Ultimate After-Market Head Unit Review Thread
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Hi
Great Post and the install looks fab.
Just ordered the same HU with the connects 2 CTKAU03.
As I have the Bose amp and a complete novice (although very handy with my hands) can you be specific about what connector needed modifying please.
Thanks in advance
JD
Great Post and the install looks fab.
Just ordered the same HU with the connects 2 CTKAU03.
As I have the Bose amp and a complete novice (although very handy with my hands) can you be specific about what connector needed modifying please.
Thanks in advance
JD
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JoedTT said:
I had the install done by a local installer, so I'm not sure about what adapters/harnesses/fitting kit he used.JoedTT said:
I'll see if I can find the invoice later.
If you're just changing the HU it should be pretty straightforward - if you have a read through this thread you should be able to find the adapter you need.
There's a post a few pages back about a Pioneer self install, he used this:
https://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/connect ... g-kit.html
I can't guarantee that the info applies to the DA250DAB, so double check first.
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Here's a copy and paste of the DAB130 installation from a few pages back:
SuperShires said:I fitted the Pioneer SPH-DA130DAB last Saturday.JFidddy said:
Get the Connects2 CTKAU03 Kit:
https://goo.gl/U2t1oi
(choose the CTMULTILEAD.2 if you are buying a Pioneer unit)
You might need this Antenna Adapter like I did:
https://goo.gl/jHtWL5
I bought the Pioneer SPH-DA130DAB:
https://goo.gl/RA1K6M
I'm really impressed with the Pioneer unit, Bluetooth works amazingly, it has CarPlay so I routed a Lightning cable through the glove box where the old iPod cable that comes with the OEM stereo comes out at the little hole in the back of the glove box (if you do this you will need to remove the glove box)
Steering wheel controls work great, just an overall solid improvement from the standard stereo.
Audio quality is vastly improved from the standard head unit IMO. Sounds much louder and clearer. Looks clean thanks to the unit not having any buttons and its all touchscreen.
I made sure it had CarPlay so I can plug my iPhone in and use the Maps on the phone, rather than the head unit itself having GPS. This is why I decided to route the Lightning cable through the hole in the glove box so that when I do need to use SatNav I just plug my phone in and use the phones SatNav.
Overall it set me back £350~ as I bought the Pioneer unit for £280 but I fitted it myself with help from a mate who works at a Kwikfit. (though I'm buying him a few pints for his help :lol
Hi everyone. Giving my thoughts on the new budget, no-name head unit installed over the weekend.
Head Unit:
Atoto SA102 Starter, £127, AliExpress (Italy), delivery in 7 days
Previous setup:
Standard Concert CD radio, amp with 9 speakers, non-Bose
Accessories:
I was planning on purchasing the CTKAU03, but found the component parts cheaper instead. So I got:
Connects2 CTSAD002.2 wiring loom, ebay £20
Connects2 CT23AU05 fascia and cage, £25
Twin fakra antenna adapter, ebay £5
Radio release keys, ebay £3
Already owned rear view camera (not fully fitted)
Already owned sub
Review:
I wanted a new HU as the Concert (understandably) felt dated, and lacked the connectivity of today's systems. The main thing I wanted was Android Auto, for maps, apps, calls and audio streaming. The cheapest branded units I could find online were JVC's around £300. The only reason I didn't buy such a unit was that they had no physical buttons, which I need as my car doesn't have a MFSW.
I naturally looked at the bewildering array of less well known brands on Amazon etc. but the reviews generally included both excellent, and poor - for the same unit, which kind of put me off.
I stumbled upon the Atoto brand on Amazon, and they sold the SA102 which has native support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, for £169. It has a row of physical buttons for volume, track, mute and home on the bottom. Reviews were the usual range, but mostly positive, and I watched a couple of YT videos to observe the speed of the interface, which looked good. I thought at this price, it's worth a punt. But in the end I cancelled the order, as I saw it on AliExpress for £127, shipping from Italy. So I bought that instead. It arrived in a week.
Fitted it over the weekend, and I must say I am very impressed. Sound quality is improved, especially at higher frequencies. I can now hear much more from the tweeters, which improves clarity to my ears. As I already fitted a sub, bass wasn't lacking even with the Concert. At first because of the difference, I thought the Atoto was on a boosted EQ or something, but no this was with a flat EQ, and without 'loudness' switched on. Loudness probably boosts bass and treble just a touch too much, so instead I've just tweaked the EQ a bit +/-1 or 2 dB. There are the usual pre-programmed EQ settings, plus 3 user settings. I can't remember how many frequencies are adjustable, but it's enough. 10 or 12? Also the sub volume can be auto or manually offset, and has an adjustable crossover.
