These adapters all use AUX input, so there is way way for the CDR to communicate with the phone when you hit a button on the CDR. All must be controlled via the phone.

I've been really happy with the BOSE BT adapter.

 

Thx for clarifying. Considering we don't have any of the radio controls on the steering wheel, no issue having to do it through my phone vs the CDR buttons. Seems for $55 can't go wrong with the BOSE.

 

Does the BOSE automatically power on and pair when you start the car?

 

Yep! And the CDR stays on AUX after restart, unlike the OEM Bluetooth in the CDR+ / PCM where the system defaults to loud FM radio and you have to click the SOURCE button 5 times to get back to Bluetooth...

 

Just revisiting this thread after picking up my Spyder (figured this is the same for the GT4). I went wartless so did not get the CDR+ / premium package, instead just the Bose with Nav (only reason for the Nav was the rear camera in the Spyder).

My iPhone will hook up to the BT for phone calls (which I expected), but it will also play audio through the BT (which I did not expect). I'm pretty happy about this! So can stream XM, Pandora also over the BT.

 

Ordered the Bose. Happy to share experience when it arrives.

 

Just picked it up tonight at the Bose store nearby. I'll install it tomorrow and see how it goes.

 

Cool, I didn't even consider going to the store with the amazon 1-click option. In retrospect I may have just done an analog purchase. Actually have a Bose outlet store nearby though not sure these are even featured there.

 

Yeah, I usually buy on Amazon too. I was at the mall anyway and the price is the same. Plus the Bose store has better service/return policy in case something comes up.

In case anyone else goes to the store - it wasn't on the shelf, I had to ask a clerk to go get one from the back.

 

I use this for BT audio streaming via a base CDR set to AUX. It works great and is completely contained in the glove box.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Also went Bose BT... Works perfectly. Picked up a second for the daily too. Each one uses aux so the handoff for phone calls is seamless. Apps such as Waze transmit to the CDR so even when running both with the screaming music it auto lowers the music volume from aux to hear the CDR BT. Pretty cool.

 

Try this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Bluetoot...0AAOSwFL9Ts8Le

Works perfect every time. Use it in mine.
Phone will connect to phone BT and this simultaneously.

Enjoy!

 

This is also the one I use and it works just fine....

 

Got the Bose BT adapter installed this weekend. And have played with it for a few days

Installation:
The installation took about 30 seconds. Plug in the power (I had an extra USB car power adapter around the house), and AUX cable. Start up the car and I immediately saw the Bose adapter come up in my bluetooth settings ready to be paired.

Usability:
This works perfectly and seamlessly and exactly like how I hoped it would.

When I start up the car my iPhone connects within seconds to the Bose unit. And if you leave the car in AUX mode, it will stay in AUX mode when you start up. (I've heard complaints about the PCM module not connecting to phones quick enough so it always switches to radio. Then you have to hit the source button a bunch of times to make it go back). When you shut off the car the connection shuts off, since it doesn't have an internal battery. It becomes a "set it and forget it" scenario.

All music and navigation (Waze, Maps, etc) properly pushes sound through the BT connection, as expected. And because the Bose adapter doesn't have a headset profile, when you make a phone call it switches back to the head unit's phone mode. Which seems to work perfectly.

Sound quality:
Sounds great, indistinguishable to a physical AUX cable to me. I don't know if Bose does any sound profiles/tuning. But I'm also happy that it supports the aptX profile, which will provide some level of futureproof-ness. That will be higher quality, lower latency BT in the future.

Other comments:
I haven't tried this yet, but I'm happy that it supports up to 3 simultaneous paired connections (and 8 paired devices in memory). That means that my wife's phone, or any other devices I bring, can all push audio to the system without any painful switching - it should just work automatically.

Volume control implementation isn't perfect, but that's because it runs through an AUX cable. I can control the volume independently on the phone and on the headunit, which is a little strange. On my other BT headphones, when I adjust volume on the headphones, it will also adjust the volume on the phone, only 1 master volume control.

The Bose unit is just sitting in the glovebox, unsecured. It doesn't seem to make any noise, it is pretty small. I'm thinking about possibly a better mounting method. Probably unnecessary though.

There is an optical out as well, which may be useful if I wanted to repurpose the adapter into the home in the future.

Conclusion:
Near perfect solution. High quality, super easy install, set-it-and-forget-it device. Quick pairing and plays friendly with the headunit's phone function makes the usability seamless.

Downside is that at $60, it's about double the price of other BT units. Still relatively cheap (especially when compared to CDR+) and for me, it was totally worth it. I was able to buy it at my local Bose store, in case I have any support/service issues. And I could never figure out if the 3rd party BT accessories would behave the way I want them to, especially the ones with internal batteries (will it shut off when I turn the ignition off? What if the battery dies? Can I keep it continuously charging? How fast will it connect? Will it interfere with the CDR phone function? What's the quality like?). Buying a 3rd party adapter at $20-30 and not being perfectly happy with it would be not worth it for me, especially if I ended up buying 2 or 3 trying to find the right one. And knowing the Bose warranty/service will be there is icing on the cake.

 

Don't forget to make sure Waze is using the phone BT connection so you can hear it when you're not in AUX mode too.