I was hoping someone could help.
I need a new 2 Din, Full Android Car Stereo which satisfies the following:
1) Has 4 channels and a subwoofer out
2) The subwoofer out is of normal voltage (ie 4v or above)
3) There is a built in Gain control for the sub on the head unit
4) There is a built in crossover for the speakers and sub so that not too much bass is going to the speakers and not too much mid/treble is going to the sub
5) the above 2 features will be active and work while using 3rd party apps like poweramp etc
All the other stuff like wifi and bluetooth and OBD2 support is assumed as they all seem to do this.
i would appreciate any advice because whenever i email sellers it takes a day to get back to me every time and the answers are always vague and unclear.
many thanks in advance
2-4 I think you're asking too much at this point.. I don't think any of the chinese Android units can meet these requirements at this point. They have SUB output, but no built in crossover which works out of the box. Some units, I believe MTC of sorts, had the hardware but it wasn't hooked up properly, so some people were able to make it work by soldering in some trace wires on the board and moving two resistors. Not something for anyone unless you have good skills in soldering.
For now, I just use an external 3-way active crossover. It works fine. At the moment I'm using the built in amplifier, but will install an amplifier soon as the built in one isn't very powerful, only about 4x15-18W according to the datasheet of the amp IC they used.
Hilari0 said:
2-4 I think you're asking too much at this point.. I don't think any of the chinese Android units can meet these requirements at this point. They have SUB output, but no built in crossover which works out of the box. Some units, I believe MTC of sorts, had the hardware but it wasn't hooked up properly, so some people were able to make it work by soldering in some trace wires on the board and moving two resistors. Not something for anyone unless you have good skills in soldering.
For now, I just use an external 3-way active crossover. It works fine. At the moment I'm using the built in amplifier, but will install an amplifier soon as the built in one isn't very powerful, only about 4x15-18W according to the datasheet of the amp IC they used.
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Hi mate, thanks for your response.
So what i have at the moment is the head unit below:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01CGA5...483542345&sr=sr-1&keywords=android+car+stereo
A fitter came and set up my sub and amp from my old car. The rca goes straight from the sub out of the unit into the amp at the back which powers the sub.
The problem i am having is that when i want to hear the sub i have to turn the bass up - when i turn the bass up too high the speakers crackle as the equaliser is universal.
Someone recommended me a PAC LD-10 low pass line which will increase the voltage to the amp for my sub and give me a knob to control the level....will fitting this be enough to do the job?
can you send me a link to your 3-way cross over?
thanks
I'm not using a special crossover by any means, just a standard crossover which are readily available. Not sure the specific one I use, but it looks pretty much identical to this one but with a different color:
http://www.lazada.com.ph/boschmann-mobile-audio-electronic-crossover-23-way-xm-3a-9196761.html
The PAC LD-10 will increase the line level yes, so you get a good signal over 4V. As far as I know, this is a pure preamplifier (or signal booster if you will), without any sort of crossover. It has separate controls for left/right, so you can adjust balance, but that's about it. You can read all about it here:
http://www.pac-audio.com/productDetails.aspx?ProductId=264&CategoryID=28
You get them on Amazon/ebay for $18.49 plus shipping.
Hilari0 said:
I'm not using a special crossover by any means, just a standard crossover which are readily available. Not sure the specific one I use, but it looks pretty much identical to this one but with a different color:
http://www.lazada.com.ph/boschmann-mobile-audio-electronic-crossover-23-way-xm-3a-9196761.html
The PAC LD-10 will increase the line level yes, so you get a good signal over 4V. As far as I know, this is a pure preamplifier (or signal booster if you will), without any sort of crossover. It has separate controls for left/right, so you can adjust balance, but that's about it. You can read all about it here:
http://www.pac-audio.com/productDetails.aspx?ProductId=264&CategoryID=28
You get them on Amazon/ebay for $18.49 plus shipping.
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Click to collapse
Thanks mate.
Does the sub-out on my unit not limit the frequency to say 120 or 150 and below? So hopefully i will just need a crossover for the speakers...?
So if i need a PAC LD-10 for the sub and a crossover for the speakers will my battery be able to cope with powering both of those as well as the Head Unit?
When I hooked up the subwoofer in my car to the SUB output on my head unit, it sounded awful. It seemed to play full range sound without any crossover, and the sound was greatly improved when I installed the crossover. I didn't have an issue with it being too low though, so depending on the way your amplifier and head unit is designed, your results may vary. If you plan on using aftermarket amplifiers for all the speakers, I recommend using an external crossover, either one like I use or the one that is built in on the amplifiers themselves, as many come with that already.
Hilari0 said:
When I hooked up the subwoofer in my car to the SUB output on my head unit, it sounded awful. It seemed to play full range sound without any crossover, and the sound was greatly improved when I installed the crossover. I didn't have an issue with it being too low though, so depending on the way your amplifier and head unit is designed, your results may vary. If you plan on using aftermarket amplifiers for all the speakers, I recommend using an external crossover, either one like I use or the one that is built in on the amplifiers themselves, as many come with that already.
