[mckwong]

Originally Posted by scanspeak

If I don't like the result of what I'm doing here that's probably my plan B.
My only issue is that it looks even less OEM than the sticking-out HVAC controls.

I don't think the HVAC sticking out is a big issue. It is down there and not noticeable. I am leaning to get the E90 specific unit or a 10.25" screen that sticks out. It is interesting to see how your project will look like.

[Eturnulrs704]

Originally Posted by scanspeak

If I don't like the result of what I'm doing here that's probably my plan B.
My only issue is that it looks even less OEM than the sticking-out HVAC controls.

Actually it doesn't look half bad. I recently pulled the OEM pro radio out and put in a Sony radio with that very same single din. Looks ok, but with that screen youre getting, you won't even see the face plate at all, so I wouldn't even worry much about the look. Trying to add a pic but I'm having issues since it needs a host url.

[Eturnulrs704]

Originally Posted by mckwong

I don't think the HVAC sticking out is a big issue. It is down there and not noticeable. I am leaning to get the E90 specific unit or a 10.25" screen that sticks out. It is interesting to see how your project will look like.

I am thinking about getting another e92 , or maybe an e90 and go all in with music mods and engine turbo upgrade with fbo.. if I do I will do the 10.25 inch dash cut.. won't do it to my current DINAN build tho.. just feels all wrong to me . but when I start from scratch again I will do it differently. Im leaning end of June if this virus foolishness eases up..

[m95roadster]

This head unit looks good with a lot of features. I'm just wondering how the audio will sound with these chinese android units. BTW, any progress with your install?

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by m95roadster

This head unit looks good with a lot of features. I'm just wondering how the audio will sound with these chinese android units. BTW, any progress with your install?

Most idrive type units connect via aux, so there may be some loss there from a quality perspective.

I've also had a non-idrive eonon unit, which I ultimately sold because of low voltage rca, lack of adequate crossovers, and inferior components and build quality. Back to my 10 year old Pioneer!!! Lol

These decks are great for the features, but if you care about high audio quality, especially if you've upgraded the audio, you may sacrifice audio quality as a result.

Don't get me wrong, it's probably fine for 80% of users (or more), but if you know you're picky about sound quality, something to consider.

[Eturnulrs704]

Well the audio will depend on the current audio Dac that the unit has.. some of these Chinese units have pretty good audio but they are few and far between since they are know to cut corners. Most of them tho have basic audio chips that give subpar quality audio. But that can be combated with a simple dsp after the unit to clean up what ever distortion is left, and also give more control in imaging and separation. If you are pulling the original unit out then you need to go through a few extra steps if not then the aux out will slightly degrade the quality. But few will notice.

[dan4081]

Did anything ever come of this project?

[m95roadster]

Originally Posted by Eturnulrs704

Well the audio will depend on the current audio Dac that the unit has.. some of these Chinese units have pretty good audio but they are few and far between since they are know to cut corners. Most of them tho have basic audio chips that give subpar quality audio. But that can be combated with a simple dsp after the unit to clean up what ever distortion is left, and also give more control in imaging and separation. If you are pulling the original unit out then you need to go through a few extra steps if not then the aux out will slightly degrade the quality. But few will notice.

My only concern with these android units is with the quality of the RCA outputs as I will not be using the stock Logic 7 equipment. This will be replaced with a DSP (has no digital coax or SPDIF input) and JL amps and Scanspeak drivers.

[scanspeak]

I'm still waiting for the head unit to arrive from China. Surely not much longer.

[scanspeak]

Originally Posted by m95roadster

My only concern with these android units is with the quality of the RCA outputs as I will not be using the stock Logic 7 equipment. This will be replaced with a DSP (has no digital coax or SPDIF input) and JL amps and Scanspeak drivers.

Should still be better than the base Business head unit, no?

[m95roadster]

Originally Posted by scanspeak

Should still be better than the base Business head unit, no?

That I don't know as I have the Professional unit which I have no plans to use because it's broken. My original thoughts were to replace it with a Pioneer, Kenwood or Alpine, etc. type head unit.

