Just in case you want one of these, info is below Amazon store: www.amazon.co.uk/atoto A6 PF 7 Inch Android Car Stereo: amzn.to/3qyz9xi 6% discount code: ATOTOBT2
this makes me feel a lot better about my purchase, I was worried about the sound quality. Not much technical testing out there for these android headunits. Can't thank you enough!
So funny I was JUST complaining about not being able to find any legitimate Bench test data on this unit and bam you posted it immediately before I get online to look for it lmao. Excellent detail, thanks man!
Thanks for making the video and for your unbiased analysis. I got one of these Atoto A6PF's as a cheap and cheerful unit for our daily beater, and to see if these Android head units are anything more than just a gimmick. Frankly, I was expecting a less than stellar sound quality with interference galore, so I am honestly quite surprised by the clean output of the unit. Was also expecting those high-level output adapters to absolutely butcher the signal, but no. Now I'm kind of regretting the fact that I didn't look into these earlier.
This is really usefull to me as i want to turn up my amp gains to lowest as increasing the amplifier gain induces slight noise in system and also increase turn on thump, good work mate , thanks to your work
I love the scientific approach of this video. The A/B comparison was really cool. I also thought thered be some coloring from the headunit as I remember some old sony headunits had pretty bad coloring in the highs
Very nice Sam. Most people dont realize that they dont get the power thats advertised on cheaper equipment. Then you have to take Impedance rise and frequency tuning and response.
~14 minutes in, I don't see that you listed the deviances in the resistive values that were used. Such deviances could also be because of minor differences in the 4 ohm load. 4ohm resistors are rarely very precise. With that said, as an electrical engineer, I loved seeing this style of "not-a-review" analysis, keep it up! Very well made!
This is the way all head unit reviews should be done. What are the chances we can get you to do the same on the maxpeedingrods brand unit? Diy Car audio guy reviewed the unit and it seemed to be a strong competitor among these android units. I would be interested to see the variation, if any, amongst them or if they are all similar in build and circuitry. Great video, I'm a subscriber.
Thanks a lot for this detailed analysis of the Atoto head unit. The first Atoto I had was the 10” A6 that completely crapped the bed on me after like 6 months ownership. Atoto refused to replace it with an identical unit, only offering a lower tier head unit than the one I had purchased. Instead they forced me to pay the difference, so I said screw it avx upgraded to the 10” s8 from Atoto. About 6 months into owning, the stupid thing started factory resetting itself completely out of the blue. It’s extreme frustrating to have yk download every app, sign into everythhvg again, tube the dsp and stereo, just to have it factory reset two weeks later. Atoto has been ZERO help with this even though it was within warranty. They told me I had to send them a video if it happening…..HOW TF AM I SUPPOSED TO TAKE A VIDEO OF THE HEAD UNIT RANDOMLY FACTORY RESETTING ITSELF?!! I would have to record hours upon hours hoping to catch it in the act. I e had 2 Atoto these units, both have shit the bed within 6 months of being brand new. I will never buy from them again after failing to stand by their product and they’re warranty.
Why did you buy a 2nd one if they didn't stand by their first product? I wish i'd seen your comment before I bought the A6 PF a few days ago. Was about to install it but now idk...
Back in the 90s a lot of pioneer head units had a feature that allowed you to lpf the rear channels and you could bridge the rear channels of the head unit too I believe. There was a guy in my hometown that had 4 6x9s n the rear deck of some kind of like 90s Oldsmobile with one of those pioneer decks and it put out impressive bass. I believe they were 4 like oem GM speakers.
@@Sneakdisscommentbelow not sure if the avic-n1 had that feature. But for example the deh-p835r I’m currently running does, it’s just an old made in Japan single din from the 90s. I believe the feature is called FIE(front image enhancement)I’ve never used it, but seen it used. I’m willing to bet some folks still would use that feature if it was there. Make you wonder if there’s some old 80s/90s at audio junkie programming these android units.