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Click to collapse
the amp connected to my sub has a built in filter and gain. The gain is on max but i can only hear the sub properly when i turn the bass up on my equaliser, but it still doesnt thump like it did in my old car. The other issue is that the speakers crackles as soon as you start turning the volume up after that. I dont think i need an amp for the speakers as they can even take the Head Units power as they crackle when i turn it up....unless this is becasue the audio quality is so bad.....jesus i never realised this would be so complicated when i had it fitted.
i forgot to remind you as well - will the normal car battery power these devices and headunit...and i also have my amp in the boot...
Speakers will always perform better with a strong amp vs a weak amp. And a weak amp can make good speakers crackle even if they're far from their max power output, due to the amplifier not being able to handle the load. If you have a car with a proprietary amplifier system which uses weird inputs, it may be a challenge to make it work properly and you might be better served replacing that amplifier with an aftermarket one. Don't throw the stock factory amp away, if you ever want to reinstall the OEM system when you sell it or similar. If not, selling it may give a nice income as some of these go for a premium.
---------- Post added at 01:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:59 AM ----------
Oh, and yeah. A standard car battery and alternator should be able to handle a normal sized sound system, even if it's aftermarket. I wouldn't be worried about installing a head unit, a 4x50W amp and a monoblock amp for the subwoofer. Perhaps I'd go to the step of installing a capacitor if the subwoofer was more than 200W and the dash lights started dimming, but this is usually only an issue if you install a huge sound system. Normal listening levels never reaches high power demands..
Hilari0 said:
Speakers will always perform better with a strong amp vs a weak amp. And a weak amp can make good speakers crackle even if they're far from their max power output, due to the amplifier not being able to handle the load. If you have a car with a proprietary amplifier system which uses weird inputs, it may be a challenge to make it work properly and you might be better served replacing that amplifier with an aftermarket one. Don't throw the stock factory amp away, if you ever want to reinstall the OEM system when you sell it or similar. If not, selling it may give a nice income as some of these go for a premium.
---------- Post added at 01:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:59 AM ----------
Oh, and yeah. A standard car battery and alternator should be able to handle a normal sized sound system, even if it's aftermarket. I wouldn't be worried about installing a head unit, a 4x50W amp and a monoblock amp for the subwoofer. Perhaps I'd go to the step of installing a capacitor if the subwoofer was more than 200W and the dash lights started dimming, but this is usually only an issue if you install a huge sound system. Normal listening levels never reaches high power demands..
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spot on mate - the major issue with my oem kit is that it was fibre optic from the main head unit to the back amp. However the guy that fitted the stereo for me asured me that the power from the HU would be more than enough to power the speakers in the car...looks like he was wrong!
So in summary i can buy one of these as the amp for the 4 speakers
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-JbbC3Sa3qOK/p_500MRVF300/Alpine-MRV-F300.html
And then get the PAC LD-10 for the sub and that should be me done right? In theory...LOL
I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work, but I don't know anything about the headunit you have so I have no idea if it has good or bad preamp outputs. It does look like a pretty standard Rockchip based unit, so I suppose it would work fine.
Powering speakers with the built in amplifier works, but only to a certain point. It's mostly good for your bog standard OEM speakers from a mid to low class vehicle. Anything premium or larger setup in a luxury vehicle typically requires a bit more power than the internal one can give. I know they write 4x50W on the box for the head unit, but that number is a peak output power at 10% THD or something, horribly overrated. hehe. Not sure if your head unit uses the same amp IC as the Joying ones, but I checked the datasheet on that and it was at 4x15W at 4 ohms when it crossed the 0.1% THD mark, and you typically don't want to go beyond that.
Hilari0 said:
I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work, but I don't know anything about the headunit you have so I have no idea if it has good or bad preamp outputs. It does look like a pretty standard Rockchip based unit, so I suppose it would work fine.
Powering speakers with the built in amplifier works, but only to a certain point. It's mostly good for your bog standard OEM speakers from a mid to low class vehicle. Anything premium or larger setup in a luxury vehicle typically requires a bit more power than the internal one can give. I know they write 4x50W on the box for the head unit, but that number is a peak output power at 10% THD or something, horribly overrated. hehe. Not sure if your head unit uses the same amp IC as the Joying ones, but I checked the datasheet on that and it was at 4x15W at 4 ohms when it crossed the 0.1% THD mark, and you typically don't want to go beyond that.
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ok - i have booked in the fitting;
- a 4 x 50w rms amp with variable crossover for the speakers
- Line driver for the sub with variable gain
One more question. I have an RMA set up on the Head Unit. Is there a "best full android head unit" that i can buy and send this one back?
I want the unit with the best balance of being fast cpu (the one i have does lag a bit when trying to go in and out of apps and i am not used to that as i have always had decent android devices - it can be very frustrating), enough ram and 16gb storage minimum and also better sound quality than the one i have.
From what i gather they are all pretty similar in regard to the above but is there one out at the moment which stands out from the rest in terms of sound quality but keeps the full android and decent cpu?
Well, at the moment the best units around is the Intel Sofia based units with 2GB ram, they come with 32GB internal storage as well. I have the Joying JY-UL135N2 and I'm happy with it. As with all of the chinese Android head units, it has a few quirks, but it doesn't have any dealbreaking stuff. Plus it has fully working Bluetooth, just that they removed it from the Settings menu.. hehe. There's a thread here on the forum on how to make the full stock Bluetooth settings open, so that's really great!
