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      12-11-2012, 04:09 PM   #1
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Griffin BlueTrip AUX Review... Stay away!

So after researching and reading reviews for a week or so, all arrows pointed towards purchasing this Griffin BlueTrip AUX bluetooth device for my Aux needs. My Monster Aux cable recently went out in only 3 months of having it (from the stupid armrest crushing it to death ) therefore I decided to go wireless. 80% of reviews were positive, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Heck, I've seen two or three threads on here recommending the device.

I ordered it from Amazon for $57, and it included free shipping (took a week and 1/2). http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Techno.../dp/B004KPLS7K. I'll be comparing this bluetooth device to two aux cables: a $6 Belkin and an $18 Monster which I both picked up at a local Best Buy. Also, I have the HiFi system with the stock woofers under the front seats, no mods on my sound system. Finally got it in the mail today and plugged her in. Right off the bat, I picked one of the deepest bass songs I had (Tweak is Heavy by Wiz Khalifa, not that good of a song but wanted to test it) and I was shocked. Couldn't feel any bass what so ever. It would be like flipping your bass settings to -9 or -10. I turned it all the way up, and still no bass . Just all highs, no lows. But, what I was surprised at though was how clear the sound quality was (no white noise at all).

Tried multiple songs, all the same result. To make sure I wasn't crazy, I plugged back in my old, working Belkin cable and my stereo and phone were working fine. The Belkin has that constant buzzing, white noise out the wazoo, while the Monster had a little less. Still, the BlueTrip had basically no white noise. The Monster cable had great bass, lows and highs, the belkin meh, and the BlueTrip .

Overall, I don't recommend the BlueTrip at all. I just don't think music can be enjoyed without some sort of bass (and I'm not talking about wake up your neighbors bass). Hell, even Charlie Brown Christmas music has bass haha. I was told by multiple people that the Griffin was the way to go over the Blackberry or Belkin bluetooth devices. I can't speak for those, but I'm not a fan of the Griffin, or the overall bluetooth wireless music.

PS- Not a huge audiophile, but I am picky about my music. I figure the majority of you all are too.

Last edited by GChase; 01-05-2013 at 04:07 PM..
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      12-12-2012, 11:48 AM   #2
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Want to try it any way. Since some here try and loved it. It amazon can return, if i doesn't like it. Your happen to be a bad one?

Does anyone here know an upgrade on 09 idrive will add Bluetooth music to it?
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      12-12-2012, 11:51 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kygiabao View Post
Want to try it any way. Since some here try and loved it. It amazon can return, if i doesn't like it. Your happen to be a bad one?

Does anyone here know an upgrade on 09 idrive will add Bluetooth music to it?
Yeah I returned it to Amazon. Mine was definitely not a bad one; it functioned perfectly. I just don't recommend it at all.
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      12-12-2012, 02:57 PM   #4
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I wonder if there is a fundamental technology issue with BT and bass transmission? Anyone know?
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      12-12-2012, 03:43 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cdgatti View Post
I wonder if there is a fundamental technology issue with BT and bass transmission? Anyone know?
No, I think the AUX port just attenuates a certain frequencies.
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      12-13-2012, 06:05 PM   #6
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But I thought the ipod connection transferred the audio over the aux port (and the control over the usb). My ipod has good bass.
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      12-13-2012, 07:38 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cdgatti View Post
But I thought the ipod connection transferred the audio over the aux port (and the control over the usb). My ipod has good bass.
This device doesn't use the USB port at all or the iPhone's charging slot. It's just through the cig lighter and the car's aux port, then transferred wirelessly to your phone.
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      12-14-2012, 04:59 AM   #8
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Yep I know, just saying doesn't the audio portion of the signal from the ipod connector go through the aux port too? Telling me the aux port is capable of good bass. So if the aux port is capable and BT technology is capable, it must be some specific issue pertinent to your griffin unit installation.
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      12-14-2012, 07:48 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cdgatti View Post
Yep I know, just saying doesn't the audio portion of the signal from the ipod connector go through the aux port too? Telling me the aux port is capable of good bass. So if the aux port is capable and BT technology is capable, it must be some specific issue pertinent to your griffin unit installation.
I just figured it's the bluetooth connection. It's funny because I just bought a flat aux cable made by Griffin for $11 two days ago, and so far it's been the best cord I've had! I've always had positive experiences with Griffin except for this BlueTrip device.
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      12-15-2012, 10:55 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kygiabao View Post
Does anyone here know an upgrade on 09 idrive will add Bluetooth music to it?
Research retrofitting a Combox into the car.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cdgatti View Post
But I thought the ipod connection transferred the audio over the aux port (and the control over the usb).
It does. BMW uses the line out from the dock connector and the iPod DAC if I'm not mistaken. It was designed this way because of the DRM on iTunes music purchases pretty much required the iPod to do the digital to audio conversion. It was after Apple dropped DRM that the Combox came out (2011MY, post Sept 2010 builds) allowing just the USB cable only and eliminating the need for the special Y cable.

