What We Like
- Stealthy format that blends in great with just about any trim.
- Good build quality both on the controller and lighter adapter end.
- Solid audio quality thanks to the AUX cable connection.
What We Don't Like
- This one requires some getting used to controls and operation.
Kinivo’s BTC450 is a very low profile Bluetooth car kit designed primarily for call management but also media streaming. As such, it’s one of the best car kits you can find at the moment, and here is why.
Design
Instead of following the standard design of Bluetooth car kits, Kinivo went with a much less intrusive solution. This has its benefits and its drawbacks. In terms of former, you don’t have a bulky interface that is probably covering a good portion of your car’s climate controls. However, this also means that you won’t have a visual aide when it comes to selecting songs, navigating playlists and similar.
What you do get is a cigarette lighter adapter that sports a 5V USB port on its chassis. This is connected to a small, disc-shaped interface that features several buttons as well as a built-in microphone. The cable that connects the two branches off at one point, with the other portion of the cable leading to a 3.5mm AUX jack. The idea is to plug the 3.5mm jack into your head, and then connect your smart device to the BTC450 via Bluetooth. Issue here is that not every deck has an AUX port, so there are some limitation.
Features
In terms of features, things are about as simple as they come. Kinivo opted to completely reduce the signature of the BTC450 in order to make it as nonintrusive as possible. If you spend some time, you can position the button interface in a way that perfectly blends in with the trim of your car. Features available can be reduced to two major things. First and foremost, the connection between BTC450 and your car’s stereo is a hard one.
In other words, there is no risk of your calls or music suffering from signal interference. On a similar note, the built-in microphone sports a number of noise cancellation features, allowing you to talk to the person on the other end of the line and being heard perfectly clearly. Overall, it takes some time to get used to the fact that there is not a visual reference to anything you’re doing with BTC450, but after a while it becomes intuitive.
Performance
Given how minimalist this whole package is, Kinivo BTC450’s performance was pretty surprising. Many will say that it’s so simple that it just must work great, but that is not always the case. You will see a whole bunch of similar devices that simply can’t compare.
Kinivo chose the best control interface in terms of functionality but also design. They have chosen the optimal length of the cable and a very impressive microphone. It also has a lot to do with convenience. For example, BTC450 will automatically pair up with your device. That means that you don’t have to worry about manually connecting to it every single time you get behind the wheel.
It might sound like a simple thing, but it sure does mean a lot on everyday basis. Since BTC450 relies on an AUX cable, you will have optimal sound quality whether you’re just listening to music or answering a call. It’s a simple but well-rounded option.
The Rumble:
While it might come across as basic and unusual, Kinivo BTC450 brings you distilled performance. It’s a bare-bones Bluetooth car kit optimized for convenience as well as reliability. On top of all that, the price is just right.
