What is the purpose of this automobile microphone

[micky]

I don't get it:

Pioneer CD-MC20 Auto-EQ Microphone for Car DVD Receivers

Why does someone need a microphone for a DVD receiver. Are people doing karioke in the car? I thought people want microphones if they are connecting the car radio to the cellphone, but the ad doesn't mention cellphones.

And it says "Placement: The Pioneer CD-MC20 Auto-EQ microphone should be placed in the center of your vehicle's driver seat headrest facing forward. " So doesn't that mean if you're rear-ended your head will go back and whack this thing, which has got to be worse for your head than hitting the head restraint.

And what is it equalizing?

One of the answers to a questions is "No. It's made for auto eq the pioneer radio. A mic won't work on your auxiliary on your radio."

Is that true, a mic won't work through AUX? I thought that AUX is normally TRRS and a TS input will still match up with TRRS enough to likely work. Or at least possibly work. I'm not going to damage anything by trying, right?

[N_Cook]

Active noise cancellation? would only work for one person, if that and limited to simple repetitive noise, adding antiphase of the received noise

[Bruce Esquibel]

A number of car stereos have a setup that is used when first installed to automatically set the volume and eq (bass/treble) for each speaker so it is optimized.

When in that mode, the radio plays a number of tones and white noise one speaker at a time to figure out the best pattern for the driver. That microphone is used to listen to those tones. You aren't in the car, you place the mic where your head would be and get out of the car and let the radio run the tests.

You don't leave it in circuit, after the radio does it's thing, it's removed.

Both my original radio and the current one has modes for "driver only", "front only" and "4 passenger". It's just a tweak to get the best sound based on how many people are in the car.

Unless you have a radio that does the auto configuration, there is no point having one of those mics.

-bruce [e-mail]

[Cursitor Doom]

I thought I'd heard all the daft features modern cars have until I read this. Talk about needless complexity.

[gfretwell]

I haven't seen a car "radio" (MP3 player etc) in 10 years that did not bluetooth to your phone.

[rbowman]

I don't think mine does but then neither does my flip phone.

[Jeff Liebermann]

Auto-EQ. Please read through the questions and answers at the bottom of the Amazon page.

The way it's suppose to work is you termorarily plug in the mic and place it at your favorite listening position. You then punch the Auto-EQ button, which adjusts the delays and levels to the speakers so that the player sounds reasonable. You then remove the microphone and put it some place where you can lose it. That's why there are replacement mics for sale on Amazon.

Notice that you can only adjust the equalization automatically with the microphone. There is no manual adjustment on this Pioneer player.

[gfretwell]

Are you sure. My 10 year old Samsung Convoy (flip) has bluetooth and

3g data. I just never use it.

[trader_4]

You would think both the basic phones and car audio systems would have it because of the obvious safety issues. It makes it easy for you to take calls, talk, handsfree while driving. Plus BT in the phone enables you to do handsfree wherever you are.

[rbowman]

Yeah, I guess it does. Never had a reason to use it so never looked in the settings. Supposedly it can connect to the internet but that's never worked.

'I never use it' applies to the whole damn phone as far as I'm concerned. I've hated phones since they were made from Bakelite and Ma Bell owned them.

[Vic Smith]

My Motorola v188 flip doesn't have Bluetooth, whatever that is. Still works fine for what we need. Phone calls. We've had it for 14 years.

[Dean Hoffman]

I didn't think much of texting at first. It doesn't have the urgency of a phone call and is good for leaving messages. I'm outside a lot with the normal rural noises caused by wind. I'm less likely to misunderstand a text than a voicemail.

[micky]

I don't like texting either, but when I text my friend a short question, I get a short answer usually within 3 minutes. Were I to call her, I might well be interrupting her driving, or all kinds of other tthings, like listening to some complicated radio program.

Also, it appears great for business, when there is a chance of a dispute. People all the time are admitting to things in text that they later deny on the People's Court. I prefer phone calls but they leave no record. (My cell phone and home phone answering machine allow for recording but Maryland is a 2-party state.) "I'll pay you back" as soon as I get my tax return. is a very common text.

[micky]

Thanks, Bruce. (and thanks, Jeff) I n ever would have guessed. (My car radio was made in 1890.0

Unlike other makes, GM radios used to, maybe still do, reverse left and right for the back seat. I think that means wherever one is in the car, he gets and equal dose of left and right, instead of having to sit in the middle of the car (where no one sits.) It's a dilemma. When I drove a stage coach, I was usually alone and I always sat in the middle, so that I had the right balance of left and right.

You saved me some money.

[gfretwell]

If someone is obviously talking to a recorder they have waived their expectancy of privacy. The two party thing is moot.

[Mark Lloyd]

[snip]

I don't normally use text for a conversation. When I do send a text, I don't want anything interactive or immediate (like with a voice call). Quick reply is NOT needed.