Feel free to correct anything I'm mistaken about.
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      12-15-2012, 03:46 PM   #11
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Try the HTC Bluetooth StereoClip. It works for all smart phones and there are two good YouTube reviews for it.
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      01-05-2013, 12:41 AM   #12
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Just wanted to mention that I went ahead and purchased the Griffin BlueTrip AUX (without having read this thread) and definitely noticed a lack of bass in my music. The difference between plugging in the supplied aux cable directly from iPhone to the aux in port versus using the bluetooth is night and day. The bluetooth sound is far less bassy, but the highs came over just fine.

I was really hoping to get a wire-free solution and still maintain a decent level of audio fidelity, but no bass (like GChase mentioned) kills this little accessory.
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      01-05-2013, 04:05 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shakko View Post
Just wanted to mention that I went ahead and purchased the Griffin BlueTrip AUX (without having read this thread) and definitely noticed a lack of bass in my music. The difference between plugging in the supplied aux cable directly from iPhone to the aux in port versus using the bluetooth is night and day. The bluetooth sound is far less bassy, but the highs came over just fine.

I was really hoping to get a wire-free solution and still maintain a decent level of audio fidelity, but no bass (like GChase mentioned) kills this little accessory.
Well said. I found the Griffin flat Aux cable to have the best sound quality (even better than the Monster), and it doesn't get crushed by the armrest when you close it. I got it at Best Buy for $13 but you can get it for $6 on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-GC1710.../dp/B003CK70VC
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      01-05-2013, 04:44 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GChase View Post
Well said. I found the Griffin flat Aux cable to have the best sound quality (even better than the Monster), and it doesn't get crushed by the armrest when you close it. I got it at Best Buy for $13 but you can get it for $6 on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-GC1710.../dp/B003CK70VC
Thanks for the link. Since I'm gonna go wired anyway, I wanted to get a solution that lets me plug my phone in once and it will charge + let me listen to the music.

I used this type of cable on my older iPhone 4, and now I just picked up a Ligntning to 30-pin connector so I can use my iPhone 5 with it.

The audio quality is MUCH better than any wireless solution I've found, and using the USB/AUX split cable with the iPhone means I get a analog line-out of the phone, so all the volume is controlled directly from the car headunit rather than on the iPhone as well.

This solution seems to work pretty well for me, but I'm gonna keep an eye out for better adapters.
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      04-08-2013, 01:37 PM   #15
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Purchased one of these as well and like OP said they are terrible compared to hardwire aux cable. i had to turn my bass amp up 50% to get a half decent sound from it, considering my music device is mounted to my dash though i have to stay wireless. gonna be looking for something with better quality, i dont believe bluetooth is the answer to wireless streaming though
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      04-08-2013, 04:22 PM   #16
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Waiting for this to come out:

http://www.kivic-one.com/eng/home.html
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      04-09-2013, 08:59 PM   #17
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I'm working through this right now on my car. I've noticed I get the same bad audio quality on my BlueTrip, Android plugged in directly, and ipod plugged in directly.