It is louder than the Concert, as I used to have that turned up over halfway. For the equivalent volume in the Atoto I have it between a quarter to a third.
Android Auto works great. The phone needs to be connected by a cable though, which is a bit ugly but I can accept that. So far I have only tested maps, Spotify, TuneIn Radio and News. All work flawlessly, and the touchscreen is quite slick to use. It's capacitive and feels just like a normal glass screen, albeit slightly less responsive as you're controlling the phone. Because it's your phone, it shows real-time traffic etc., and maps are bang upto date. I don't have an iPhone so can't test CarPlay. The screen brightness automatically dims once the car lights are switched on.
I wanted DAB but this only has FM. Radio reception is excellent though. I used a twin fakra adapter, and had to trim one of the connectors to fit into the twin Audi socket.
Other functions I won't use are micro-SD slot, front USB socket and front AUX socket. It has a built-in mic on the unit, but this is overrided if you connect the supplied mic which can be positioned in the headlining or on the steering wheel cowl.
Installation:
The Atoto doesn't come with a cage. but is supplied with adjustable brackets for the sides. I didn't use these. Instead I used the Connects2 supplied cage and brackets. First thing to note is that the face plate of the Atoto is quite deep. Whilst it fits in the cage fine, its projection from the cage meant that the face of the Atoto would stick out in front of the Connects2 fascia - not good. I therefore decided to trim away the top and bottom of the cage by about 7 or 8mm, which allowed the Atoto to sit deeper into the cage. Easy job with tin snips.
It is supplied with 3 different harnesses: 2 with ISO connectors and 1 with bare wires. The difference between the 2 ISOs is the positions of the permanent and switched lives. I used connector B. It also has a video in / out harness that I didn't use, which can receive a front camera input, and output video to the rear of the headrests or whatever. No use in a TT.
I had already connected a sub using the un-used but live speaker outs from the Concert unit (a 3D printed connector that I friction fitted into the empty space in the quadlock) but I ditched this in favour of the standard RCAs that the Atoto has.
The Connects2 cage unfortunately didn't fit into the Audi aperture. Only by 1mm or so at each corner, so I had to file down the plastic in the Audi. Other than that everything was a doddle. Rear camera is wired up but sitting in the boot at the moment, pending sorting a route out to the back.
I've included a few pics of the installation and the unit powered up. Oh one final point - the thin bezel around the unit. Atoto provide 2 of these, but I used the Connects2 supplied one instead (they included 2 btw) The bezel wouldn't slide into the slot that you can see in most of the photos. It was just too tight a fit. In the end I filed 2 of the 4 tangs down slightly, which then allowed the bezel to slide in. As you can see, it's almost flush (the TT fascia is slightly curved so it'll never be totally flush) and you'll also see that the adjustment to the cage was absolutely necessary.
I wanted to upload a video to show boot-up speed, but mp4s aren't allowed. It's OK though I think - around 8 seconds from when the ignition is switched on until sound is heard.
Overall I am really happy with this unit. For £127 (+£7 postage) you can't go wrong. If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to answer them. And if I find any grumbles during use, I'll update this post.
Head Unit:
Atoto SA102 Starter, £127, AliExpress (Italy), delivery in 7 days
Previous setup:
Standard Concert CD radio, amp with 9 speakers, non-Bose
Accessories:
I was planning on purchasing the CTKAU03, but found the component parts cheaper instead. So I got:
Connects2 CTSAD002.2 wiring loom, ebay £20
Connects2 CT23AU05 fascia and cage, £25
Twin fakra antenna adapter, ebay £5
Radio release keys, ebay £3
Already owned rear view camera (not fully fitted)
Already owned sub
Review:
I wanted a new HU as the Concert (understandably) felt dated, and lacked the connectivity of today's systems. The main thing I wanted was Android Auto, for maps, apps, calls and audio streaming. The cheapest branded units I could find online were JVC's around £300. The only reason I didn't buy such a unit was that they had no physical buttons, which I need as my car doesn't have a MFSW.
I naturally looked at the bewildering array of less well known brands on Amazon etc. but the reviews generally included both excellent, and poor - for the same unit, which kind of put me off.
I stumbled upon the Atoto brand on Amazon, and they sold the SA102 which has native support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, for £169. It has a row of physical buttons for volume, track, mute and home on the bottom. Reviews were the usual range, but mostly positive, and I watched a couple of YT videos to observe the speed of the interface, which looked good. I thought at this price, it's worth a punt. But in the end I cancelled the order, as I saw it on AliExpress for £127, shipping from Italy. So I bought that instead. It arrived in a week.
