I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Android Auto Wireless Head Units
I should be getting my (first) MX-5 this weekend.
I’m already looking at replacement radio head units - I have a preference for Android and Android Auto, so popping in something that is compatible whilst not a Day-One job is fairly high up the list. I’m fairly happy with fitting a new unit myself, although its been a few years, I’d like to keep wires etc. to a minimum and I’m therefore interested in Wireless Android Auto.
Can anyone here recommend a unit that performs well (boots quickly etc.)?
I’m pretty far away from doing my stereo but i also want an android head unit.
I would really appreciate it if you keep us all up to date on what you do.
personally, I was thinking of going to Nottingham car radio center for advice. that’s a bit far away for you but I’m sure there will be a decent car radio place around your area somewhere!
I am almost certainly set on getting a Wireless Android Auto, like the DMX8020DABS - which I’ve found here: Kenwood DMX8020DAB 7.0" Digital Media AV receiver with WiFi, Bluetooth - but they’re not cheap. I may get a wired on and find somewhere sensible I can put the USB lead, or get a wifi dongle to put in the back - thats the option I’m least confident about.
I’m happy to fit it myself, the problem is knowing what the device itself is like until you actually use it. Online reviews can be a bit misleading at the best of times.
I’ve got some thing like this below but an earlier model. Had it over 2 years now with no complaints. My model was the JVC 745DBT or something like that.
I like it has it has the shorter body, easier to fit as it gets a bit tight for space in the dash with all the extra loom.
For the price it’s the wired version for Android auto/carplay. You can feed the wire through to the centre console with an extension usb lead, it’s how I fitted mine.
You’ll need the fitting kit and necessary leads for the installation too. Plenty of info on that if you do s search.
thank you both very much.
I shall be watching the thread with great interest.
i had a big sound system in the manta and want to do the same with the mx5.
in fact everything iv done to my mx5 I already did on the manta!
so you could say I’m just repeating what I already did in my youth.
except for this time I’m doing it faster and for less money (that’s mostly due to the internet and maybe little bit of extra life experience)
One thing to keep in mind is if you have the bose setup you need the specific wiring kit IIRC.
I also run android, bought this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07XYY9W2X/ as a temporary messure although right now I’ve not found any reason to rush to my head unit change (phone mounts to windscreen right or steering wheel with quadlock mount)
Yes the cost can mount up if you are having to buy the fitting kit and necessary leads. Head unit £300-£400 facia kit £40-£70 depending on which kit then any extra leads and don’t forget the DAB aerial.
Luckily I bought my fitting kit secondhand + loom, just like new when it arrived. I had to buy an extra lead when transferring it over to the NC2 to adapt the Bose loom but that didn’t cost much.
I finally had it fitted. I went for the SPH-DA160 DAB in the end. Nice little HU and sounds great. Not wireless as I had wanted, but couldn’t justify the cost.
I paid for it to be fitted and ran it to the existing USB run. This may have been a mistake - Android Auto is known for having issues with USB standards on the lower end, and being a seven year old car it probably is. Occasionally it will refuse to connect - a reboot of both the HU and phone will resolve that.
I’ve used a USB 3.2 Gen 2 lead which can handle 10Gbps - this is overkill. I strongly suspect the lead already in the car is a much lower capacity than that, probably USB 2.x but I can’t think of a sensible way to test it so I went for something which is way more than needed. They’re cheap enough. HOWEVER, I still had the occasional issue connecting in the first place - once connected it would stay connected, but sometimes it didn’t want to connect at all.
So on top of this, after a bit of trial and error, I’ve found letting the head unit fully boot before connecting the USB lead to the port and then to the phone, strangely, seems to ensure a stable connection. If you try it in a different order it sometimes doesn’t like it and will continue to get its knickers in a twist until the head unit is rebooted.
Once connected Android Auto is super fast and responsive and the sound quality is great. I’ve now tried this with two phones.
I’m actually really glad I paid for someone to do it though, they did a bang up job apart from connectivity, which isn’t really their fault.
looks good.
certainly better than my bose head unit.
now you dont have a cd player in that do you?
basically you rip your cds to mp3 pn your pc and then you transfer your mp3 collection directly on to the head unit via a usb stick right?
Sort of. There’s no CD drive, no, but I don’t use USB sticks either. I’ve not really used CDs for many years now (or DVDs or Blu Rays for that matter) so having a drive for that wasn’t really needed.
I can go into more detail if you want, but… I make a “backup” of all of my media which is stored on a NAS, so I have a full library of all of my music, photos, films etc. In the car I handle local music through VLC Media Player which is pretty awesome, but that is kept on my phone rather than a USB - that can pull music from my NAS if I wanted to, but I don’t do that - I just copy over what I fancy listening to. I do however stream a lot through my phone. For longer journeys I tend to listen to podcasts and whatnot and Spotify is there if the whimsy takes me.
I do a similar thing for DVDs and Blu Rays on my home setup. I can’t be arsed with messing around with discs, so if I fancy streaming a movie I stream it from my NAS to my TV.
Basically it means I have most of my media on the one screen, and don’t need to worry about swapping discs, USB sticks or whatever, its just there.
my music collection is all mp3, which is all on my computer.
i normally put music on my mp3 player and run that in the car throu the aux on the bose stero
i have burnt 6 discs which iv loaded in to the sterio as a backup as i sometimes forget to take the mp3 player with me
as for streamung from my phone, not keen tbh.
i only have an entry lvl smart phone that dont really do much and also my part of lincolnshire has really crappy coverage!
so when i do upgrade im going to need a head unit with mp3 storage and usb
How did they manage to connect to the existing USB in the car?
Mine connects to the USB fly lead from the unit with an extension USB lead routed to come out in the centre console. I bought a spare lead for my phone and it completed the installation. Phone doesn’t quite sit in the centre console (too big) but it’s out of the way of my left elbow when changing gear etc.
@MickAP Unfortunately I’m not entirely certain, but apparently the existing USB run has a compatible connector at the HU end. I wasn’t there when the chap did that bit so I didn’t get a proper look.
As it wasn’t a BOSE HU in the first place, apparently its much simpler.
The easiest, for me, is running them through the phone - I like Android Auto and Apple Car Play a lot more than OEM software on any head unit I’ve ever used, with the exception of Tesla… and I don’t own a Tesla!
Partly this is due to maps being constantly and accurately updated, but also partly because I can get all of my “stuff” through one device.
BUT - if you don’t want to use Android Auto and your phone, you should still be able to use a memory card, USB or MP3 player for any music you own, or any other audio files as long as the HU has the ability to read them. The “front screen” of the HU doesn’t have a direct input - you would either need to use an existing USB cable run, if there is one in your car, or when it is fitted put one in. Typically they are put in the glove compartment so they’re not intrusive.
