Customer Reviews

Kenwood KCA-BT200 Bluetooth Hands-free Unit for A2DP

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

OK.

So I decided to take the plunge and try this device out. I want to say upfront that, in my honest opinion, it's WAY overpriced. However, that did not factor into my scoring. I just want to make sure you see what I'm saying - if it hadn't been for the gift certs I had, I wouldn't have bought it most likely.

Anyway, my deck is a Kenwood KDC-MP735U that I had installed at a shop, for reference. I decided to install the BT interface myself.

Installation was easy. The default cable plugged nicely into the deck, and it picked it right up. Looks like an S-PDIF connector, probably a derivative of USB. It acknowledged the BT200 right away and added the proper menu items. Thinking "that was too easy", I decided to try pairing my personal BlackBerry Pearl (perfect test, as I've seen complaints that BlackBerries don't work well with this). It paired up faster than even my BT headset, totally painless. Again thinking "that was also way too easy", I decided to test it. Turned on the deck and called my personal Pearl (let's call it the 8100) from my work Pearl (call it the 8130). Rang right away, auto answer worked flawlessly, everything worked great. I went ahead and paired the 8130 as well, it also worked like a charm.

So far so good, the device picked up both Pearls without incident. In fact it was so blatantly easy I almost felt like I should be ripping people off charging $75 labor to do this professionally and make a mint. The next test was for the microphone. Here's where it gets interesting - because while the mic does work well, the adhesive is pathetic. I don't expect it to be super glue-sticky, but sticky enough considering that most areas might have been shined with protectant and therefore not keen to any type of adhesives. I managed to get it mounted on the little inlet right in front of the plastic that guards the speedometer and other readouts, and even though it seemed rather unreliable, it stayed in place all the way home (20 minute drive, numerous potholes and speedbumps). Quite impressed there.

I made a call to test how loud I would have to talk. I spoke at regular volume - in fact quieter than I would have talked with the phone to my head - and was audible, loud and clear. It seemed to help cancel some of the road noise nicely. Make sure you keep the windows closed and just use A/C if you need airflow, because the wind noise impacting the edge of the window will cause distortion. Also, keep the phone away from the microphone as you'll get an echo from your voice getting picked up from both sources. I just left the phone in my center console or cup holder and allowed it to ring whenever it needed to.

NOTE: There seems to be some issue with AT&T Wireless (Formerly Cingular) cell phones (outbound). I don't know what the problem is, but any time I was talking to any user on AT&T, they were having trouble hearing me unless I talked loudly. My mother, my boss, and a friend of mine all were having issues, and they're all on Cingular. Yet when I did the test from T-mobile and Sprint, it was loud and clear when I talked at normal volume, so it's got to be carrier specific. If they're using a land line or other carriers, it's fine.

I was able to pair both Pearls to the device simultaneously. This is major cool - so if someone from work calls or someone calls my personal line I would get the call both ways. I didn't get a chance to test that theory, but I assume it should work. I'm curious if it would do a "call waiting" type deal.

To place an outbound call, the deck's remote comes with a number pad and phone buttons that are specifically designed for this. You dial a number just like you would on a phone, the only difference being you have to point the remote at the deck. Normally you'd think this would be difficult, but I found it even easier than dialing on a normal phone. The only tricky part was terminating a call - you have to press the SRC button which returns you to your regularly scheduled program. EDIT: You can also dial directly from the phone, just like you would if you were using a headset. Forgot to mention this as I never bothered doing it.

On screen, my deck comes with icons for the battery power and signal strength indicators of the phone when it's connected. I found these largely useless, as they never matched either phone. On screen it would say that my battery was close to dying, in the red, yet the phone claimed I had half a battery left - in terms of standby time, assuming I left Bluetooth on, I could get a day's worth of juice. That's not "close to dying". Also, the signal strength on screen was never at full, yet the 8130 never went below 4 bars. What was more weird was that it was showing indicators when neither phone was connected. So, again, I just ignored both indicators as useless.

When a call comes in, whatever is playing at the moment is immediately muted (not just lower audio, but completely mute, because it switches to a different source) and the deck will make a ring sound. If you have the auto answer on, the phone will automatically connect and allow you to start talking without pressing a button. Very convenient feature, and quite safe compared to handsfree headsets. I don't use voice dialing, so I can't speak on this, but check some of the other reviews for that. Sorry...