Fitted it over the weekend, and I must say I am very impressed. Sound quality is improved, especially at higher frequencies. I can now hear much more from the tweeters, which improves clarity to my ears. As I already fitted a sub, bass wasn't lacking even with the Concert. At first because of the difference, I thought the Atoto was on a boosted EQ or something, but no this was with a flat EQ, and without 'loudness' switched on. Loudness probably boosts bass and treble just a touch too much, so instead I've just tweaked the EQ a bit +/-1 or 2 dB. There are the usual pre-programmed EQ settings, plus 3 user settings. I can't remember how many frequencies are adjustable, but it's enough. 10 or 12? Also the sub volume can be auto or manually offset, and has an adjustable crossover.
It is louder than the Concert, as I used to have that turned up over halfway. For the equivalent volume in the Atoto I have it between a quarter to a third.
Android Auto works great. The phone needs to be connected by a cable though, which is a bit ugly but I can accept that. So far I have only tested maps, Spotify, TuneIn Radio and News. All work flawlessly, and the touchscreen is quite slick to use. It's capacitive and feels just like a normal glass screen, albeit slightly less responsive as you're controlling the phone. Because it's your phone, it shows real-time traffic etc., and maps are bang upto date. I don't have an iPhone so can't test CarPlay. The screen brightness automatically dims once the car lights are switched on.
I wanted DAB but this only has FM. Radio reception is excellent though. I used a twin fakra adapter, and had to trim one of the connectors to fit into the twin Audi socket.
Other functions I won't use are micro-SD slot, front USB socket and front AUX socket. It has a built-in mic on the unit, but this is overrided if you connect the supplied mic which can be positioned in the headlining or on the steering wheel cowl.
Installation:
The Atoto doesn't come with a cage. but is supplied with adjustable brackets for the sides. I didn't use these. Instead I used the Connects2 supplied cage and brackets. First thing to note is that the face plate of the Atoto is quite deep. Whilst it fits in the cage fine, its projection from the cage meant that the face of the Atoto would stick out in front of the Connects2 fascia - not good. I therefore decided to trim away the top and bottom of the cage by about 7 or 8mm, which allowed the Atoto to sit deeper into the cage. Easy job with tin snips.
It is supplied with 3 different harnesses: 2 with ISO connectors and 1 with bare wires. The difference between the 2 ISOs is the positions of the permanent and switched lives. I used connector B. It also has a video in / out harness that I didn't use, which can receive a front camera input, and output video to the rear of the headrests or whatever. No use in a TT.
I had already connected a sub using the un-used but live speaker outs from the Concert unit (a 3D printed connector that I friction fitted into the empty space in the quadlock) but I ditched this in favour of the standard RCAs that the Atoto has.
The Connects2 cage unfortunately didn't fit into the Audi aperture. Only by 1mm or so at each corner, so I had to file down the plastic in the Audi. Other than that everything was a doddle. Rear camera is wired up but sitting in the boot at the moment, pending sorting a route out to the back.
I've included a few pics of the installation and the unit powered up. Oh one final point - the thin bezel around the unit. Atoto provide 2 of these, but I used the Connects2 supplied one instead (they included 2 btw) The bezel wouldn't slide into the slot that you can see in most of the photos. It was just too tight a fit. In the end I filed 2 of the 4 tangs down slightly, which then allowed the bezel to slide in. As you can see, it's almost flush (the TT fascia is slightly curved so it'll never be totally flush) and you'll also see that the adjustment to the cage was absolutely necessary.
I wanted to upload a video to show boot-up speed, but mp4s aren't allowed. It's OK though I think - around 8 seconds from when the ignition is switched on until sound is heard.
Overall I am really happy with this unit. For £127 (+£7 postage) you can't go wrong. If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to answer them. And if I find any grumbles during use, I'll update this post.
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118 Posts
Hi Joe,
Good choice btw
There was an issue with the Bose amp when the guys were fitting it. I`m sorry but i didn`t really get involved but i gather it depends on which variation of the amp you have in the car. Any decent fitters should have it covered though. Sorry i cant be more specific but its quite a common thing that come s up . Other people on here maybe more technical and can explain better.
Let us know when its all up and running.
Cheers
Ian
Good choice btw
There was an issue with the Bose amp when the guys were fitting it. I`m sorry but i didn`t really get involved but i gather it depends on which variation of the amp you have in the car. Any decent fitters should have it covered though. Sorry i cant be more specific but its quite a common thing that come s up . Other people on here maybe more technical and can explain better.
Let us know when its all up and running.
