure what the call quality is like with those but with the GROM that I have it's just okay apparently you get some road noise on the other end and wind noise when the top is down

Noddycar · Postby **Noddycar** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 4:17 pm

I think the hassle with most kits is find one that you don't have to butcher wiring. I'll email Parrot and ask if they have a solution.... The Belkin will do until I can fit something permanent, but I hate wires running around the car. I can always move the Belkin to my sons car, which only has an aux connection as well.

Noddycar · Postby **Noddycar** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 4:06 pm

Hmmmmm - after all of the hassle of trying to find the best kit, I discovered the car I am buying already has Mazda bluetooth installed. For some reason I missed the microphone mounted in the windscreen (will blame the fact that it was raining when I first inspected it) and it was not in the list of included accessories.

BONUS!

TieNN89 · Postby **TieNN89** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:38 pm

Noddycar · Postby **Noddycar** » Sat Feb 04, 2012 8:13 am

To help anyone that may have the same issue I did, I was having difficulty getting my iPhone to stream audio to the Mazda bluetooth kit. Telephone conversations were working perfectly (callers were telling me how good the sound quality is), but for some reason the iPhone refused to stream audio to the radio. After a little reading, I discovered the radio had to be set to Aux of stream audio, which I did not realise as the phone works on bluetooth on any of the settings. I still had hassles. I checked the "iPod" settings on the iPhone (there is a little triangle-like symbol that appears on the iPhone screen when in music mode that you can select the playback settings) and the Mazda bluetooth kit was selected as the output device. Still not working. Hard reset the phone. Same result. I then changed the output setting to "iPhone" (from Mazda", then back to Mazda. It worked! When I jumped in the car this morning, I only had to start the music playing on the iPhone and it automatically streamed, so both devices are obviously now happy to play together.

I thought I may have to buy the Mazda bluetooth audio transmitter for iPod, but it appears it is not necessary with the iPhone. You can change volume through the steering wheel controls, but unfortunately the track controls don't seem to work. I believe if you use an iPod and the Mazda accessory, you can change tracks via the steering wheel. I don't really care, as I just have my playlist on shuffle and am happy for it to cycle through songs. I have a "driving songs" playlist full of great rock songs and some jazz, as you would not be wanting to drive up the road, top down with my wife's Celine Dion album blaring out!

TieNN89 · Postby **TieNN89** » Sat Feb 04, 2012 10:37 am

Just wondering, where is the mic located?

And any pics of the genuine bluetooth

Noddycar · Postby **Noddycar** » Sat Feb 04, 2012 2:35 pm

Microphone is mounted high on the front glass near the pillar. Assume the workings of the bluetooth are hidden somewhere under the dash. The microphone (which has talk/action button plus volume up/down), is the only visible part of the system. The volume on the bluetooth works independently of the radio volume, which is a fantastic idea as once the perfect volume is set, you don't need to change it.