Now, the issues. And the reason I knocked a star off.

First, the unit is WAY too bulky. I just can't understand why it needs to be this bulky considering no other Bluetooth device is. All this thing is doing is sending audio from one device to another - acting as a Bluetooth relay. Even if it's managing the contacts (which in my opinion would be a stupid use of it when it should be part of the deck), the size is just abominable. Kenwood really needs to address its size to a smaller unit that can be glovebox mounted. Additionally, the proprietary connector is a slight turn off. I'd rather see a small USB unit that plugs into the back/front and enables the functionality that way. I know it can be done, computers do it all the time. Plus the iPod connector works on USB and it works well, doing the same thing (making the menus, allowing control and automatic play, etc).

Second, the audio quality is the same as a Bluetooth headset, just through the speakers. This really threw me. I mean, I guess it's to be expected since it's just sending the audio from the phone but...I had higher expectations from the quality. It sounds exactly like a headset just amplified, and that really bugged me. It's not a deal breaker, because it's clear and easy to hear, just bothers me.

UPDATE: Okay, I encountered the BlackBerry Pearl issue. Here's what's strange though: My 8100 works fine with the BT200, always connects automatically when I get in the car like it should, works great. My 8130, however, experiences the connection issue that others have mentioned on web boards - where it says it's paired, but the deck says "Disconnect" - meaning it couldn't make and keep a connection. It simply refuses to connect to the 8130 no matter what I do. I don't know what it is. It might have something to do with the version of Bluetooth, or something carrier specific (my 8100 is T-mobile, my 8130 is Sprint).

UPDATE 2: My deck came with firmware 1.35. It's now up to 2.72. I upgraded the firmware and both phones connected fine, but then after a while the 8130 again freaked out and won't connect. Apparently it's a security issue that has to do with the A2DP; it has to be disabled so that the phone is only connecting voice. Unfortunately neither the deck nor the BlackBerry will allow you to restrict what services are used, so you're stuck.

UPDATE 3: The T-mobile 8120 Pearl has the issue to a lesser degree. It will connect, but you have to do so manually. If you upgrade to the as-yet-officially-unreleased 4.5 OS version, the Bluetooth works as it should...as you can now disable A2DP and useless features on the Pearl, so the connection stays strong and stable, and connects automatically.

Also, another feature I just noticed is supported is Stereo Bluetooth. If your phone supports this profile, you can send music out to the car speakers using the "Ext. Media" source, creating a wireless MP3 experience.

All in all, if you want to have that "rich" feeling that the Lexus, Escalade and Infiniti drivers get every day, and you have a compatible Kenwood deck, you may want to check this bad boy out. Just keep in mind what I mentioned above by way of negatives.

I'm having problems similar to those mentioned in M. Martin's review. I'm using this Bluetooth add-on unit with a Kenwood DNX-5120 head unit. I do not know if the problem is with the BT200 unit or with the firmware in the head unit. My guess is that it is the firmware, and there will be an upgrade that fixes the problems. I am guessing this only because the hardware is made by Parrot and so should be of good quality.

In any case, sometimes everything is fine; but sometimes the call does not go through at all (nothing happens, even though the cell signal is strong); sometimes the system just freezes for a while when I try to call; sometimes the call goes through but the device inexplicably hands control back to the cell phone (i.e. I have to talk using the cell phone unless I manually switch it back using a button on the touchscreen). Today the person I called heard only loud hissing on the line. This happened five times in succession, yet when I called using the cell phone there was no problem, so it isn't the cell phone service that's at fault. Later the problem cleared up.

When choosing a number by voice, sometimes it works fine, other times it says "no voice input". Go back to previous screen and try again, now it works fine.

Pairing is unstable also; sometimes it pairs quickly, sometimes it doesn't pair at all. I have found that it helps to have the cell phone on when the head unit is turned on (i.e. when the car is started).

