What is the model?
I PM'ed stadtjunge, and this was his reply... "I'm using the mic that came with the Parrot CK3200. i haven't heard a single complaint yet."
I don't know which mic came with that unit though. I sorta looked online, but didn't find anything specific. I even e-mailed the Sales Dept for Parrot. I told them if they could give me the model of the mic and where/how to get one, I would have a lot of sales for them. And of course, no response.
anyone know if the z130 suffers from the same problems or was it addressed?
Ok,
When I first got my Z120, my BT worked. People who called me said they could hear me OK. I ended up removing my head a few times after that to do the bypass thing. after that my BT is completely jacked. Now no one can hear me at all. They just hear "wierd noise". (IDK, im on this side of the phone, lol.)
Now I will add, that I did notice a small rip in the outer insulation of the mic wire, BUT the actual wire on the inside was still intacked. Could this be my issue? If I have to buy a new mic, so be it. I would even spend $ on a good one at this point! I hate having to unplug my phone from the dock, to pick up a call. PLUS, when I do that, I notice Pandora gets glitchy. I need to turn off the headunit, then Pandora, then remove the phone from the dock, seams to rid me of glitches.
Any help???
Ok,
When I first got my Z120, my BT worked. People who called me said they could hear me OK. I ended up removing my head a few times after that to do the bypass thing. after that my BT is completely jacked. Now no one can hear me at all. They just hear "wierd noise". (IDK, im on this side of the phone, lol.)
Now I will add, that I did notice a small rip in the outer insulation of the mic wire, BUT the actual wire on the inside was still intacked. Could this be my issue? If I have to buy a new mic, so be it. I would even spend $ on a good one at this point! I hate having to unplug my phone from the dock, to pick up a call. PLUS, when I do that, I notice Pandora gets glitchy. I need to turn off the headunit, then Pandora, then remove the phone from the dock, seams to rid me of glitches.
Any help???
If you are not having any BT pairing issues, yeah, sounds like the mic wire. Its hard to tell if the shield/ground is bad by looking at it. I know it doesn't take much to destroy the cable. Even a pinch when tucking the wire behind trim can do it.
Before you buy a new one (unless you are just looking for an excuse to get a better one), make sure it is plugged-in to the correct jack on the HU, although the only other one it could possible fit is the wired remote jack. And make sure it is fully inserted. If that's all OK, then time to replace the mic.
I PM'ed stadtjunge, and this was his reply... "I'm using the mic that came with the Parrot CK3200. i haven't heard a single complaint yet."
I don't know which mic came with that unit though. I sorta looked online, but didn't find anything specific. I even e-mailed the Sales Dept for Parrot. I told them if they could give me the model of the mic and where/how to get one, I would have a lot of sales for them. And of course, no response.
Is the mic sold with the CK3200 available as an invidual sale? Looking at the tech specs of the CK3200, I can't find a model number for "just" the mic.
Is the mic sold with the CK3200 available as an invidual sale? Looking at the tech specs of the CK3200, I can't find a model number for "just" the mic.
This might be a good alternative. It is for the CK3100, but I doubt there is much difference.
This might be a good alternative. It is for the CK3100, but I doubt there is much difference.
It probably won't make much difference, but I'm pretty desperate to get this working now. For $17 and change I might as well give it a shot. Thanks.
It probably won't make much difference, but I'm pretty desperate to get this working now. For $17 and change I might as well give it a shot. Thanks.
make sure to keep us posted 
I'm desperate too with my z120BT.
If I buy a parot mic, can i just cut the head off the existing pioneer mic and splice the new one in?
Is swapping out the pioneer stock mic with an aftermarket one the issue to improve bt quality with an avic z120bt? If the mic is the issue, why would Pioneer supply an inferior mic?
Jeff
My iPhone 4 started having hardware issues. Some sort of short inside the phone. The Apple store replaced my phone under warranty.
So I restored my iPhone from a backup and paired it to the Pioneer. It "seems" as though my call quality has improved. I called my office and left myself a minute long voice message and to my surprise, I could actually understand myself when I played it back.
For some background information, I've had my AVIC Z120 for about 7-8 months now and the BT has been pretty much unusable. I've tried two different mics (both Pioneer AVIC issued mics), I've tried various locations, I've jacked up the BT gain on my phone before pairing, yada yada yada.
The quality still isn't "great", but at least it is usable now.
I gave up using my AVIC-Z120's BT several months ago after hearing not one person could hear me clearly. I've just ordered the Parrot mic located below and will post my test results once installed.
http://www.parrotshopping.com/us/p_parrot_item.aspx?i=203437
Thanks!
I have bought the z120bt and every accessory for my wifes car 6 months ago.
This is the first time I have bought any Pioneer product, I had been using Kenwood.
I will never buy another Pioneer product!
