Cheap Chinese Head Units

crockett · Nov 3, 2018

Are there ANY "good" Chinese head units? I've got the Radio 3.0 in my Tradesman, hence not even Bluetooth let alone Apple CarPlay. I would like to think that any of those cheap $100 to $200 double din units are much better than the OEM crap I'm dealing with.

Here an example for $99:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/7-Android-...e-3G-WIFI-2DIN-Player-GPS-FM-MAP/192676653426

justintaylor · Nov 4, 2018

i have never had any luck with the chinese radios... always freeze on me or crap out mid song. typically takes too long to change songs and whatnot.. id stick with a factory radio, although i have heard good things about the tesla style radios. maybe worth a shot

crockett · Nov 5, 2018

justintaylor said:
i have never had any luck with the chinese radios... always freeze on me or crap out mid song. typically takes too long to change songs and whatnot.. id stick with a factory radio, although i have heard good things about the tesla style radios. maybe worth a shot

Spent the entire day reading up on all those cheap units. Placed an order for this... many reviews turned out positive... the Kenwood equivalent would be the 955 at $1,300.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GB3XWJP/

TomT · Nov 5, 2018

Following to see how it goes.

JohnnyMac · Nov 5, 2018

sub'd

MK96 · Nov 5, 2018

I'd read the XDA developers forum, there is a lot of stuff about these. You won't find much info here. I'd go maybe the Dasaita headunit with PX5 CPU, 4G RAM & 32GB ROM. IF you have a newer RAM, you might look into vertical units like the one from 2019 model. They go for around $600, though.

justintaylor · Nov 5, 2018

crockett said:
Spent the entire day reading up on all those cheap units. Placed an order for this... many reviews turned out positive... the Kenwood equivalent would be the 955 at $1,300.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GB3XWJP/

Doesnt look too bad of a radio. as long as over time the ram doesnt get cluttered. thats what really slows down these radios. the system can fill the ram with junk that runs all the time. id suggest for best life to keep background pictures to factory, keep any un needed items off the radio and you should be just fine!

crockett · Nov 5, 2018

MK96 said:
I'd read the XDA developers forum, there is a lot of stuff about these. You won't find much info here. I'd go maybe the Dasaita headunit with PX5 CPU, 4G RAM & 32GB ROM. IF you have a newer RAM, you might look into vertical units like the one from 2019 model. They go for around $600, though.

I saw the Tesla style head unit with matching frame. The idea is great, but several reviews mentioned an array of issues, enough for me to stay away. My budget was in the $200 range, so my current pick is already $100 more. If I would consider $600 I'd quickly look into the $1,300 Kenwood.

This entire truck is a "good deal" idea for me. I come from a $72k Denali, had many issues, and now I just want a "cheap" and proper work truck with some entertainment options. Got my RAM for $27k new, after a $12k discount. The radio should go along as a great deal, if that makes any sense.

The head unit I ordered has an IPS HD screen and plays movies in many different formats from SD card, USB or cell phone. That was my main interest. The Tesla style unit doesn't have the correct display format for movies.

I also ordered a new HAVIS laptop vehicle mount and center console for my Uniden scanner.

Some photos from my setup in the Denali (now sold):

The laptop also allows me to do some limited day trading on the go.

justintaylor · Nov 5, 2018

i heard the same thing about the tesla screen. not allowing you to play normal format movies is a real bummer. especially considering it is a "no limit" radio basically

MK96 · Nov 6, 2018

ATOTO seems to be on the low side, it is cheap and slow. You might look into Joying, Dasaita, Xtrons units with PX3 or PX5 cpu or brand new PX6. Dasaita seems to have the best sound. Joying is a tech leader from the trio - they have 64GB ROM units. The budget will be in $300-400 range, but still you would have to order some canbus cabling and misc parts from Axxess/Metra. That would add another $160-200. These units suppose to have canbus decoders, but I wouldn't trust em

At the end of the day when the cheap unit dies you have a decent cabling ready for a good unit.

crockett said:
I saw the Tesla style head unit with matching frame. The idea is great, but several reviews mentioned an array of issues, enough for me to stay away. My budget was in the $200 range, so my current pick is already $100 more. If I would consider $600 I'd quickly look into the $1,300 Kenwood.

This entire truck is a "good deal" idea for me. I come from a $72k Denali, had many issues, and now I just want a "cheap" and proper work truck with some entertainment options. Got my RAM for $27k new, after a $12k discount. The radio should go along as a great deal, if that makes any sense.

The head unit I ordered has an IPS HD screen and plays movies in many different formats from SD card, USB or cell phone. That was my main interest. The Tesla style unit doesn't have the correct display format for movies.

I also ordered a new HAVIS laptop vehicle mount and center console for my Uniden scanner.

Some photos from my setup in the Denali (now sold):

The laptop also allows me to do some limited day trading on the go.