Here's my head unit: https://www.carjoying.com/joying-ne...-wifi-mirror-link-entertainment-multimed.html
And here's the thread for full bluetooth: https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...elopment/bluetooth-settings-launcher-t3504526
The biggest problem with it is that it doesn't have a good heatsink on it, so the CPU gets pretty hot. It still performs smoothly, so not a big issue but I don't like that it runs so hot so personally I'm gonna attach an Intel stock CPU cooler from a desktop with thermal epoxy, and that should take care of it.
Hilari0 said:
Well, at the moment the best units around is the Intel Sofia based units with 2GB ram, they come with 32GB internal storage as well. I have the Joying JY-UL135N2 and I'm happy with it. As with all of the chinese Android head units, it has a few quirks, but it doesn't have any dealbreaking stuff. Plus it has fully working Bluetooth, just that they removed it from the Settings menu.. hehe. There's a thread here on the forum on how to make the full stock Bluetooth settings open, so that's really great!
Here's my head unit: https://www.carjoying.com/joying-ne...-wifi-mirror-link-entertainment-multimed.html
And here's the thread for full bluetooth: https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...elopment/bluetooth-settings-launcher-t3504526
The biggest problem with it is that it doesn't have a good heatsink on it, so the CPU gets pretty hot. It still performs smoothly, so not a big issue but I don't like that it runs so hot so personally I'm gonna attach an Intel stock CPU cooler from a desktop with thermal epoxy, and that should take care of it.
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Click to collapse
ok great. I appreciate this
so just to clarify, with your stereo, there is no Bluetooth in the settings? So is there no way to pair your phone to make/receive calls unless i use this workaround? Why in the hell would they do that??
Also does this unit have usb flash ports so i can plug my 128gb flash drive in?
Also does it have sub-out?
nk33 said:
ok great. I appreciate this
so just to clarify, with your stereo, there is no Bluetooth in the settings? So is there no way to pair your phone to make/receive calls unless i use this workaround? Why in the hell would they do that??
Also does this unit have usb flash ports so i can plug my 128gb flash drive in?
Also does it have sub-out?
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Click to collapse
EDIT
Actually i can see the sub -out.
It says bluetooth 4 on the site....if i only want to use the Bluetooth for making calls etc i am assuming i wont need to do the mod?
i use wifi tethering from my phone anyway - not Bluetooth - i am assuming this stereo will be ok with this.
damn this stereo looks good.
should i be worried about the heat? i am seriously thinking of buying this and getting them to fit it along with the other equipment...and send the other one back for a refund
The bluetooth works out of the box, but it's somewhat limited with their not so good bluetooth dialer app. It works to call and such, and limited pairing, but you only get full use of it if you do the mod mentioned in that thread. It's pretty easy to do that mod though. And yes, it has sub out but there's no built in crossover or anything.
Most likely it will work well despite the heat. In the worst case, would you be comfortable in opening it and installing a heatsink on it? Thermal epoxy seems to be the way to go there, Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive is the one I'm gonna use, just waiting for it to show up in the mail.
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_alumina_thermal_adhesive.htm
Hilari0 said:
Most likely it will work well despite the heat. In the worst case, would you be comfortable in opening it and installing a heatsink on it? Thermal epoxy seems to be the way to go there, Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive is the one I'm gonna use, just waiting for it to show up in the mail.
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_alumina_thermal_adhesive.htm
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Click to collapse
Ok, I have ordered the head unit you have.
I will ask the fitter if he is willing to add a heatsink for me.
If it has an intel sofia processor… surely the processor has a heatsync gel and hearsink already?? It surely will overheat without one…?
Tell me are the audio specs better than my current unit? What is the rms on the speakers and the sub out voltage?
Sent from my SM-G925F using XDA Free mobile app
I have no idea what the output voltage is on the sub or preamp outputs, but the built in amp is 4x15-18W rms at 0,1 %thd. I can post a datasheet to the amplifier IC they use if you want. The sub output seems loud enough, I just use an active crossover on it with the gain set at 0 db.
@Hilari0 I disagree that the sofia units are the best. Mainly because the whole chipset was a failure and development stopped and you will never get updates and never see android 6 even. So after 2 years it is garbage. Also MTK based quad core units are slightly faster and support Android 6, 4G/LTE etc. natively.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/3063...-tablet-markets-after-cutting-atom-chips.html
I myself bought an Ownice C500 after considering all the options. It was also cheaper and so far there does not seem to be any problems reported. The only downside is that it has 16GB storage, but well I am thinking I will stick in an SD card if it ever becomes a problem.
Also C500 units have a subwoofer out but I don't know if it completely satisfies the requirements of the OP. I just ordered a C500 unit myself and waiting for it although I won't use the subwoofer out.
Related
Hi,
I've just installed a new Joying Android Head Unit and I'm pretty disappointed by the sound quality - in fact it's awful - on radio and playing very high quality mp3s - I know it's not the car speakers because they sounded great on the old system.
