Another Parrot 9200 bluetooth install/w Droid

[Leg Man]

So, living in California it is mandatory to have a hands-free system. So after months of looking at legacy solutions, I got pulled over talking on my Cell and I decided to take the plunge.

 

I ordered the Parrot 9200 off of Ebay for $210 and, since I was installing it myself I got the subaru wiring harness to make the install easier for $38. Not too shabby since the local car audio place was going to charge me $1000 for parts and labor.

 

Some background on me, I did a bit of car audio in high school, so I haven't looked at the back of a stereo for at least ten years and I was able to get the install done in 2 hours.

 

The first thing that I did was print out the Jazzy Aux mod instructions to learn how to get the stereo out, before I knew it I had the bad boy pulled out of the dash. I didn't need to pull out the whole thing, just far enough to get to this plug(pic 1):

 

Here is a picture of the Subaru-Parrot harness that I bought from Beach Audio(pic 2).

 

Using this harness makes the install pretty much plug and play. You completely leave out the harness that comes with the parrot kit. The only place that plugs into the stereo is shown on pic 1.

 

I forgot to take a picture of the brains of the unit but it is a small blue box that I have inside the center of the dash behind the radio. Everything else in the kit plugs into the brains unit.

 

My next step was to run the microphone wires. I mounted the mic to the overhead light, ran the wire through the headliner, down the passenger A-pillar, behind the glove box, and into the blue box. The only difficulty I had was removing the A-pillar, but I made a quick trip to the forums and I learned that you need to insert a flat head screw driver into the top of the pillar aimed down and it pops off.

 

Pic of the side panel removed:

 

Pic of the Mic:

 

I decided to get a bit fancy with the next step of the install. The 9200 has the ability to accept music from various sources, 35mm audio, usb, and Ipod. All of the audio inputs are routed through a single cord with different inputs on the end. I am currently using my cell phone(Verizon Droid) for GPS. So I decided to route the USB and 3.5mm input into the cubby above the stereo in hopes that the USB input would charge my phone. The 3.5mm could also be used with the phone or with an aftermarket GPS unit if I went that route. The tricky part came because I wanted the Ipod charger to go into the center console. In order to do this I ran the entire Parrot input cord to the armrest but only fished the Ipod portion through the storage unit. I plugged a USB extension and a 3.5mm extension and routed them to the cubby as shown:

 

After that all I had to do was place the screen inside of the center cubby. I am not sure this is my final install location so I did a temporary install using a metal L bracket and 3m dual sided tape that you might use to install a plastic hook on the wall.

 

The wireless controller that comes with the unit has a steering wheel mount but I thought that it would get in the way during driving. Instead I mounted it just south of the stick-shift which seems to work pretty well.

 

 

Now for the review. I am really impressed with this unit. As soon as I paired it with my phone it asked if I wanted to download my contacts, which it did. The system will automatically interrupt the radio when a call comes in and sounds as good, if not better than the best car bluetooth systems that I have used for phone calls. I have only used the voice controls to make phone calls a few times but I am impressed with the units ability to recognize who I wanted to call. Every time it has called who I wanted it to. Th unit picks up my cell phone right away. My picture doesn't really due it justice, the screen is bright, colorful, and easy to see where I have it.

 

This thing also packs on some pretty good extras. I plugged in the wife's I-pod and it controlled it very well and it sounded pretty good. Audiophiles might find it lacking a bit though. It will stream bluetooth audio, which I have used with Pandora and it sounds OK, it is a bit tinny for long periods though.

 

It works pretty well with my Droid phone. While using the navigation the Parrot will interrupt the radio for directions using the bluetooth audio which I thought was pretty neat.

 

Overall I would recommend this to anyone that wants to have a hands free kit. I have read some reviews saying that it locks up, but the first thing that I did was update the firmware and I haven't had any problems. Audiophiles can get a harness that will allow the parrot to plug into an aftermarket amp to boost the quality a bit more.

 

As it sits now the cubby will still close to give it a bit of a stealth look. I am contemplating building a false wall just behind the parrot unit to hide some of the wires as others have done with the GPS DIY elsewhere on the forum.

 

Let me know if anyone would like to see additional pictures or have any questions.

[flander]

Looks interesting. Do you by chance have the model # for the Subaru-Parrot harness?

[SVXdc]

Looks like it's the QCSUB-1MK

I think QC finally figured out that it would be the same or cheaper to make a car-to-Parrot harness as a car-to-ISO harness. (or else Beach raised the price on the ISO style to be the same as the to-Parrot style)

[represent]

looks a bit crammed but very nice.

[Leg Man]

Yup it was the QCSUB-1MK.

 

It is a bit crammed in there but most of the wiring that you are seeing is the phone charging cord. I am thinking about building the false wall to hide the extra wires.

[ur a bus]

Cool! I installed a 3000 Evolution in the Mazda. I have thought about installing a 9100 in the Legacy, but I have the subwoofer and the STI triple gage pack already. Both of those use jumper harnesses on the 14-pin connector, and I don't have much room left behind the audio unit now.

 

-- Steve