Recommend Me an Android Head Unit for an E46! (Please)

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Hey, guys. I've got the original double-din nav unit at the moment, and I'd like to replace it with something that can run Waze / Google Maps, and Spotify. Ideally, I'd also like to be able to root it and install ViPER4Android so that I can correct the sound system.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!
 
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I had an Xtrons unit in my old A3. Fantastic unit. I ran Waze all the time along with Google Music etc. It would occasionally lock up and need a reboot, but 2-3 times a month (or sometimes not at all) at the most. I was very pleased with the fitment and the quality of the unit too, with all the radio controls etc working perfectly. But it was quick and responsive even while running many apps at once.
 
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mrk

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:cool:

I've got an Erisin unit in my car and it's great. It's one of the first units they dud running pure Android with a quad core CPU. The current models run Octa core CPUs with more RAm and internal storage so are better for more apps storage space and performance in demanding apps like Google Maps.

Mine runs Waze and Spotify exclusively with the occasional YouTube being watched on a long journey for passengers etc. You could install Netflix/iPlayer etc too on the current models as they have greater internal storage space to account for the large app sizes and cache storage.

I also have Pushbullet installed on mine as it's an app I use on all my devices. Makes sending text, links and data between devices super easy.

Rooting these is easy too, typically just a code you enter, see this site: https://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/Hui_Fei_Type#Factory_Settings_.22Passwords.22

Mine never locks up, it boots from cold within 30 seconds. Spotify does take a little longer to fully load up from cold though because of how bulky it seems to be on older devices. Waze works flawlessly.
 
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From my experience they're all very similar. Seem to be produced in the same factory and then just shove manufacturer branding on at the end as you seem to be able to get identical units from all of them.

Have a look around at all of the major suppliers, find a unit with either quad or octa core and at least 2gb ram (aim for 4) then buy the best looking one of the lot. Avoid the ones with 1gb IMO, not only are they often running Android 5 or thereabouts, they're very slow, almost the point of unusable.

I think it may be exclusive to the octa core ones (I could be wrong here) but most have an option to never shut down and just enter sleep so they power on instantly when you turn on the ignition. The older ones seem to shutdown fully and take 10-20seconds to boot.

Again, all this is from my experience so things may have changed
 

mrk

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They all have the sleep/shutdown timer option. You can specify a timeframe to shutdown up to 2 hours IIRC. If it's always in sleep mode you're going to t end up draining your car battery eventually.
 

ADT

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I’ve had the Erisin in my e46 for the past ~4 years now. It’s very good but starting to show it’s age due to its spec.
Apps are slower etc but no reliability issues.

Last year I fitted an octa core one in my merc w204 and that runs very well due to the specs.

End of the day just got for one that has the best specs and after sales support as most of these are made in the same factory they all have the same spec combinations
 
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You should get the 9" PX6 6 core unit. I had the older style fitted before (the 7" screen) but then I upgraded it to the PX5 8 core 9", which was a really good unit. I custom added a cooling fan because the processor did run hot but once I did that it was fantastic. Could easily handle all apps and I used to run waze + spotify on it concurrently with no lag. The PX6 is another step above the PX5. Fewer cores but much higher performance. It is essentially a quad core + a dual core processor. I had mine rooted and had viper running. Here is an example:

https://androidautoshop.com/bmw/386-2757-bmw-e46-3-series-9-touch.html

I did record a quick video playing around with the PX5 unit but I haven't uploaded it anywhere. I will if you are interested in seeing.

The only caveat is that it was a little annoying to install as I had to enlarge the stereo hole a bit in the car. I had to cut away the tabs with the factory screw holes in but all round it was a fantastic unit.
 

mrk

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These cheap Android units are fine as long as you have an external amp and don't care about radio reception.

Incorrect! Viper4AndroidFX is all you need. It transforms the sound and makes the stock speakers sound like they are accompanied by a sub as well.


Excuse the phone quality recording, but you get the idea. It's deep and detailed without muffling the mids or highs.
 
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Was tempted by the xtrons unit but im worried going from my alpine unit to xtrons will be massive sound quality reduction? Car audio forums suggest that these cheapo android units lack the audio hardware to compare with the bigger branded stuff. Main tell tale is those android units have lower snr on specs sheet.
 

mrk

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The Dynavin units uses upgraded amps and Burr Brown OpAmps so are better out of the box than a lot of off the shelf stereos from name brands Dynavin units cost more though and are geared towards Apple device users sadly.

The difference between these and say a Clarion are obvious in standard form. But once the DSP has been tweaked with Viper, the sound is miles better. I went to this from a Sony and Clarion units in the past on previous cars.

Sounds like it's simply making everything louder.

A phone camera mic doesn't do it justice really, all 3 ranges are improved significantly.
 
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Was tempted by the xtrons unit but im worried going from my alpine unit to xtrons will be massive sound quality reduction? Car audio forums suggest that these cheapo android units lack the audio hardware to compare with the bigger branded stuff. Main tell tale is those android units have lower snr on specs sheet.

That's why brands like Alpine are expensive. Good sound components aren't cheap.
 
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Lots of great info, thanks all. So it's looking like Erisin for close to stock looks, or one of those PX6 units for the best performance.

You should get the 9" PX6 6 core unit. I had the older style fitted before (the 7" screen) but then I upgraded it to the PX5 8 core 9", which was a really good unit. I custom added a cooling fan because the processor did run hot but once I did that it was fantastic. Could easily handle all apps and I used to run waze + spotify on it concurrently with no lag. The PX6 is another step above the PX5. Fewer cores but much higher performance. It is essentially a quad core + a dual core processor. I had mine rooted and had viper running. Here is an example:

https://androidautoshop.com/bmw/386-2757-bmw-e46-3-series-9-touch.html

I did record a quick video playing around with the PX5 unit but I haven't uploaded it anywhere. I will if you are interested in seeing.

The only caveat is that it was a little annoying to install as I had to enlarge the stereo hole a bit in the car. I had to cut away the tabs with the factory screw holes in but all round it was a fantastic unit.

Like mrk says, it would be great to see how this looks fitted if you get the time.
 
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I will say, having had the older unit in the video above. The audio quality on the 9 inch px5 unit was 1 million times better. That was with using viper4android on both. Also the radio reception. I have sold the car now but I have uploaded a short video for you. Ill upload a couple of pictures tomorrow.

I had an extensive sound system upgrade that ran off 2 amplifiers.

This was running a custom Rom that was rooted.

https://youtu.be/rblbBfxVh98
 
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