However, seeing this thread about the Joying 8.8 unit has really piqued my interest. I have no experience with or heard these units, but I think I will just go forward it and see how it works out. I can always use a Topping D10 player or equivalent if I don't like the audio.

[Eturnulrs704]

These android units are not great but can be great with supportive equipment. Ie: external processor, good speakers, higher quality wiring, and amps that put out clean power. And most importantly a talented tuner. That combined with the functionality of the a droid OS and big screen is a proper combination no stock radio from BMW can rival. (So far atleast)

[dan4081]

Originally Posted by Eturnulrs704

These android units are not great but can be great with supportive equipment. Ie: external processor, good speakers, higher quality wiring, and amps that put out clean power. And most importantly a talented tuner. That combined with the functionality of the a droid OS and big screen is a proper combination no stock radio from BMW can rival. (So far atleast)

Exactly right.
In my E46 BMW I had an Eonon radio feeding a Rockford 360 processor to quality amps, Dynaudio speakers in front locations and Diamond audio D9 sub infinite baffle in the rear deck.

I spent hours and hours tuning and the car sounded fantastic.

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by dan4081

Exactly right.
In my E46 BMW I had an Eonon radio feeding a Rockford 360 processor to quality amps, Dynaudio speakers in front locations and Diamond audio D9 sub infinite baffle in the rear deck.

I spent hours and hours tuning and the car sounded fantastic.

And here I am saying a bit of the opposite... the units are plagued with low voltage outputs, and distortion anywhere near the top 1/3 of the volume band...
Feeding my JL amps, Audio System 3-way, plus JL sub, it just didn't compare to the results I could get when I switched back to my 10-year old Pioneer.

Even with gains set well, it doesn't get loud until you crank it up, at which point distortion comes early. Plus more noise issues due to low voltage RCA.

It's a shame, I really wanted to like it and keep it... my 10 year old Pioneer definitely feels old and dated... but I just couldn't live with the results knowing how much potential I was giving up.

[dan4081]

Originally Posted by Ali-323i

And here I am saying a bit of the opposite... the units are plagued with low voltage outputs, and distortion anywhere near the top 1/3 of the volume band...
Feeding my JL amps, Audio System 3-way, plus JL sub, it just didn't compare to the results I could get when I switched back to my 10-year old Pioneer.

Even with gains set well, it doesn't get loud until you crank it up, at which point distortion comes early. Plus more noise issues due to low voltage RCA.

It's a shame, I really wanted to like it and keep it... my 10 year old Pioneer definitely feels old and dated... but I just couldn't live with the results knowing how much potential I was giving up.

Sorry you had such bad luck but a decent line driver or a processor like the Rockford 360 I used would have taken care of the low voltage.

BTW, the Eonon I had replaced an Alpine single din that did its job but always looked out of place in the E46 dash, on top of not having things like GPS or the ability to use Poweramp or other apps.
Quality files on SD card or USB played using Poweramp on the Eonon sounded fantastic.

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by dan4081

Sorry you had such bad luck but a decent line driver or a processor like the Rockford 360 I used would have taken care of the low voltage.

BTW, the Eonon I had replaced an Alpine single din that did its job but always looked out of place in the E46 dash, on top of not having things like GPS or the ability to use Poweramp or other apps.
Quality files on SD card or USB played using Poweramp on the Eonon sounded fantastic.

I actually tried to boost the voltage, but it introduced too much noise in the system.

Luckily my old 10-yr old Pioneer double din does support Navi, BT audio/phone, SD, etc..... though it still doesn't look quite as nice as the eonon did.

Not as relevant I suppose, but I'm also skeptical of the longevity of these units, given most low cost android devices don't last quite long.

Time will tell.
Glad it worked out for you! I know a few others that reverted away from the eonon for some reason or other (including failed units after a few months).

[Eturnulrs704]

Originally Posted by Ali-323i

I actually tried to boost the voltage, but it introduced too much noise in the system.

Luckily my old 10-yr old Pioneer double din does support Navi, BT audio/phone, SD, etc..... though it still doesn't look quite as nice as the eonon did.

Not as relevant I suppose, but I'm also skeptical of the longevity of these units, given most low cost android devices don't last quite long.

Time will tell.
Glad it worked out for you! I know a few others that reverted away from the eonon for some reason or other (including failed units after a few months).

