Kinivo BTC450 Bluetooth Car Kit (Hands-Free, AUX Bluetooth Adapter for Cars with Ground Loop Noise Isolator, 3.5mm Aux Input, Apt-X)

I bought this to use in my 2006 Prius, with my Galaxy Note 3 phone (Android). I have 64 gig of mp3's that I stream directly from my phone. It works beautifully, set-up was a snap. I climb into my car and the connection happens automatically, and it starts playing right from where it left off when I got out of the car. Incoming calls pause the music, one touch of the button and I'm on speaker phone, which is very clear from both ends. Touch the button to hang up and the music fades back in, flawless. The only drawback is that (like all the others) there is no way to extend the length of the button cord. The assumption (apparently from every manufacturer) is that the button goes on you dash, the power plug is somewhere below your car stereo, and the stereo has an auxiliary input on it's face. However, in the Prius the power jack and aux input are hidden away in the center arm rest (which is nice), so the button can't be easily placed on the dash as the cord gets in the way. I'll either have to find a place on the arm rest, or try to run the button wire under the carpet. No points off, because it seems all the other manufacturers make the same assumption. By the way, there is a slight hum from ground loops in the Prius, but a cheap isolator fixed that. AND NOW FOR THE FUN PART. I have a workshop at home. I have an old stereo tuner/amp wired to ceiling speakers in my shop. But I have several problems. 1) Reception is terrible even with an external antenna. 2) When my phone rings I seldom hear it over the machines and stereo. 3) I don't want the phone in my pocket, if I run into the corner of a workbench it might shatter the display. 4) If I do hear the phone ring, I have to turn off the stereo, the tool, then wipe the oil off my hands before trying to answer it. So here is the solution: Even though the power adapter is designed to plug into a 12 volt outlet, it can also be run by plugging a USB cord into it, then into a USB wall-wart (transformer) adapter. So I found an extra USB wall-wart, plugged it into the switched outlet on the back of the stereo (or you could just plug it into the wall outlet), and connected it to the car kit USB port. I plugged the audio jack into a stereo mini headphone to RCA adapter cable, and plugged that into the RCA jacks on the back of the stereo. To keep the exposed prongs on the 12 volt adapter from shorting out, I just plugged it into a 1/2" pvc (slip on) end cap. It fits snugly and is dirt cheap. So now when I walk into my shop I just turn on my stereo, and lay my phone on top of it (with the cover closed). It connects automatically and starts playing. I can skip forward or back using the car-kit buttons. If the phone rings, the music fades out, I hear the phone ringing, I push the car-kit button with my oily finger and I have an instant speaker phone, without ever touching my cell phone. And for my s@#$y FM reception, I subscribed to the Sirius internet radio, and now I can also stream hundreds of ad-free radio stations through my phone into my stereo using my free wifi. Heaven!

