Dynavin N6 - purchased & mini review.

[Gravy]

That's good to hear! Was sat in my brothers A6 with his Nav system. We listen to similar/same music and I heard tones/notes on his system that you simply don't hear on mine! lol.

Think I might have to upgrade the speakers too once I get the N6. I think my drivers door speaker is dying/dead.

This is what I found to be honest after installing the N6.

[ljs4]

Personal opinion - I think the main problem with the Andrive unit is that it does too much for a car radio. I think people in this forum like the N6 because of the interface. Be interesting to see a demo of Andrive 3.

[bungers]

Here you, it'll look like this but with an Andrive boot logo & branded box:

Edited August 19, 2014 by bungers

[TriggerFish]

UI is what matters to me, not hardware.

I don't like Apple, but the speed at which their UI operates on older phones, compared to an older Android unit (I like Android) is impressive, despite often much outdated hardware. I guess what I'm getting at here, is I don't really care how 'old' the hardware/software underneath it is, but the user experience is what matters the most to me. (Indeed, the current 5s is only a dual core (I think), but out punches my quad-core Xperia Z in many areas)

I've not seen anything about Andrive 3, but so far, the Dynavin N6 is the one that currently looks the best to me from a user perspective.

I also agree with Paul about posting here. I'm sure you would strongly dislike people posting unprompted negative Andrive posts in the review thread about your product.

If you said your product was free of anything from Foxconn, I'd be more interested too (terrible firm with several worker suicides. I'd NOT want to buy anything from them if I could choose my hardware.)

[Daz 330 Cs]

Topic tidied

[Daz 330 Cs]

Fellas keep the bitching to PM if you must. Topic will be tidied shortly....again.

[mintimperial]

That's cool. But I reserve the right to defend our product and service against misinformation by the likes of bungers.

I think bungers have shares in eonon and dynavin.

Am I just supposed to let people post complete nonsense (such as those specs above) about our product?

[mintimperial]

The specs posted above by bungers have absolutely no relation to the Andrive 3 in and way shape or form!

[mintimperial]

I didn't actually post anything negative about dynavin at all.

[bungers]

The specs posted above by bungers have absolutely no relation to the Andrive 3 in and way shape or form!

I think anyone who can read can work that out! I don't have shares in either brand (I very much doubt they're on the stockmarket?!).

Again, here's the link to the Andrive section of the forum incase you get lost again: http://www.e46zone.com/forum/forum/112-andrive/

[L4nky808]

That's cool. But I reserve the right to defend our product and service against misinformation by the likes of bungers.

I think bungers have shares in eonon and dynavin.

Am I just supposed to let people post complete nonsense (such as those specs above) about our product?

The specs posted above by bungers have absolutely no relation to the Andrive 3 in and way shape or form!

I didn't actually post anything negative about dynavin at all.

Wouldn't your time be better spent in the Andrive Chat topic, helping YOUR customers who have issues, rather than relying on other forum users, such as Rebel, to do it for you?

The only reason your product has been mentioned in this thread is because you choose to continually keep posting in it.

[Testaculese]

Really like the simple UI on this. Last thing I want when driving is to be wading through a complicated UI.

I wander if they ever plan on integrating 'tourque' as that is a really appealing aspect of the Andrive for me.

[ljs4]

FYI to anyone who has got the N6...

If you're using an SD card to listen to MP3's and would like album artwork to appear, the ID3 Tag version must be 2.3. I have just discovered this after a lot of trial and error / frustration to get the feature working. You can convert the Tag version via iTunes

[realboss7669]

Ok so I have read this thread with interest and after doing so my DVD unit on my OEM system broke down. Repair would have been £1-300 so I made the decision to buy the Dynavin N6 e46 unit like Bungers.

This involved stripping out all of the old unit plus the modules in the boot (DVD etc). I had to order a special extra set of extension cabling for my car which you can see on the Dynavin web site.

In summary I am impressed with certain things but not others although Dynavin have responded to some queries I sent in which will resolve some of my issues and I am chasing some others. I hope this provides a decent review in addition to the useful info from Bungers for anyone looking to buy one. I am not as techy as some of you other chaps so I have not used terminology like 'bus', leaving that instead to the auto electrician who installed this. Incidentally he is very experienced and actually carries out retrofits for BMW main dealers and other main dealers so I did use someone I knew would not butcher cables and fittings or miss out connections.

