6
Headunit replace w/ carplay
- Thread starter jkhania
- Start date
Mobile audio has been a HUGE hobby of mine for about 10 years. I bought my MK6 in June, and a new stereo was the first thing that the GTI needed. I went through A nice Pioneer (brand loyalty from having used their active capable head units exclusively for years) and a Kenwood double din, but pulled them and put the OEM unit back in.
My car came with the RCD 310, and it's not that great. It distorts at 21 on the volume knob, the ipod interface is mediocre, and the features are limited, however neither aftermarket unit was good enough either. On both the Pioneer and Kenwood I had issues with Carplay (and just about every other feature). Sometimes my phone would connect, other times it wouldn't. Both unit would freeze periodically, both had screens that were far too busy and unintuitive, and I had issues with glare and polarized sun glasses hiding the screen. In the end I decided I'd rather have a free mediocre head unit than an $800 mediocre head unit.
If you use idatalink you can keep steering wheel controls and all of the other features, however, there is a catch. The OEM mic will still work, and the MDI plug will still work, but if you want to use Carplay you must run the mic from the new head unit, and if you want album info to display correctly, you must run a new USB cable. I was under the impression that since I was using the idatalink maestro that I wouldn't need to run a mic or cable, but I was wrong.
I'm in a tough spot because mobile audio is important to me, but besides the Pioneer P99 (only single din, and not super modern features) there isn't an aftermarked head unit that I'd use. I'm going to end up running a RCD 510 to a DSP to fix the sound, but that won't help with Carplay. For me that isn't an issue, I don't really want my phone tied to the car anyway, but I can see how my solution won't work for most people.
I suggest that if you decide to use idatalink with an aftermarket stereo that has Carplay to look at Kenwood. I prefer Pioneer for sound quality, but the Kenwoods will integrate better.
zef
Drag Racing Champion
I just installed a Kenwood unit yesterday. Crutchfield gave me an adapter to allow me to retain steering wheel controls (along with all the other hardware/adapters/harnesses needed). I am using Android Auto which I am guessing is similar, but I did not need a new USB cable. The overall install process was relatively painless.
GTIMKV20
APR Stage I
Have this, rock it daily. Perfect OEM CarPlay replacement and plug and play since OEM.
Don’t look back, it’s as awesome as the thread depicts. I’ve had 5-6 different OEM and aftermarket radios in my MK6 and this one is FINALLY a keeper.
RCD330
http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110801
Don’t look back, it’s as awesome as the thread depicts. I’ve had 5-6 different OEM and aftermarket radios in my MK6 and this one is FINALLY a keeper.
RCD330
http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110801
I am suspicious of this head unit. It's a long thread, so I haven't read through it all, but has anyone bench tested the RCD330 to see what kind of signal it puts out? Anyone know what DACs are used, where it clips, etc.?
Gijoewoz - thanks for the feedback. I was afraid that many of the adapters would have unforeseen restrictions. I too am hesitant to spend hundred of dollars only to trade one minor inconvenience for another.
Where did you find your and did you do the install?
Where did you find your and did you do the install?
I just got a pioneer AVH-2230NEX with idatalink maestro and sxm
Make sure that you run the included mic, and USB cable. The idatalink won't give you everything that you need.
Cadubya
Autocross Newbie
Sure, the idatalink will keep the OEM mic and USB, but those will have limited functionality, so if you want everything with the Pioneer to work as intended, you'll need the Pioneer mic and usb, a little irritating since I suspected the idatalink would take care of that without issue, but not quite.
Cadubya
Autocross Newbie
If I remember correctly you cannot use Carplay without the Pioneer mic (the Siri features won't work through the VW mic). Without the Pioneer USB cable you can still play audio, but you won't get track information unless you use the Pioneer USB cable, so basically, even though idatalink keeps the OEM USB (MDI) you won't ever want to use it. I had hoped that idatalink would make it so I didn't need to run excess wires, but I ended up needing to run the mic and USB anyway, which was a bit disappointing.
zrickety
The Fixer
I'm waiting to see some better Carplay units come out, but I can tell you I've run a couple Kenwood units with steering wheel adapters...PAC adapter was a little complicated with a slight delay hitting the buttons...Crux adapter works great and is instantaneous. My car had factory bluetooth but I ran the Kenwood mic to the speedometer pod where it works great and is out of the way.