The user interface is poorly designed also. As M. Martin has said, you can select a number using your voice, but you can't actually dial it. To dial you have to look at the screen and touch the dial button! Wacky. Also, if your custom settings are cleared (e.g. by disconnecting the car battery), the power-on default setting is for the phone conversation to come out of the right speakers, rather than the left ones which are closest to the driver. I suspect this is because they just blindly ported the firmware from the Japanese model. In Japan they drive on the left so the driver sits on the right.

I have this teamed up with my DNX 5120. I had really high hopes for this piece. It is usable, but does not always pair up with my phone; 5 out of 10 times I have to un-pair the device and then re-pair it to the BT-200. However when it is working it works decently enough, I can talk through the "mic" and hear the voice through my speakers, it cuts the music out when calling or receiving. Some other things to be aware of, it id quite a big piece, about 6X6. Another thing is the phone book and dial pad are glitchy, some times they will become unusable, and other times they will be. The voice dial works pretty well and I am happy about that, the only thing is, you have to press the voice button, then once you say the name after the beep, it will come up with the name of the person you are trying to call, but you have to actually press the green "dial button" to place it, its not automatic, I thought that was a bit weird but the techs said that's how it is. Also the SMS feature does not work, Kenwood knows that as well and I think are trying to come up with an update for it. I'm giving it three stars because it works, but not always the way you want it to. I hope someone else writes a review, and maybe they will have some other ideas to help the problems I am having.

Cell phone use while driving is slowly becoming illegal in the US. I'm using this bluetooth KCA-BT200 unit with the kenwood DDX512 head unit and my iPhone. I had issues with the iPhone initially, and call quality was poor with crackling noises. After the latest firmware update from kenwood, it works as expected.

[...]

Sound quality is very good after the firmware update. Media or music (dvd, radio, ipod etc) is paused and muted automatically during an incoming call. The touchscreen interface on the kenwood DDX512 is a little clumsy, but I'm used to it now. Contacts are automatically downloaded from the phone, and pairing other phones is fairly easy.

PS. You will need a windows laptop with bluetooth to update the firmware on this device. Bluetooth cannot be used to play music on the iPhone as it doesn't support A2DP yet, but other phones support it.

I installed this in my car last week together with a Kenwood KDC-X492 receiver and a PAC SWI-JACK steering wheel interface, replacing the factory stereo in order to get Bluetooth support.

Before this, I tried out the Parrot MK6000 handsfree unit with music streaming, which once installed would mute the factory stereo whenever you made a call or streamed audio from your cell phone. Although the handsfree functionality was excellent (nearly unreal voice pickup, intuitive controls), there were some quirks with audio streaming from my phone that I found annoying enough that I returned it and got this Kenwood setup instead. Basically, the MK6000 would mute my car stereo for a few seconds at inopportune times (e.g. when an alert was displayed on my phone's screen) - see my review for details.

This Kenwood unit fixes all these issues, and more. Not only that, but it turns out that the Bluetooth technology is actually from Parrot as well - so the handsfree system offers the same outstanding voice pickup as the MK6000 did. I called my own voicemail while driving on a concrete bridge at 70mph - and there was virtually no background noise. I mounted the microphone at the top of the left A-column, right to the left of the sun visor.

Also, with the SWI-JACK adapter, I can use my steering wheel controls to control music streaming from the phone (volume, track), just as I do for audio CDs, tuner, USB media, etc.

The only issue I found (and not quite enough to subtract a star) is that there is no way to invoke your phone's voice command feature. It does come with its own voice recognition feature similar to that of other Parrot handsfree units, where you record a "voice tag" for each contact that you want to call by voice - but unlike the Parrot units themselves, there is no way to bypass this in order to use your phone's voice prompt (which to me would be much preferable). Also, maybe depending on which Kenwood head unit you plug this into, invoking the voice recognition feature involves going 2-3 levels into the menu tree, for a total of 5-10 button presses. In short: I find myself simply dialing with my phone instead - seen as I have it docked in my dash by way of a Brodit/ProClip device holder anyway.

I drive about 1000 miles week for my job and I drive a pick-up truck with a diesel, so there is significant noise in the cab of my truck. Since I drive throughout the northeast, I drive through states that have banned using handheld devices, so instead of going with a headset, I decided to give this a try. From what I read, it would store my numbers, allow me to make calls, etc.