@@jordanciaramitaro6351 thanks for remembering what that unit was called. Mine had a ribbon cable failure for the screen fairly quick. I'm guessing very few exist since I had mine fail in 08 and couldn't find anyone to fix it. It was attempted but unfortunately it was a mess inside those first gen designs.
Superb analysis. Learned a lot in a methodical manner. Just ordered blaupunkt key largo 9 inch android player which does have rca outs. Hope it can serve as a good player.
I have a pioneer head unit a 4400 NEX Last year, it was stuck in a boot loop. I was so angry didn't last more 3 Years I was thinking... So I kept looking online and found out a fix. It turns out the internal SD card failed. Turns out they use very low quality SD cards so I had to find a way to put that program onto an SD card ... Luckily, on a RU-vid video and a online forum, I found a program and the software to put onto the card using a laptop.. It was pretty involved, but I dismantle the unit got the card out with no damage replaced the card .. It booted right up like it was new better than new because the SD card I used has a higher read speed It's only a second or two faster which isn't much... But I used a pretty high-quality SD card, and I made a extra copy just in case I need to do it again in the future.. works perfectly. I even recorded me dismantling it and replacing the card but I never put it on my channel. I still need to edit the video. That was over a year ago... but yeah, another thing that annoyed me about this unit is the touchscreen dust particles behind the glass... So a few months ago, I decided to take the detachable face apart carefully.. I dismantled the screen And just cleaned away the dust particles it was pretty easy actually now it's spotless again.. But yeah, most of the battle is taking that 1st step with repair things. Being scared to mess things up as long as you're careful, you should have no problems.. Just to send in the head unit they wanted a few hundred dollars to just look at it.. for the card fix .. there's also a guy on RU-vid that made a video that pointed me in the right direction.. Other pioneer units have The same problem Poor quality SD cards in the unit. Hopefully they fix it. But I'm sure they didnt . They want the repairs to come in.. are you doing any Christmas repair special this year? It was fun last time
7:41 20 years ago i remember having an Alpine HU (CDA-7873) with the "60w x 4" V-Drive amplifier that bumped the voltage up to 17v internally IIRC, pushed the MB Quart Discus 5x7's i had on it quite well
Hey Sam, I'm surprised you don't have an rta to see the electrical response of the signal. Its great for looking at crossover response. If you have an xlr microphone going into a xlr AD converter and REW you can swap the mic for an rca adapter and run the signal in. You can then see the frequency response. You can also see the frequency response of passive crossovers as well.
This was awesome thank you so much for this and all of your videos, I tremendously love your channel. I know you probably don't have 1500 bucks just laying around, but would you considering doing this exact video for the Kenwood flagship 1057? I know this is a long shot, but if you do thank you in advance and keep it up brother!
100% In agreement about the complexity of modern head units. The oem hu's lag behind good Android phones in high quality Bluetooth audio streaming and only the most expensive after market hu's match Android phones. I have bypassed the hu in my own installation. I stream APTXHD Bluetooth audio from my Pixel to a FIIO BTR5 Bluetooth receiver that is plugged in to an Audiocontrol Three2 in dash equalizer. The Three2 provides all the basic audio controls and the BTR5 has an 11 band equalizer as well as handling phone calls. A Tunai Button Bluetooth controller provides steering wheel controls for all the basic functions on the phone.
About a year ago, I tried using a fake topping d10 ( Aimpire AD10) with my double din android head unit. I used UAPP (USB audio player pro). Sadly UAPP would never detect the Aimpire AD10. The built in DAC in my android head unit was horrible when using the RCA outputs. I switch to a line converter which didn't help at all. I got rid of it. Im now using and EQ to switch between the factory radio and a 5th gen IPOD playing lossless using rockbox. The 5th gen Ipod DAC sounds great.
I wished you where fixing amps in the 90's.. i had a Rockford Power 300 Mosfet amp which did my whole system until it blew a channel and nobody could fix it, never heard the sheer power from such a small little amp in those days.
Sam, I have an Atoto A6PF in my Kia Optima, driving some Kicker 6.5 inch speakers in the doors driven by the head unit. I've been very pleased with the audio quality. Do you have a suggestion of a budget 4 channel amp for this setup? The Kickers can handle up to 85w RMS. and my budget is quite limited, not interested in a sub. Thanks for all you do for audio, and thanks for the collabs with Big D Wiz!
