Sony MEX-BT5700U

Works Great with Bluetooth Streaming

I use this to connect to my phone via bluetooth. It auto connects when powered up. All I have to do is press the play button (6) and it works fine. Would be nice if it could auto start play but I have not seen an option to do this. Sound quality is very good. Installation was easy with the installation kit that came with it. A little bit of soldering and heat shrinking and I was done in less then an hour. Visibility of the screen in direct sunlight is not possible. But since Android does not send meta data to the radio to show song title and artist this is not a problem. Overall I am glad I purchased this product and have no regrets.

Not very user-friendly for an occasional user

I use this car stereo only rarely, because it is in a car I only use as a backup to another car I use regularly. The first, and biggest problem is that the display is almost impossible to see effectively during daylight hours. And I agree with an earlier reviewer (when I was about to buy) that the white illuminated ring around the main control knob is too bright at night, and distracting. It does not dim with the rest of the display when used at night and the and the car's headlights are on. The second problem is that, since I only use it rarely, I have to go through a learning curve every time just to figure out how it works. If I used it regularly, I might be able to get accustomed to how it works and feel quite comfortable with it. But the navigation through the various menus is not inherently intuitive, in my opinion, and it is trial and error every time I use it. Things like tone control and adjusting 4-speaker balance requires too much menu navigation to make them easy to do. I like being able to connect via bluetooth for listening to recordiings on my smart phone and iPod, in addition to using as a bluetooth handsfree phone. Don't have to mess with plugging in wires every time.

Love the bluetooth

The Pros: The bluetooth works great, phone and streaming, the music quality and sound is very good.
The Cons: The controls for bass and treble are difficult, unable to change the color of the display and too bright around the volume knob.

great receiver

This is the greatest car receiver I have owned. My Ipod and Treo phone work flawlessly I could not be happier with receiver. Hands free phone operation. The sound of receiver is great, I would recommend this to any one who likes great technology.

Great Value!

Highly recommend product.

Awesome features on this deck

I have this head unit installed in my mazda miata. I like this deck because I have an Android phone which can plug directly into the stereos face and mount as a usb hard drive for mp3s (and trickle charges the phone). Also the bluetooth audio from the phone sends the google maps voice guided navigation out the speakers, it also pumps pandora or other streaming audio as well. This deck controls playback on bluetooth audio as well so you can skip tracks and folders.

It is a great head unit.

best unit...

I love my Sony mex-bt5700u is a fantastic stereo, i have my bluetooth works beautiful i have am/fm my hd i also have a cd/changer 6/disc connectet, 2 amps, 4 door speakers highier watts, 2 tweeters and i also have a 2- 10" jl enclosure 2000 watts rms. By the way this is not my first sony but this is my best one, i recommended to anybody to buy it. Installed in a 2003 subaru forester 2.5x and i'm getting a great sound out of my Sony.

Sony MEX-BT5700U

Geat unit has every function imagineable I highly recommend this above all.

Good features, bad layout

I wasn't thrilled with the looks of this stereo, but it had the features I wanted at a good price, so I went for it. Bluetooth is nice (particularly for phone calls, use it with my EVO 4G), but for music I use the USB most. I just fill up a thumb drive with tracks and off I go. I've even had a portable 80 GB hard drive hooked up to it. Haven't used the actual CD player in the 6 months I've owned it!

The button locations, however, are just *not* intuitive, nor conducive to operating while driving. The major functions I use all the time are skipping back and forth between tracks. While it might make some sense that up is next and down is back, left/right placement would be more logical.

Not to mention they are precariously close to a number of other buttons - I find I accidentally hit the "Source" button quite often, which then has to be pressed repeatedly to get back to the function I was using.

The other button I use a lot is Pause... why it shares double duty with the "6" button is beyond me. I have to consciously look for it every time.

I don't find the screen to be that hard to read as other reviewers have stated. My only complaint is that the included "visualizations" (an animated spectrum analyzer, VU meter, etc) that come with it don't seem that accurately timed to the music that is playing.

I can't say I would strongly recommend this stereo; the features are nice but the layout takes some getting used to.

Great Head Unit From Sony

Pros: Bluetooth, Front Aux and USB, 6 channel, Best Buy for the Price and Features offered with this unit.
Cons: Remote Control is Huge, Light around volume knob doesn't dim, USB will not work with the new Sony MP3 players, Limited USB support.
I had not owned a Sony head unit in several years, this unit had all the features I was looking for, so far I am not disappointed.