PROS: The dual speakers have a 5-watt output with excellent high-definition voice quality.
CONS: There’s no dedicated mute button.
VERDICT: The SuperTooth HD provides excellent audio on both sides of a call, and the hands-free features are comprehensive.
The SuperTooth HD is a Bluetooth hands-free car kit with two of everything – two buttons, two speakers, two microphones, two DSP noise reduction processors. The most notable button is the rotary wheel, which functions as a volume control, voice activation, answer-call and end-call button. The second button activates the HandsFree Assistant app, which provides text-to-speech and speech-to-text capabilities and full social networking integration.
With two 5-watt speakers and HD voice capabilities, the SuperTooth HD is one of the best Bluetooth car kits for call quality. The wideband frequency range of 50Hz to 7kHz produces a far more realistic voice from your caller than the standard narrowband frequency range, because it allows more than twice as many audio frequencies through the call. You hear more of what you’d hear if you were in the same car, which leads to better communication. Also, the output is loud enough with the 5-watt amplifier that you won’t need to turn it all the way up when you’re on the freeway.
This Bluetooth car kit also uses a dual-microphone system with dual DSP noise reduction. With two microphones, it’s more capable of recognizing and separating background noises from your voice. The result is a call quality that allows you to take calls while you’re flying down the freeway or when you have the air conditioning on full. Your caller will hear your voice instead of the road and the fans. The dual-mic system also allows the internal digital signal processors to be aggressive without cutting into your voice like many Bluetooth hands-free car kits.
The one flaw with the call quality is the lack of a dedicated mute button – an often-overlooked feature among Bluetooth car speakerphones. Without a mute button, you have to access the mute on your phone. If you need to mute the caller, you can turn the volume all the way down with a quick turn of the rotary wheel. However, the caller can still hear you. This makes it difficult to talk to other passengers in your car, especially if you don’t want your caller to listen in on the conversation.
The HD comes with the Dial2Do app assistant that allows you to compose and check text messages, emails and status updates with voice commands. The social integration is comprehensive, but it isn’t without faults. For example, the app is only available for Android and BlackBerry. It also requires a subscription after six months. If you’re willing to pay a monthly fee, you can tweet about the traffic on your commute without looking at your phone.
Summary
The SuperTooth HD provides some of the best call quality on both ends of a call for a Bluetooth car kit. The 5-watt dual speakers have the output necessary to ensure that you always hear your caller, and the dual-mic noise reduction processor ensures that your caller always hears you clearly. The flaws, such as the lack of a dedicated mute and an iOS-compatible assistant app, are minor.