Generic Ebay bluetooth stereos?

My son discovered this while Ebay surfing today. I was thinking about getting an inexpensive stereo like the Blaupunkt Adelaide that Woody put in his Miata. However, $28 is kind of appealing to cheap/poor people such as myself. My admittedly weak Google-fu turned up virtually nothing on this thing or similar ones that show up on Ebay.

I'll probably pull the trigger anyway out of curiosity, and take one for the team. Expectations are low; my son basically wants something that will let him play his phone's music library.

If you have any plans to try to use it as a phone, the eBay one only seems to have a microphone in the unit itself, as opposed to a wired microphone to put in the car. Probably not going to work very well, but only a concern if you want to use it for two-way communications.

Check Wal-Mart online.

I don't have high hopes for that unit. I could send you a Sony head unit for cost of shipping and you can just plug a 3.5mm jack into the front.

This one is $87 and I've had multiple good results with Wirecutter recommendations.

Worth cutting some lawns for the extra money to get something substantially better I think.

I picked up a JVC-X310BT on clearout from a local stereo shop. It was more than $28 but I'm sure if you hunted around you could find a similar stereo with "just good enough" Bluetooth support.

They've been out for long enough that cash-strapped ricers have got to be including them or a similar high end head unit in part-outs.

Option 2, if your current head unit allows it, there are some pretty decent Bluetooth to Aux-In kits on DealExtreme and many of them also include microphones. Try to get one that has controls.

My current solution in the Miata is a zip-tied rechargeable battery Bluetooth speaker I bought at a Best Buy firesale for $10. Sound quality is uninspiring.

What do you want Bluetooth for? Audio streaming or phone calls? It makes a difference.

In reply to clutchsmoke:

I might be interested. The MR2 has a unit with no 3.5mm or Bluetooth. Hence no iPod/MP3. I've been listening to the same CD for about 1000 miles now.

The Pioneer that CarRacer's link mentioned. It was $87 on Amazon about a couple weeks ago and I bought it because of its depth -- I needed something short to fit in the fairing on the Goldwing. Sound quality is good and it pairs quickly and reliably with my phone. There were only two things I didn't care for: The volume button is also the menu button which means when you adjust the volume, it is likely that you will also press that button and enter the menu. The other problem is that the USB connection automatically tries to use my phone as a media player whenever I plug it in -- even if I'm already streaming via bluetooth, I have to re-select the BT Audio source -- and it doesn't charge at 2 amps.

For $87, though, best stereo I've ever bought.

As long as you're not expecting it to push much power it should be ok. I have a fancy single-din (double-din screen) touch-screen dvd-playin ass-kickin BOSS that has in integrated mic only and as long as the windows are up, it seems to be OK.

With car audio, you get what you pay for.

It looks aesthetically pleasing, and the specs are decent. I'd say go for it.

It is only $28, whats the worst that could happen?

I have that Pioneer unit and it is pretty good. The stock mic isn't awesome but the car I had it in was really loud too. For the money, that is what I would recommend.

If you buy one, and it turns out to be half-decent, I'll buy one for sure.

I bought this one, or one very similar to it(not sure the exact model number), and installed it in my 89 Delica a few months ago.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130X520UI/Pioneer-FH-X520UI.html?tp=5684

It has an external mic, and paired with my phone rather easily even though I'm a luddite. My wife say it sounds fine on her end if I'm using the Bluetooth while on the phone with her. Of course the Delica is sort of noisy with the diesel engine right under your ass, and the non-working AC, so I usually have the windows down. If I'm on the Bluetooth for a phone call I will power the windows closed so there is less wind noise. So far I haven't had anyone complain about not being able to hear me while using it. I paid $100 I think on fleabay with free shipping.

Jerry wrote: In reply to clutchsmoke: I might be interested. The MR2 has a unit with no 3.5mm or Bluetooth. Hence no iPod/MP3. I've been listening to the same CD for about 1000 miles now.

Shoot me your address and I'll ship it! Unless you want pics first?