I am an Engineer working in this field, and would like to say I think you did a really good job in testing this with what you had available. Obviously most users of this system will not be testing it like you have done, but it is interesting to see where the system fell down. One thing, if your scope allowed, you could measure the time delays and compare that to the input on the screen. Either way good job!
Love the thorough approach ! as an AV engineer with a degree in Sound production i am very pleased with that process. Only i would have liked to know what is the Quality the bluetooth transmission and streaming over carplay... especially bluetooth ... even my pioneer unit dmh-1770-nex is REALLY disapionting over bluetooth. thats one of the reason i was looking for a change. i had a 30$ gadget from amazon that streamed better bluetooth that the pioneer headunit... thanks man !
Wow over my head a bit lol. I just notice that when i use apps to control the volume like Power amp and change back to the radio, it tries to blow my speakers through the doors.
Curious how much can you turn up the gain on these Atoto line level converters before distortion in introduced? Kicker ones gets to 7.4v before distortion is introduced.
I get very little volume from the internal amp until it’s about half volume and at that point the ear fatigue the one I have causes is unbearable. It was to the point I thought one of the tweeters was burnt out! I’m surprised to see this perform like it did. China quality?
GREAT analysis! Question: Atoto has various versions of the A6. Was the one you tested compatible with 2 ohm speakers, and if so, could you run a test to see how that would do? Thanks!
I think it's respectable they sent you one, or perhaps they didn't know how poor these units are themselves. However, great video and loving the analysis!
What are the correct settings so that audio accompanies navigation? On my A6PF unit I only succeed in one out of about 20 tries. When I bring up the microphone search symbol when I am on Google maps sometimes it chimes before entering a command and at other times it does not. When I say _navigate to 1234 Main Street_ the route is always marked with a thick blue line. That feature always works. It is a distraction to glance at the screen. What I really want is audio that provides directions. The speaker symbol that comes up with route search is not in the mute position. Both GPS and WIFI are connected. Somewhere I must be overlooking a setting and the directions that accompany the unit are of no help.
btw. ive tried an alternative cable that has front l,r Output so the hu has this but is limited through the cable that comes in the pack. i wounder if there is a right channel for the sub also hidden in the socket.
What's the power output chips on the stereo?. My Sony MEX-XB100BT have class D outputs and I'm sure is using a High Power Current DC to DC Step-up voltage inverter to elevate the feed voltage from 14 to above 24V. How you test that?
I agree with you about having physical controls in a car. I bought the Atoto S8 which doesn't have any physical buttons at all and that is really a downside for me. Anyone considering one of these touch screen head units should take that into consideration.
Very interesting. I love seeing the objective data we never had for decades. Confirms that even a lower end android has impressive dsp capability and signal quality. The DSP labeling is just a quirk of your unit. Consider testing a better unit like the Teyes CC3 I just installed. It has more sensible labeelling of controls and full RCA outputs as do many others. I agree they can be a distraction. I think this diminishes with time. So far the thing I like least is no volume knob. I does do 2 finger swipe for volume which may be fine after more time to adjust old habits. The ability to customize all its functions to individual tastes is impressive. I can even monitor OBD data. While there are some features I don’t yet fully understand I’m very impressed with the dsp benefits.
just put this in my car, but for some reason the gain adjustment knob for my amp isnt responding and has very low bass out put still tinkering with the settings
I tried out a deck with a real built in amp. Had to run dedicated power and ground to it It will cut out without them but I quite like it its greatly simplified my setup only need a sub amp now and the built in dsp and time alignment is good enough that I no longer need any sort of processor. No distortion until volume is at 100% and its plenty loud well before that point anyways.
5.1 volt preouts as well had hoped for 4 to work easily with my taramps but whatever turning down level on the sub outs is easy enough. In my local audio group people are fairly impressed by it and always ask what sort of amp im running for the front stage. I always demo it without the sub on at first and tell people im focusing on sq now. They ask oh what sub are you running then I actually turn on the sub stage and theyre blown away.