First of all on a RHD car the radio antenna in my vehicle was preventing us from actually getting the unit to fit flush as the antenna makes contact with what I think is the heater ducting behind the recess. We contacted the UK distributor and they were helpful and when I emailed Dynavin they advised some 90 degree antennas would be supplied to the UK distributor with estimated arrival in 3 weeks. I did reply to Dynavin that this means no radio for me for 6-8 weeks since install then. I told them I could order 90 degree antennas myself and get them inside of 1 week but that I felt it was out of order for me to have to do this when I bought a unit that was supposed to have the correct wiring with it.

So, she is now installed and operational bar the radio which we have left disconnected, and in my case I also need a 90 degree antenna for the GPS as this is making contact as well. This I felt was pretty poor from Dynavin as first impressions make all the difference and obviously this had not been accounted for but to then be told it's a 3 week wait just compounds the experience.

But, that aside, in terms of usability the unit performs quite well. I have left on the screen protector but will get another one fitted as I think this effects the touch screen usability in that sometimes when you swipe it will select instead. However that is minor and as I say I think because of the screen protector which is a thick one intended to solely protect it in transit rather than to be used to protect while you use the unit.

I had the central mobile phone console originally so I ordered a centre tray with slide cover from Ebay. The USB cable we have fed through under the centre console and this now sits neatly inside this tray without any drilling or modifying needed to the tray. I connect my iPhone lead to this and then my phone can slot nicely into the tray.

The steering wheel controls work however I have a glitch whereby intermittently if you click the volume 'up' button the volume will jump up to full volume deafening you

I have contacted Dynavin and they advise that a new version of the software (Dynos 1.1.1) is due for release in 3 weeks and they advise that will resolve this issue.

Also on the steering wheel controls I cannot get the R/T button to work on mine so I am not sure if this is the same with all of them or just an issue with mine.

I have an iPhone and the iPod mode is less useful as you cannot play/pause in this mode so I use the A2DP mode which you can use while the phone is connected via the cable and this seems to give you more control. Again if anyone is experiencing something different it would be useful to know.

Coming on to functionality my annoyance with this unit is due to coming from an OEM tv/satnav unit, and there are two really frustrating losses in functionality that I have experienced. First is that the clock on my Dynavin unit does not synchronise with the clock on my odometer instrument panel as the OEM unit used to. As just after installation we changed the clocks I now have a different time being shown on my odometer instrument panel than that on the Dynavin. If I were to change the battery the odometer instrument panel clock would presumably auto set to 00:00 when the power is re-established. I have emailed Dynavin about this and am awaiting their response. Second is that the OBC mentioned on the Dynavin website says 'Onboard Computer Information Integration' whereas all I get is temperature shown. Again coming from my other unit I have now seemingly lost Avg MPG, Range, etc all of which I consider to be simple but very important and useful OEM functions. I have emailed Dynavin about this as well though so perhaps they will advise that this may become available at some point, we will see.

You could argue that this is minor and that I am making a mountain out of a mole hill but I think it is important as part of a good user experience and if they are not available and never will be this should be a bit clearer in the pre-sale material. That is not intended as a harsh criticism of Dynavin, but the rest of the unit is so good this is a real let down and gives the impression it has not been considered.

EDIT: Reference the previous 2 paragraphs I CAN get outside temp, mpg, range and average speed on my odometer instrument display by clicking the left stalk on my steering column, but I would also expect them on the Dynavin OBC as well - what is the point of the Dynavin OBC if all I can get is temperature? My personal opinion.

The clock is also on my odometer instrument display but as mentioned it is not possible to update the time on it, the Dynavin one is updated via GPS as far as I can tell.

The phone functionality works well but the microphone that was supplied was huge and pretty cheap quality, it was a clip on one like you would fit on a lapel of a coat with a big muffler on it. As my car is a convertible the mic is on top of the steering wheel cluster. We removed the muffler but the microphone still would not fit so my installer actually stripped down the bare microphone and then slotted it into the OEM mic unit with the muffler wrapped around it for cushioning. The phone screen functionality is ok but the contacts are laid out quite large so are awkward to scroll through. If you search it seems you can only search by first letter which is a bit basic but hopefully later software releases may improve this.

The sat nav is very good but I have had my unit crash several times now, once after selecting the sat nav option and then twice when playing music. Dynavin have asked me to provide them with a data file for them to help them diagnose the cause so that seems a good result as they are obviously trying to ensure these units are reliable.

Other than this a weird thing to get your head around is when you use the bottom left nob to switch off the unit it only turns the sound off, the screen still stays lit up and if you are in iPod mode and I think A2DP it will continue playing the track you are listening to. Also the right hand nob does not let you scroll up or down now like the OEM units but that is not a bad experience just so you can get a feel for usability compared to an OEM unit.

