Fell short of expectations
Timothy from Tampa, FL on 4/1/2019
I have three primary complaints with this unit. Unfortunately the AQ-MP-5UBT-S fell way short of my expectations and is being returned after only a few hours of use...I wouldn't recommend it. 1. The display was so dim that it was virtually unreadable in the sunlight and made even worse with polarized glasses. I originally thought that the unit was in "Night" mode, and that's when I discovered that the Menu feature to switch between day and night mode did not exist on my unit. Further, using the "Dim" function made zero change in displace brightness. Neither of these functions operated as described in the user manual, and AQAV tech support was unable to resolve the issue. 2. Volume can only be controlled from the unit or via a separately purchased wired or wireless remote. So if you are off the boat running pandora from your phone and you hear a song you like, you have to climb back into the boat to turn it up. Other BT radios allow volume adjustments to be made by the volume on your phone similar to BT headphones. Note JL MBT-RX is a great solution for existing radios. 3a. It's difficult to snap the face plate of the unit on and difficult to take it off and it's a pain to have to take the face plate off to snap the dust cover in. The faceplate is currently sitting on a counter in my house, it's just goofy and clunky to have it detach. 3b. The dust cover for the USB hub that comes with the unit doesn't stay in place. It might as well not exist it's that
Pros: Great clean sound. Easy to install. Attractive looks. Only $50 to replace the entire faceplate if lost, stolen, or damaged.
Cons: 1. Very dim display is not great for applications receiving a lot of sunlight...like boating! 2. Volume can only be controlled AT the unit unlike other radios that allow your phone's volume controls to raise and lower volume (think BT headphones). 3. Detachable face plate is difficult to install/uninstall and there is no storage case making it a pain to protect or carry around, and cover for remote USB port is virtually useless as it does not snap securely in place.
9 of 10 found this helpful