Part four: Every day impressions a year on!
Hello all!
I didn't quite intend to leave this a whole year before giving a day to day impression, but actually that seems like a really decent time period to give a fuller review of this head-unit.
First, TLDR: I still very much like this headunit. Not perfect, but for the price and function I dont think it's beatable at present.
Now to more in depth.
1. Changes since original review
I have made some changes both hardware and software.
In addition to Focal 165TOY speakers, I've added an amplifier to drive them and a subwoofer. I'll tell the tale in pictures below:
Power wire through a firewall grommet next to battery
RCA cables / Speaker cables / Remote on wire routed via centre console
Boot tray before for reference
Hertz compact subwoofer (Hertz Energy EBX F20.5) - added some foam around edge to reduce fibrations
Modifying boot tray
Alpine MRV-F407 4 channel amplifier that I had lying around....
Installed in boot floor
Stealth Used a speaker grill and rubber trim to create ventilation for the amplifier and air flow for the subwoofer.
Set the low-pass crossover to about 75Hz: now sounds very good! For some reason the treble seems very over-pronounced from the tweeters so requires reducing them in a graphics equaliser to balance the sound (at least to my ears).
Software changes
1. Hal 9k firmware
The XTRONS OE firmware is a bit so-so. Hooray for opensource android: Hal 9k firmware fixed a slightly sluggish user interface and added some useful features like screen lock and so forth.
Link here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android-auto/mtcd-software-development/rom-hal9k-rom-3-mtcd-e-head-units-t3847477
2. Automate
Cheap app that replicates the Android Auto interface and therefore looks nice and clean. Can be used on its own, or set as a replacement "Home" UI:
Conclusion
With the above changes, I'm now very happy with the sound. The ability to use spotify and google maps with a slick stable interface is great. With the upgraded software, everything works well and looks good to boot.
Final verdict: 8/10 (everyone loves an arbitrary number!)
For improvement: needs a better screen. Black level isn't very good so there's a fair bit of backlight bleed. Would prefer the ability to reassign what the capacitive buttons do - would have preferred a dedicated 'Music' and 'Maps' button.
Future stuff:
I haven't really sound deadened anything so I'm sure this would help the sound alot. I'm just a bit lazy to do it but we'll see!
Wondering whether a DSP might help sort out the treble better than the software equaliser. I'm just not sure if this isn't really worth it for the effort / expense.
To end with here's some gratuitous car pics...