1. Welcome to Tacoma World!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tacoma discussion topics
    • Communicate privately with other Tacoma owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site
    Quick Links: Any audio experts know where this plugs into? 2015 HU Trying to identify power and ground for '22 non JBL radio Question about 3rd gen dash speaker impedance and bass blockers. Universal dash kits for aftermarket HU? Suburu/Kicker Tweeters 3rd Gen MGMDesertTaco's audio build

Android head unit, great alternative

Discussion in 'Audio & Video' started by makanouchi, Aug 22, 2015.

Page 1 of 10
  1. Aug 22, 2015 at 8:56 AM
    #1
    makanouchi

    #1
    makanouchi [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2015
    Member:
    #157894
    Messages:
    179
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Lac
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2015 MGM Double Cab Long Bed
    Front Grill, Audio System, Seat covers, Rear bumper, hood struts, Projector Retrofit, Led's throughout. Avid Bumper Guard, Avid Sliders, Bilstein 5100 front and Rear, OME 885, AAL.
    I love the idea of android auto but having g to plug your phone in to the radio is a deal breaker for me. Considered using a nexus 7 as a head unit and went as far as mounting the tablet but scrapped that idea. It will be too much work to get the steering wheel controls working along with the backup camera. I did some research and the Chinese made android units have come a long way. The unit I got is 7 inches with no DVD, who uses DVD today anyways? It has a physical volume know, and can be programmed for steering wheel controls. All the functionality of android with the convince of a car head unit like preamps. My car already has upgraded speakers, sub's and amp. I have to say, the sound quality from.this unit is as good as any of my previous alpine units. The muddyness from the stock radio is gone, I can crank it up to ear beeding levels and its still crystal clear. For anyone considering thisntypw of unit, I say dive in. It was $300 from Amazon and has more features than the top of the line pioneer units. I loaded up a 64 gig sd card with my flac audio and im all set. When i get tired of my muaic, i jump to google plat music. Using tasker, my phone is set to turn on wifi hotspot when it connects to the car bluetooth so rhe unit will always have wifi.. I never need ro oull my ohone out. The only negative is the mic via Bluetooth is not as good, I'm working on fixing that.

    uploadfromtaptalk1440258913778.jpg
    uploadfromtaptalk1440258930411.jpg
    uploadfromtaptalk1440258943880.jpg
    uploadfromtaptalk1440258958558.jpg
    uploadfromtaptalk1440258968685.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

    makanouchi, Aug 22, 2015
    #1
    Brice, PennSilverTaco, Npax2 and 6 others like this.
  2. Aug 22, 2015 at 8:58 AM
    #2
    makanouchi

    #2
    makanouchi [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2015
    Member:
    #157894
    Messages:
    179
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Lac
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2015 MGM Double Cab Long Bed
    Front Grill, Audio System, Seat covers, Rear bumper, hood struts, Projector Retrofit, Led's throughout. Avid Bumper Guard, Avid Sliders, Bilstein 5100 front and Rear, OME 885, AAL.
     

    Attached Files:

    makanouchi, Aug 22, 2015
    #2
    0uTkAsT likes this.
  3. Sep 12, 2015 at 4:00 PM
    #3
    Benvolio36

    #3
    Benvolio36 Member

    Joined:
    Sep 11, 2015
    Member:
    #163980
    Messages:
    14
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Ben
    Connecticut
    Vehicle:
    2015 Tacoma TRD Sport DCLB Red
    What is the make a model of the radio?
     
    Benvolio36, Sep 12, 2015
    #3
  4. Sep 12, 2015 at 4:09 PM
    #4
    tomwil

    #4
    tomwil Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2014
    Member:
    #129887
    Messages:
    8,026
    Gender:
    Male
    East Coast USA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Reg Cab 4x4
    ... And, if you could provide the actual Amazon link, it would be appreciated.

