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I also have a Harman Kardon system and I would not like to use an optical converter by fear I will lose some of its high sound quality standard.
Aren't any of these aftermarket units compatible? That is with an optical plug?
I'm guessing I was either given the wrong connectors or I'm missing something as I tested the unit and have no sound, no really sure why I have so many extra audio connectors coming from the new unit, the male connector for the antenna they supplied doesn't fit into the factory female connector nicely.
This is where I'm at now
Back of my factory unit
Also which of the three connectors are the radio antenna?
My vehicle has the harman kardon system, do I need a different connector for this unit?
Those extra audio and video connectors are for external 3rd party amps, rear entertainment systems, and backup camera.
The antenna uses a Fakra connection. You will need an adapter for the standard connection. The adapters are color coded. Just look up Mercedes antenna adapter.
You will need a MOST (fiber optic) adapter in order to retain the Harmon Kardon system. You will unplug the fiber optic cable from the main plug on the car harness and plug it into the adapter.
That Seicane unit is one of the lower end units and you might not be happy with the performance. Old quad core with 2 GB of RAM. I have a newer 8 core PX5 with 4 GB RAM and found it slow at times. The current highest performance Android head units are PX6 6 core powered units.
Those extra audio and video connectors are for external 3rd party amps, rear entertainment systems, and backup camera.
The antenna uses a Fakra connection. You will need an adapter for the standard connection. The adapters are color coded. Just look up Mercedes antenna adapter.
You will need a MOST (fiber optic) adapter in order to retain the Harmon Kardon system. You will unplug the fiber optic cable from the main plug on the car harness and plug it into the adapter.
That Seicane unit is one of the lower end units and you might not be happy with the performance. Old quad core with 2 GB of RAM. I have a newer 8 core PX5 with 4 GB RAM and found it slow at times. The current highest performance Android head units are PX6 6 core powered units.
They gave me an antenna to fakra adapter that fits kind of crappy into the stock plug, nothing to connect to the factory rear view camera, so I'm guessing I'll need to buy the male RCA to fakra adapter for that, is there a particular MOST adapter you would recommend or are they all basically the same thing? I was looking for a more aesthetically and modern looking unit, as long as it plays radio/music and the reverse camera comes up my wife will be happy with it.
They gave me an antenna to fakra adapter that fits kind of crappy into the stock plug, nothing to connect to the factory rear view camera, so I'm guessing I'll need to buy the male RCA to fakra adapter for that, is there a particular MOST adapter you would recommend or are they all basically the same thing? I was looking for a more aesthetically and modern looking unit, as long as it plays radio/music and the reverse camera comes up my wife will be happy with it.
I was just wondering how it ended up working out for you? I am looking at doing the same for my wife's 2007 R350.
Curious - I don’t actually have an R-class (researching buying one ...) but what about this nav system? It would seem it may solve the issues of losing some of the built-in features - though I’m unclear how it connects into the whole system (sounds like AUX IN, which means 2-channel stereo and not full on optical if you have harmon-kardon...)
You could always play music through the original system (I had a bluetooth adaptor).
This looks like a good solution to keep all the factory functionality. It’s basically another screen. Does it have CarPlay?
I would check how it is controlled as its pretty far to reach if it is touchscreen and the normal factory controls might be a bit clumsy/slow to navigate.
You could always play music through the original system (I had a bluetooth adaptor).
This looks like a good solution to keep all the factory functionality. It’s basically another screen. Does it have CarPlay?
I would check how it is controlled as its pretty far to reach if it is touchscreen and the normal factory controls might be a bit clumsy/slow to navigate.
Normally speaking, most Android devices these days can use a Wifi CarPlay adapter (they're like $60 or so, have an .apk you install onto an Android device) and you get full CarPlay / Android Auto, wirelessly. So basically you don't really care about controlling it too much as you'd basically just do it from your phone.
Definitely would want to see someone actually using it, though... the interface is probably standard Android, which is not bad, but I'd be more interested in how good/bad the connectivity into the OEM system is. I wish they'd just use Bluetooth A2DP so that it would stream audio directly into the factory amp... probably better than 3.5mm AUX in...
Curious - I don’t actually have an R-class (researching buying one ...) but what about this nav system? It would seem it may solve the issues of losing some of the built-in features - though I’m unclear how it connects into the whole system (sounds like AUX IN, which means 2-channel stereo and not full on optical if you have harmon-kardon...)
Very interesting, cunning Chinese 😉
Did you notice it mentions compatibility for R Class between years 2005 and 2017? Funny to think they've been manufacturing it in China until recently.
I wonder if having a screen at this location on the dashboard would be legal everywhere though. I know rules about traffic visibility are strict over here in Switzerland.
