Kyocera Music Gateway review: Kyocera Music Gateway

With stereo Bluetooth becoming more commonplace in cell phones, it's refreshing to see so many companies developing innovative new devices to take advantage of the technology. The most obvious so far has been the stereo Bluetooth headset, which can receive streaming music wirelessly from both a cell phone and a digital audio player, as long as they both have stereo Bluetooth capabilities. Kyocera Wireless, however, has decided to push the envelope further with what it's calling the Kyocera Wireless Music Gateway. This simple black box can be used to transmit music from a stereo Bluetooth phone and broadcast the tunes via your home stereo. It even comes bundled with a Bluetooth adapter that can be connected to a music player like an iPod so you can broadcast your iPod's tunes via the Music Gateway as well. Similarly, you can also use the Music Gateway to receive music from your home stereo and broadcast it to a stereo Bluetooth headset. It'll also work with your computer and a pair of speakers if you don't have a home stereo. Though it does take a little time and fiddling to get working, the Kyocera Wireless Music Gateway really does work, and it's an easy way to fill your home with music. The whole Wireless Music Gateway kit is available for $99. To find more accessories like this, plus tips on how to use them, please check out our cell phone accessories help page.

The Wireless Music Gateway is a slim and compact device that won't get a lot of attention, which is a good thing in our book. Its metallic black chassis matches most home stereo systems, and it is lightweight enough that you can carry it around without a problem. On its front spine are a Bluetooth pairing button and three LED lights that are the Receive Mode Indicator light, Transmit Mode Indicator light, and Bypass Mode Indicator light respectively. The multifunction power switch is on the top, while the audio and charger jacks are on the back. Finally, on the bottom of the device are two plastic feet that swivel out if you want to position the Music Gateway vertically instead of horizontally.

The setup of the device takes some effort. First, you have to plug the charger in and use the included cables to connect the Gateway to your home stereo system. For transmitting music to the home stereo, you'll connect the Audio Out jack to the RCA Input ports. For receiving music from the home stereo, you'll connect the Audio In jack to either the RCA output ports or any 3.5mm output jack (like a Tape Rec Out port or the headphones port). If you don't have a home stereo, you also can connect the Gateway to your computer and a pair of powered speakers. In the latter scenario, you only need the 3.5mm jack cable, and the Gateway will act in "Bypass Mode" for music to get from the computer to the speakers.

After that, it's a matter of pairing the Gateway with a stereo Bluetooth cell phone or a Bluetooth adapter for an audio player for transmitting. We paired our Music Gateway with the LG VX9400, and pairing went quite smoothly. When we played the music from the phone, it was instantly streamed to our home stereo and we were rewarded with wonderful stereo quality music. As a bonus feature, we could control the music remotely from the phone. Then we went and switched the Gateway from Transmit Mode to Receive Mode so we could broadcast music from the home stereo instead. This required us to get up and press the multifunction button manually--while this isn't too much of a hassle, it would be nice if there was a wireless way to do it. Then we paired the Music Gateway with the Kyocera Stereo Bluetooth Headset with Pendant Controller to receive music from the home stereo. Again, the pairing went great, and we were able to receive tunes from the home stereo wirelessly via the stereo Bluetooth headset.

Overall, though the initial setup took some effort, we were ultimately rewarded with a wireless way to stream music to and from our home stereo system. We only wish there was a wireless way to switch between Transmit and Receive modes.