HELP: Confused over best DAB bluetooth car stereo to buy

[mikeonb4c]

Ye Gods. Trying to get a line on this is impossible. So many models, so many discontinued after finding a good review. I've gathered an external microphone is best for in car calls. I think one with DAB and AM/FM might provide best futureproofing, and maybe i don't need a CD player. The Pioneer DEH-X8700DAB seems to get good reviews and is on reasonable price offers. Can't think why people want a rear USB though - how are you supposed to plug things in? The biggest headache though seems to be the DAB aerial issue. Windscreen ones look tacky and don't work well it seems. Don't want to be drilling for expensive rooftop ones. Can't help but think the plastic AFT roof might be a good place to conceal an aerial whilst allowing a good signal, but insufficient depth to mount one vertically. And then there's the FM/DAB splitter, which claims to work fine with a standard non amplifier aerial (as if i'd know what the Bongo has). And DAB aerials seem generally costly. I'd really welcome some sensible advice from Bongoliers able to unravel this confusion. Might help future unfortunates also!

Thanks as ever chums, in hope!

Mike

[Joe_anne123]

Mine has a windscreen aerial and it works brilliantly and I barely notice it.

[Bob]

Ask Dabs?

I'll get me coat again.

[mikeonb4c]

Mine has a windscreen aerial and it works brilliantly and I barely notice it.

Hmmm, so much for the reviews then. Thanks. Very useful to know that in case i decide to go down that route.

[mikeonb4c]

Ask Dabs?

I'll get me coat again.

Groan! Wash yer mouth out with Ariel Bob.

[philpdr]

Ask Dabs?

I'll get me coat again.

Just keep it on Bob.

[Bob]

And now Ladies and Gentlemen...

The Mike and Bob Act.................

[Gefail]

I wanted a Dab double din dvd player, but had the same issue with the aerial. I found a way round it was to put the tune-in radio app on the phone and stream the audio via bluetooth. You get the same variance of stations at a higher quality than FM.

[mikeonb4c]

I wanted a Dab double din dvd player, but had the same issue with the aerial. I found a way round it was to put the tune-in radio app on the phone and stream the audio via bluetooth. You get the same variance of stations at a higher quality than FM.

That's got me seriously confused. Are you using your phone as a DAB receiver (suspect not) or the FM radio facility on it, or internet radio (which would mean using your data allowance?).

Must admit i'm not sure why i'm fussing over a new stereo. I'm happy with the gentle tbrumming of the diesel, and i don't really do in car calls! I do like Radio 4 at times though, and occasionally a bit of music might be nice.

[mikeonb4c]

And now Ladies and Gentlemen...

The Mike and Bob Act.................

Yup. Let's just bob in, grab the mike, crack a bad joke, and leave our coats on for a quick exit.

[Gefail]

I wanted a Dab double din dvd player, but had the same issue with the aerial. I found a way round it was to put the tune-in radio app on the phone and stream the audio via bluetooth. You get the same variance of stations at a higher quality than FM.

That's got me seriously confused. Are you using your phone as a DAB receiver (suspect not) or the FM radio facility on it, or internet radio (which would mean using your data allowance?).

Must admit i'm not sure why i'm fussing over a new stereo. I'm happy with the gentle tbrumming of the diesel, and i don't really do in car calls! I do like Radio 4 at times though, and occasionally a bit of music might be nice.

I used to listen to 5 live on am during my work commute, but the quality is pretty naff, so I installed the tune-in app on my samsung A3 and now bathe in aural serenity. Yes it does use your data allowance, I'm on on an all you can eat £15/month contract with 3.

[mikeonb4c]

The tune-in app sounds almost as if yours has a built in FM radio. Mine has - needs earphones plugged in as aerial and/or have got away with using a lead into the radio Aux In.

Can you point me to where you can get the tune-in app as i wouldn't mind taking a look.

£15 a month for unlimited data sounds excellent. How are you finding the service/coverage with 3?

[sotal]

Just to add my opinions...

Rear USB - you ask why people would want this - This would be a definite requirement for me. I hate things plugged into the front. You don't actually plug straight into the rear, you use an extension lead to locate the USB socket wherever you want (glove box, arm rest etc) - then you can plug in a usb flash drive or even a hard drive and it stays hidden.

DAB - DAB is shocking in our area so barely gets used. If I use DAB it cuts out 3 times on my short journey to work and back. If I use FM I get better sound quality and it remains for the whole journey. There are more stations on DAB but not much use when they just cut in and out. This isn't just my car either everyone moans about DAB round here. So personally I wouldn't bother ensuring a replacement had DAB.

Bluetooth - I use Bluetooth a bit in the other car to play music from my phone (I use rear USB more - which is located in the glovebox) - I like to use the bluetooth music when I'm using Satnav on my phone so the direction reminders come through the car speakers etc. Handsfree phone calls are excellent in that car - my worry in the Bongo would be the level of ambient noise with our diesel Bongo. My phone has the usual builtin speakerphone option on it - this is more or less unusable in the Bongo where as I can use it in the other car if the radio is switched off.

Internet Radio - I sometimes use the Tunein App - it doesn't use built in FM etc, it simply uses data. A standard 128kbps stream uses a little over 50Mb of data for an hours use. My contract has 1GB of data but it is capped so on the rare occasion that I run out of data, I just live with out for the last few days of the month. So potentially I could listen to 20 hours of radio a month (if I didn't use data for anything else). Coverage can drop out whilst driving but it must buffer a little bit - it appears to be better than DAB.

For ours I will probably go for an Android Double DIN Unit, so it can play Mp4 video files, bluetooth streaming, satnav, rear usb for storage etc. However it is the cost that is stopping me (£150 - £200+). The radio we currently have in there works (although I need to fix the aerial!) and has an analog input to plug our phones in, which then they do satnav, videos etc - so struggling to justify the money for just having the convenience of having it built in.

The tunein app is on google play to download for free.

Hope that helps.

[mikeonb4c]

Fantastic post Sotal, will really help me zero in on the right choice and now i also get the rear usb thing (i knew there had to be a reason!). Thanks also Gefail for leading us into the internet discussion. I'd thought my 4gb per minth allowance wouldn't cover it but clearly it will. I noticed at least one app that allows you to select the bitrate (or whatever) to limit load on data allowance.

I'm now thinking fm head unit with bluetooth (maybe NFC as my LG G4 has that) and an external mic might do what i need including handling cab noise.

Right, back on the research trail. Huge thanks guys

[sotal]

4GB should be OK depending on how much you use it and what else you use it for. It also depends on network coverage for how well it will work in your area.


I've never got the point of NFC on car radios, I presume it is to change settings on your phone (ie put GPS on, turn bluetooth on etc) - but I'm quite happy to leave mine in my pocket with Bluetooth left on all the time and it just auto connects when I get in. I guess the advantages are battery savings as Bluetooth can be switched off after use (but do you have to do that manually?) I guess the disadvantages are you have to hold the phone up to the stereo each time you get in?

Is that how you envisage it working? Honestly never really used it so am presuming - just always seemed a bit gimmicky to me.

Also could you not just get an NFC tag to place in the car to do the same job without the stereo having the functionality?