Since you're going to be purchasing a sub amp anyway, it seems like just getting one 5-channel amp would be a much simpler solution. Especially if you have to run power ground to your deck and the amp.
@@TokenTombstone Are there any 5 channels out there that will give me 3k at 2 ohms on the sub channel? Besides running some 10 gauge off my lithium bank with a fuse for my deck really isnt that hard.
@@666nacirema666 Not sure what you deck is putting out power wise but it seems like 3,000 watts 2ohm sub amp would extremely outbalance your mids and highs. An amp that hits those kinds of numbers will be pulling some huge amperage. If you are not just pipe dreaming and you actually have the cash/equipment going, you might check out Down4Sound JP77 amp. 5+ channel. It does 2k on the sub channel 2 ohm.
@@TokenTombstone That costs a lot more than what im using and doesnt really provide anything that I want and lacks in the power I need for my subs. Im using some fairly sensitive mids and tweeters I dont need any more power to them for daily use. Honestly for daily use I dont even need a sub as my front stage plays pretty low to the point people who demo in it think im running an 8" or 10" front sub but its just 6.5s in ib and 2" tweeters that can be crossed fairly low. I compete in the local spl scene too though and may soon double the power to these subs and when I do it will be for less than the cost of that jp amp. That would be a good option for someone else but not me. I would have to redo my entire front stage and find new crossover points that worked with the extra power on tap for the mids and highs then deal with having half the power on tap for the subs. There are other 4 and 6 channels I looked into that are more in the power range I need for my front stage but I got this deck instead and it puts out the same amount of power as those just as cleanly and already has all the dsp and eq I need built in takes up less space requires less wiring etc etc.
Depending on your choice of DSP, you can have all of these options this Android unit is offering on your phone, tablet, and computer, without replacing your head unit. I always tell people, your head unit is your source and the heart of your audio. If you’re going to get a head unit, get a well known manufactured head unit with history of building quality units. Why buy a piece of crap, or go cheap, or settle? Save your money, buy a phenomenal head unit, and go from there. Not only will it save you from unknown disappointment, but it will save you from spending unnecessary money to get what you want. You have to know your system and what you want.
I suppose the x-over on that H.U. having lo-pass filtering would allow you to bandpass a pair of channels if you needed to, like if you only had mid bass woofers in the rear.
You're right, but it's a little more useful to bandpass the rear channel to drive midbasses and high-pass the front so that you can directly power tweeters from the deck. Not sure why you'd want to directly power the midbasses and not the tweeters.
Does anyone know if the Atoto Equalizer can be installed on another Android headunit? I'm really liking the crossover HPF in the eq, but do not have that option on my Kroak headunit.
I have a pretty cheap double din android head unit. I've debated on installing it but just for testing purposes I hooked it up to a set of 15" sharp cabinets from the 90s and it puts some decent power to them before clipping. It's surprising to see you wouldn't be able to hear this head unit over road noises from a section of concrete highway 🤣
@@JasonWW2000 if you watch the video it only made like 13 to 15 watts per channel, if you have a decent set of aftermarket speakers or even some of the Bose or Harmon speakers that your speakers could be drown out by road noises, part of the comment being sarcasm but seriousness too. What you having trouble with?
@@Sneakdisscommentbelow 13 to 15 watts per channel is pretty much what every aftermarket head unit has and they can get decently loud. They are definitely not going to get drowned out by road noise. Even a single watt of power can get output in the mid 80 decibel range. Maybe you're driving an old diesel pickup truck with off-road tires and that's why you're assuming it's not enough power to be heard? I'm just having a hard time understanding why you would think it would get drowned out by road noise.