    Looks nice! It appears you used your OEM faceplate, instead of aftermarket?
     
    tomwil, Sep 12, 2015
    #4
  5. Sep 12, 2015 at 7:15 PM
    #5
    makanouchi

    #5
    makanouchi [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2015
    Member:
    #157894
    Messages:
    179
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Lac
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2015 MGM Double Cab Long Bed
    Front Grill, Audio System, Seat covers, Rear bumper, hood struts, Projector Retrofit, Led's throughout. Avid Bumper Guard, Avid Sliders, Bilstein 5100 front and Rear, OME 885, AAL.
    makanouchi, Sep 12, 2015
    #5
    0uTkAsT likes this.
  6. Sep 12, 2015 at 7:25 PM
    #6
    Maximus

    #6
    Maximus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2011
    Member:
    #58482
    Messages:
    1,684
    Gender:
    Male
    North Bay
    Vehicle:
    11 Tacoma TRD OR 4x4
    Icon Suspension with CDCV, SPC Light Racing UCAs, Wheeler's 3 Leaf AAL, Wheeler's Superbumps, sPod SE BAMF Sliders, All-Pro Skids, AFE Drop in filter, Magnaflow Exhaust, RCI Aluminum LCA Skids, BAMF Bed Brackets, 4X Innovations Rear Bumper, FX-R Retrofit Headlights with Philips 4300k, Custom Nestah Edition Firestik AM/FM Antenna, Famous Fab Hood brackets, FrontRunner SlimLine 2 Roof Rack, Mob Town Offroad tailgate reinforcement plate, Ram A pillar mount, Anti-Dark hood lights, Lots of LED lights,
    Wow, that it clean!
     
    Maximus, Sep 12, 2015
    #6
    0uTkAsT likes this.
  7. Sep 17, 2015 at 4:10 PM
    #7
    BrutalityBob

    #7
    BrutalityBob Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2015
    Member:
    #163746
    Messages:
    135
    Gender:
    Male
    Just ordered one off ebay for 250$! Anyways was wondering if this requires a wiring harness? Ordered a rear camera and the metra kit. Will send pics once installed.
     
    This site contains affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
    BrutalityBob, Sep 17, 2015
    #7
    ramonortiz55 likes this.
  8. Sep 17, 2015 at 4:14 PM
    #8
    makanouchi

    #8
    makanouchi [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2015
    Member:
    #157894
    Messages:
    179
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Lac
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2015 MGM Double Cab Long Bed
    Front Grill, Audio System, Seat covers, Rear bumper, hood struts, Projector Retrofit, Led's throughout. Avid Bumper Guard, Avid Sliders, Bilstein 5100 front and Rear, OME 885, AAL.
    You will need a harness
     
    makanouchi, Sep 17, 2015
    #8
  9. Sep 17, 2015 at 5:01 PM
    #9
    BrutalityBob

    #9
    BrutalityBob Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2015
    Member:
    #163746
    Messages:
    135
    Gender:
    Male
    any links to said wiring harness would be greatly appreciated before this thing comes to me.

    Really what im trying to get at is, does the headunit not plug directly into the stock wiring for the OEM radio? So ill need one of these, probably already answered my question? Just looking for tips and tricks during install and anything afterwards i should look into. Thanks!
    Stereo Wire Harness Toyota Tacoma 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (car radio wiring installation parts)
    http://www.amazon.com/Stereo-Harness-Toyota-Tacoma-installation/dp/B00683W092
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2015
    BrutalityBob, Sep 17, 2015
    #9
  10. Sep 17, 2015 at 5:27 PM
    #10
    rottenpixies

    #10
    rottenpixies Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2015
    Member:
    #162178
    Messages:
    491
    Gender:
    Male
    New York
    Vehicle:
    2015 DCLB 4X4
    Wow... definitely need this. SUBBED
     
    rottenpixies, Sep 17, 2015
    #10
  11. Sep 17, 2015 at 5:35 PM
    #11
    BrutalityBob

