Review on JVC KD-BT1 Stereo by Michael Bustamante

On June 16, 2007 I replaced the Blaupunkt San Jose receiver in my Honda Accord 2000 4-door sedan (4 speakers) with a JVC KD-BT1. I've also added the SIR-JVC1, a Sirius Radio satellite tuner. The KD-BT1 comes with an external microphone for Bluetooth operation. You can mount it either behind the steering wheel or on the visor. I chose to mount it on the visor because that's where the microphones of most factory installed systems are located. I was able to pair my Verizon RAZR V3C phone with the KD-BT1 with no problems. KD-BT1 also automatically transferred the entire address book from my phone. I was able to make outgoing calls by dialing numbers, selecting an entry from the address book, and then redialing the number. However, the KD-BT1 allows "pass-through" access to the phone, allowing me to use the RAZR's voice command capabilities. This is my favorite way of calling people. The party called had no complaints about the sound quality, even when I was driving at highway speeds. I was surprised because my relatively old car gets quite noisy at these speeds! Some internet browsers complained that the called party heard an echo of their voice, but I've made about 10 calls and the called parties have not had this problem. Incoming calls are also processed well by the KD-BT1. An active audio source is automatically muted, the caller ID is displayed and, if there is a corresponding entry in the address book, the name from this entry is displayed. Overall, I think the Bluetooth functionality is better than the factory installed systems on the 2006 BMW 5 Series, 2006 Acura TL, and 2006 Lexus GS that I've personally encountered. The USB interface also works great. I don't have a very large USB stick or hard drive, but I tested a 512MB stick and it worked fine. I also have a 1GB SanDisk player with DRM WMA music I bought from MSN, Walmart, etc. I plugged it into the USB port and the KD-BT1 took control of the player and played DRM WMA flawlessly! It was very interesting because I have a huge library of DRM WMA songs! Sirius radio worked without any problems. Easily browse channels or go to your favorite channels. I only wish they had made the menu system a bit more user-friendly. It takes a while to get used to, but once you do, it works well. I don't think there is any other car radio with so many functions and sources at this price! Highly recommended!