I have one of these head units and got CarPlay to work, it took a little bit of work but I think well worth it if you have an iPhone. I purchased a "Wireless Carplay Dongle" (~$75 I wish it was cheaper ((wired adapters are cheaper))) on amazon, downloaded an app and loaded it to the head unit and it works very well with my phone. I'll try and post some pictures but I think it looks very good
Double DIN Android Head Unit (InsaneAudio TJ1001) Chinese Knock-Off Review
- Thread starter badlieutenant
- Start date
I'm currently working on installing my Xtrons in my Jeep and the Sub output (via rca to external amp) is about 5% of the volume it was with my Kenwood. Trying to figure that out...
In general, the audio quality is pretty garbage though, and it takes about 2 minutes to scan my usb stick when my 6 year old Kenwood takes 15 seconds. I think I'll be going back to my single din Kenwood and shopping for a name brand double with a new center stack.
In general, the audio quality is pretty garbage though, and it takes about 2 minutes to scan my usb stick when my 6 year old Kenwood takes 15 seconds. I think I'll be going back to my single din Kenwood and shopping for a name brand double with a new center stack.
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Oh shoot this is not great news I plan on putting in a aftermarket amp for sub in the future it sounds about the same with the stock setup
So it's possible you could just amplify the sub out, but there's still no separate sub control installed on the unit from the start. Also, only one sub out, not two like most take.
I hooked the sub up to the two rear outputs, which is ok since I can adjust the pass and gain on the sub, but it's just not ideal.
My gripes were just compounding at that point, though. If you set everything on the Xtrons unit to flat and no eq, no loudness adjustments, no pass adjustments, it literally sounds like a Sony Ericsson phone from 2006. I should not have to adjust EQs to get a good sound. BUT if you fuck with it for a good while, you can make it sound pretty decent.
I have to say the construction looks great, the lighting is great, the buttons are great, and the screen is responsive even at zero degrees. Lots of features.
But audio is my #1 concern.
If anybody else on the forum wants it, make me an offer. Still has the screen protector on it, and I soldered a remote on wire into the adapter harness you can just tape off.
This is the one I have
Xtrons
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I'm not big into automotive audio either, but I've got a pretty decent QSC/Numark setup in my basement I used to haul around to do the odd gig, and I've done some creative combos of equipment.
You could absolutely do that, and if you were planning to keep the setup permanently you should. I have adapters I could dig out of my basement to try that out, see if it makes a difference. It might take care of the low signal issue I was having, but I doubt it. I got normal speaker signal to the sub by using the two rear speaker RCA outputs off the unit, which is what a lot of people do anyway, essentially, or at least they used to before sub outputs were a thing. If your amp has adjustable pass filter and preferably a remote gain you can mount up front, that's a very decent option to make it all sound how you want with adjustability on the fly. For that matter, since there are no in-unit ext sub adjustability options, you might as well use the speaker outputs unless you can install different software to allow the adjustability. In the end it was a sum of all the issues that made my decision to ditch it altogether. Not surprisingly, the Chinese Android unit felt like an Android phone wired into my Jeep. But with worse audio.
I put my old Kenwood KDC-X697 back in last night and ordered a Kenwood DNR476S and double din center dash stack.
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I reread your earlier post. You said it sounds about the same as your OEM deck? Do you have the standard system or the 7 speaker system with the sub in the center console? Switching to a name brand aftermarket deck is a huge improvement over the garbage OEM deck, and cutting out that factory sub and adding a real one makes the factory setup sound surprisingly good.
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I have the factory 7 speaker setup with the center console sub, I will definitely be adding a aftermarket sub and amp eventually. It’s hard for me to compare the new unit and oem one because the new one doesn’t have CD and the old one doesn’t have Bluetooth, so that leaves me with FM which doesn’t sound great on anything. But I didn’t really notice a difference
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I'd caution anybody reading this thread to consider what they want audio quality wise.
Don't expect an improvement in audio quality going to an Android OS unit from stock.
I don't have a stock unit available anymore, but switching from an old Kenwood to the Android unit was a HUGE step down in quality.
The stock (7 speaker setup) can sound very good with a good deck and external sub.
For what its worth, I have had the Android 4.4 head unit (similar to the XTRONS one linked above, but older) for over a year. I recently installed the Sound Ordnance B-8PTD powered sub where the factory sub used to be. Instead of running the RCA sub out from the unit, I wired the sub through the original factory harness (which connected pretty painlessly to the head unit). Once I reversed the polarity as others have mentioned, I've had no signal problem at all.
I really like the 'factory' look of the Android unit and the fact that it fits without modifying anything. The sound is pretty good and plenty loud, especially with the sub. Its no audiophile dream, but my TJ is so noisy anyway I don't see it being worth it to try to improve sound quality. Three things I do not like: the radio interface is weird, some FM channels that are weak get interference when the headlights are on, and the 30 second startup time.
To any of you guys with the XTRONS unit, can you install arbitrary apps from Google Play? I live by Back Country Navigator for trail use and OSMAnd for offline turn by turn navigation, and would love to pump these through this head unit rather than my tablet.