I've recently started a mission to reduce wire clutter in my car and decided to look for the perfect Bluetooth receiver to meet my specific needs. I should note that I drive a 2003 Honda Accord and my phone is a LG G2. When I refer to the car being ON or OFF, I don't necessarily mean if the engine is actually running but the state of the car's electrical system (i.e. which includes the ON/ACCESSORY key ignition position when the car's electrical system is active but the engine isn't running yet). I had the following requirements: 1. Has to turn ON when the car turns on and ALWAYS REMAIN ON regardless of the activity/inactivity of the phone (i.e. it should NOT fall asleep after 20 minutes of inactivity then requires re-connecting). 2. Will turn OFF when the car turns off. 3. Will automatically find my phone and connect when I start the engine. No fiddling of any kind should be required. 4. Will have enough bandwidth/speed to stream high quality audio. 5. Will have a microphone and will also function as a hands free phone kit. 6. Will look nice (not cheap) and can be mounted easily After scrutinizing a ton of different Bluetooth receivers/kits, I purchased the BTC450. It pretty much meets every one of my requirements. Some important findings: 1. The device does indeed turn on when the car starts and remains ON. So far, it hasn't fallen asleep during periods of inactivity. Absolutely perfect. (I still need to field test this more to see if this holds true for longer periods of inactivity.) 2. The device does indeed turn OFF when the car turns off. Again, perfect. The device being ON or OFF is directly linked to if its currently receiving power from the car. This is BY DESIGN and I purposefully chose this product because it wasn't battery-powered. ON/OFF behavior was a big dealbreaker for all the battery-powered Bluetooth adapters/receivers I looked at, as they would all go to sleep during inactivity (which then requires manual re-connecting). I should emphasize that you should test how your car's electrical system works before buying this product. As my car cuts off power to the power socket once you remove the key, I could leave this plugged in all the time and not worry about battery drainage at all. Some cars do have an "always-on" power socket for some reason, so please do your research first before complaining this product "silently drains your battery". 3. As long as my phone already has Bluetooth enabled, turning on my car will turn the BTC450 on and automatically find and connect with my phone. Perfect yet again. If you turn on the car and your phone does NOT have Bluetooth turned on, it will not connect (obviously). If you then turn Bluetooth on your phone (with the car already on), it won't connect automatically (needs further testing). Luckily the re-connection process is easy (just hit the big middle button on the BTC450). This behavior isn't ideal but is by far the best so far i've seen for Bluetooth car kits. I can live with either having Bluetooth always enabled on my phone (it has a negligible effect on my phones battery life) or remembering to turn it on. 4. I had some reservations about Bluetooth 2.1+EDR having enough speed/bandwidth to stream quality audio, and it was a huge relief to find that all my music and phone calls sound great. I believe that most of the audio quality problems reported are not related to this device, but are problems with your car itself. Most commonly reported issues are hearing a high pitched whine/humming/hiss that would be present regardless of what you plug in. This isn't the BTC450's fault and is likely an issue with how your car's stereo system is grounded. You can remove this noise by searching for "ground loop isolator" on Amazon, but a well known side effect of those products is a reduction in volume and sound quality. I do experience some audio whine at near max volume (especially when I hit the accelerator/gas pedal), but this is always present regardless of what is plugged in (phone, laptop, tablet, BTC450, etc). Since I never listen to anything even near max volume, this is a non-issue for me. Sound strength/loudness is the same as if I have my phone directly plugged in (make sure your phone's Bluetooth volume is set to max/high if you have problems). 5. Microphone works well enough. Though the microphone picks up a decent amount of ambient noise, the person on the other end of the call can hear me fine. Picking up a call or hanging up is super easy, just hit the big middle button. If you have a Bluetooth profile set up to use the BTC450 for phone calls, there will be a little chime/song that plays through the car speakers (NOT your phone's ringtone) if your stereo is set to the AUX input setting. When listening to the regular radio or CD, the stereo will NOT automatically switch to AUX when a phone call comes in (obviously, unless your stereo has that capability for some reason). Your phone will still play its ringtone through its own phone speakers simultaneously, as long as its not set to vibrate or silent. I think if you only have the Bluetooth media profile enabled (with the Phone Call profile DISABLED), the normal ringtone will play through the speakers but you will have to talk into your phone's microphone once you pick up (still need to test this). 6. Unit is fairly small, blends in with my car decor, and is pretty minimalistic. Special note: There seems to be some bugs with the pairing not working quite correctly when using Google Navigation and Spotify. I've only run across this once so far and haven't been able to replicate it since. I'll update if I ever find out what causes this issue.

Everything about it is great with how it hooks up, it has a loop insulator to cut out all the humming, it turned my radio into Bluetooth so I can now play my music on my phone, easy to use, easy to install, functions great, great cord length was good for what I need it for! The only thing I noticed was it compromises my sound quality tremendously on my two 10 inch subs and amp. The subs still hit good but not as good as when I’m listening to the radio. However, my music is being played via Bluetooth on auxiliary. The radios output is being played through RCA cables directly connected to my subs. This could very well be the reason for my subs underperforming compared to when I have the radio on, which is why I gave it 4 stars. Overall, I definitely recommend this product! At the end of the day, it did what I wanted which is making my radio Bluetooth capable and that’s why I bought it!