Very interesting, cunning Chinese 😉
Did you notice it mentions compatibility for R Class between years 2005 and 2017? Funny to think they've been manufacturing it in China until recently.
I wonder if having a screen at this location on the dashboard would be legal everywhere though. I know rules about traffic visibility are strict over here in Switzerland.
Since many newer cars have a similar design, I don't see why it wouldn't be legal, especially if it looks like it belongs.
Personally not a fan. I don't like any car design that has a screen sticking up rather than integrated into the dash. Also, because you keep the factory system as is, you cannot use your steering wheel controls on it. It also means you have to reach to it anytime you need to control it, whereas the stock location is far closer. Other cars get around this by having dedicated buttons and controls in the console; our cars wouldn't have it.
Since many newer cars have a similar design, I don't see why it wouldn't be legal, especially if it looks like it belongs.
Personally not a fan. I don't like any car design that has a screen sticking up rather than integrated into the dash. Also, because you keep the factory system as is, you cannot use your steering wheel controls on it. It also means you have to reach to it anytime you need to control it, whereas the stock location is far closer. Other cars get around this by having dedicated buttons and controls in the console; our cars wouldn't have it.
Agree, not that nice actually, nor practical. Just fancy let's say...
Besides, I saw that mine has a loudspeaker (bass booster I think) where it's supposed to fit. So no go for me.
I'm really interested with this. So beside the head unit what other parts you need to buy e.g Fascia? can you share with me for other parts? What are not working? Will the Bose Audio working? how about changing the clock etc? will the clock on speedometer adjusted?
I went with an unit from Pioneer (AVIC-Z910DAB), also had a bacup camera and a roof mounted antenna instaled. The unit has wifi Apple CarPlay and navigation that is better than Garmin in my opinion. Love the result despite the price tag. The old COMAND system will not be mised, the new system is night and day compared to the COMAND. I had a pro shop instal the whole thing.
Originally Posted by Fransiscus
I'm really interested with this. So beside the head unit what other parts you need to buy e.g Fascia? can you share with me for other parts? What are not working? Will the Bose Audio working? how about changing the clock etc? will the clock on speedometer adjusted?
Can you still change the station/track and volume using the control on the steering wheel?
Looks good. But seems like you lost some screen size...no? How much did it cost you? And can you still use the steering wheel volume and station comtrols?
The screen size is bigger - it looks smaller because all the controls on the sides are removed/blank.
Volume works
I don’t think station changing / next track works Pick up/hang up doesn’t work
The clock works but doesn’t adjust for summer/day light savings
The MFD on the instrument cluster loses features like compass, station info.
Since many newer cars have a similar design, I don't see why it wouldn't be legal, especially if it looks like it belongs.
Personally not a fan. I don't like any car design that has a screen sticking up rather than integrated into the dash. Also, because you keep the factory system as is, you cannot use your steering wheel controls on it. It also means you have to reach to it anytime you need to control it, whereas the stock location is far closer. Other cars get around this by having dedicated buttons and controls in the console; our cars wouldn't have it.
I don't see why not, though. On the one hand, I do agree that losing steering wheel controls and so on is a bit of a downer. On the other hand, by retaining the OEM radio and so on, you keep all of the COMAND functionality (lame as it may be at this point, 10 years in), and _also_ get Android music and Google Maps and so on. It seems a bit of a waste to throw out the OEM radio, not sure.
I guess the question is whether it connects via optical and retains sound quality - or if it's using a crappy AUX IN...
I don't see why not, though. On the one hand, I do agree that losing steering wheel controls and so on is a bit of a downer. On the other hand, by retaining the OEM radio and so on, you keep all of the COMAND functionality (lame as it may be at this point, 10 years in), and _also_ get Android music and Google Maps and so on. It seems a bit of a waste to throw out the OEM radio, not sure.
I guess the question is whether it connects via optical and retains sound quality - or if it's using a crappy AUX IN...
What COMAND functionality do you keep that an Android head unit doesn't do? There aren't any car functions controlled by the COMAND functionality. The only possible benefits are that your dash clock would keep the correct time, you retain fader functionality with the optical system, and you keep the compass on the dash. On the other hand, by having the Android head unit on top of the dash, you have worse ergonomics in accessing it, especially while driving. The Harman Kardon cars also have a speaker at that location, so you're losing out on a speaker by putting the Android unit there.
This is really not bad, I must say. Though the screen resolution is awful (1024x768, wtf?) and it’s vertical so apps will probably act weird, but it does look cool. Oh and it’s even more than $1K. For a car that has depreciated into “not much”, this seems like a LOT
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