They say you can't judge a book by its cover. That's certainly the case here with the Jensen MP8610BT. It may look like any other CD player with some cool colors, lights and the usual features; but in fact, it's a very special product, being the first on the market to offer integrated Bluetooth wireless technology in an aftermarket head unit. A complete package, the MP8610BT is an AM/FM/CD/CDC/MP3/WMA receiver with a motorized swing-down detachable faceplate and features Mosfet power speaker outputs with 240 watts of peak power.
Jensen's internal amplifier supplies 60 watts x 4 channels: front, rear and sub RCA outputs with sub control and lowpass filter, accompanied by an RCA auxiliary input. Other conveniences include bass, mid and treble control for center frequency control and Q selection. You also get front and rear dual zone control, a big plus for parents.
Personalizing your greeting and background on the essential full dot matrix three-color LCD screen is a matter of a simple touch. The remote control is a manageable size and the CD changer control feature is perfect for long trips. All in all, this unit has features and options comparable to those higher-end models offer. The thing that sets the Jensen unit apart, of course, is the integrated Bluetooth capability.
Bluetooth is a standard developed by a group of electronics manufacturers that allows any sort of electronic equipment from computers and cell phones to keyboards and headphonesto make its own connections, without wires, cables or any direct action from a user. Bluetooth is intended to be a standard that works at two levels:
It provides agreement at the physical levelBluetooth is a radio-frequency standard.
It also provides agreement at the next level up, where products have to agree on when bits are sent, how many will be sent at a time and how the parties in a conversation can be sure that the message received is the same as the message sent.
The Jensen MP8610BT, through the use of Bluetooth, allows the user to pair the unit with his/her Bluetooth-capable mobile phone in order to make hands-free calls while driving. It also has the capability to import your personal phone book and speed dial memories directly from your phone. It can even mimic your phone's personal ring tone if your phone is compatible. The head unit has an integrated microphone for voice recognition and phone audio plays through your stereo system.This Jensen unit will allow drivers to talk, dial, retrieve phone book entries and display caller ID all without ever touching the mobile phone.
During our evaluation we noticed that the builtin mic, while certainly functioning well enough to convey discernible audio, lacked in definition and overall quality. Voices sounded far away, small and weak in volume for listeners. It certainly served, but we wished it were better, naturally. As for hearing people from the other end, since the audio plays through your system you have much more ability tomake adjustments. Without much tweaking though, conversations could be carried out loud and clear.
Making calls was very easy. Voice recognition worked well, comparable with most systems, OEM or aftermarket. And since Bluetooth is integrated, in automatic mode, any music playing is muted when you receive a call.
In the end, the Jensen MP8610BT is a versatile and convenient unit, offering all of the advanced technologies of any of today's modern units, plus maybe a bit of what tomorrow has to offer as well. Considering its more than reasonable price it's not much more than standard head units that do nothing more than play music and all of the built-infeatures, it's easy to recommend the Jensen MP8610BT to readers.
PRODUCT EVALUATION
MSRP: $299.99• Bluetooth connectivity forhands-free mobile phone use
•Built-in mic for Bluetooth
•Mosfet power
•Three-color LCD
•Plays MP3 and WMAencoded files