Experience with aftermarket head units? (Seicane, etc)

[rsm86]

Hi all,

I've searched around and only found hits in a couple of threads, but posts were old and unrelated to B8 A4.


So long story short, I've got a A4 with Audi Symphony, no Nav, no MMI as far as I know, bluetooth only works for phone calls.

I've been searching around since I'm honestly disappointed in the capabilities of my stereo. While I'm perfectly content with the sound quality, the features are severely lacking. I purchased a bluetooth receiver which supports A2DP and I plug it into the AMI through an AMI-to-3.5mm adapter, which is not an ideal solution by any stretch of the imagination. Quality is passable, yet nothing more. Plus I need to reach over to the glove compartment and press-hold a button for 6 seconds every time I feel like using it and recharge it every once in a while.

So I've been doing some research on aftermarket head units and have come across 2 units that seemingly fit the bill, yet I've not encountered many reviews or first hand experience accounts. They have that generic chinese electronics feel so I'm very wary of spending upwards of $600 on either of them...

First up an option from Seicane which according to their page gives me:

-Seemingly 100% stock look
-Touchscreen display
-Android 4.0 with a 1ghz dual core processor and wi-fi connectivity
-Waze / Google maps navigation through tethering my cell phone's connection. This would even phase out my need of streaming music from my phone. I can just open up Google Play music within the same head unit. (How awesome would that be?)

Here is the link:
http://www.seicane.com/android-audi-...8#.Usg-APRDsUY

My second option is Dynavin, which apparently has a stronger presence on the internet, yet the specs in the unit seem outdated (specially considering their price) and the B8 replacement unit seems to be out of stock pretty much everywhere, though their webpage does inspire quite a bit more confidence:

http://www.dynavin.com/products/product_dnv_a5.php

Dynavin pros over Seicane:
-Parrot bluetooth chip, which if the hype is to be believed, is top notch quality
-Eh, I guess that is pretty much it, plus the confidence thing which is already questionable.


So, do any of you know anything about these units? Any tips or advice?

Thanks!

[Luis_Heineken]

maybe crutchfield.com

[rsm86]

Thanks Luis, didn't find anything there though sadly.

[bermudakid]

Did OP decide to go with something ?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[rsm86]

No sir. After my last check-up I mentioned this to my dealer. They said all my electrical warranty would be bust if I change my head unit, so I'm holding back for now.

I still got about 3 years left of warranty, so for the time being I'm holding off on this, as much as I'm tempted to get it.

I have not yet found a single review for these seicane units for the B8 A4 though..... If anyone finds something, or has had some first hand experience I'm sure lots of people would be very interested in hearing about it.

[hawkbox]

Sorry to bring this thread to the forefront again - Did anyone buy the Seicane?

Anyone have this unit and have any luck? I am really tempted to jump in because I want to do some cutom app work for teh Android portion of the head unit - gives me some great news and update options!

Seicane has presence across many manufacturers - might add one to my FJ Cruiser also if anyone has a good review...

[shaunm82]

Check out this thread, a few guys here on the forum went this route:

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ht=touchscreen

[Albert68]

Just orderd one for my 2008 Audi A4. I just bought my first Audi last month and now I'm hook. I'll post again and let you know.

This is the one I bought http://www.seicane.com/android-4-4-4...4-canbus-k7684

Albert,

[markcm]

Hi Albert,

I'll be watching for your review. I have a 2005.5 B7 and I'm interested in swapping the RNS-E nav for one of these units; I have BOSE as well.

Do you happen to have BOSE in your car? I've been emailing Seicane and they tell me this unit does work with BOSE but I want to know more details.

[Project Quattro]

A colleague of mine just (easily) retrofitted a touchscreen Dynavin unit into his E46 M3 and he's thrilled with the improvement and modernization. It could probably use more RAM and the touchscreen isn't the best I've seen, but overall it has a nice look and works well.


Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

[kdaffy]

I'm waiting on the new Dynavin N6-A5 N6+ (http://store.dynavin.com/index.php?r...product_id=114) that recently came out to land at a US distributor as I've been looking to upgrade my basic unit

hyboost on this forum installed the previous version on his SQ5 and is pleased with the results.

[B8 S4]

I bought the Kenwood DNX series for my old acura tl and it was great. I think the newer one have an option to mirror your smartphone and use the touch screen headunit to contorl it. I would look at something like this of I was you

[Albert68]

Here is my review of the Seicane stereo. Overall it's a good system and it works well. I'm in Korea and it don't have Korea GPS maps; however, I installed another GPS app on radio called waze and it works very well. The rear sound levels are a are lower than the front levels so I adjusted the fade to send more sound to the rear. I installed the radio myself in about 15 minutes, very easy. However, I'm going to have professional installer look at the reason why the rear sound level is low. I think it has something to do with the factory amp not getting powered on. The biggest issue is that the radio reception will not be as good as it was with the factory stereo. This is a common issue with Audi's and VW's when you install an aftermarket stereo, because the antenna amp is not getting turned on. I've tried two different powered antenna adapters that is supposed to send power to the antenna amp, but they didn't help at all. I just ordered an aftermarket powered antenna that you mount on the dash. I'll see how that works when it arrives. Overall I like the system and the android system does everything that a tablet or smart phone can do. Also, the Bluetooth works better that expected when receiving calls. Don't get the OBDII BT they sell with it, it doesn't work. Wasted $20. Their support is good and they will answer your emails if you have questions and they will even send you pictures if needed. Shipping was expensive to Korea.

[TimSpino]

Buyer beware.... I would steer clear of the Seicane radio. I just tried one and the company is in China and does not do returns. The only way I was able return my defective radio (it would lock up and go blank intermittently) was to point out that the NAV/GPS was NOT updateable because it was a pirated version of the software according to the NAV software company. Only after I pointed that out they were willing to return my defective radio. I got my $400 back but they never refunded my $80 return shipping.

Here's the email I got from the NAV company...

"Dear Tim,

I regret to inform you that the sent license is not valid.

You seem to have become the victim of software piracy, as this license is used by a lot of cracked software. It is illicit and we do not provide any support for it.

Important: it is not possible to legalise a cracked license as it is generated individually for each device. Also, you cannot replace the cracked software version, nor can you purchase the software only. We do not sell our navigation software to end-users as the software is only available pre-installed on devices supported at naviextras.com.

If you wish to update your contents through Naviextras, you need to possess a supported device.

Unfortunately, you cannot purchase the navigation software for the present device as no legal license can be issued for it.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Best regards,

Nicole"

[ICSPres]

Buyer beware.... I would steer clear of the Seicane radio.
Best regards,

Nicole"

I couldn't agree more. I have very relevant first hand experience, defective $600 9" droid head unit, defective antenna that they will not fix or replace. Defective $75 add on DVD drive, defective and they will not replace. They lied and stalled repeatedly about software updates for the DVD player, BS troubleshooting tips for the head unit, every trip back to the shop costing me time and labor. My last communication they flat out refused any service. I even offered to buy a new DVD player if they would refund the defective one and they refused. Their last words were "get it fixed at your local stereo shop". Their products are enticing, but poorly manufactured with terrible support. Caveat emptor. It's not worth the trouble, spend the extra on a better brand your local shop will stand behind in warranty and labor. I'd have saved money and aggravation, and have a better system.

[slime]

so what else is available? need something to play my music off my Samsung S8, has navi and bluetooth