So I came here wondering if there is anything I can do about it?
I've installed PowerAmp app and tweaked the equalizer, however the sound always sounds tinny - especially noticeable on the base.
At the moment I'm only getting sound from the front speakers which could be a wiring issue..
Looking around I notice there is a soldering solution to fixing the radio sound - is this a general fix for sound output? Anyone tried it?
Finally, would fitting an external amp improve things, or would the signal from the Joying unit still be too poor?
Yeah I completed 7floor's sound mode on mine. It helped with the squashed sound and tinny-ness now the sound is better, not that of a brand name head unit, but better.
welcome to the world of chinese android HUs. Add an external DSP and external amp. That would give you the most noticeable boost. Find a good deal on a used amp from your local craigslist, and for DSP, check out the minidsp 2x4. It's roughly $100 and is fantastic.
Can anyone explain the difference between DSP and Amp, and how this links in with the HU?
I get that the HU has the audio controlled by the Sound Processor IC which is controlled by the MCU - and the point of the mod is to control it via Android.
Does the DSP replace the processing of the Sound processor with/without the MCU, or does it process sound afterwards?
The Amp presumably comes last and only serves to boost the power of the provided signal.
I'm happy to buy a decent dsp and amp, as I think the android unit is fab apart from the sound quality, if the quality I can eventually produce rivals that of a reasonable audio system.
Sorry, but I'm somewhat of a noob when it comes to car audio systems.
dsp -
https://www.minidsp.com/products/minidsp-in-a-box/minidsp-2x4
lets you set electronic cross-overs, equalization, and time alignment. Effectively a super advanced sound processor that overrides the HU sound processing. So what you do is set the HU EQ to flat, so that it's not doing any sound processing to the signal, and let the DSP do the work. the minidsp even has tools that let you auto-eq the system using an app called REW. Similar to how home audio receivers have tools like accueq etc.
an amp is exactly what you say. It becomes essential if you swap out the stock speakers for nicer ones that require more power. They accept low level RCA inputs, as does the DSP, so if you plan to add a DSP you may as well add an amp.
This becomes quite a bit of work to set up, as it's a lot of laborious wiring. But if you want the best sound out of these things, it's the way to go. I hated the stock audio system in my car, so for me it was a no-brainer. I'm on a quest to squeeze the best sound I can out of my unit, and while I'm still not quite there, it's miles better than where it started.
Hisma said:
dsp -
https://www.minidsp.com/products/minidsp-in-a-box/minidsp-2x4
lets you set electronic cross-overs, equalization, and time alignment. Effectively a super advanced sound processor that overrides the HU sound processing. So what you do is set the HU EQ to flat, so that it's not doing any sound processing to the signal, and let the DSP do the work. the minidsp even has tools that let you auto-eq the system using an app called REW. Similar to how home audio receivers have tools like accueq etc.
an amp is exactly what you say. It becomes essential if you swap out the stock speakers for nicer ones that require more power. They accept low level RCA inputs, as does the DSP, so if you plan to add a DSP you may as well add an amp.
This becomes quite a bit of work to set up, as it's a lot of laborious wiring. But if you want the best sound out of these things, it's the way to go. I hated the stock audio system in my car, so for me it was a no-brainer. I'm on a quest to squeeze the best sound I can out of my unit, and while I'm still not quite there, it's miles better than where it started.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever use the mini dsp and if so how was the quality with Android being the source? Did you do the 7floors sound bypass mod as well or is there a better method now? I have 2 amps, 1 mono 1 4channel and would like better control and quality on my rk3188. Thanks
Hello,
I got a very annoying problem with my pumpkin head unit. Theres a noise, like when you place a smartphone close to speaker, which I hear all the time coming out of my car speakers.
Sometimes it's quiet and sometimes I hear that noise.
Is there any way to fix that?
My HeadUnit is (Description from Pumpkin Website):
Pumpkin 7 Inch Quad Core Android 4.4 Car Stereo DVD Player for Opel Vauxhall 2 Din support DAB+ AV Output MirrorLink 3G WiFi OBD2 DVR Steering Wheel Control
I run Malaysk Rom, but had this issues even with the standard ROM.
Would be happy if anybody could help me.
Regards
Ben
bump
No ideas?
Any ideas
I would be happy if someone could help me with my Problem
It's likely noise from the screen. Try turning the screen off and see if it goes away. It won't be easy to fix. Make sure all your grounds are as good as possible and make sure they are as direct to the battery as you can get. Noise like this is from a bad circuit design. It's the difference between an expensive well-engineered board and some POS from China. Yeah, I got one too, the Lollipop unit (self-rooted w/Viper).
If you only get the noise when the car is running it could be noise from your alternator or plug wires. That's harder to fix. You could use one of the crazy capacitors they make for car audio, but if you aren't running a 1000W, they can be overkill. I would try 1000uF cap across the 12V battery supply to ground, as close to the head unit as you can get it. Make sure the cap is rated at least 15V or so (it will see more than 12 from a car!). It will be electrolytic, so make sure you obey polarity. I'll be doing this myself later today.