@@JasonWW2000 pretty damn positive the pioneer 40x4's and Rockford headunits from back in the day did what they said. Don't get mad at me he's roasting this headunits. And I'd never drive a jacked up diesel, I drive 💪🏻
@@Sneakdisscommentbelow Did you notice I did not say "every head unit puts out 13 to 15 watts"? I dont know why your changing the subject about something I didn't even say. I know lots of high powered head units, but I know that in general, all aftermarket units do about 13-15 watts. If you've been in car audio any decent amount of time you know that, too. Whats this about me being mad at Sam? Why would I be mad? I'm going to guess your simply not familiar with how much 14 watts of power can be therefore you think it will be whisper quiet. Let me inform you that 14 watts can produce over 100dB with normal, non special drivers. Thats decently loud. Definitely not whisper quiet. Some people may even feel thats loud enough that they don't even need an amp for the 4 main channels. They are perfectly satisfied with 14w x 4. I hope that clears things up.
I was searching through your old videos about setting gains and as simple as it sounds, you really do not have a video that I can find on the process of setting them. You had a video about matching multiple amps and then another about setting gain with/without subs connected. Would be nice to just have a short video or topic about setting gains.
@@barevids I bought a new vehicle that has a non-changeable head unit and thought I would do some testing. Took off the passenger door panel to test the levels with a scope with a test tone. Only reading 3.2Vrms, but I think the speakers are at 8 ohm. I hooked up a replacement speaker (100Wrms PRV 6" woofer @8ohm) and it sounded the same 🤣🤣🤣 Guess I am in the market for a 4-channel amp. My question would be if I used a 4ohm tweeter in parallel with a 8ohm woofer, I would need a stable 2ohm amp into the front channels?
Mostly of car radio can't produce a deep bass , Hpf to 60hz like you say will reduce that cheap noise in car doors. I m remember some old decent pioneer, alpine,sony, jvs, Kenwood, made in Japan ,will produce only 7 watts x4 , nice sound .
I was complaining just today on how I can't find a deep analysis of Atoto head units on the net and voilà my favourite channel posted it! I'm looking for a 2 din to buy for xmas; I have sound proofed doors, Hertz cento speakers and sub (sealed enclosure) and Hertz amplifiers. I'm stuck deciding between Atoto S8 Premium (built in rca outputs) or Kenwood dmx8020dabs or Pioneer sph-da360dab I know that probably japanese head units have better hardware and sound output, I had a sony mex-xb100bt and it was really nice, but the atoto is cheaper and offers better multimedia beacuse of the android os, but will it bottleneck my "quite expensive" sound system?
I don't think you should generalize all Android head units. It should be a case by case basis. What do you mean by "clean up" the signal? Why would you need a boost on the sub channel? I don't know if your just being extremely general, but I'm basically going to disagree with you on every point you mentioned.
Im confused... Why add dsp to a unit that already does dsp? Why even buy the head unit in the first place, just hook a bluetooth adapter to the dsp box. Less chance of distorting. Also, this unit he tested has a 6 volt sub channel. No need to boost that.
@@Alkatross First, dsp stands for Digital Signal processor. You can't say all dsps are the same just like you can't say all radios are the same. There's a huge number of differences in them. Second, not all dsp's have a Bluetooth input. Third, people prefer headunits as it allows steering wheel controls, carplay, navigation, their favorite apps, etc...
I had a pioneer AVIC Z2 nav in my 09 civic Si with my stock "premium" stereos amp and speakers. It could overwork the speakers and provided plenty of low frequency... (The stock amp drives all the low frequencies on the rear channel to the sub). I replaced it with an android head unit and the audio output sucks. Yeah it has an EQ, but the amplifier just doesn't put out much low frequency, even with the lows cranked up on the EQ and with "bass boost" on, it just tapers off so fast below 200hz the audio quality between the two is night and day... At least using the RCA outs on both units. If the pioneers screen didn't break I would have put it back in. I was so happy with that stereo that I decided not to upgrade the speakers. At least with my android unit, the low frequency output is very lacking.
Oh yes, i hoped you were able to use USB DAC's on Android headunits, i was thinking about ever doing a SQ build with pro amps or perhaps door speakers made out of a pair of old studio monitors with their OG amp on an inverter, a balanced in/out dsp and an old M-Audio FastTrack Pro i've still got around, that's fucking awesome as you can probably buy the cheapest and worst Chinese Android headunit and get great quality audio now i wonder if you can do multiple USB DAC's for more channels/copies of the L+R or will it only output to one? USB DAC?
