iPhone 5s: separate bluetooth connections for music and phone?

[Ian McCall]

Is it possible to use a separate bluetooth pairing for hands free and for
music?

The problem - I'm possibly about to swap cars, and I initially thought the
new one was fine as it had bluetooth. Further reading though says it
supports only the hands free profile, not A2DP much is needed for music.
The car does have an iPod-mode wired connection, but I would prefer to use
bluetooth and have no wires.

One possible solution is to use the hidden aux connecter in huge glove box
and stick a bluetooth->AUX adapter on it. I can then bluetooth to my hearts
content, but I'd probably lose the hands free integration in the car,
meaning no high quality mic and speakers.

Ideal would be to pair the phone (5s, latest updates) to both the hands
free profile car unit for the phone side of things, the adapter for the
music side of things and then have both connections live at the same time.

Possible? I know iOS 7 can now hold two bluetooth connections open at the
same time, but I don't know if it can sensibly switch between them without
me faffing manually choosing bluetooth connections all the time.

Cheers,
Ian

[ray]

If this is possible, one probable downside would be stopping or fading the
music when a call came in.

--
The next time a stranger talks to me when I'm alone I will look at them
shocked and just whisper quietly, "You can see me?"

[David Kennedy]

It is with the 4s. I can connect phone and audio separately and the audio
pauses when the phone rings.

--
David Kennedy

http://www.anindianinexile.com

[Ian McCall]

David Kennedy <davidk...@nospamherethankyou.invalid> wrote:
> On 15/01/2014 00:47, Ian McCall wrote:
>> Is it possible to use a separate bluetooth pairing for hands free and for
>> music?
>>
>>

> It is with the 4s. I can connect phone and audio separately and the audio
> pauses when the phone rings.

Good to know - thanks.


Cheers,
Ian

[David Kennedy]

The only trouble that I've had with that set up is that it will occasionally
take upon it's self to start playing an audio track as soon as it pairs -
whether you like it or not...

[John McWilliams]

Ultimately, it depends on the capabilities of the car's radio/player/thing.

Wired may give you better quality sound. My car lets me put the phone
inside the center console: no visible wires. Works a treat. Bluetooth
does as well, but at lower bitrate for music.

[Gwynne Harper]

Ian McCall <i...@eruvia.org> wrote:

> One possible solution is to use the hidden aux connecter in huge glove box
> and stick a bluetooth->AUX adapter on it.

Any thoughts as to which one? Now I know this is possible i'm in the
same position.


Gwynne
--
My real email is net, not line.

[zoara]

David Kennedy <davidk...@nospamherethankyou.invalid> wrote:

> On 15/01/2014 10:53, Ian McCall wrote:
> > David Kennedy <davidk...@nospamherethankyou.invalid> wrote:
> >> On 15/01/2014 00:47, Ian McCall wrote:
> >>> Is it possible to use a separate bluetooth pairing for hands free and for
> >>> music?
> >>>
> >>>
> >> It is with the 4s. I can connect phone and audio separately and the audio
> >> pauses when the phone rings.
> >
> > Good to know - thanks.

It *might* be head unit dependent. I have woolly memories of my JVC head
unit originally appearing as two entries in the iPhone's Bluetooth
settings screen (for music and hands-free), then settling down as one
entry; I used the old Apple bluetooth headset for a few days whilst
setting it up, and also moved from a bluetooth connection to a wired
connection for my music, so there were shenanigans and I can't remember
the details.

Notably, now that the iPhone is wired into the head unit, the head unit
only ever pairs as a bluetooth hands-free unit, not as a music output.
Not quite sure how it's determined that this is the sensible thing to
do, but I haven't turned anything off.

> The only trouble that I've had with that set up is that it will occasionally
> take upon it's self to start playing an audio track as soon as it pairs -
> whether you like it or not...

Oh god, if you ever find a way of turning this off, let me know. I get
it with USB rather than Bluetooth, but it might be the same issue.
Irritates the bejeezus out of me.

-zoara-


--
BttM

[David Kennedy]

On 17/01/2014 20:30, zoara wrote:
>
> Oh god, if you ever find a way of turning this off, let me know. I get
> it with USB rather than Bluetooth, but it might be the same issue.
> Irritates the bejeezus out of me.
>

It is a total pain with a usb connection which is why - despite the drawbacks
I prefer bluetooth. The best alternative I've found for those situations where
the car doesn't have a built in iphone connector is the parrot or something
like this

<http://www.pac-audio.com/productDetails.aspx?ProductId=80&CategoryID=24>

both give a choice of inputs when set up but are also fairly pricey.

