Printer Friendly Forum Posts - which parrot system? materials?

I am debating between the Parrot 3100 & 3200. I was wondering if anyone has a pro/con opinion on the units. One has LCD screen with color and other does not. Is the color screen worth the little extra$? Also needed some info on installation. I have Alpine head unit using preamped speaker leads from unit. However, I am using the sub output for amp and sub. Is there a harness that will ease this install and utalize my speakers and mute the sub? Or is it possible to wire it up direct between factory harness and unit? I am a fairly experienced "shade tree" installer just needing a little advice. I don't mind paying for the harness if it is worth it.

-------------
2004 Yukon Alpine headunit, 1000w amp to kicker comp12 in series. Not much yet neat.

How old is your deck... ? will it utilize the BT300? If it will use the Alpine BT, theres a mute wire... I believe it's pink.

-------------

Kar Tune Man is right, if your head/unit is compatible with Alpine BT unit, use that otherwise the 3100 is a better bet than the 3200 x amount less and the display is better. If you are using pre-amped outputs, use the pink/black from the head/unit and join to the yellow on the parrot, hardwire to either or both side front door speakers by breaking and joining the speaker leads.

I ordered the 3100 unit based on the display. Didn't think a color display that might not even be seen when its bright anyway. Just waiting on the unit to arrive. So the pink/black wire is the mute wire that will mute the system and speakers can be hard wired? Doesn't seem so hard? I asked about getting a wiring harness and someone told me it would be a waste of money especially since I already have an aftermarket harness to hook up the head unit. Looks like I will have a pretty simple install. Thanks for the input. I will let you know how it turns out.

-------------
2004 Yukon Alpine headunit, 1000w amp to kicker comp12 in series. Not much yet neat.

Is it not a good thing to use front and back speakers with the unit? I noticed the back is muted on the standard iso plug. Can they be wired in? Is it worth it? Or does is limit hearing in the front where you actually are.

-------------
2004 Yukon Alpine headunit, 1000w amp to kicker comp12 in series. Not much yet neat.

Sq4met2 is correct, I didn't realise you had what we call SOT adaptor leads in the US. Always use them when we can; bamayukon, your idea is daft, first Parrot doesn't power up the rear speakers, it disconnects them during a call, second if you are going that route you only really need the driver's door speaker connected. the Parrot isn't set up to drive 4 speakers. As an aside from someone who has both kits, the 3100 for some reason appears to have a much better mike.

thats exactly right. first off the parrot only has a 3 watt amp in the blue brain and they actually use the same style of mic, but it is possible the 3100 sounds better. our dealers all love both units and our vw steer kit the most. as i am not allowed to advertise and i don't wanna infringe i will say it works for those who have 06' or newer vw and audi's w/steering controls and they were hot at x-mas. there is a video at you tube. the title for the video is "vw steeringwheel". by the way parrot still hasn't worked out the bugs on the mk6100 and the iphone is still a pain as it won't sync up the phonebook on most parrots and doen't share music with the 6100 as its not a2dp compliant

-------------
image is everything

Hey all..... all the help on the install made it very simple. The pink/black wire was the mute. The speaker leads and power wires just linked right in between where I had my factory wiring harness added in. Only thing I do not like is the sound coming out of the front speakers is VERY low. Is there a way to boost this up a little? I have the units volume jacked all the way up. Maybe a very small amp or signal booster? I am afraid that I will not be able to hear very well during normal road noice. I have only tested the speakers sitting in the driveway and I had a hard time then. The mic that picks up my voice is great and callers can hear me very well. Any suggestions.

-------------
2004 Yukon Alpine headunit, 1000w amp to kicker comp12 in series. Not much yet neat.

have you tried an outboard speaker, just a cheap p.o.s. to see if its louder on that. could be your speakers are power hungry.

-------------
image is everything

CK3100 is a workhorse, very little return rates, maybe 3-5% at the most. 3200 is flashier, but much less reliable - we see return rates of 7-10%, mostly due to LCD failures.

First of all, Parrot does run 4 speakers - had it done on my PT Cruiser and Jag. You can easily get away with 2 front ones, but 4 will do fine as long as the car is not pre-amplified.