This may seem like a negative review but it is not, I am simply listing all of the things that I have come up against since installing this to provide a thorough review and hopefully some useful information for you.

I really like the unit, the lighting matches my car, the functionality is much more up to date, and it does look OEM quality. For me if some of the lost functionality could be restored/worked around then I would be much happier and if a speedier supply of the 90 degree antenna had been sorted out by Dynavin then I would be singing their praises. Bear in mind I also ordered another standard N6 unit for my wife's Civic Type R so have shelled out a lot of money plus installation costs on top so I kind of expect a better experience than this. The UK distributor have been very helpful.

In summary I would recommend this unit but if you are going from OEM TV/SatNav then you just need to be aware of the functionality you will lose as much as the stuff you will gain. On the plus side I think I have saved about 5kgs of weight with all of the old kit that was removed!!!

I will update you on progress in terms of further responses from Dynavin. If any of you more techy people think I have missed something here feel free to advise. Thanks for all of the posts to date, really useful for me and I hope it's ok me posting my review here instead of in a new thread.

Edited November 7, 2014 by realboss7669

[Cannockwolf]

hopefully this helps, but my experience so far is with an e39 install, not got my e46 one in yet, btw doesnt the time come from the gps receiver?

The steering wheel controls work however I have a glitch whereby intermittently if you click the volume 'up' button the volume will jump up to full volume deafening you

Not experienced this on mine

Also on the steering wheel controls I cannot get the R/T button to work on mine so I am not sure if this is the same with all of them or just an issue with mine.

Mine doesnt do anything either (i think?)

I have an iPhone and the iPod mode is less useful as you cannot play/pause in this mode so I use the A2DP mode which you can use while the phone is connected via the cable and this seems to give you more control. Again if anyone is experiencing something different it would be useful to know.

Mine works fine

The sat nav is very good but I have had my unit crash several times now, once after selecting the sat nav option and then twice when playing music. Dynavin have asked me to provide them with a data file for them to help them diagnose the cause so that seems a good result as they are obviously trying to ensure these units are reliable.

I swapped to sygic (really good) and as long as you wait for the time to kick before starting it, its been fine

Other than this a weird thing to get your head around is when you use the bottom left nob to switch off the unit it only turns the sound off, the screen still stays lit up and if you are in iPod mode and I think A2DP it will continue playing the track you are listening to. Also the right hand nob does not let you scroll up or down now like the OEM units but that is not a bad experience just so you can get a feel for usability compared to an OEM unit.

Mine turns the screen and sound off and pauses the track

[M3NXN]

Good write up that as a follow on from the one Bungers made. Really fancying one of these myself.

Regarding the right angle adapters, I thought it was pretty well documented across many forums that they are required. You can get them from Maplins at a premium or Amazon dirt cheap but with a couple of week wait time.

[Cannockwolf]

i need to sort these out for when i get mine back, What kind on connection will i need for the sat nav?

[Trevor]

I have the eonon. An early one.

Also needed the right angle connectors.

The r/t button works as it should on the wheel.

I really like the look of the N6 myself.

There's an Andrive advertised on this forum right now and I'm tempted by that as well.

Andrive also seems to have bugs as well and I'm not an Android fan.

[Cannockwolf]

these what i need?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141345757023?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371175220904?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[ljs4]

The steering wheel controls work however I have a glitch whereby intermittently if you click the volume 'up' button the volume will jump up to full volume deafening you
I have experienced this issue a few times when using A2DP.

Also on the steering wheel controls I cannot get the R/T button to work on mine so I am not sure if this is the same with all of them or just an issue with mine.

My R/T button doesn't do anything.

The phone functionality works well but the microphone that was supplied was huge and pretty cheap quality, it was a clip on one like you would fit on a lapel of a coat with a big muffler on it. As my car is a convertible the mic is on top of the steering wheel cluster. We removed the muffler but the microphone still would not fit so my installer actually stripped down the bare microphone and then slotted it into the OEM mic unit with the muffler wrapped around it for cushioning. The phone screen functionality is ok but the contacts are laid out quite large so are awkward to scroll through. If you search it seems you can only search by first letter which is a bit basic but hopefully later software releases may improve this.
The unit does/supposed to have a built in Mic. I had to install the external as the internal didn't work at all???

The sat nav is very good but I have had my unit crash several times now, once after selecting the sat nav option and then twice when playing music. Dynavin have asked me to provide them with a data file for them to help them diagnose the cause so that seems a good result as they are obviously trying to ensure these units are reliable.

My unit has crashed a few times when switching between Radio and Nav.