May be worth a try running a wire from the negative of the battery post to the radio ground...I would just do it quick and easy in the driveway before trying to route it through the car.
Thank you for your support on that...
Unfortunately that sounds not that easy. I thought this might be a common problem with those head units :-/
I have a sound coming thru the speakers as well kinda sounds like a hard drive reading data when its booting up but goes away once its booted & running.
Might try running a better ground see if that helps.
Best amp chips? -> Poor sound/audio quality AC7315 / HW8227L (Hactivol 9 inch 1G/16G)
Hi,
I tried to find for relevant threads, but couldn't really find anything, so starting my own.
Are their any comparisons or recommendations on which head unit to get or to look for which amplifier chip?
I just installed my Android head unit with a "AC7315" amplifier chip and I was underwhelmed with the sound quality.
At low/medium volume it is OK, but when you turn it up a little bit the sound gets bad. It's not really distorted, but it just becomes very flat. All the dynamic stuff goes and it becomes a boring sound.
When listening to dance/trance tracks I know very well I can just hear certain parts are "missing". They get lost in the "distortion".
infos:
Android: YT9217C_00005_V003_20190225_HIFI
system: Android 8.1 Go kenel 3.18.22
CAN Pro: Raise-Focus-V4.1-disconnect
FLASH: 16G
cpu: A7 1.3GHz x 4
Capacitance: 10000 UF
Amplifier: AC7315 MOS bile duct 45W X 4
display: 1024*600
MCU1: HW8227L-3.3-SWO-1.9
Is this common with these chinese head units? I have a Ford Fiesta (nov/13) and the standard/stock radio is a lot better. And that stock radio is not considered very good or anything, just a basic entry model.
Question is if there's anything to be gained by getting another Android Head unit? With a different amp chip? Or maybe one which has a 1-DIN or 2-DIN unit accompanying it. (Currently it's just the display with the amp/radio attached to the back of it).
It's this one: https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/32962174349.html
But from last year, so with a 7315 instead of the current 7388 mentioned on that page.
Thanks for helping out,
Opper
i have the same problem and i will try to change amp chip AC7315. but i dont know which it better then AC7315
hkn07 said:
i have the same problem and i will try to change amp chip AC7315. but i dont know which it better then AC7315
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TDA7850 is what you'll want. But only changing the amp chip won't do it. You need to make changes to the surrounding electronics, build an active, temperature-controlled cooling system and an external power supply to run the amp at 17V.
You will also need to replace all the speaker cables in the ISO harness with 18 AWG ones.
Last but not least, you'll need to install and properly configure Viper4Android app.
If you invest about $100 into an active subwoofer - all of the above will make a huge difference in sound quality. I wouldn't try this with a passive sub.
Good luck gents.
ExtremeMOD said:
TDA7850 is what you'll want. But only changing the amp chip won't do it. You need to make changes to the surrounding electronics, build an active, temperature-controlled cooling system and an external power supply to run the amp at 17V.
You will also need to replace all the speaker cables in the ISO harness with 18 AWG ones.
Last but not least, you'll need to install and properly configure Viper4Android app.
If you invest about $100 into an active subwoofer - all of the above will make a huge difference in sound quality. I wouldn't try this with a passive sub.
Good luck gents.
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Click to collapse
Replacing the internal power amp and/or doing silly things like running the amp IC at Vmax, won't achieve what a low cost external power amp will.
Running thicker cables to factory speakers will lighten your wallet.
marchnz said:
Replacing the internal power amp and/or doing silly things like running the amp IC at Vmax, won't achieve what a low cost external power amp will.
Running thicker cables to factory speakers will lighten your wallet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After research we adjusted the recommended external voltage to 17V. The difference in audio quality was barely audible compared to running it st Vmax. Vmax is 18V for TDA7850.
As for external amp - yes, an easier fix but we'd highly recommend an RCA line driver in between the head unit and the external amp. Even the cheaper ones will make a difference.
If you go this route, remove the internal amp altogether as it's only causing issues like overheating.
As for speaker cables, check the current AWG. We've seen a good number of cars where factory speakers already run on 18 AWG cables. Others are 20 AWG or 22.
ExtremeMOD said:
After research we adjusted the recommended external voltage to 17V. The difference in audio quality was barely audible compared to running it st Vmax. Vmax is 18V for TDA7850.
As for external amp - yes, an easier fix but we'd highly recommend an RCA line driver in between the head unit and the external amp. Even the cheaper ones will make a difference.
If you go this route, remove the internal amp altogether as it's only causing issues like overheating.
As for speaker cables, check the current AWG. We've seen a good number of cars where factory speakers already run on 18 AWG cables. Others are 20 AWG or 22.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi.
I am also looking to remove my internal amp and do the RCA mod.
Are there any info on how to do this RCA mod?
Do you simply solder rca cables to Input 1 and 2 where the amp was and the shield to chassis?
I have a MTK8667 Android head unit.
alli2501 said:
Hi.
I am also looking to remove my internal amp and do the RCA mod.
Are there any info on how to do this RCA mod?
Do you simply solder rca cables to Input 1 and 2 where the amp was and the shield to chassis?