This is the worst product I've ever purchased from Amazon. I set this up myself do my Kenwood DVD Nav system. Installation was a breeze and it synced right up to my smartphone. After that, this unit fails on all accounts. After syncing up, it takes about 10 minutes to load my contacts, and they don't even stay. It downloads my contacts after every call. Receiving calls is easy, but placing calls with the Nav system is impossible. I have to grab the phone and make the call. It still goes through the bluetooth, but it's just a pain having to go through the contacts in the phone while driving.

On to the call quality. One word: Horrendous. No one can hear me on the other end. ANY background noise drowns out your voice. I placed the microphone where the manual recommended, then moved it all over the dashboard looking for a place that would work. I finally picked the mic up, held it in my hand to talk, and they still couldn't hear me. I finally had to pull over to the side of the road to complete the call. If I have to do that, then what's the point of having a hands free device.

I'm irritated that I wasted my money on this. Hopefully I can get most of my money back by selling it on ebay. Unless you have a $70K luxury car that is dead silent on the inside, stay away from this device.

I've had this unit for about 7-8 months and have had issues with it since the beginning. I had the unit replaced 3 times, updated the firmware to v1.7, spoken with tech support, and it still is unreliable with my Samsung I760, to the point that I won't even try to pair the two any more. The unit is made by Parrot (a reputable bluetooth manufacturer with good products under its own name) and branded with the Kenwood name. The problem as I have deduced is that this device is version 1.x firmware unit, and is at best only partially compatible with my version 2.x bluetooth phone. I can say this with confidence because I have a Parrot CK3200T unit with v2.11 firmware in my other car and the two items work flawlessly together. I believe Kenwood knows the firmware compatibility issue but I am at a loss as to why they have not updated their hardware, especially since the majority of cell phones be sold are built with the later version firmware. I have also been told that the KCA-BT200 will not be firmware upgradeable to the next generation, that the hardware will have to be replaced. Of course this bit of knowledge wasn't forthcoming in time for me to return the unit and obtain a refund.

I drive a superduty and needed bluetooth. I also own a Blackberry. I purchased a head unit solely for bluetooth and navigation; my choice was the Kenwood KVT719. I bought the BT100, hooked it up; no joy with Blackberry or the 719. Deployed, came back and bought the BT200. I just hooked it up. After pairing my 8330, all features were recognized by the phone, that the BT200 offered. The biggest thing was I was able to transfer my address book with no problems. Installation took 5 minutes - only two connections. Make sure you set the 3 pins switches on the BT200 to match your head unit. The microphone is "directed" so direct it at your mouth as much as possible; then you can talk normal and your peeps can hear you. Have fun...

Pros: Connected easily on the first try; it has access to the phone's address book; automatic answer is nice. Re-connecting paired phone is very reliable, automatic, and quick. Audio sounds good to driver and to other party.

Cons: VOICE DIALING DOES NOT WORK FULLY with the DNX7100 - KCA-BT200 - Blackberry Bold 9700 combination. I do not know for sure which device is the problem, but I suspect it's the deck, not the phone or Bluetooth unit. Voice dialing will come up on the phone when connected, but there is no way to initiate it from the deck. Voice dialing can't be initiated from the phone using the phone's shortcut button I have assigned on the left side of the phone when connected to the KCA-BT200. When initiated from the phone, the voice prompts are not audible. As usual with car stereo components, everything has a very proprietary feel and you you're locked into whatever set of functionality the deck/Bluetooth combination limit you to, which may be more of a knock on my old DNX7100 deck than the Bluetooth unit. Lastly, the instructions in the manual are confusing and unclear.

The unit pairs and connects to the phone without a problem. Until the day it does not, about twice a week. Sometimes all you have to do is reconnect the phone. Sometimes you have to delete the pairing and start from scratch. Upgraded firmware to the latest (1.70) with no visible changes.

For a car bluetooth unit, this is bad. You know you have problems always too late: when you miss a call when driving or when you notice that the "TEL" indicator is wrong color.

Kenwood tech support states that, as of May 2009, they don't support Google G1 phone (I've had this phone for over 6 months now).

Why wouldn't a Kenwood product work with a phone that has no problems with any other bluetooth headset I tried, is beyond me.