In reply to clutchsmoke:

Sending PM...

Brief update to this thread. Labor day week, this even cheaper stereo popped up on sale for only $21:

So I figured 'what could possibly go wrong? A grand total of $30 with bezel adapter and a connector, an hour or so of dissasembling and reassembling the dash, and we have this (prior to dash reassembly):

<img src="#//flic.kr/p/zBe2TK]

As a side benefit, I removed about 31lb of rats nest wiring hacks: <img src="#//flic.kr/p/yEkywV]

How does it sound? Any better than stock?

Initial impression is mixed. Shipping took over 3 weeks.

It sounds better than the 17 year old stock stereo at the volume I listen to music, tuning seems to work better on a couple of marginal stations. The bluetooth pairs quickly and works well for playing music off my phone.

The largest issue, which surprised me abit when I looked in the shop manual, is that the remote door locks are tied in with the stock stereo through a security module. I figured I'd still try to swap and see what happens. Not much security, as the car otherwise still works.
Not a huge deal for me, as I'll only be driving this another month or so, then my kid will have to deal with it . For now, it's a 2 door, the trunk was manual cable release anyway, and I can swap back to the old stereo pretty quickly if needed. I've given my dad the EE the project of looking at the wiring diagram to see if there's a way to jump a few pins on the security module to get the remotes back.

As we figured, the bluetooth phone is basically useless with the built in mic. It worked OK in the garage, but much less so when in motion. Another annoyance is that the lights are not dimmable, and you get red lighting only. We'll see in a few hours how distracting it will be.

So, I got what I paid for . I'll be utilizing something better for my C900 build when (if, at present rate) it gets to that point.

XLR99 wrote: Initial impression is mixed. Shipping took over 3 weeks. It sounds better than the 17 year old stock stereo at the volume I listen to music, tuning seems to work better on a couple of marginal stations. The bluetooth pairs quickly and works well for playing music off my phone. The largest issue, which surprised me abit when I looked in the shop manual, is that the remote door locks are tied in with the stock stereo through a security module. I figured I'd still try to swap and see what happens. Not much security, as the car otherwise still works. Not a huge deal for me, as I'll only be driving this another month or so, then my kid will have to deal with it . For now, it's a 2 door, the trunk was manual cable release anyway, and I can swap back to the old stereo pretty quickly if needed. I've given my dad the EE the project of looking at the wiring diagram to see if there's a way to jump a few pins on the security module to get the remotes back. As we figured, the bluetooth phone is basically useless with the built in mic. It worked OK in the garage, but much less so when in motion. Another annoyance is that the lights are not dimmable, and you get red lighting only. We'll see in a few hours how distracting it will be. So, I got what I paid for . I'll be utilizing something better for my C900 build when (if, at present rate) it gets to that point.

Sounds like a decent buy! I'll probably pop for something more expensive for my next car.

Yes for a basic bluetooth stereo not a bad deal at all for ~30 bucks. As pointed out, there are better options out there, but for the cost of a night out at the high school football game, go for it!

Great, now I've jinxed myself. I'll look out there in the morning and the car will have burned to the ground .

CarRacer said:

This one is $87 and I've had multiple good results with Wirecutter recommendations.

Worth cutting some lawns for the extra money to get something substantially better I think.

I have the previous (or two) generation of this. The audio is alright and the mic picks up too much other noise. HOWEVER, I am happy with it overall so I would recommend it. 

I got one of these for my roadster, will stick it in the glove box with just an on/off toggle on the center console:

https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-kab-230a-2x30w-class-d-audio-amplifier-board-with-bluetooth-40--325-102?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pla

Let us know how that works.  I am looking for a similar situation for my 58 Ghia.  I have a dummy (period) stereo in the dash now, but would like to have the option to play a phone through the speaker.  I am curious what other parts you will need besides the board.  BTW a Rasberry Pi case might be a good way to package that.

The other option is to put a full stereo (as shown above) in the glove box, but that will take up most of the glove box.