Making phone calls is entertaining, but entertainment is worth nothing if you can't be heard. Speakerphones have come a long ways over the years. The Rhythm n' Blue utilizes echo canceling so its microphone doesn't pick up the other caller's part of the conversation as it plays through your car's speakers. Everyone I talked to came in crystal-clear through my car's speakers, and I never heard my voice coming through the speakers either.
Callers told me that they could hear me well, though I had a few people that said they heard slight distortion of my voice every once in a while. It wasn't enough to bother them, however. Most people I talked to said that I sounded great. I must admit that it feels very liberating to be talking without having a headset attached. I think that's one of the reasons why I like the Motorola RAZRWIRE Sunglasses [ Review|Buy ] so much since I can forget I'm even wearing a headset when I have those Oakleys on.
I like how the volume levels can be different for each of the modes (Bluetooth, Tuner, CD) so you're not blown away by loud audio when switching modes. I could turn up the volume to hear a caller better, and then when I hung up the volume level dropped back to the level I was using for the Tuner. You can also set the microphone volume if you find that callers have trouble hearing you.
Overall I'm very satisfied with the sound quality of the device.
Other Features
If you go into Menu > Preferences, you can customize some parts of the Rhythm n' Blue. The coolest one is Display, where you can change the Backlight color from its default Sky Blue color to White, Blue, Yellow, Red, Violet, or Amber. You can also go into Audio and turn on the DSP Equalizer to Rock, Classical, or Pop. But there's no multi-band graphic equalizer and I've never been a fan of preset Equalizer settings, so I don't use this feature. There are also normal radio settings such as Bass, Treble, Fade, and Balance, and the screen uses little graphics to help you out if you don't know the difference between Balance and Fade.
On the phone side, you can go into Menu > Bluetooth > Settings and setup Automatic Answer, and also change how the address book is sorted (default is Last name, First name). If you have a Bluetooth-capable PC (no Macs, grrr) you can also perform software updates on the Rhythm n' Blue. You download the software to your PC laptop, run the installer, and then the laptop connects via Bluetooth and installs the update. The unit I tested already had the latest version (6.03) installed. Updates add better support for newer mobile phones and occasionally new features.
An infrared remote is included, but to be honest I don't know what I would ever use it for in my little car. SUV owners can use the remote when they park the car somewhere and remote control the Rhythm n' Blue from the back seat, in which case the remote could come in handy.
If you're replacing an older car's simpler stereo with the Rhythm n' Blue, be aware this is a powerful but very complex device. Once installed, you should spend some time learning all its functions before you hit the road. Although the manual doesn't have too much information in it, there is a listing of all of the menu options. I suggest that when you are creating your voice tags to do it in a parked car, and while you're at it also mess around with the other menus as well. I couldn't cover every little thing in this review.
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Read Merciful by Casey Adolfsson
Making phone calls is entertaining, but entertainment is worth nothing if you can't be heard. Speakerphones have come a long ways over the years. The Rhythm n' Blue utilizes echo canceling so its microphone doesn't pick up the other caller's part of the conversation as it plays through your car's speakers. Everyone I talked to came in crystal-clear through my car's speakers, and I never heard my voice coming through the speakers either.