I have a MTK8667 Android head unit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The lighter version of the mod requires removal of the internal amp. The more in-depth mod requires replacing a considerable number of components on the motherboard, like resistors, capacitors and potentially adding EMI shielding.
You do not need to solder cables at all for the lighter version of the mod.
The information on the advanced version of the mod can be found here: link.
Hi,
i recently recieved this unit (supposedly running 10.1 w. 9-inch screen, 1GB/16GB, but from other threads here i assume that this would not be quite true (Android version....)). Anyhow, after installing it in my car, i noticed that the stock car radio ceased to work and i wonder if it would be possible to get sound working from it again, even if this Android head-unit is connected?
No one has this problem? at all?
Sure, i have the radio of this Android unit working, but i'm just trying to understand why it would cut off the stock radio?
my03 said:
No one has this problem? at all?
Sure, i have the radio of this Android unit working, but i'm just trying to understand why it would cut off the stock radio?
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I'm having the same problem did you manage to find a solution to the problem
yes and no. On my unit, there is this L+R "aux in" connectors hanging out of the main harness (that comes out of the Android unit) and the sellers (after 5 roundtrips of mails, videos of me explaining the issue, etc) told me to connect those two to the "aux-out". I believe they meant the aux-out on my car stereo (nothing such exists on the Kenwood unit that the car came with). What i DID try was to connect the audio-out (that also comes out of the Android head unit) to the aux-in and then i actually got sound from my car CD/Radio. Problem with that was that it now came out mixed together with the audio from the Android unit.
To make matters worse, as soon as i exited the Android unit radio app, the sound from my CD stopped playing as well (so muted). Only if i had either my radio on (android) or if i played something from USB (mp3) the sound came through.
The seller then told me to launch the AVIN app as that would be the only way to make it work, which it did not. To top it all off, having it connected like this (even if i dropped the volume on the Android unit to 0) was causing this constant "hum" in my speakers so it was not practical at all.
So no, it was never solved and imho it never will be solved (unless possibly if you have some aux-out connectors available?)
Thanks for reply I was thinking along the same lines myself which is good, as my car has an aux in so I was going to see if I could find aux out and connect it, I will have a good try this week and keep you updated, which vehicle is your unit installed in by the way
Hi Mercedes-w204, i have a Subaru Legacy 2005 with a Kenwood (gx-201-LHF2) radio/CD unit (without aux)
I got in touch with the sellers and now they are telling me that a filter might help sorting out the issue, lets see where it all ends up
In general, these units are replacing stock audio altogether. It's not recommended to keep stock stereos period.
I would tend to agree with you, but the issue i have is that the stock radio is rock solid where this one leaves certain things to desire (it sometimes has static, mutes occationally, etc). Also, i would like to keep the CD available and basically use it for maps/nav, USB audio and BT (prefferably routed through the stock stereo).
my03 said:
I would tend to agree with you, but the issue i have is that the stock radio is rock solid where this one leaves certain things to desire (it sometimes has static, mutes occationally, etc). Also, i would like to keep the CD available and basically use it for maps/nav, USB audio and BT (prefferably routed through the stock stereo).
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Wouldn't it be easier to just use your Android phone then? But I see what you mean and fully agree with you, which is why I heavily mod these units - hardware and software alike.
You can improve the radio quality considerably, nearly to DAB level. The sound can also be improved to very hi-end output levels. Frankly, enough things can be improved in these units at a very low cost (provided you have the equipment and intermediate soldering skills). T give you an example, this is what I know is possible to achieve with these units:
Enhance sound to HIFI quality
Improve radio to close to DAB output quality
Improve wifi speed 10-20x times
Improve microphone by up to 5 times
Enhance the speed of the operating system by 50%
Reduced overheating by up to 200%
Stabilize the Android OS while adding endless tweaking options for UI, sound, and other functions
Wow. Yeah it would be needed imho as those areas (that you describe) could be improved. Anywhere where mods like these are described?
iceblue1980 said:
Wouldn't it be easier to just use your Android phone then? But I see what you mean and fully agree with you, which is why I heavily mod these units - hardware and software alike.
You can improve the radio quality considerably, nearly to DAB level. The sound can also be improved to very hi-end output levels. Frankly, enough things can be improved in these units at a very low cost (provided you have the equipment and intermediate soldering skills). T give you an example, this is what I know is possible to achieve with these units:
Enhance sound to HIFI quality
Improve radio to close to DAB output quality
Improve wifi speed 10-20x times
Improve microphone by up to 5 times
Enhance the speed of the operating system by 50%
Reduced overheating by up to 200%
Stabilize the Android OS while adding endless tweaking options for UI, sound, and other functions
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Consider posting "how tos" - if the results are as good as the claims.
marchnz said:
Consider posting "how tos" - if the results are as good as the claims.
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The instructions are available here and on 4PDA forums, to name a few. It would take me an insanely long time to put everything here. I have a daytime job and a family so, unfortunately, no time to do what you asked. I might add some How-To videos to my Youtube channel later on.
Folks, I'm at my wits end and hope someone here can help. I purchased a Mekede M300 Android head unit (I believe this is a rebranded Joying unit) over a month ago for my wife's Honda HR-V 2017. Installation was fairly straightforward and any minor issues that came up were able to be resolved messaging the seller on Aliexpress.