This device is marketed for hands-free calling and audio, which seems to fulfill both roles pretty well. Been using it for a few weeks now and have a few thoughts. The button/unit itself has a short length of single cord coming from it, about two feet long. It then splits into two separate cords, one for audio and one for the automobile plugin, each one about a foot long. Total is approximately 3 feet for overall cord length, which may be a /little/ bit short for some users. I found it fit the best near the middle of the center stack of my car (Mazda 6 sedan), driver side, close to the audio controls. It left just enough wire to run down along the center console, past the shifter, and to the center-box to keep the 3.5mm audio jack and power plug to hide away. Would be nice if it came with an additional foot of cord for easier placement. Pairing with a phone is extremely simple. When you turn your car on/turn the key to the first position, it automatically starts the unit. Just make sure the bluetooth is enabled for your phone and accept it as a device, paired no problems, no password or special tricks required. Nice to use this unit and not have to fuss with settings. Works reliably, turn car on, pairs with phone, good to go. Audio quality is pretty good, not %100 as good as directly plugged in with an audio cord, but close enough that the difference doesn't bother me. The benefit of this unit is largely convenience, don't need to plug/unplug the audio cable every time you enter/leave your vehicle. Besides that, it has a microphone built into the unit, so you /can/ use it as a hands-free type of unit. The microphone (as reported by my friends and family) is of acceptable quality, the only minor problem being slightly reduced volume. So I tend to need to turn my volume up and speak clearly and a bit more loudly when using this. Not a big deal and not a deal breaker. Might be nice in a revision/different version if they had an AUX input port on the unit, so you could run your own microphone closer to the steering wheel. Doubtful that every user would want to utilize that, but I'd be willing to pay a few bucks more to get an AUX jack for a slightly better microphone option. Not a complain though, /for the money/ this unit does a perfectly acceptable job of playing audio, microphone, and phone calls. 5 out of 5 considering the minor flaws.

I just purchased this because my car does not have built-in bluetooth, and I just got my first iPhone. I didn't really think Bluetooth would matter all that much to me, but for some reason the cable made by Hyundai for iPod/iPhone only comes with a 30-pin connection, and the lightning-30pin adaptors don't seem to work consistently. So if I want to listen to music in my car, I can't use the stereo controls--I have to use my phone to skip songs, shuffle, rewind, etc, which doesn't feel safe when driving. I spend a lot of time in my car for work, so I finally realized I DO need Bluetooth. I didn't want to spend the money to have a whole new stereo with built-in bluetooth installed, and that's when I came across this little item. I was afraid it would be complicated to get it working (since I am new to iPhone, as you can imagine I'm not very tech-savvy yet), but I just plugged it in and turned on the bluetooth on my phone and selected the Kinivo device. Before I knew it, music and phone calls through my car stereo! My only complaint, and it's minor, is that it uses the only cigarette charger in my car, and I like to have my GPS plugged in too, since it gets its traffic and weather updates through a unit on the charging cord. The charger that comes with this unit *does* have a built-in UPS port, but my GPS uses the cigarette lighter. It's possible that the Kinivo doesn't actually need to be plugged in at all times (I haven't played around with it but I remember the instructions saying that we can plug it in to 'charge when necessary'), and worst-case scenario I can always get a splitter so I can have TWO devices charging simultaneously. Bottom line, this is a great little device and a simple fix. Next time I buy a car, I'm going to just go ahead and get built-in bluetooth and navigation, though! ETA: After living with this for a month or so now, I still love it just as much. It works consistently and pairs up with my phone immediately upon starting my car, without any action on my part, which I love. The one down side is that this does NOT work with my car stereo controls after all (except volume of course) so I still have to use my phone to skip a song, shuffle, or fwd/rewind. Oh well, it was pretty affordable so you can't expect perfection.

I've used Kinivo for 8 years now. They are high quality, provide outstanding performance for most products, and are priced reasonably. My first car set from Kinivo was the BTC 455 that I bought in 2014. I no longer have it because I choose to leave it behind in my old car that I got rid of a couple years ago. It had outstanding audio quality with a superb bass boost that could rattle the car frame despite having a normal stock car stereo. If I recall, you had to engage the bluetooth by pressing once on the car kit and then your phone will start playing right away. This car kit? Functionally similar. I really don't see a difference between the 455 and the 450. You would think the number being lower would have a meaning here. If there is a difference, I don't notice it. Still has great audio, connects with no issue (but still requires the press once to play), and has that guilty pleasure bass boost. Just be careful not to hit the button twice in a row, it'll start calling your most recent phone number in your recent. This is annoying especially if you're used to hitting twice to skip in modern bluetooth devices. Forward and Rewind are instead located as their own buttons on the top of the device, so use those instead. The other downside is that this comes with its own car charger that has one USB slot in it. The jeep I put this into has only one car charger port so this is annoying with multiple people in the car. I won't remove a point here because I don't know if the mandatory car charger has vital hardware that a USB cable by itself couldn't do. I prefer this and the 455 over the 480 due to the bass boost (the 480 just didn't do it right) and (subjectively) better audio quality. The 480 just felt cheap and lame after using the 455/450. Overall, this is a great set if you can remember not to hit to hit the main button twice and if you're fine with the mandatory one usb port.