I wonder if you can unlock the USB volume control by getting into the Android Developer Options. I also wonder if you can use a Dayton/Ground Zero 4x8 DSP as a USB DAC. 🤣
Actually, this plus a real USB headphone DAC plus a Wavtech Link6 or Link8 would be an amazing combo. The link6 has a 3.5mm input, and with the link6, you can switch the knob betwen master volume and sub attenuator. You lose most of the DSP function of the deck, but if all you want is flat, clean signal...
@barevids i recently installed a really cheap Android HU (thanks to a friend) and i noticed that when i play with volume above 25-30, i get a lot of higher frequencies, voice, etc... but anywhere below that, everything becomes so muffled it's horrible. Sound is really not that great going straight to the speakers (no amp). Did you notice anything like that during your tests. Or is mine just wayy to cheap?
@@barevidsthen i have a mass in my head because of the advertised bonuses of having a filterless amp where the switches and potentiometers are very noisy and that every little adjustment counts.. Then again a hi res player also wouldn't be able to make percievable differences
hello, Itnx for making this video. But I can't find a answer on my question. I wander this, Is it possible to install a working Smartlife on this kind of Carradio? I would like to use this as sort of a home kiosk? TIA... Reply
Got a fast question for you I have a M.A. audio HK4000D hard kore competition amplifier trying to figure out the output channel has irfp064N for power supply possibly like irfp9640 and irfp240 would like some information on it I've searched everywhere including old school forums thanks thebestyet218
These are very old class D that use discrete high and low side drive supplies, with N channel and P channel fets, irf640N and irf9640. With all output fets removed you should have equal drive waves on both high and low side mosfet gate pads. These may be driven by a bunch of AG/DK smd transistors which are in turn driven by 1D/2D smd transistors. You may need to replace these parts on the driver card including any 470r resistors that are bad. Also check gate resistors at the fets. Perry's guide on bcae1 covers these in great detail. If it's as I described, its the same circuit as Solid F2500d, SPL EXT2000D. I've done videos of the solid on my channel you can look at.
Ok so the irfp064N are they correct parts for this amplifier and parts it had where the irfp9640 and irfp240 at some point I was told if I could show you a picture things insanely massive and digital just trying to make sure I put right parts in so I don't blow it again after all the work I've done which you explained
People have different levels of attention spans. I fully agree that majority of people have a shorter attention span over all. Now, when the climate control is needing to be accessed by touch screens, as more things are needing to be accessed that way, the more it takes away from the drive. But as far as navigation, I find it helpful, as long as it is mounted high enough that when I scan to my rear view mirror I can, roughly see the layout of the road I am driving towards. That means that if I am not familiar with the road I am on, it will show me where I need to slow down dramatically, because of sharp turns, and maybe a wider sweeper, so I can keep my speed to where it feels comfortable, and I might pull my speed down smoothly, before I get to the sweeper, and then if I did need to reduce my speed, then that prevents me from shifting my weight to the front thus removing weight on my rear tires. That means that I would then have a smooth pull out from the corner. What if I am just driving in creeper mode, then I will not be shocked if a vehicle pops into my direction that I am heading towards, or instead of slowing to a creep in a sweeper, pissing people behind me, and vice verses, keeping a little too much speed into a sharper corner.
Last one I promise. The last part beginning at 26:00, is superb. I didn’t really think about something like this, but with what you have done previously, I shouldn’t have been surprised, but you did. Bravo
So had a big question I got a 2000.1 d skar amp I replaced the rca thing came out of my old vechile that got flipped everything was good powers up has no trouble but when turning the gain up passed about little over 30 percent subs pulsate and just thump with no sound playing it all like literally turning the gain up and the subs act like u playing a 30 hz test tone full blast any help please
I haven’t tried without the rca but it happens like all of a sudden it’ll just make the subs start like a loud xmax type sound that gets like distorted but I have big 3 second battery all sky high ofc I just had a taramps 5k in here and it had no issues like this
