Aftermarket head unit

[Keith_MN]

Honest question as it's on my project list. Unless your OEM head unit is fried or pixels are all dead, why would you go with a questionable aftermarket solution vs BlueBus? Cost, ease of install, functionality and audio quality all seem to be in the favor of BlueBus based solely on what I've read.

[oceansize]

Honest question as it's on my project list. Unless your OEM head unit is fried or pixels are all dead, why would you go with a questionable aftermarket solution vs BlueBus? Cost, ease of install, functionality and audio quality all seem to be in the favor of BlueBus based solely on what I've read.

I don't have any qualms about having a touch screen in my car, doesn't bother me in the least. I have Sony head unit and CarPlay works great, steering wheel controls work great, and nothing else needs to exist.

[lemoose]

Honest question as it's on my project list. Unless your OEM head unit is fried or pixels are all dead, why would you go with a questionable aftermarket solution vs BlueBus? Cost, ease of install, functionality and audio quality all seem to be in the favor of BlueBus based solely on what I've read.

Carplay navigation. I have the bluebus on my M5 but my M3 is my daily and living with carplay is so much easier. If only I could figure out how to get the damn buttons to dim with the rest of the interior, I'd be 100% satisfied with my unit.

[Baris - Carphonics]

For those who installed the very poor quality Chinese 6 meter extension cable, or about to, bare in mind you’re adding 6 meters of poor quality speaker cables and also losing voltage to your stereo. If you installed amplifiers, then it’s fine.

Better quality cables can be bought. I make them in house.

https://carphonics.co.uk/shop/shop-by-car/bmw/5-series/e39-5-series/high-grade-extension-cable-for-aftermarket-systems/

I also have Harman kardon connectors for going aftermarket.

https://carphonics.co.uk/shop/shop-by-car/bmw/3-4-series/e46-3-series-1999-2007/harman-kardon-connector-for-external-amplifier-installs/

And if you like OEM look and want CarPlay, you can have it.

https://youtu.be/MSjVreVGfLQ?si=eGbMJs7Bas3t-n99

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFQ85AfKD5f/?igsh=Z2h2MWw1MG16enlv

I also have a large supply of brand new TFT screens, in which I will be bringing out detailed guides on how to change yours. This will include tips and tricks to make it easier and not to break any clips.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DENnWGsqu5b/?igsh=MTN3NXJ6aTJqYjM0eg==

[Obioban]

Honest question as it's on my project list. Unless your OEM head unit is fried or pixels are all dead, why would you go with a questionable aftermarket solution vs BlueBus? Cost, ease of install, functionality and audio quality all seem to be in the favor of BlueBus based solely on what I've read.

CarPlay. The only modern car feature I value.

But, as Baris pointed out above, you can now do that with the stock MKIV.

[liam821]

CarPlay. The only modern car feature I value.

This is really all I needed as well. Both my cars have HK and they both sound awful stock headunit or aftermarket - so whatever at least now I can wirelessly CarPlay. I have a Eonon something in my 330i and an Essgo in the M3. The Essgo looks like just like the factory navi headunit, while the Eonon has the larger screen. They both work as advertised. The Essgo was $102 and I paid a whopping $145 for the Eonon.

[dr_011]

Guess I'm the outlier here but I like my Avin unit. I've had 3 so far (due to upgrading specs, not issues). I prefer the 'OEM look' and I use everything offline (navigation, music) so car play and android auto aren't interesting to me. Sound quality dramatically improved over the stock HK. Support has been fine and setup is pretty easy IMO. I added the Induktiv wireless charging pad as well to keep my phone juiced up. It's a great setup all around.

[9kracing]

Another happy Avin user here.

I think a lot of the complaints are from the lower end units.

[lemoose]

Baris - Carphonics im a little confused about the package selections- which would i select if i want carplay but dont want the touch screen?

[Ramage]

I decided to go with a Kenwood DMX958XR last year, even though it doesn't maintain the factory look. I chose it mainly because I had been carrying around a Janus-Design double DIN mounting kit since 2014.

The cage that came with the kit fit perfectly with the short chassis design of the Kenwood double DIN and required no modifications to the HVAC system. I also like that LDAC with my Android phone noticeably improves the sound quality when streaming.

I like the idea of some of the integrated features in purpose-built head units, but as an old-school car audio guy, I was never really keen on the offered brands. I am sure this bias is outdated since everything is made in the same place.

While it would be an abomination, I would appreciate having a cluster with integrated navigation since this is the one feature I miss when switching from our Range Rover Velar to my E46.

[Baris - Carphonics]

Baris - Carphonics im a little confused about the package selections- which would i select if i want carplay but dont want the touch screen?

The main CarPlay option is all you need, but there are some other options, depending on your personal needs.