If I had not spent 2500$ for the the gear and install, this POS would be ripped out.
The call quality of your voice to the caller is the worst I have ever heard.
The VR for the iPod never has worked.
The user interface for the unit it self is lacking usefull features.
The touch screen is subpar at best.
Sorry to rant, its just I have to hear this thing every time my wife calls from the car!
I would suggest if anyone is considering buying this unit to really look close if you want all the features to work properly.
I gave up using my AVIC-Z120's BT several months ago after hearing not one person could hear me clearly. I've just ordered the Parrot mic located below and will post my test results once installed.
http://www.parrotshopping.com/us/p_parrot_item.aspx?i=203437
Thanks!
how did this mic work out for you?
The call quality of your voice to the caller is the worst I have ever heard.
The VR for the iPod never has worked.
The user interface for the unit it self is lacking usefull features.
The touch screen is subpar at best.
I'd love to hear from those trying new mics - in the past, no one has shown any real improvement - but it would be nice to know if it helps...
The VR stuff *should not* work - for the same reason that others can't hear you (poor mic)...
Personally, I like the user interface of the 120 - much nicer than the 110...
I would've swapped mine out last month (had it sold on Craigslist) - but then saw that hacks are getting close. This is the only thing that stopped me from buying the new Sony... If we ever get the ability to add WinCE programs (and changing the GPS software to something like Garmin/iGo), that to me makes up for the dreadful BT call performance.
Hi all,
Sorry I haven't got back to this thread in a while. So I installed the parrot mic located here: http://www.parrotsho...m.aspx?i=203437
There's basically no difference in audible quality on my listener's end...they still can't hear me. I have it posted on the driver's visor.
Anyone have any luck elsewhere?
Have you tried on the steering wheel column? Also I found directly in front of me on the visor a good spot as well.
Hi all,
Sorry I haven't got back to this thread in a while. So I installed the parrot mic located here: http://www.parrotsho...m.aspx?i=203437
There's basically no difference in audible quality on my listener's end...they still can't hear me. I have it posted on the driver's visor.
Anyone have any luck elsewhere?
Hi Everyone:
Interesting thread. I've had the opposite in terms of call quality. I've found that once I'm in a call, the Bluetooth works very well. People say they hear me more clearly than ever before (prior to the Pioneer, I had the upgraded VW Bluetooth module in my current car, a 2010 GTI, and prior to that I had Infiniti Bluetooth in my M45x and G35x - my wife has an '07 Merc ML350 that I'm also paired to).
However, the voice command/controlling the unit by voice is where I'm having issues with the 120BT. It never understands me the first time, and I always have to go through the 'I want to make a call' UI, which means it takes me about 5 mins just of frustration using the voice control just to get a single call going or to get navigation info into the unit. Have others seen any improvement in the unit understanding their voice commands by moving the mic or any other methods? Were the earlier Bluetooth issues that you guys were referring to perhaps fixed in the firmware update v2.003?
Thanks
Tamir
Hi Everyone:
Interesting thread. I've had the opposite in terms of call quality. I've found that once I'm in a call, the Bluetooth works very well. People say they hear me more clearly than ever before (prior to the Pioneer, I had the upgraded VW Bluetooth module in my current car, a 2010 GTI, and prior to that I had Infiniti Bluetooth in my M45x and G35x - my wife has an '07 Merc ML350 that I'm also paired to).
However, the voice command/controlling the unit by voice is where I'm having issues with the 120BT. It never understands me the first time, and I always have to go through the 'I want to make a call' UI, which means it takes me about 5 mins just of frustration using the voice control just to get a single call going or to get navigation info into the unit. Have others seen any improvement in the unit understanding their voice commands by moving the mic or any other methods? Were the earlier Bluetooth issues that you guys were referring to perhaps fixed in the firmware update v2.003?
Thanks
Tamir
Do you have "VR Beep" turned ON? See pg 163 in Z120 manual. I normally have it OFF because I found the beep annoying. But somehow I turned it on. The manual is unclear on the porpuse of this. It seems to cause the HU to beep when it is ready to accept voice input. What I noticed while this is ON is that there is a longer than expected lag between the end of the HU prompt message and the beep. Which makes me think that without this audible cue, we often start talking before the HU is ready. So VR commands might get chopped off at the beginning. This is just a hunch. I am not sure if the delay is also present when "VR Beep" is turned OFF.
BTW, really glad to hear that your mic quality is good. Most of the time we only hear about problems. Where is your mic mounted? How far from your head? I'm assuming that a GTI isn't an exceptionally quiet vehicle, so some ambiant noise is also present.
