Hi,
Looking for a good value head unit, can be single or double din. Needs to have bluetooth.
Main purpose is for phone calls.
Would like for it to sync up to my android phone (no NFC) hassle free.
Any good quality brands available on Aliexpress (or overseas) or is it best to find a deal locally?
Looking at a pioneer MVH-X390BT or 290BT
Car is 2008 Subaru Impreza
The inbuilt microphone is terrible!
Even after adding a Nokia branded external mic positioned at the top of the A Pillar the audio is still reportedly poor.
Is it me or do these two statements contradict each other?
Also, what other similar units did you compare it to?
How do they contradict?
I bought and installed the unit.. people complained they could barely hear me, even when I was talking directly at the head unit.
It was so bad that I was initially convinced there was no mic present whatsoever.
I eventually did find a reference to it having one in an online user manual.
So I went out and bought an external Microphone to plug into the back of the head unit, thereby bypassing the intenal Mic
People still complain if I have the sunvisor down, which partially (but not entirely) blocks the external mic, but it's only rarely and usually when I'm talking without facing the mic.
I think the amplification circuitry is just crap…
I compared solely to other cars that I've been in or have driven. None had aftermarket units, but I don't care. It was completely useless before the external mic was added and should be far better.
How do they contradict?
There is some flawed reasoning here from what I can gather.
First you said the internal mic was crap. Fair enough, but if the external mic had the same issue, than that the first statement would unlikely to be true.
My in-built hands free system has adjustable gain for the microphone, which amplifies my voice before sending it to the phone. I've also had complaints from people about my voice being faint until I discovered this setting, called 'Tranmit Volume' or something, and increased it from 50% to 90%. Perhaps there's a similar setting in yours, although I wouldn't expect it at the price.
Comparing this unit with the built-in units costing 20, or even 30 times more is also a bit unreasonable.
My original post doesn't say the external mic had the same issue… it was "poor" as opposed to "terrible".
In my world, these 2 words run at different scales. "Poor" is less than expected, "terrible" is bottom of the scale far worse than expected.
Agreed that the amplification circuitry of the head unit is probably to blame, but I don't care and I'm sure the OP doesn't either. The end result is that people struggle to hear you talk, which is the entire point.
I'd be surprised if Car manufacturers are paying even 50% less than retail prices of a third party head unit..
20-30 times more? Where do you even pull those numbers from, that'd be $2000-3000.
@scubacoles: The handsfree bluetooth factory option on a new car, with buttons on the steering wheel etc, used to cost that much…although I suspect the prices may have come down in recent years, as I haven't checked for a while.
BTW, I bought a Chinese visor-moutning unit on eBay for $12 a year or two ago as a gift but can't speak for the mic quality. Have you considered one of those as a low-risk solution?
@elektron:
The external mic does a sufficient job,I can live with it, but I'd not recommend a Sony, at least not the one I bought.
I'm certainly not spending another few hours ripping out the dashboard to experiment with something different. The dollar value is not the expensive part of the whole installation…
The Sony unit was not fit for purpose out of the box. I might expect that from a $12 Chinese unit.. but not from a $150 Branded unit!
@scubacoles: Fair enough if you've had a bad experience with the Sony but I think you misunderstood - the $12 eBay unit is visor-mouting as I mentioned, i.e. it just attaches to the visor and you can easily take it with you when you swap cars.
@elektron:
Had a Jabra unit like that and it was great apart from having to remember to charge the battery…
Then it melted in the sun on a stinking hot day.
I'd be seriously concerned that a no-name Chinese unit would explode into flames in similar circumstances.
Then it melted in the sun on a stinking hot day.
Ouch!
The Chinese unit is actually a very well-known one what has been selling for years under different names. It even has multipoint BT connectivity. They have sold by the truckloads all over eBay and AliExpress, so I would assume that it would stand up to the heat. The charging is via a micro-USB cable and can be done from the car's AC power or a powerbank, without taking it out of the car.
The 4 different cheap Chinese units I have tried are pretty bad. Each one needs to up the volume for every call so much that you near blow your speakers when the radio comes back on after the call, and one won't connect to my iphone unless I manually connect it. I just pull over, let it go to message bank or hand it to a passenger.
I've got the Kenwood DDX4017BT in my car and it's pretty decent for phone calls. I put the microphone in where the OEM mic was
Ended up taking advantage of 20% Fathers Day promo on Ebay.
Ordered the Pioneer AVH-295BT, $240
Steer clear of the base model Sony CD unit…
The inbuilt microphone is terrible! To the point that talking on speakerphone with the phone just sitting on the centre console is clearer!
Even after adding a Nokia branded external mic positioned at the top of the A Pillar the audio is still reportedly poor.