My signal in my 5 series is super clean.. and it has an Android unit in there for a few years.. had the Sony gs9 in there first but I pulled it out to put into another car. But the droid with 360.3 on JL HD amps with C2 and c5 speakers in my 5 is a great combo so far. Super clean signal. Voltage from the droid unit is 5 volts. Weird but some do come pretty stout on voltage.

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by Eturnulrs704

My signal in my 5 series is super clean.. and it has an Android unit in there for a few years.. had the Sony gs9 in there first but I pulled it out to put into another car. But the droid with 360.3 on JL HD amps with C2 and c5 speakers in my 5 is a great combo so far. Super clean signal. Voltage from the droid unit is 5 volts. Weird but some do come pretty stout on voltage.

If you're getting 5v you have nothing to worry about, that's pretty decent for any unit, including a branded one!

I tested 3 different eonon units (9165a, 9165b, 9365), all suffered from low voltage (0.9v at best).

It also seems many similar units (xtrons, joying) share a lot of components, and may have the same issue, but perhaps that is to be confirmed on a per unit/model basis.

Again just sharing my experience to educate the group.

[PORTMOODY]

Originally Posted by Ali-323i

If you're getting 5v you have nothing to worry about, that's pretty decent for any unit, including a branded one!

I tested 3 different eonon units (9165a, 9165b, 9365), all suffered from low voltage (0.9v at best).

It also seems many similar units (xtrons, joying) share a lot of components, and may have the same issue, but perhaps that is to be confirmed on a per unit/model basis.

Again just sharing my experience to educate the group.

I recently installed the latest Eonon unit with DSP. Sound quality was amazing IMO. I ultimately returned it for other reasons. One of which is what others have mentioned here about the climate control relocation. I am looking at other options. The issue of sound quality on these units appear to be resolved with the built in DSP function no? This review broke the sound quality down in quite detail. I wonder what you think of this.

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by PORTMOODY

I recently installed the latest Eonon unit with DSP. Sound quality was amazing IMO. I ultimately returned it for other reasons. One of which is what others have mentioned here about the climate control relocation. I am looking at other options. The issue of sound quality on these units appear to be resolved with the built in DSP function no? This review broke the sound quality down in quite detail. I wonder what you think of this.

Thx for sharing... if using digital outputs from the deck my comments don't apply, since the issue of RCA voltage and noise is moot.

BUT, if you are using the RCA outs, then the low voltage RCAs can become an issue, even if using a 3rd party DSP. Ultimately the gains will need to be raised on the amp, which will raise the level of noise too (vs. a high voltage RCA, where you keep gains and noise low).


But if you have the ability to go digital, then yes I've seen others have decent results with these cheaper products (though I haven't seen reviews on the E9x specific units when using digital output).

Cheers.

[fjlauer]

Originally Posted by Ali-323i

Thx for sharing... if using digital outputs from the deck my comments don't apply, since the issue of RCA voltage and noise is moot.

BUT, if you are using the RCA outs, then the low voltage RCAs can become an issue, even if using a 3rd party DSP. Ultimately the gains will need to be raised on the amp, which will raise the level of noise too (vs. a high voltage RCA, where you keep gains and noise low).


But if you have the ability to go digital, then yes I've seen others have decent results with these cheaper products (though I haven't seen reviews on the E9x specific units when using digital output).

Cheers.

I've been looking at this for over a year, great presentation and thanks for saving me some time.

[PORTMOODY]

Originally Posted by Ali-323i

Thx for sharing... if using digital outputs from the deck my comments don't apply, since the issue of RCA voltage and noise is moot.

BUT, if you are using the RCA outs, then the low voltage RCAs can become an issue, even if using a 3rd party DSP. Ultimately the gains will need to be raised on the amp, which will raise the level of noise too (vs. a high voltage RCA, where you keep gains and noise low).


But if you have the ability to go digital, then yes I've seen others have decent results with these cheaper products (though I haven't seen reviews on the E9x specific units when using digital output).

Cheers.

I am planning on just running their harness with the stock system. Not sure what connection type that results in, but it was more than adequate to my ears. You may be an audiophile and see different.