Actually, I had a call right after I posted this message and was told by a colleague that they were struggling to hear me. So I called my wife and she said that she was hearing a lot of engine noise in the background. Since I've only had this installed for about 2 weeks, maybe I was too quick to say that the quality is good enough? I don't know for sure. I'm going to test it out a bit more this evening and see. My mic is installed in the center area above the mirror. I sit a moderate distance from the steering wheel - I'm 5'8", so not very tall, and therefore not that far away from the mic. I have the unit currently beeping every time I start VR to tell me that I can start talking, so I think that unfortunately won't resolve the issue.
I thought for a while that perhaps this unit just takes time to 'learn' your voice, but it looks like it doesn't learn at all....
I'll update you guys on the quality of the calls a bit later today. I'm going to call and leave messages on my voice mail while I'm driving at various revs to see what I sound like. I'll try it with two different phones just to see if it makes a difference since a lot of times BT quality is determined by the pairing of a particular phone with a particular BT head unit/module.
Cheers
Tamir
Ok, so I went for a drive and called home while I was driving to leave a voice mail so that I can hear what I sound like later. I left a long message, first with the car at a light, but AC on full blast (completely unintelligible), then with the car at the light with AC power down to regular (partly intelligible but sounds like I'm in a fish tank), then with the car driving, revving high, medium, low, etc. (revving high - completely unintelligible - everything else - hard to understand).
Overall I'm extremely disappointed with the quality now that I've heard it myself. In fact I don't think this is an improvement of where things were with my previous head unit (the stock VW RNS 510) at all. I definitely can't use this for any work meetings going forward... 
Cheers
Tamir
Have any of you experienced the Bluetooth quality in the Alpine INA-W910 or the INA-W910BT? Is it any better than the Pioneer? If so, what are the downsides to the Alpine in other areas vs. the Pioneer?
The only downsides I've heard so far:
1. Nav has 6m POI's vs. 12m in the Pioneer
2. No VR at all
3. Interface is less intuitive (this is subjective with some people preferring the Alpine UI and others preferring the Pioneer)
4. No MusicSphere app (I have to admit that I really like the MusicSphere app)
Given the different areas that we can compare, how does the INA-W900BT/910 compare in:
1. Bluetooth
2. Navigation
3. iPod Music Control
4. XM/Sirius
5. HD Radio
6. Sound quality overall given the same speakers
Thanks a lot
Tamir
A separate question which I'll also repost. Does the Z130BT fix these bluetooth issues? Has anyone got one of those and can comment? I am still in a position in which I can replace my 120 with a 130 for not too much of a loss.
Thanks a lot
Tamir
FYI, I replaced the ZT B120 with a ZT B130 today. I didn't spend a long time on the phone through Bluetooth yet, but in every other area this unit is significantly better than the 120. A few examples:
1. The sound is actually far better surprisingly. Instead of using either the multiple staging options, none of which sounded particularly good to me, or the EQ, you now have only two staging options - optimized for the drive, optimized for the passenger, and neither. Optimized for the driver with a bit of EQ tweaking has to be amongst the best pure stereo sounds I've heard. I'm very impressed. The 120 was good, but this sounds far better.
2. The navigation seems quicker and so far I like it a lot. It doesn't harm that it includes traffic info - I really wanted that feature and was a bit bummer that the MSN service available for the 120 was not going to be around after January 2012. I had already purchased a traffic module in anticipation of upgrading my 120 to a 130 once the software upgrade was available
3. Comes with XM and HD Radio included
I also had the rear view camera installed today. My installer advised me to use an Alpine camera because it supports an Alpine plate mount that keeps it positioned perfectly. I'm glad I took that route. I'm very happy with the image it provides, and I love that you can see it even when driving forward in 2/3rds of the nav screen with the other 1/3rd showing the nav. This is also available for the 120.
I'll update once I've had a chance to use the Bluetooth more.
Cheers
Tamir
Have any of you experienced the Bluetooth quality in the Alpine INA-W910 or the INA-W910BT? Is it any better than the Pioneer? If so, what are the downsides to the Alpine in other areas vs. the Pioneer?
The only downsides I've heard so far:
1. Nav has 6m POI's vs. 12m in the Pioneer
2. No VR at all
3. Interface is less intuitive (this is subjective with some people preferring the Alpine UI and others preferring the Pioneer)
4. No MusicSphere app (I have to admit that I really like the MusicSphere app)
Given the different areas that we can compare, how does the INA-W900BT/910 compare in:
1. Bluetooth
2. Navigation
3. iPod Music Control
4. XM/Sirius
5. HD Radio
6. Sound quality overall given the same speakers
Thanks a lot
Tamir
I can comment on the W900. I have an AVIC Z1, INA-W900, and now an AVIC Z130BT. I originally bought the 900 because I wasn't happy with Pioneer's interface on the Z1, in hindsight I should have bought the Z110(current model at the time). I HATE the Alpine unit. I'm not hating for the sake of hating, I used to be pro-alpine everything but they've really gone downhill lately. I'll touch on each of your points specifically so I don't just end up ranting about it.
