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Cyber Layman tests the new Avantree hands-free car kit, with support for FM radio, to hear speech, and music sent from the mobile phone, directly on the stereo of the car. It has a hands-free function also for correct stand alone operation, and this is the result of our tests.
How it's done
Unless you have a standard hands-free kit, installed on the car directly by the car manufacturer, third-party solutions, with sun visor, are often the cheapest and, overall, the most functional. The one proposed by Avantree is a rather classic kit, both in form and in functionality. The product has very small dimensions, of just 11 x 1.8 x 5.6 cm, with a really negligible weight of about 64 grams. It has a simple clip so that it can be adapted to the sun visor of your car, a position recommended above all due to the proximity of the microphone to the speaker's mouth, and therefore to the driver. The clip, although not too bulky, has a rather pronounced hump, in order to better adapt to most sunshades placed in the driving position. The downside, however, is an above-average footprint in terms of bulk. 
However, considering the small size of the product, it does not clutter the view and in the car is particularly discreet. Aesthetically it is quite pleasant, with a large multifunction button on the front, which in addition to the power on / pairing, allows you to answer calls, start music playback and pause tracks. On the front, when opening the package, there is also a sticker, rather unsightly, but which explains the exact functions of the multifunction button: pressing it for a certain number of seconds will start the coupling, rather than turning the device on or off. 
The guide voice is also available in Italian, although it is not natural and with slightly strange accents. Not bad, considering that the operation is extremely simple, with a fast and immediate coupling, standard for all such devices. Inside the package there is everything needed for correct operation, so in addition to the speakerphone and the clip, also the charging cable and the connector for the cigarette lighter socket of the car.
How does it work
The aesthetic aspect, although important, counts relatively little, since the hands-free kit has a very specific function, which certainly is not to beautify the passenger compartment, but rather to allow hands-free telephone conversations. free. During our tests we found mixed results. First of all, the advice, as already mentioned, is to position the speakerphone on the sun visor on the driver's side. This will certainly help to deliver a clear voice, and of acceptable volume, to our interlocutor. Placing the speakerphone in this way will ensure that you are as close to the microphone as possible. In the event that you move away from the microphone, in fact, the voice will be transmitted to the other side of the line with a much lower volume: the driver, in short, will be able to be heard loud and clear, but the passenger will already have to raise a lot of the volume of your voice to be heard.
The audio coming out of the small speaker is ringing, certainly cold, therefore an audio profile that is perfectly suited to telephone conversations. In this case, the audio is loud enough to radiate evenly throughout the cabin, so as to reach both driver and passenger at high volume. The ideal scenario, for a correct telephone conversation, is that of the passenger compartment with the windows completely closed, therefore with a certain isolation from the outside. On the other hand, it is more difficult to listen to the voice in the event that you proceed at a high pace, with the windows open: in this case the wind, and external noises, will slightly cover the voice of the interlocutor.
moderate, making sure to place the kit near the speaker's mouth.
Of course, the hands-free kit is geared towards telephone calls and conversations. This does not mean that you will not be able to listen to music playing from your smartphone, but that the sound is not optimized for playing songs. The sound also has an acceptable volume, but the tones are cold, precisely to emphasize the voice, with a profile that does not suit any particular musical genre. Only if you have a car without a stereo, then, could it be useful to listen to some songs, obviously without qualitative claims of any kind.
Compatibility FM
In addition to functioning as a normal bluetooth hands-free kit, so with the audio coming out of the small built-in speaker, the hands-free kit under test also allows you to pair it with the passenger compartment radio. It will be sufficient to start the function using the dedicated side key, taking care to select the station indicated by the item of the Avantree kit on the radio.
If you buy this kit only for the FM function, you would do well to give up. Usually these systems fail to obtain a stable quality, which allows for quality telephone conversations. It is not a problem with this precise hands-free kit, but in general with the technology used. In short, after the vain attempts to connect the peripheral to a clean FM station, where there is no background noise, even light, it will be used almost exclusively through the integrated speaker. The FM radio feature is there, but you won't use it as your primary connection system.
Conclusions
The Avantree bluetooth kit does its job, and like all peripherals of this kind, and of this price range, it has its weaknesses: for a correct conversation you need to create the optimal conditions: mouth close to the microphone, cabin as soundproof as possible compared to the outside. The FM function is a nice addition, but nothing that alone can justify the purchase.
It costs 36.99 euros and can be purchased directly from this address.
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