SONY make.believe

Pretty good overall

Pros: Love the Bluetooth

Cons: Sound only OK for factory speakers

I love the Bluetooth phone and audio, works great. I still only have factory speakers, and the stereo doesn't sound as good on them as the cheaper stereo I had before. Plus, you CAN change the background image on the screen (don't know what that one review was talking about) and the display doesn't seem that bright to me at night, maybe I'm not used to having super dark tint or something. And the Bluetooth automaticaly pairs every time. And 1 button calling would be better. So overall good, but could be better.

Blutooth doesn't seem to work

Pros: Easy to use, great features

Cons: Bluetooth does not work properly

The radio works, the sound goes to the car's speakers... the bluetooth successfully pairs with my iPhone, but no sound comes into the speakers during a call. The other party can hear me, but I hear no sound. It's mysterious. I paired a Motorola Razr V3xx and the same symptom occurred. Would love to know why the bluetooth doesn't work properly. So essentially, the unit doesn't serve the purpose for which I bought it. Otherwise, seems like a great radio. Very easy to use and figure out.

So close, but some major flaws.

Pros: Bluetooth RX calls, BT music, nice main display, sounds good.

Cons: Bluetooth wont reconnect button brightness/color not adjustable. WAY TOO BRIGHT for night driving w/o modification.

There are somethings here that are just awesome. Nice playing through directories on USB/CD drives. BT audio sounds great. Incoming calls turn off music, and resumes it when done. Overal, I'm thuroughly impressed w/ how it sounds. The Sub control, EQ, and DSO work very well, I was pleased! <br> Some things are just wrong:<br> I actually had to take the faceplate apart, and paint the LED's to dim them, that is how bright they are. That is ludacris. It's still brighter than the sun at night, I may change the surface mount LEDs altogether. Blue lights / display don't match stock for most cars. <br> Display images are not changeable, I hope that becomes upgradable eventually via firmware. I'm not happy I've purchased it, but at least it sounds good, was better than stock, and lets me recieve calls easily if I reconnect BT when I get in the car. (it says it's connecting, but doesn't work unless I d/c and reconnect every time I start the car. <br> 3 very simple things would make this a 5 star deck? <br> 1. Fix button brightness via an adjustable setting. 2. Fix BT reconnection bug. 3. That brings me to 4.5 stars, for the full 5th star, allow us to upload new wallpaper!

Pros: Best bang for the buck!

Cons: Can't change color of LED

I just had this installed today and I'm loving it! Just wanted to add a few notes that people have mentioned. First of, the bluetooth issue (disconnecting). When I first paired my Blackberry with it and walked away from the car, upon returning I had to manually connect the two. However, I found out that by going into the device properties from the phone with the stereo connection, I enabled the device as trusted. After that, it would connect to my phone automatically. Secondly, the LED issue. I have sensitive eyes, and the LED light doesn't bother me at all. I'm not sure if it's just the positioning in my car (92 525i BMW), but frankly I can't don't even notice the brightness difference from my old Kenwood stereo (just got back from a 2 hour drive at night). Furthermore, during the day the stereo light is still very much visible to me even under the full sun. Overall, I have found only one issue that I'm hoping a firmware upgrade will resolve: Be able to change the LED light color to orange (as advertised it's supposed to let you choose from 3 different colors). With all the features that it offers, I'm very pleased with the product and value! DC

Trying to return

Pros: Sound is ok

Cons: Dim, unreadable display and too many steps for outgoing call.

Purchased the radio for Bluetooth function to comply with California law banning use cel phone while driving. Too much data is crowded on to the display and the display is unreadable while driving during the day. To place a call it is necessary to perform several steps while trying to see the display which requires taking your eyes off ther road, even if the display were readable it still defeats the purpose of compliance with California law. While searching this model online, I saw one ad which showed the display as a single line with a bright readable display. Very misleading ad. All other ads show the radio and the pictures in the ads show the true dim, unreadalbe display.

Brand Loyalty

Pros: 4-Volt Pre-Outs, Bluetooth, Front USB & AUX inputs

Cons: Caters to Apple Ipods NOT MS Zunes!

I had this deck installed today replacing an existing Sony that worked perfectly fine. I really wanted the front USB and AUX ports for Zune connectivety. The auto dimmer for night driving is going to be an issue I can already tell considering the display dims but the rest of the led lighting stays bright. The white led around the main control knob is blinding! After plugging in my Zune via USB, the deck informed me displaying "Not Supported". So now my only option it to use an 3.5 AUX to AUX cable. They are dirt cheap but I won't sacrafice quality over quantity especially when it comes to my tunes. The real question is, Does sony have an update/upgrade for the onboard USB for support with Zunes?

Display washes out in daylight

Cons: stuck with a $290 radio

Bought this radio to be compliant with California law regarding ban on using cel phone while driving. unlike many other brands which have a button on the remote to make a call, you must go thrrough 3-5 steps using the display. The display is extremely dim and unreadable during daylight hours which makes it impossible to navigate to a place to make a call. Completely defeats the purpose intended use.

MEX-BT5700U

Pros: three four-volt preamp outs, dot-matrix display, Bluetooth, USB

Cons: exposed mini plug input port

The Bluetooth hands-free phone operation works fine with my LG Voyager. I love the display especially after I turned off the animations. I already had a Sony CD changer, so getting a Sony deck was an easy choice. I just needed one with some modern features. I love playing music from USB flash drives. The sound is great through my outboard amps. CD Text, a Sony exclusive I believe, is excellent for CDs that support it. When I get a CD, I make a copy with CD Text to put in the car, and store the original on my media rack to keep it from getting scratched. I like that the USB port is behind a sliding door. It looks better than having an exposed USB port. I wish that the mini plug input jack was hidden as well. I think I will try the Bluetooth music streaming sometime. I?m not sure how fast that will run down my battery.