1. Nav has 6m POI's vs. 12m in the Pioneer - I don't really use POI's, but I find even the Pioneer lacking in my area, so I can only imagine how bad the Alpine would be if I turned them on.
2. No VR at all - Really annoying, especially for making phone calls
3. Interface is less intuitive - The Alpine interface is bad, really bad. It feels like they had 2 groups building their software, one on audio, one on nav. They don't flow at all. From the nav screen all you can do is nav stuff, from the audio screen all you can do is audio, well except see a stupid compass or your next turn(in the form of an arrow). Switching between them takes waaay longer than it should, but it re-loads the nav again every time you switch back to it. Want to change songs while looking at your map? Can't do it. you have to go to the audio screen and press the soft button(on screen) to change tracks. It's the only way unless you have steering wheel controls(which I don't). The menus look different between audio and nav (yes there are two separate menus), there are two separate setup menus and some settings are global (the entire unit) so unless you know the unit very well you have to check both menus for what you're trying to find. Map screen feels very low resolution for the screen quality. Audio screen looks great, but you can only change the colour of the background, no image selection. Want to change the map from day to night? You can't. It bases "night" on your location and when the sun sets. Leaves a nice bright blinding screen in darkness sometimes with nothing you can do about it. Same with dimmer. There's no illumination lead, it has a light sensor on the front that will dim the display if you're in darkness, but it's not sensitive enough so it is usually too bright. It's a good looking deck with some good features, but the software wasn't ready for release. Not sure if they've fixed it for the 910, but I wouldn't hold my breath. 4. No MusicSphere app (I have to admit that I really like the MusicSphere app) - Haven't used it yet, but sounds similar to Genius on my iDevice.
Given the different areas that we can compare, how does the INA-W900BT/910 compare in:
1. Bluetooth - ANYTHING is better than the AVIC right now. Sticking my head out the window while talking on my phone would sound better than the AVIC, so this is no contest.
2. Navigation - other than the visual differences between maps and interfaces, I'd imagine they work the same. I don't usually use it very much.
3. iPod Music Control - Both are very fast, but the Pioneer is much more intuitive and visually appealing. The alpine can be cumbersome in the menus trying to find what you want, but they both search fast and display info much better than my Z1.
4. XM/Sirius - Don't use, so I don't know
5. HD Radio - Z130 supposedly has HD built in, but there aren't any stations near me that support it so I can't comment
6. Sound quality overall given the same speakers - I haven't had both units installed in the same vehicle, but I can say the Alpine sounded WAY better initially. There was less fiddling to get it dialed in, and it also has less settings. For more settings you can upgrade with an Imprint add on module, but it sounds good even without. On the Z130 I've gotten it into the same ballpark (different vehicle could be the cause as well) It's just taken alot more tuning and fiddling with settings (which there are a lot of)
Overall I'd choose the Pioneer 100 times out of 100 over the Alpine.
Hi Cooldude:
Thanks a lot for your detailed response. I ended up replacing my 120 with the Z130BT and am much happier with the 130 than I was with the 120:
1. The bluetooth is a bit better and is now acceptable for work calls with my normal daily phone, the Samsung Focus. With another phone I have, the Motorola Q9H, it's pretty good actually. But I would have to switch my sim card to the Moto Q9H every time I get into the car to use it. I'll probably do that when I have important work calls that I have no choice but to attend from my car while driving.
2. Sound quality is better. Specifically, the 130 offers sound staging independent of EQ settings (which the 120 does not have unfortunately), and specifically has very good sound staging to make me/the driver feel like I'm at the center of the stereo signal by delaying sound from the left side by a few milliseconds. I want that whilst still having full control of the EQ settings. That's exactly what the 130 offers. The 120's staging didn't really work well for surrounding the driver for whatever reason, and it's built in sound staging EQ settings like Studio, Theater, etc. didn't really do the trick for me either
3. The rear view camera switches on within 2 seconds of starting the car despite the rest of the unit taking a bit longer (but still quicker than the 120's boot up time) meaning that if I'm in a rush, I don't have to wait for the unit to completely boot up before reversing with the use of the rear view camera. Btw, based on the installer's recommendation, I went with the Alpine rear view camer and the Alpine plate surround mount. That combination is excellent and I highly recommend it over the Pioneer rear view camera, which doesn't fit into the plate surround bracket. The bracket positions the camera perfectly and points it in exactly the right direction to make it most effective.
4. Overall there are a couple of other improvements in the 130 that while small, make it a lot easier to use. For those of you who own the 120, I would definitely upgrade the software to the 130 when that upgrade is made available. It will be well, well worth it.
Cheers
Tamir