Overview: I've kept my eye on this product for a while debating back and forth whether it would be worth the money to get it. Currently I used an aux cable in my car to play music from my iPhone and it worked, it was just annoying to have to manage the cable every time. Finally I decided what the heck and bought the BTC450. I have to say it works flawlessly. The audio quality is decent, the connection doesn't drop, and as long as my iPhone's bluetooth is on when I start the car it always pairs automatically in less than 30 seconds. In the event I forget to turn on bluetooth first, quick press of the main button on the device initiates the pairing. I set it up so my music plays through the BTC450 but my phone calls come through the iPhone itself, so I cannot comment on those aspects of the device. But for music only it does everything I need it to. One thing to note, is in iOS 8 on my iPhone 6, in order to make it play music only but keep my calls through the iPhone earpiece I had to initiate a call while connected to the BTC450 and then while connected to the call, press the button where speakerphone usually is and select audio output from the iPhone. Since then it has remembered that setting for me. Packaging: - very easy to open. No issues whatsoever. Just a quick slice of a knife (or car keys) to cut the small piece of tape holding the flap closed. Pros: - reliably auto connects every time - sound quality is decent - has a usb port built into the power plug Cons: - the light only shines blue and blinks at different frequencies to indicate different messages. I haven't memorized the varying sequences, so I have to consult the manual each time. It would've been nice to have colour differentiation so a red light could indicate a problem while blue/green indicates successful connections Other thoughts: - the device emits a beeping sound through the car speakers when it successfully connects to your device, but I saw no mention of this in the manual so the first time I heard it I thought the sound indicated there was a problem. This is normal and it does this every time I turn on my car to let me know my iPhone is connected and ready. - the unit is much smaller than I was expecting it to be. This is good because it means it's very easy for me to tuck into my center console without worrying about it getting in the way.

Hard to compare, since I've never used any other hands-free kits. I wasn't about to pay double the price for the Belkin, and the reviews seemed good so I got one each for both my wife and myself. The first thing is, if you want to control your phone, it's not up to this device - you need to have the right apps installed. If you're ONLY going to use this for phone calls, then that's not an issue. My wife's Samsung phone has better support for impaired users, which works well when you're driving, IMO. The generic problem I have with these kinds of devices - and I believe this applies no matter which one you get, is that you have to keep your car stereo on "Aux" the ENTIRE time you're driving, even if you don't want to listen to music or audio from your phone while driving. I don't see how you can get around that with a generic car kit... most new cars will tend to have something like this built in, and hopefully deal with that issue, but if you're buying this then you probably don't have such a car and there's really nothing you can do... so I can't listen to the local news or talk radio on my commute if I want to be able to answer the phone. Again, this is not just for this device, but any like it... please correct me if I'm wrong. Now, specifically about this device, it works quite well for what I needed it for - hands free mobile phone use. The people I've talked to have said I sounded OK, and so the sound quality was at least adequate. Of course, I haven't actually heard it, since I'm on the speaking side... but multiple people have confirmed that it sounds OK. As far as people complaining about noise cancelling goes, I think they don't understand they are asking for the impossible (like muting out the sound of the car itself). The microphone is picking up all sounds... it doesn't know which ones to cancel, unlike headphones with that technology that cancel anything not coming from your audio device - this can only cancel out the sounds the phone itself is making. I really don't know how to explain it - but it seems to do a fine job of cancelling out any echo for the people you're talking to - there's no way a device like this can filter out road noise using a single microphone. I think the complainers don't understand how noise cancelling works. Beyond talking, I have had limited success with Google Now!, but limitations are limitations of Google Now! and not this device. I don't have a lot of music stored on my phone, I normally use Pandora if I'm going to listen to music. The device contains a couple of extra buttons to help listening to music, including a back/previous button on the top left, and a forward/next button on the top right; the main button in the middle is supposed to pause/continue music (you hold the button for a couple of seconds to actually make a call). I have not been able to confirm any of the buttons actually work in music apps except the "next" button, which is the ONLY button that works with Pandora. The main button will not pause/continue Pandora, and Pandora has no "back" option. Pause/play would have been really nice, though, but I realize it's probably more of a function of the app. If you have the right apps, this would probably work pretty decently for texts, using text to speech and speech to text, but I generally just ignore texts while driving (a good habit, if you ask me). Overall, especially given the much lower price than the alternatives, I think it's a pretty decent option.