    #11
    BrutalityBob Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2015
    Member:
    #163746
    Messages:
    135
    Gender:
    Male
    Right...Reading more about this Joying china brand the more im like damn this thing basically is like installing a computer/smart phone into my truck for 250$. What had me sold was the fact that i can mirror my phone to this device, have a backup camera, stream media or have FLAC quality music on the many micro sd's i have. Who needs the DVD/CD player function when micro sd's have more memory per cost and weight for that matter. OBD2 bluetooth support is nice and hoping the wifi on this thing will allow me to connect to hotspots like starbucks without going through my phone first. Also hoping this thing can play mp4 movies through the sd card slot and most of these functions work without the need for cell service. I drive up the mountains alot here in colorado and would be kickass to have GPS, music and movies all up there and maybe enjoy a road soda while im on my way ;)
     
    BrutalityBob, Sep 17, 2015
    #11
    [kiesster] likes this.
  12. Sep 17, 2015 at 7:17 PM
    #12
    manethon

    #12
    manethon TTAS

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2013
    Member:
    #114161
    Messages:
    3,579
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Steven
    Unknow
    Many
    This unit : http://pixen.net is one of the best on todays market. It truly is an amazing unit but sadly for the tacoma there is no direct replacement like they have for other models. What is great about this unit, it does EVERYTHING any audiophile could wish for and has just about every function known to man kind including a DPS and actual internal amp if needed.

    We have been working with them to try get a Direct tacoma replacement done but still waiting on the word
     
    manethon, Sep 17, 2015
    #12
  13. Sep 17, 2015 at 7:27 PM
    #13
    BrutalityBob

    #13
    BrutalityBob Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2015
    Member:
    #163746
    Messages:
    135
    Gender:
    Male
    Is it really on the market though? Anyone buy this one and from where? Please explain how this does EVERYTHING compared to Joyings version. As an electro/mechanical engineer and audiophile myself these details are important to specify. Id consider this unit if they even had a pricetag on there website or go into detail on there EVERYTHINGS...more so the CPU speed and internal amps outputs. Me myself i could just throw in a rasperry pi microcontroller and do about half these things through my smartphone but would rather spend the 250$ and have some little chinaman solder it into a nice neat bundle. Joyings got my vote until proven otherwise.
     
    BrutalityBob, Sep 17, 2015
    #13
  14. Sep 17, 2015 at 8:01 PM
    #14
    makanouchi

    #14
    makanouchi [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2015
    Member:
    #157894
    Messages:
    179
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Lac
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2015 MGM Double Cab Long Bed
    Front Grill, Audio System, Seat covers, Rear bumper, hood struts, Projector Retrofit, Led's throughout. Avid Bumper Guard, Avid Sliders, Bilstein 5100 front and Rear, OME 885, AAL.
    Flac through sd or USB,yes, use poweramp. Mp4 and mkv playback, yes, use mx player. The built in sound processor is pretty decent, no worst than my previous alpine head unit. I use Google play music for streaming and set it to download my music ahead of time. WiFi is pretty strong, I get signal up to 100 ft from my house. Here are some install tips:

    1. You will have to trim the metra bezel about 1/8 inch on each side for the joying to fit. The Chinese units are just a little bit wider. I used a dremel and cut off wheel.
    2. For steering wheel control, use the adapter of your choice, metra or pac. Set up for pioneer/Sony. These adapter will have a mini stereo connection to plug into the head unit, the joying does not have this connector. It has 2 wires from the harness, key 1 and key 2 so you will have to cut the mini stereo cable from the steering wheel adapter and connect to these 2 wires plus ground.
    3. Tuck as much wiring to the side so that they're not directly behind the unit, it will be a right fit.
    4. I routed the GPS antenna up through the passenger a pillar and zip tied it to the wiring connecting the map lights. GPS lock is immediate.
    5. Order a Toyota antenna adapter, just search Amazon.
    6. I stored 50gb of music on the sd card, worked fine but on occasion it was too slow and poweramp had to refresh the library which took a few minutes. I ended up only storing 16 gb on a memory stick. Video files on the sd will be fine.
    7. If you don't like the launcher, download something different but I find it works fine.
    8. Download this for the steering wheel controls to work with non native music player.
    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.petrows.mtcservice
    9. If you can WiFi thether on your phone, Google maps navigation with satellite layer on is the shit!
    10. With the metra kit, I was not able to use the top 2 mounting holes, but the bottom 2 and the face plate are plenty strong.