MarshRam · Nov 6, 2018

I purchased a Pioneer AVH-201EX. I think it was $200 and is great. As they go up $100 per model, I noticed they are just about the same, other than additional media options that I didn't need.

This Pioneer blew my old Dual double din out of the water, huge difference in sound quality and ability to control frequencies.

McBroom · Nov 6, 2018

Great sounding stereo system for the really budget minded with lots of options.
I really like the BOSS brand. I’ve had probably 6-7 in different vehicles I’ve used their amps speakers and other components.
I ain’t had any problems with the BOSS brand

I Love my 18 Ram 2500HD 4x4 CC
Blue Streak Pearl off-road

McBroom · Nov 6, 2018

MK96 said:
I'd read the XDA developers forum, there is a lot of stuff about these. You won't find much info here. I'd go maybe the Dasaita headunit with PX5 CPU, 4G RAM & 32GB ROM. IF you have a newer RAM, you might look into vertical units like the one from 2019 model. They go for around $600, though.

Will the 12” infotainment radio work in an 18 MY? I saw a post yesterday about a 12” for $300 new

I Love my 18 Ram 2500HD 4x4 CC
Blue Streak Pearl off-road

justintaylor · Nov 6, 2018

i dont think it will work, the 2018 rams are a bit different so making an aftermarket radio work correctly might be a bit challenging.. not out of the question but you might need a security bypass harness and whatnot for the 2018's

crockett · Nov 6, 2018

The head unit arrived today and I hooked it up on my lab power supply and a Logitech speaker for testing.

So far I'm blown away! I was expecting some crappy packaging, Chinglish manual and sketchy product quality but so far, ZERO issues.

That IPS screen is awesome. The colors don't fade out when watching from the side. Super bright as well. Very responsive touchscreen and no lagging.

Some photos for the heck of it...

FXCLM5 · Nov 6, 2018

i have never even heard of atoto, but since its android software, if it works, it should just keep working

crockett · Nov 6, 2018

MK96 said:
ATOTO seems to be on the low side, it is cheap and slow. You might look into Joying, Dasaita, Xtrons units with PX3 or PX5 cpu or brand new PX6. Dasaita seems to have the best sound. Joying is a tech leader from the trio - they have 64GB ROM units. The budget will be in $300-400 range, but still you would have to order some canbus cabling and misc parts from Axxess/Metra. That would add another $160-200. These units suppose to have canbus decoders, but I wouldn't trust em At the end of the day when the cheap unit dies you have a decent cabling ready for a good unit.

I just checked on the newest double din unit from Joying (SKU: JY-UO135N4PX5S):

- it does not have an IPS screen

- it does not have Bluetooth 5 (only 4.2), let alone 2 Bluetooth modules like the ATOTO

- Amazon reviews show 21% with 1 or 2 stars
https://www.amazon.com/JOYING-Stere...07F8KV26Y/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

- The ATOTO I bough has 5 out 5 stars so far (all verified buyers)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GB3XWJP/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

- The ATOTO offers true Apple CarPlay, didn't see that with the Joying

- The ATOTO has an IPS screen with 1000cd/m2 brightness. No more daylight glare issues.

- The ATOTO has Hands Gesture Recognition Sensor, didn't see that with the Joying either

- The ATOTO supports factory reverse camera, actually 2, and they offer a dash cam with full recoding features as well

- The ATOTO reboots in less than 2 sec, vs 15 to 20 on the Joying.

We will see... so far I only see the 4 GB / 64 GB advantage. That doesn't mean anything to me because I won't start / park so many apps on it, got my laptop for that, and all the media will be on a 512gb drive, connected via USB.

MK96 · Nov 12, 2018

Better than reading reviews on Amazon might be doing some search on youtube for video reviews. Gives you a better idea how these Chinese units work. You might be surprised there is not much components inside

May ATOTO serve you well for a long time!

crockett · Nov 17, 2018

Finished my "interior build".

Had the same laptop and scanner in my GMC truck. Laptop allows me to day trade on the go, or use GPS navigation on a larger screen, or check on forums, or watch a movie / YouTube / VUDU. Well with the new head unit I can play movies from a 1 TB hard drive or stream online, while keeping the laptop for trading.

The new center console will receive some switches next week, allowing me to cut the power for laptop, head unit, scanner, radio, dash cam, etc individually, because everything is hotwired to the battery. I hate it when all gets turned off as soon as you pull the key. And if you keep the key in the ignition you get to hear the ******** chime and a bunch of other devices stay on that you don't need, sucking the battery empty.

Head unit is great so far. I can install Android apps for everything. GPS navigation, online browsing, tons of music and movies from 2 USB sticks, internal ROM, and a 1 TB harddrive, great sound, my scanner and laptop are hooked up to it as well.

Head unit turns on within 2 seconds. The IPS screen offers very wide viewing angles and is daylight-bright.

W4ZWA · Nov 17, 2018

Got any better pics of the scanner mount?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Cheap Chinese Head Units

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