Replace stock Symphony II with RNS-E or go aftermarket head unit?

[gramey]

My S4 that I recently bought was to be honest fairly low spec, it would be handy to have sat nav and blue tooth but which would be better, a second hand RNS-E unit which will keep originality or do I go for known brand replacement double DIN head unit. Will there be issues trying to get the radio and speakers to work with an aftermarket unit that I wouldn't have with the Audi unit, although I'm assuming a Pioneer or whatever brands are still around these days will be more modern. Is there a similar aftermarket unit that will have combined radio/CD & GPS?



Thanks for any advice, it's appreciated. :)

[corsaro]

I just replaced mine a few weeks ago and could not be happier!

I went for a third option (instead of your two) after watching some youtube videos, I put in an Android Octacore unit I got from ebay. It fits perfectly, touchscreen with some tactile buttons also - its just like having an android tablet in your car but with extra car specific features. The model I got is an xtron PB76AA4RP, from ebay it came with a wifi antenna, GPRS antenna, reversing camera (not fitted yet) and all looms needed to plug directly into the S4 factory loom. It has bluetooth, two USB inputs, SD card socket, two AV outputs (for headrest screens), AV input for dashcam, option for DAB+ and plays DVD's!. It can even link to a bluetooth OBDII adapter for virtual instruments with Torque supplied pre-installed.

It works great, totally configurable, I had it linked to a hotspot from my phone and downloaded from the Play store all my favourite apps. I have put on a launcher app called carwebguru (look it up on google). It has various skins that are totally customisable (different areas of the screen can be set to do different things like launch apps). the physical buttons are hard linked to the default apps e.g. pressing the NAVI button launches google maps, it comes with both a built in mic and comes with an external mic so you can use the google voice assist to find places, call people etc. SImilarly the audio control buttons are mapped to your favourite player app (you set as default) - its' brilliant!

I have had two problems with it - the first was a loud pop on switch on/off the ebay supplier sent me a new section of the loom (its in two parts) and that fixed the issue.

The second issue is poor radio reception, i think this is common problem with aftermarket players in audis (I had a similar issue with my A3), The antenna loom that came with it didn't match the factory connectors, I purchased a cheap adapter but only connects to the larger antenna connector and not the small one. i am not sure if there is a remote amplifier that needs power or some other issue but as I usually just play music off the USB stick or stream internet radio I haven't bothered to investigate further.

I have brought the two USB connectors into the glovebox, eventually I may get a wifi USB dongle with a data sim to keep it permanently connected to the internet but for now connecting via a hotspot on my phone takes a few seconds to setup when I need connection (you can download google map data for offline use so the nav works offline).

A couple of pics below when I was playing with the carwebguru setup (it's not fully fitted in the dash here, it does fit properly without clashing with cup holder etc.)
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