There is one major issue that remains which is a dealbreaker - call quality is absolutely horrendous while driving and/or with the air conditioner on.
I've tried:
Testing on multiple devices
Testing with and without an external 3.5mm microphone installed (unit has a crappy internal one)
Factory resetting
Adjusting "sound mix scale" and "power conditioning" values in unit settings with no noticeable improvement
What I believe is happening is some processing/filtering is being done on the mixed audio input from internal mic (and the external mic, if plugged in). AC or road noise drowns out my voice and I cannot be heard well on the other end. No idea how to avoid this...
Does anyone have any suggestions or solutions? Attaching system info if it helps identify the device.
This is a major issue with all of these Chinese head units. They do not use noise-cancelling microphones.
As soon as "ambient noise" like airco, ventilation, tyre noise, wind noise, engine noise, etc. becomes too loud, you can forget it.
Even a 10 euros/dollars investment in a cheap noise cancelling internal mic (so two cheap mics instead of one cheap mic) would already be a great difference.
Even the cheap units are so powerfull that simply using two very cheap mics and some algorithm to separate the "general constant" noise from the "differentiating" signal (voice) would make a huge difference.
Maybe you could try with a USB headset to see if you can use a USB microphone for a phone call. If it works you might purchase a USB-cancelling microphone. I must admit I never tried that as I don't do phone calls in my car.
surfer63 said:
This is a major issue with all of these Chinese head units. They do not use noise-cancelling microphones.
As soon as "ambient noise" like airco, ventilation, tyre noise, wind noise, engine noise, etc. becomes too loud, you can forget it.
Even a 10 euros/dollars investment in a cheap noise cancelling internal mic (so two cheap mics instead of one cheap mic) would already be a great difference.
Even the cheap units are so powerfull that simply using two very cheap mics and some algorithm to separate the "general constant" noise from the "differentiating" signal (voice) would make a huge difference.
Maybe you could try with a USB headset to see if you can use a USB microphone for a phone call. If it works you might purchase a USB-cancelling microphone. I must admit I never tried that as I don't do phone calls in my car.
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Thanks for the info. Any recommendations for a replacement mic? I already tried purchasing a rather cheap one on Amazon that didn't make a noticeable difference.
I tested hypercardioid microphone and results were pretty good, but it has to be mounted near your head. Problem I have is that internal microphone, the one on the display, is still on. I'm thinking of de-soldering it as it's not too difficult to access.
firstbob said:
I tested hypercardioid microphone and results were pretty good, but it has to be mounted near your head. Problem I have is that internal microphone, the one on the display, is still on. I'm thinking of de-soldering it as it's not too difficult to access.
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I read about this and didn't want to have to do it if possible. Was call quality acceptable with the hypercardioid microphone? Can you provide a link?
fusionice said:
I read about this and didn't want to have to do it if possible. Was call quality acceptable with the hypercardioid microphone? Can you provide a link?
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It's like this one: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002433011687.html I specifically was looking for cardioid microphone that does not pickup lower frequencies, this one starts at 50Hz.
It could be a bit louder ( gain was set to medium ) so it's probably not perfect, but results from directional pickup were good.
firstbob said:
It's like this one: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002433011687.html I specifically was looking for cardioid microphone that does not pickup lower frequencies, this one starts at 50Hz.
It could be a bit louder ( gain was set to medium ) so it's probably not perfect, but results from directional pickup were good.
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Thanks, I'll look into that one.
When you say that you set the gain to medium, is that some setting on the headunit? If it is, I could not find a similar setting on my unit.
@surfer63 I've seen one of your posts breaking down different values in the "config.txt" file. Could mine be a culprit? It is set to "persist.btmic.gain=8"
fusionice said:
Thanks, I'll look into that one.
When you say that you set the gain to medium, is that some setting on the headunit? If it is, I could not find a similar setting on my unit.
@surfer63 I've seen one of your posts breaking down different values in the "config.txt" file. Could mine be a culprit? It is set to "persist.btmic.gain=8"
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Browsing through engineering menus I saw the mic gain settings. I found it after testing so I did not play with it.
fusionice said:
@surfer63 I've seen one of your posts breaking down different values in the "config.txt" file. Could mine be a culprit? It is set to "persist.btmic.gain=8"
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This one is unknown to me. Like mentioned: I don't do phonecalls in the car and never even looked at this one. I really don't know.
On my head unit, a TEyes FYT sc9853i unit, it did not have an external mic connector. I modified the harness so that my stock car microphone could be used. I soldered a connector directly to the internal mic location and removed the internal mic. It was located on the side panel where the touch controls are located. It is easily accessible from behind through a separate removable cover panel. Not sure if yours is the same. The stock microphone is located just above the drivers sun visor. I have a North American Kia Sorento 2012 SX.
mastrv said:
On my head unit, a TEyes FYT sc9853i unit, it did not have an external mic connector. I modified the harness so that my stock car microphone could be used. I soldered a connector directly to the internal mic location and removed the internal mic. It was located on the side panel where the touch controls are located. It is easily accessible from behind through a separate removable cover panel. Not sure if yours is the same. The stock microphone is located just above the drivers sun visor. I have a North American Kia Sorento 2012 SX.