A few issues i have with the unit:

- I can't get the built in traffic receiver to work.

- The unit isn't very good at pulling MP3 Tags / Artwork from an SD Card. I have tested the SD card with other mobile tablets etc which can pull Track Names and Artists perfectly.

Apart from the issues mentioned, I am happy with the unit. I do expect these issues to be resolved considering the price of the unit. I know there are other units with a similar price tag that also have issues like the ones mentioned so it's not all bad.

Edited November 6, 2014 by ljs4

[Cannockwolf]

My internal mic didn't work either but the quality of the calls with it on is superb so I don't mind , I must say I'm really enjoying the HU best I've had

[realboss7669]

Good write up that as a follow on from the one Bungers made. Really fancying one of these myself.

Regarding the right angle adapters, I thought it was pretty well documented across many forums that they are required. You can get them from Maplins at a premium or Amazon dirt cheap but with a couple of week wait time.

Thanks for the comments mate. Ref the connectors the fact that it is pretty well documented by customers should be all that is needed for Dynavin to ensure all units sent out come with the right connectors! I wouldn't have minded spending another £20 for them to be included having spend nearly £1000 on 2 x N6 models. I did read some reviews but did not pick up on this as you kind of expect when you order an item to receive what you need to make it work.

I have the eonon. An early one.

The r/t button works as it should on the wheel.

Interesting Trevor with your earlier eonon version your R/T button DOES work. It doesn't appear to on the N6 version.

I have edited my review just to clarify that I can get Range, Avg Speed and MPG on my odometer instrument display by clicking my left steering column stalk but in my mind then what is the point of the Dynavin OBC if this isn't also on there? Again just my opinion.

I worked away yesterday and after posting my previous review I used the sat nav and A2DP enroute to my hotel. It worked very well I have to say, and I do like the unit a lot. I got up this morning though and was on the road at 6am, when I started my car and Dynavin booted up my A2DP kicked in automatically and turned on the sat nav but again it crashed. Dynavin advised me to hold down the MODE button to do a reset if necessary so I did this. After rebooting the sat nav worked again.

I will aim to send them the data from the unit as they requested as hopefully they will sort this out in time, especially for people like me who use it a lot.

They did message me about the clock but I think the guy is in China and the grammar was very confusing so I need to try and clarify what he is actually asking me. Keep you updated. Thanks for the helpful responses and apologies if my updates aren't that technically advanced!

Edited November 7, 2014 by realboss7669

[M3NXN]

i need to sort these out for when i get mine back, What kind on connection will i need for the sat nav?

I'm trying to find the link to the one I bought, might be saved on my laptop

[pirate1066]

I'm still put off by either type of unit,all these little problems and gremlins,I'm happy to pay £500!to £700 for unit which was plug and play ,they just seam to be to complicated or am I a dinosaur,if I'd spent half a day and I couldn't fit or buttons or things I had before didn't work I would blow my stack,and most seem to say the sound is no better ?

[realboss7669]

I'm still put off by either type of unit,all these little problems and gremlins,I'm happy to pay £500!to £700 for unit which was plug and play ,they just seam to be to complicated or am I a dinosaur,if I'd spent half a day and I couldn't fit or buttons or things I had before didn't work I would blow my stack,and most seem to say the sound is no better ?

Hi pirate1066, I understand. If I am honest I am not convinced I would have bought it knowing these issues and niggles existed. I on the other hand would have paid £750 or 800 for a unit if it was more integrated with all of the OBS functionality, with the correct antennas, etc. I am now in touch with Dynavin so am hoping I can help them improve what they need to, but only if they take on what I am saying. I am emailing a guy in China and trying to convey to him the importance of customer service and that it is the small details that make all the difference.

I will emphasise to you that the general functions (apart from the freezing I have been experiencing with the satnav) are bang up to date and do work very well. They screen is way better compared with my old OEM unit and the whole thing is much more modern, but I am not happy at the unnecessary loss of OEM functionality that is there (if Dynavin harness it). Again it may seem like being fussy but as you say if it simply looks OEM but the functions are identical to most other units on the market then I would have spent £3-400 on a standard double din unit and pocketed the rest.

I am on the fence with this at the moment, it all depends on how Dynavin respond to me in terms of what they resolve, and also their customer service. Again I don't want this to sound like I am slating the product as most functions on it are good, but a) it is missing some of the basic OEM things that I would expect and I have now had it for 3 weeks installed in my car and the best Dynavin can do apparently is get me some antennas in 3 weeks time; simply not good enough.

Keep you updated on progress.

Edited November 11, 2014 by realboss7669