What We Like
- Versatile enough to be used in virtually ever car with a cigarette lighter out there.
- Solid build quality despite it being one of the cheaper units on the market.
- Great quality of sound for an FM streaming car kit.
What We Don't Like
- Great quality of sound for an FM streaming car kit.
Nulaxy KM18 is a perfect example of why old school car Bluetooth kits are still very much relevant. As a matter of fact, it’s one of the best value for the money choices when it comes to in-car music streaming.
Design
The design of FM kits has been more or less the same over the years. The only thing that really changed was the implementation of larger LCD screens and the number of features available. Nulaxy KM18 is fairly different from other models on the market but in a good way.
Instead of having the car lighter adapter in the same chassis as the unit itself, Nulaxy has decided to separate the two. This way, there is a flexible shaft between the two, which allows you to adjust the position of the KM18 however you want. Using such a versatile design makes the KM18 suitable for all kinds of cars. After all, some cigarette lighters are pretty inaccessible to certain vehicles.
All of the controls are illuminated, making it very easy to navigate the device at night. In terms of build quality, everything is solid. Overall, this is one of the more complex models on the market coming at a great price.
Features
One of the best things about this particular Bluetooth car kit is how basic it is. Nulaxy focused on the most important features and developed those to a level where you can intuitively use KM18. There are several ways you can stream music using this device.
You can use the standard FM frequency to stream music from your phone or other smart devices, or you can plug KM18 directly into your deck via AUX cord. This unit also comes with a built-in microphone, allowing it to be used as a hands-free device as well.
One of the better features is the 5V-2.1A USB port which you can use to charge just about any smart device out there. On top of that, Nulaxy KM18 also accepts MicroSD cards formatted to meet FAT standards. When you look at the display, it will show you all the relevant info including track titles as well as incoming calls.
Performance
What makes the FM Bluetooth car kits so popular is their inherent reliability. With that said, a large percentage of these devices have issues with interference when the signal is being fed to the head unit via FM. Levels of noise that appear vary from model to model.
Nulaxy KM18 handles this issue very well, far better than most other FM Bluetooth car kits out there. On average, the quality of sound you can expect is borderline perfect. This level of performance is seen in call management as well. Built in microphone works well and does a lot towards reducing the noise pollution in the call.
You can sit comfortably in your seat and have your voice heard just fine. The only real issue here is that KM18 is designed to support Bluetooth 3.0, meaning that a number of newest devices won’t be compatible. Even so, it is one of the most capable units of this type on the market.
The Rumble:
Nulaxy KM18 is nothing new nor revolutionary. However, they have taken a proven design and pushed it even further. In that regard, Nulaxy did an impressive job and deserves a lot of praise for the functional value of their design.