I've tried turning up the Aux-Vol and down the volume on the device and it doesn't help. I use NIN-Down In it as a test track and the bass isn't coming through at all.

I'm going to try a headphone inline amp (http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E6-Portab...eywords=e6+amp) when it comes in on Thursday.
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      04-09-2013, 09:18 PM   #18
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The AUX circuit filters out bass. I was going to measure it today, but didn't get around to doing it. It also adds a lot of hiss.
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      04-09-2013, 09:32 PM   #19
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A Cap on the Aux line was mentioned .

A Cap on the Aux line was mentioned, it some long ago posts.
If you removed it more signal was suppose to let more signal
get through. But there never was a procedure mentioned for that.
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      04-10-2013, 03:56 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kaigoss69 View Post
The AUX circuit filters out bass. I was going to measure it today, but didn't get around to doing it. It also adds a lot of hiss.
The Aux probably isn't the problem. The problem might be what's trying to send power through the Aux. Ipod and phones are made to drive low impedance headphones, the car is probably looking for more signal.

This might be the solution for the hiss -http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CF0Q FjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FPAC-Ground-Isolator-3-5-Applications%2Fdp%2FB001EAQTRI&ei=o9FlUe_PHcWsywHv koHoCQ&usg=AFQjCNEE9y1B_l8zW85GP5PTH-txLQHK9g&sig2=xeZHN0bJhxC2vUUqBFn9FQ&bvm=bv.449901 10,d.aWc

I have one on order also. I'll let you know if it solves my problems.

Last edited by jfranci3; 04-10-2013 at 04:02 PM..
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      04-10-2013, 04:40 PM   #21
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I wish there was a solution for the Galaxy S3.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shakko View Post
Thanks for the link. Since I'm gonna go wired anyway, I wanted to get a solution that lets me plug my phone in once and it will charge + let me listen to the music.

I used this type of cable on my older iPhone 4, and now I just picked up a Ligntning to 30-pin connector so I can use my iPhone 5 with it.

The audio quality is MUCH better than any wireless solution I've found, and using the USB/AUX split cable with the iPhone means I get a analog line-out of the phone, so all the volume is controlled directly from the car headunit rather than on the iPhone as well.

This solution seems to work pretty well for me, but I'm gonna keep an eye out for better adapters.
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      04-12-2013, 09:28 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jfranci3 View Post
The Aux probably isn't the problem. The problem might be what's trying to send power through the Aux. Ipod and phones are made to drive low impedance headphones, the car is probably looking for more signal.

This might be the solution for the hiss -http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CF0Q FjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FPAC-Ground-Isolator-3-5-Applications%2Fdp%2FB001EAQTRI&ei=o9FlUe_PHcWsywHv koHoCQ&usg=AFQjCNEE9y1B_l8zW85GP5PTH-txLQHK9g&sig2=xeZHN0bJhxC2vUUqBFn9FQ&bvm=bv.449901 10,d.aWc

I have one on order also. I'll let you know if it solves my problems.
Got the headphone amp in yesterday.... compared with having the BMW Aux-vol at 6 and the bluetooth vol at 90% to get output workable, the headphone amp seems to do a better job preserving detail. I can turn the aux-vol down to whereever I want and still have everything at the a decent head unit volume (keeping all the white noise out). The biggest difference is the bass. Before if you were to listen to something like U2-sunday bloody sunday with a clear and detailed bass guitar, you'd hear 'bass' now there is much more detail and not washed out. I'd probably go with the e02i for the micro USB charger.

I'm going to try a Blackberry audio gateway and see if I can do-it-all with one tool.
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