[Galaxy Note 3 Accessories] CZ Eddie:
Kinovo on-dash APT-X Bluetooth & Mic adapter for Car Stereo -Behind dash installation

This thread will show you how to add APT-X bluetooth music/phone adapter behind your dash for a nice, clean, hidden-like install.

Got tired of crappy sounding bluetooth from my phone to my car stereo. So I got an adapter for my car stereo that uses the new Hi-Def APT-X bluetooth codec (cleaner highs & lows, higher bitrate).

If you've got $500, then you can get the new Kenwood car stereo that offers APT-X.

If you don't have $500, then you can be like me and get the $40 adapter that just plugs into the car stereo aux port.

Works great!

Has built-in microphone for voice calling and Google Now and Utter usage. And a few hard buttons for music and phone control.

The Kinovo is available from the mfg for $39, which is the same price I got it for on Amazon Prime.

http://www.kinivo.com/Kinivo-BTC450-Bluetooth-Hands-Free-Input/dp/B009NLTW60

Stock, this Kinovo uses an external power adapter that plugs into your cig lighter. I didn't like the wire mess though, so I cut the power wire and spliced it to a USB connector which I then plugged into the back of my car stereo for power.

So when the car stereo turns on, so does my Kinovo.

And it seems the Kinovo auto-re-connects to my phone upon power up. And it all happens pretty fast. Very happy withe results.

Music that sounds just as good as a hard-wired AUX connection but without wires between my phone and car stereo.

And it sounds way better than standard A2DP's SBC codec which is what 99.9% of all other Bluetooth adapters & car stereo's use.

If you're on AOSP ROM's then ignore this because you don't have the APT-X codec. Sorry, you're screwed. But check out the thread linked in my signature if you want to get it going someday.

If you're on TouchWiz, then read on and enjoy higher quality Bluetooth sound than you're used to!!

Size comparison between the Avantree Cara (on right) vs. the Kinovo (on the left).

I sent the Cara back to the vendor. Too big and too many wires.

First, you cut off the cig lighter and strip the wire back to expose the positive and negative.

Note that this is crappy, tiny headphone sized wire. Ugh.

The postive and negative are "painted" to keep them from shorting out on each other.

So grab your BIC and give each wire a *quick* flick of the lighter. Just enough to make the wire go "poof" and it'll burn off the paint so you can solder.

Here, I've got the wires twist tied to a regular old USB connector.

Red to red, black to black.

Any wire other than red or black, can just be cut off since it'll be unused.

Any, and I mean just about any normal USB cable will work fine.

Go ahead and tin the wires with your soldering tool.

Here we are in my car now.

The top connector is the USB cable that I spliced into the Kinovo's power wire.

The bottom, female USB is the USB cable that comes out of the back of my car stereo.

Just plug the two together.

The Kinovo comes with its own double-sided tape.

But I had some really strong 3M tape in my toolbox, so I used that instead.

Put it where you want to mount the Kinovo.

Since I wanted to run the wires BEHIND my dash for a clean install, I had to get a little creative.

My dash cover has a very tight seal to the dash. So I broke out my Dremel and buzzed a tiny 1/4" sized indent into it.

You can't see this from the seated position. So even when I remove the Kinovo someday, it won't be an eyesore.

Nice, the Kinovo wire fits into the indent nicely. No squished wire!!

Side view of the indent/wire install.

Completed install.

My car stereo's 3.5mm aux port is on the front right corner of the deck.

The install bezel for the deck is loose enough that I was able to fit the Kinovo's 3.5mm audio cable between it w/out squishing.