Second of all, your volume issues are likely related to amplification, you should have gone with the harness. Did you splice inline after the amp from female side?

i am sorry you have had such poor success with the 3200. we have been told from our many shops all over the world from australia to quebec that the 3200 is a great seller and love the when a second call comes in its easier to read as the screen is nearly twice the size of the 3100. and our return rate on the 3200 here at quick connect is almost none. but still as you have had these problems i could alert parrot as we are a parrot direct distributor. on my next car i might get the 3100 as it fits in more locations due to smaller size and i am thinking of molding it into my dash. monochrome will overall last longer and that is another factor

-------------
image is everything

true. and even on the amplified ones we make harnesses for the jbl systems for the fjammer and other toyota/lexus/scion cars. personally why have the parrot in the rear? the 2 front is just fine and in many cars its usually just the fronts like my 05 f150. i use the qcexp-1 for my and its direct plug and play for the parrot

-------------
image is everything

what shop are you out of and what state?

-------------
image is everything

He-he... I'm happy for you, but you, I guess, have no idea who we are :) Ask Howard, he'll tell you. We averaged about 1,200 Parrots per month in 2007, about 1/4 of them 3200, and sell Parrot since 2002, so I know what I am talking about, Mr. Direct Distributor :). Thank you for offering to alert Parrot, NOW they will know :))))))))))))

no reason be snotty, i was trying to help is all. if you are so taken by my words i am sorry. however you were mentioning you had trouble with the 3200s'

-------------
image is everything

Sorry, it was just funny :). Thank you for trying to help, it is great, but please, try to do more helping and less advertising for your JBL harnesses and Parrot. This a forum, not an ad board.

ok... maybe i car refer a customer your way. i have a guy who needs a parrot system in his 05 xlr and howard , scosche, metra and aiusa all have no ideas nor any idea who can make a plug and play. i visited your cute smiling website but i couldn't see if you have a solution

-------------
image is everything

you have it. i see it. sweet. on monday i'll give him your info and i can let you be the hero

-------------
image is everything

i see you haven't got the 08 accord harness yet either. scosche says they will have a harness in late febuary

-------------
image is everything

so how long do the 3200s last? this parrot stuff is still new to me i am a custom installer that has been polishing a tech chair with this stuff

-------------
image is everything

Look, for the money, 3200 is an excellent product, but in reality the Caller ID and the wallpapers are just toys - most users do not use them at all or use them once and forget it. In addition, who wants to have a Verizon sign on his child's forehead? IMHO CK3100 is by far the best value and the fact that despite Parrot terrible performance in the last 2 years nobody was able to create a strong competitor to it, is a petty. MK6100 could have replaced it, but with all the quality issues they are having so far it is not happening any time soon.

How long they last is really not an issue. If they work fine a week later, chances are they will work after 2 years. They have a high rate of LCD problems and those usually appear pretty fast, mostly immediately. Also, take into consideration that the brain is in LCD, so either brain or LCD problems result in the same failures. Otherwise it is tough to tell, the first kits were released in January of 2006.

Thanks for the Scosche update, I hope we will have our solution at about the same time, but it will be handsfree specific.

howard thinks i should get the 31 or 3200. for my hyundai i was thinking of the 3000 since its so small. also with that in mind i only look at my 3200 display when i wanna see the second caller incoming. also i had a guy today that needed help unloading saved bluetooth profiles and parrot sent him my way since they usually do. what am i the fall guy for their problems? im sure you get that too. anyway i told him to unplug it and wait about ten minutes. he has the 3000 with vw steer control.

-------------
image is everything

im tempted to go rent a honda accord but i think that would be a waste of money

-------------
image is everything

Well, considering the current state of our relationship with them, they do not send anything this way, but we were their tech. support even before they opened US office. It is interesting that even now most their people do not know crap.

Unless you really treasure this famous Hyundai cabin ambiance, I don't think it makes sense for you to install CK3000 - it does not sync and the convenience of LCD can not be overstated, IMHO. Since you have no problem replacing any kit if it is defective, I think you should have whatever you like installed and not bother yourself with the notions of reliability too much. Of course, I do not know Howard's policy towards his employees, but we do not limit ours from replacing handsfrees in their cars, even more - considering Parrot is only one of many brands we carry we endorse it.

What will renting an Accord give you? We know the connectors are different, the issue is getting a source for them.