You have a 2002 car? Which means you have an older bm53 radio module, so won’t have an aux input. The firmware can be upgraded, if you want to send it over to me. Can also get the stage 2 amp upgrade to improve the sound on the bm53. This boosts the stock amps from 20/25 watts per channel to 50rms watts per channel, using pioneer mosfet amplifier ICs.

If not, then the audio will go through the cd changer input.

If the cd changer works, I can send the cable for it, if not, I will send something to replace the cd changer.

For hands free, most US cars came with telephone prep. So you just need to check which connection you have in the trunk and I can send you the correct connector and microphone.

The CarPlay is installed into the OEM tv / video modules. So you can either disconnect your nav unit and connect the CarPlay or I make retrofit cables.

If you have a coupe, it’s easy fitment, as your bracket is designed for it.

Here is a guide for fitment. Most of the beginning is for older cars like e38/e39.

https://youtu.be/xLFvvdQad_s?si=TvxyKgoB5wGG9pwX

Feel free to email me or WhatsApp me.

[Baris - Carphonics]

This is really all I needed as well. Both my cars have HK and they both sound awful stock headunit or aftermarket - so whatever at least now I can wirelessly CarPlay. I have a Eonon something in my 330i and an Essgo in the M3. The Essgo looks like just like the factory navi headunit, while the Eonon has the larger screen. They both work as advertised. The Essgo was $102 and I paid a whopping $145 for the Eonon.

Stock radio (bm53) has poor amplifiers. Need the stage 2 amp upgrade to make better use of it, if you’re not going down the aftermarket amplifier route.

And if your cars came originally with the nav system, then aftermarket is now run by 6 meters of very poor quality speaker wires and power. So the more you increase the volume, the worse it gets.

If you had non nav, then it should sound better than stock, as your connecting directly into the radio connector. If not, you received a poor quality stereo.

[lemoose]

The main CarPlay option is all you need, but there are some other options, depending on your personal needs.

You have a 2002 car? Which means you have an older bm53 radio module, so won’t have an aux input. The firmware can be upgraded, if you want to send it over to me. Can also get the stage 2 amp upgrade to improve the sound on the bm53. This boosts the stock amps from 20/25 watts per channel to 50rms watts per channel, using pioneer mosfet amplifier ICs.

If not, then the audio will go through the cd changer input.

If the cd changer works, I can send the cable for it, if not, I will send something to replace the cd changer.

For hands free, most US cars came with telephone prep. So you just need to check which connection you have in the trunk and I can send you the correct connector and microphone.

The CarPlay is installed into the OEM tv / video modules. So you can either disconnect your nav unit and connect the CarPlay or I make retrofit cables.

If you have a coupe, it’s easy fitment, as your bracket is designed for it.

Here is a guide for fitment. Most of the beginning is for older cars like e38/e39.

https://youtu.be/xLFvvdQad_s?si=TvxyKgoB5wGG9pwX

Feel free to email me or WhatsApp me.

This would be for my 03 M5. These are the only options I see on the e39 page. The X5 page, however, seems to have the option you mention (top one), is that it? What does the installation process look like for the touch screen? And last question, what is the purpose of the modified mic?





If i like it on the M5, I'll definitely get it for the M3 as well- which I think might need the whole retrofit package since mine didn't come with the Nav

[dukeofchen]

Guess I'm the outlier here but I like my Avin unit. I've had 3 so far (due to upgrading specs, not issues). I prefer the 'OEM look' and I use everything offline (navigation, music) so car play and android auto aren't interesting to me. Sound quality dramatically improved over the stock HK. Support has been fine and setup is pretty easy IMO. I added the Induktiv wireless charging pad as well to keep my phone juiced up. It's a great setup all around.

Just installed an AVIN and this agrees with my experience so far. Looks great and out of the box functionality all seems to work pretty seamlessly, but the carplay integration through the dongle + third party app is by far the weakest link, which is a pretty glaring weakness in 2025. Next time around I'd go for something with integrated Carplay, but for now it works decently enough and I'll be happy with it once I figure out the external microphone situation.

Now as to whether it's going to fry itself like others have reported here, I guess time will tell.

[Obioban]

Guess I'm the outlier here but I like my Avin unit. I've had 3 so far (due to upgrading specs, not issues). I prefer the 'OEM look' and I use everything offline (navigation, music) so car play and android auto aren't interesting to me. Sound quality dramatically improved over the stock HK. Support has been fine and setup is pretty easy IMO. I added the Induktiv wireless charging pad as well to keep my phone juiced up. It's a great setup all around.

No reason for using everything offline to be a show stopper on carplay-- Apple Maps and Apple Music both support downloading your content to the phone.

I also have and enjoy the inductive charger-- but they really need to release a magsafe version!