[ray]

I have one of these.
<http://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorola-TK30-Bluetooth-Hands-Free-Car/dp/B004H0PTPA>
Works very well for music and hands free phone over Bluetooth. It has it's
own built in stereo amplifier feeding the car speakers. Also has USB and
iPod connectors in the glove box so I can have 2 phones over Bluetooth,
iPod and a USB stick all controlled from the device on the dash.
Sound quality over Bluetooth is excellent, certainly more than good enough
for listening in a car. Which is not the best place to listen to music
anyway.

[David Kennedy]

The Parrot scores as it gives a choice of Bluetooth and wired. Otherwise for
most uses simple Bluetooth is fine as you say.

[Ian McCall]

On 2014-01-15 19:31:46 +0000, g.ha...@gmx.line (Gwynne Harper) said:

> Ian McCall <i...@eruvia.org> wrote:
>
>> One possible solution is to use the hidden aux connecter in huge glove box
>> and stick a bluetooth->AUX adapter on it.
>
> Any thoughts as to which one? Now I know this is possible i'm in the
> same position.

Turns out to be a bit of a minefield. First off, I -don't- want a
hands-free/music combined device. That rules out quit a lot of kit, but
then you start reading and some devices are �5 and some are �50. Hmm.

I haven't chosen, but it seems probably that you want one in the
�30-�50 range. You're looking for, if possible:

* AAC codec support. I hadn't realise that having Bluetooth music
wasn't enough, but there are different levels of codec support. If you
have one that only does MP3, then any AACs will be cross-encoded and so
made more lossy.
* Bluetooth 3 (or 4) support with EDR - for lower power and so longer playback

I don't actually have one yet - still wondering about the car itself.


Cheers,
Ian


--
Check out Proto the album: <http://studioicm.com/proto/>

[Ian McCall]

On 2014-01-15 09:06:29 +0000, ray <bugg...@outlook.com> said:

> If this is possible, one probable downside would be stopping or fading the
> music when a call came in.

Nope, that's handled by the phone itself so works fine. Voice audio
goes to hands-free profile, music audio goes to A2DP profile. The phone
itself controls the muting of each.

[Gwynne Harper]

Ian McCall <i...@eruvia.org> wrote:

> I don't actually have one yet - still wondering about the car itself.

I got a new car last year - no bloody USB at all, just an aux in the
glovebox. It does have USB telephone, which I do use from time to time.
Thererfore, a music-only BT option that can live in the glovebox but not
desync the telephone aspect would be bloomin' brilliant.

[Ian McCall]

John McWilliams <jp...@comcast.net> wrote:
> > Wired may give you better quality sound. My car lets me put the phone
>> inside the center console: no visible wires. Works a treat. Bluetooth
>> does as well, but at lower bitrate for music.

Agreed that wired may well be better, although this deems to be a bit of a
minefield as I hadn't realised how dependant.on codec support all this was.
The car I have in mind also allows a wired connection directly in the
centre console with no visible wiring - your phone is entirely enclosed and
the iPod's music interface appears directly on screens front.

Very nice, but I make use of the phone for navigation, messaging via Siri
and also choosing the music in a large collection is much easier via Siri
than scrolling through large lists whilst attempting to concentrate on the
road. Because of this, I need the phone visible and so bluetooth is what
I'm looking at.


Cheers,
Ian

[ray]

Ian McCall <i...@eruvia.org> wrote:
> On 2014-01-15 09:06:29 +0000, ray <bugg...@outlook.com> said:
>
>> If this is possible, one probable downside would be stopping or fading the
>> music when a call came in.
>
> Nope, that's handled by the phone itself so works fine. Voice audio goes
> to hands-free profile, music audio goes to A2DP profile. The phone itself
> controls the muting of each.
>

Duh. Of course, silly me I didn't think that one through.

[John McWilliams]

Ah, I see. I also look at the iPhone for traffic information, but use
the in-dash nav unit for seeing the roads and getting directions.
But could your messaging and music choices be made via the ear bud
control and voice?

[Ian McCall]

John McWilliams <jp...@comcast.net> wrote:
> On 1/18/14 PDT, 11:01 PM, Ian McCall wrote:

>> ... I make use of the phone for navigation, messaging via Siri

>> and also choosing the music in a large collection is much easier via Siri
>> than scrolling through large lists whilst attempting to concentrate on the
>> road. Because of this, I need the phone visible and so bluetooth is what
>> I'm looking at.
>
> Ah, I see. I also look at the iPhone for traffic information, but use the
> in-dash nav unit for seeing the roads and getting directions.
> But could your messaging and music choices be made via the ear bud control and voice?

Not sure I follow - by using headphones? I imagine so if I was wearing
them, but I don't use hands free-style bluetooth earpiece/mic combinations
at all.

Cheers,
Ian

[John McWilliams]

Well, not cans or anything- ear buds, the kind that come with an iPhone.
While you may normally eschew wearing such, in a car they provide a good
and cheap way to go hands free. Cha'q'un, etc.