I don't have the XTRONS, but it looks like it runs Android 10 so you should be able to pull any app you want from Google Play. If those apps only need GPS, you should be good to go. You'll need to consider where to put the GPS antenna that comes with the head unit. I put mine under the defrost trim piece.
I have the Xtrons also. I see now that the one they are selling for our TJ has Android 10. Mine is Android 9, so I'm not sure of the differences. But, I can vouch for @bluescapegoat with his voltage output complaint. The unit's wattage per channel is at the common 45x4, but the voltage output for adding amplifiers is FAR from good. I'm not sure why they skimped on the voltage output, but they did, and they skimped hard with that one. I have been overly pleased with mine, all except for that part.
My second beef isn't their fault, but it's the fantastic ability to adjust time alignment. That feature is great, but it becomes a problem in our TJs with the factory subwoofer. With the factory system being wired the way that it is, the ability to adjust the time alignment is out the window, since it is intended to adjust each speaker separately. In this factory wiring setup though, the speakers essentially behave like they are sharing the same wires. I have yet to dig into figuring out exactly what connection it is that they are sharing, so I don't have any advice for that, yet.
Another beef, which is just a combination of those two, is the idea of using the speaker outputs for "high level" input, since the pre-amp voltage sucks so bad. The problem there falls right back to the time alignment issue. This isn't a problem if the high-level input is for a 4-channel amp, but if it's for running a sub amp, when the time alignment is adjusted (for the dash and pods), this also screws with the signal that the sub amp is receiving. Any of you who have tried this while your factory sub is setup, you know what I'm talking about. As you adjust the timing, you can hear the factory sub volume increasing or decreasing as the timing is adjusted for, say, the left-rear speaker.
Like I said, I really like the headunit and the ability to download apps, run offline maps, etc., but those to complaints of mine put quite a bit of a damper on things. If I'd never heard the benefit of time alignment, these complaints would be nearly zero. The sound produced from the headunit alone can be nice, but it does require adjusting the 20-bad EQ, but that's the great thing about having an EQ and the purpose. If simpler controls is something that is preferred, it is possible by using a different audio control application through a different launcher than the preinstalled "Home Launcher 3".
My second beef isn't their fault, but it's the fantastic ability to adjust time alignment. That feature is great, but it becomes a problem in our TJs with the factory subwoofer. With the factory system being wired the way that it is, the ability to adjust the time alignment is out the window, since it is intended to adjust each speaker separately. In this factory wiring setup though, the speakers essentially behave like they are sharing the same wires. I have yet to dig into figuring out exactly what connection it is that they are sharing, so I don't have any advice for that, yet.
Another beef, which is just a combination of those two, is the idea of using the speaker outputs for "high level" input, since the pre-amp voltage sucks so bad. The problem there falls right back to the time alignment issue. This isn't a problem if the high-level input is for a 4-channel amp, but if it's for running a sub amp, when the time alignment is adjusted (for the dash and pods), this also screws with the signal that the sub amp is receiving. Any of you who have tried this while your factory sub is setup, you know what I'm talking about. As you adjust the timing, you can hear the factory sub volume increasing or decreasing as the timing is adjusted for, say, the left-rear speaker.
Like I said, I really like the headunit and the ability to download apps, run offline maps, etc., but those to complaints of mine put quite a bit of a damper on things. If I'd never heard the benefit of time alignment, these complaints would be nearly zero. The sound produced from the headunit alone can be nice, but it does require adjusting the 20-bad EQ, but that's the great thing about having an EQ and the purpose. If simpler controls is something that is preferred, it is possible by using a different audio control application through a different launcher than the preinstalled "Home Launcher 3".
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Quick update, I installed a subwoofer and amplifier on the xtrons using a Y splitter for the RCA and it sounds good. One thing that I did not like was that the remote outs on my unit only put out 3 volts, it was no big deal though I just tapped into the red wire (keyed 12v) using a quick T tap.
And CarPlay works pretty dang well
And CarPlay works pretty dang well
I got my XTRONS and so far so good. Had to rewire my harness because they had the speaker polarity wrong on 2 speakers. The factory sub seems to be working well. Mounted a backup cam and also a forward facing cam on my t-case skid plate that can see the position of my front tires.
Anybody with the 5" Android head unit from Xtrons might be interested in this. I don't know how common it is but mine had some issues when it got hot on a recent trip.
How-to fix an overheating Android head unit
How-to fix an overheating Android head unit
Anyone know if there is a way to view the backup camera on Xtrons 5" unit without putting the Jeep in reverse or attaching a physical switch on the reverse wire to fake the reverse wire.
I don't have a backup camera but if I wanted to do something like that I'd get the program called "Activity Launcher" from either f-droid or the play store. Look through all the entries until you find the back-up camera activity and see if you can launch it from there. There's a lot of stuff to sort through but it should be in there. If you can find it then you can create a short-cut to the activity and just tap that to enter the camera.
Can you post a pic of the front tire view?I got my XTRONS and so far so good. Had to rewire my harness because they had the speaker polarity wrong on 2 speakers. The factory sub seems to be working well. Mounted a backup cam and also a forward facing cam on my t-case skid plate that can see the position of my front tires.