    I'll update if I think of anything else, cell free to ask any questions, I'll do my best to answer.
     
    makanouchi, Sep 17, 2015
    #14
    Choco_Taco and BrutalityBob like this.
  15. Sep 17, 2015 at 8:12 PM
    #15
    makanouchi

    #15
    makanouchi [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2015
    Member:
    #157894
    Messages:
    179
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Lac
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2015 MGM Double Cab Long Bed
    Front Grill, Audio System, Seat covers, Rear bumper, hood struts, Projector Retrofit, Led's throughout. Avid Bumper Guard, Avid Sliders, Bilstein 5100 front and Rear, OME 885, AAL.
    If you don't like the stock music player... I didn't since it does not show album art, disable it in the apps manager so you avoid 2 music players playing at once.
     
    makanouchi, Sep 17, 2015
    #15
    ItalynStylion likes this.
  16. Sep 18, 2015 at 11:08 AM
    #16
    yositoco

    #16
    yositoco Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2012
    Member:
    #91564
    Messages:
    266
    Gender:
    Male
    Thanks for posting this. Subscribed
     
    yositoco, Sep 18, 2015
    #16
  17. Sep 22, 2015 at 2:51 PM
    #17
    BrutalityBob

    #17
    BrutalityBob Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2015
    Member:
    #163746
    Messages:
    135
    Gender:
    Male
    Quick question, got the unit in today. Ordered a wiring harness and will have that in with the metra kit tomorrow. My question is how did you wire this in. Was there alot of splicing and connecting wires and crimping them together? Did you cut off the Joying wiring harness to splice them to the aftermarket wiring harness and then plug that into the oem stereo wire harness? Also can you be more specific as to what Toyota antenna adepter you found on Amazon as there are quite a few variations. Thanks in advance!
     
    BrutalityBob, Sep 22, 2015
    #17
  18. Sep 22, 2015 at 3:33 PM
    #18
    makanouchi

    #18
    makanouchi [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2015
    Member:
    #157894
    Messages:
    179
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Lac
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2015 MGM Double Cab Long Bed
    Front Grill, Audio System, Seat covers, Rear bumper, hood struts, Projector Retrofit, Led's throughout. Avid Bumper Guard, Avid Sliders, Bilstein 5100 front and Rear, OME 885, AAL.
    You splice the radio harness into the Toyota harness so you don't have to cut your factory wires. I use soldier and heat shrink. Let me look up the antenna adapter.
     
    makanouchi, Sep 22, 2015
    #18
  19. Sep 22, 2015 at 4:32 PM
    #19
    BrutalityBob

    #19
    BrutalityBob Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2015
    Member:
    #163746
    Messages:
    135
    Gender:
    Male
    Ok so you did cut the Joying radios wire to splice with the aftermarket toyota harness to plug into oem/factory wires. Ill do the soldering and heat shrink inside my place then bring the whole unit in for an "easy swap" of the oem radio. What was up with the antenna to need an adapter?
     
    BrutalityBob, Sep 22, 2015
    #19
  20. Sep 22, 2015 at 6:24 PM
    #20
    makanouchi

    #20
    makanouchi [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2015
    Member:
    #157894
    Messages:
    179
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Lac
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2015 MGM Double Cab Long Bed
    Front Grill, Audio System, Seat covers, Rear bumper, hood struts, Projector Retrofit, Led's throughout. Avid Bumper Guard, Avid Sliders, Bilstein 5100 front and Rear, OME 885, AAL.
    The factory antenna connector is not standard so you'll need an adapter to convert and fit to the aftermarket radio. I actually have an extra one if you want it.
     
    makanouchi, Sep 22, 2015
    #20
Page 1 of 10

Products Discussed in

Metra AX-USB-35EXT 3.5mm iPod to USB Extension Cable - 27" - Black
$15.99
Metra 70-8114 Steering Wheel Control Wire Harness with RCA for 2003-Up Select Toyota/Scion/Lexus Vehicles
$9.80
To Top