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I think it's likely that all 9" (and probably 10.1") HU displays with capacitive buttons on a side are the same. I have TS10, relatively new unit, and date on the that side board is 2019.
mastrv said:
On my head unit, a TEyes FYT sc9853i unit, it did not have an external mic connector. I modified the harness so that my stock car microphone could be used. I soldered a connector directly to the internal mic location and removed the internal mic. It was located on the side panel where the touch controls are located. It is easily accessible from behind through a separate removable cover panel. Not sure if yours is the same. The stock microphone is located just above the drivers sun visor. I have a North American Kia Sorento 2012 SX.
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Yes mine looks like this as well. How difficult was your modification? Did you need to build a custom harness/connector to keep the OEM mic? Seems pretty involved, but I'd give it a try if I just needed to solder a readily available part.
If you have access to 4pda, the hardware forum has good write-ups on microphone changes and other hardware modifications. I use Google Translate for 4pda and it works well enough. This has info for an external mic:
Головные устройства TEYES - Аппаратная модификация, автозвук, брак и ремонт - 4PDA
Головные устройства TEYES - Аппаратная модификация, автозвук, брак и ремонт, [Головное устройство][Автомагнитола][Android]
4pda.to
I needed an external module for my head unit to work with the OEM amplifier. The module harness came with a connector for the OEM mic. It plugged directly into the microphone connector I added to the head unit.
It's a little involved, but not difficult. My soldering skills are very limited. Made a huge difference in the call quality.
For those of you who run across this thread (as I did) trying to resolve the mic / bluetooth call quality issue, I thought this might help.
I desoldered the built-in mic and tried various high quality aftermarket microphones, none of which solved the issue. Then, as a last-ditch, 'why not?' effort, i plugged in the cheap mic that shipped with the head unit. Surprisingly, this works well! So, for all of you having the call quality problem, disable your internal mic and use the mic that came in the box with your Mekede/Navifly unit; it just might solve the problem.
I don't know what's really going on, but I have a theory that higher quality, more sensitive mics actually reduce call quality on these units as they try to filter out all the extra background noise and overcompensate... but the included external mic is less sensitive and is what they test with, so that's what they tune the unit for.
Anyway, I hope this helps somebody.
Trayal said:
For those of you who run across this thread (as I did) trying to resolve the mic / bluetooth call quality issue, I thought this might help.
I desoldered the built-in mic and tried various high quality aftermarket microphones, none of which solved the issue. Then, as a last-ditch, 'why not?' effort, i plugged in the cheap mic that shipped with the head unit. Surprisingly, this works well! So, for all of you having the call quality problem, disable your internal mic and use the mic that came in the box with your Mekede/Navifly unit; it just might solve the problem.
I don't know what's really going on, but I have a theory that higher quality, more sensitive mics actually reduce call quality on these units as they try to filter out all the extra background noise and overcompensate... but the included external mic is less sensitive and is what they test with, so that's what they tune the unit for.
Anyway, I hope this helps somebody.
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I guess you did not check the impedance of the microphones you've tried did you? A microphone can only work well if it's impedance (ac resistance) matches the input impedance of the microphone preamp. That's also the reason why the internal and external microphone never perform well in parallel installation. That's something that the Chinese manufacturer don't understand it seems...
Another head unit but I'm sure not too different to illustrate disconnecting the internal mic:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...-usage-reference-thread.4236281/post-87970225
blue_one said:
I guess you did not check the impedance of the microphones you've tried did you? A microphone can only work well if it's impedance (ac resistance) matches the input impedance of the microphone preamp. That's also the reason why the internal and external microphone never perform well in parallel installation. That's something that the Chinese manufacturer don't understand it seems...
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Apologies for missing this until now. I unfortunately did not measure the various mics' impedance. I will note, though, that while the one I noted (that shipped with the head unit) did work better than anything else I tried at that time, due to a rather harsh sound at freeway speed, the Mrs. wanted me to keep searching. I tried one more aftermarket mic that ended up working even better. Here it is on amazon:
FingerLakes 3.5mm Microphone
The stats on the page list the following:
Sensitivity: -30dB+/-2dB
Frequency Range: 50Hz-20KHz
Output Impedance: ≤2.2 kΩ
SNR: >58dB
I don't know how accurate the above specs are, but it's a really inexpensive mic so if anybody has the proper equipment and wants to measure impedance and post it here for posterity, this is an inexpensive unit that is working well on my Mekede UIS7862 unit.
Did you ever get this resolved? I have the exact same issue. Is there an adapter that I could purchase to connect my OEM microphone?
Kmaso1 said:
Did you ever get this resolved? I have the exact same issue. Is there an adapter that I could purchase to connect my OEM microphone?
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That depends...
You need to check how your car exposes the mic connection. If it's part of the main EOM connector you have to add additional wires and solder a 3.5 mono plug on them.
If your car provides the mic via a separate plug there may be adapters available.
I have a separate plug for external mic. Here is a photo of the rear of the unit. The mic is poor with and without the external one plugged in