Cheers
Ian
Thanks Ian, I have power but no sound, will look to progress tomorrowidbpalacei said:Hi Joe,
Good choice btw
There was an issue with the Bose amp when the guys were fitting it. I`m sorry but i didn`t really get involved but i gather it depends on which variation of the amp you have in the car. Any decent fitters should have it covered though. Sorry i cant be more specific but its quite a common thing that come s up . Other people on here maybe more technical and can explain better.
Let us know when its all up and running.
Cheers
Ian
Joe
Hi Ianidbpalacei said:Hi Joe,
Good choice btw
There was an issue with the Bose amp when the guys were fitting it. I`m sorry but i didn`t really get involved but i gather it depends on which variation of the amp you have in the car. Any decent fitters should have it covered though. Sorry i cant be more specific but its quite a common thing that come s up . Other people on here maybe more technical and can explain better.
Let us know when its all up and running.
Cheers
Ian
So it turned out my amp needed recoding. A local guy did this for me 5 mins and £20 and all sorted.
For reference, the connects2 loom provided has a spare blue lead. The blue/white lead fro the hu connects to this as well as the power lead from the FM aerial.
Unit is up and running and sounding sweet.
Joined
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118 Posts
Great news yes that rings a bell . I knew it was easy fix thoughJoedTT said:Hi Ianidbpalacei said:Hi Joe,
Good choice btw
There was an issue with the Bose amp when the guys were fitting it. I`m sorry but i didn`t really get involved but i gather it depends on which variation of the amp you have in the car. Any decent fitters should have it covered though. Sorry i cant be more specific but its quite a common thing that come s up . Other people on here maybe more technical and can explain better.
Let us know when its all up and running.
Cheers
Ian
So it turned out my amp needed recoding. A local guy did this for me 5 mins and £20 and all sorted.
For reference, the connects2 loom provided has a spare blue lead. The blue/white lead fro the hu connects to this as well as the power lead from the FM aerial.
Unit is up and running and sounding sweet.
Joined
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6 Posts
Hello,
First, I apologize for my English because I'm french :?
I have a TT MK2 8J with Concert HU without Bose. It seems that even if there's no bose, there is a digital amp in the rear left boot.
I want to update by an aftermarket model : ATOTO S8 ULTRA (android - 4g sim car slot - carplay / android auto etc...)
I want to keep the steering wheel control of course and in a second time add a rear camera- automatically shown once the rear shift is engaged.
Could you tell which wiring harness I have to buy from Connects2 ?
It seems that the one included into the CTKAU03 kit isn't ok (CTSAD00C.2) because it doesn't remote by wire the amp.
Does the CTSAD009.2 is OK ?
Thanks in advance for your reply / help
Nicolas.
First, I apologize for my English because I'm french :?
I have a TT MK2 8J with Concert HU without Bose. It seems that even if there's no bose, there is a digital amp in the rear left boot.
I want to update by an aftermarket model : ATOTO S8 ULTRA (android - 4g sim car slot - carplay / android auto etc...)
I want to keep the steering wheel control of course and in a second time add a rear camera- automatically shown once the rear shift is engaged.
Could you tell which wiring harness I have to buy from Connects2 ?
It seems that the one included into the CTKAU03 kit isn't ok (CTSAD00C.2) because it doesn't remote by wire the amp.
Does the CTSAD009.2 is OK ?
Thanks in advance for your reply / help
Nicolas.
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6 Posts
Thanks for your reply.af_135y said:
The CTSAD002.2 seems to be an evolution of the CTSAD00C.2 : description are close together
Could you tel me which HU you bought ?
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6 Posts
Thanks to help me.af_135y said:
The fact is that you bought the CTSAD002.2, separately because cheaper than the complete kit CTKAU03.
Into the CTKAU03 installation kit, there is the CTSAD00C.2.
On the link of the CTKAU03, it is noted "Not Compatible With Vehicles With Digital Amplifier" and nothing on the page of the CTSAD00C.2.
Do you think the CTSAD00C.2 (provided into CTKAU03 kit) is equivalent to the CTSAD002.2 you used ?
https://connects2.com/Product/ProductItem/CTSAD00C.2
https://connects2.com/Product/ProductItem/CTKAU03
https://connects2.com/Product/ProductItem/CTSAD002.2
Many thanks for your help - Sorry my English.
Nicolas.
It looks like the CTSAD00C.2 includes the CTSAD002.2 (quad lock) plus an ISO loom, looking at the pictures. Their description also mentions supplying both types of connector. You don't need the ISO version. To be sure, just drop them an email.
You'll be connecting the HU upto the RCA connectors on the new loom, which are connected to the white rectangular section in the quadlock.
You'll be connecting the HU upto the RCA connectors on the new loom, which are connected to the white rectangular section in the quadlock.
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