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tablet as head unit...????

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Old Nov 7, 2014 | 08:23 PM
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Default tablet as head unit...????

Those who have done this, what's your opinion? Sound quality is huge for me and so far, any Bluetooth tethering hasn't impressed me from a phone. Maybe a tablet has better sound. I don't know. I like the versatility of the tablet though.
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Old Nov 8, 2014 | 12:51 AM
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I don't have the tablet as the headunit per say, I still have my Pioneer running everything, but my tablet is my audio source feeding into the head unit via a male to male headphone cable.

many audio tweaks don't go thru bluetooth and my headunit doesn't do bluetooth audio streaming so I don't bother with it.

not all tablets are created equal tho, some get louder then others (some can be hacked to be louder) and some have better DAC's then others, both of these things effect the final sound quality, try to find something that uses a Wolfson DAC, they have some of the best sound quality, they make (or atleast made) the DAC's for Apple i devices and some older samsung stuff like the Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 (non of the other Galaxy Player models had the WM8994 wolfson DAC), if you can find one of those and root it and ROM it and install Voodoo Sound the audio quality is LOUD and top notch.

Last edited by Daniel Richards; Nov 8, 2014 at 12:57 AM.
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Old Nov 8, 2014 | 06:24 AM
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Kind of sounds like I might need to use your approach to keep sound quality. I heard a system the other day running off of just a tablet. I really liked the idea but, I could tell the sound was flat, not crisp. Might need to think about this more.
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Old Nov 8, 2014 | 02:08 PM
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Originally Posted by 2nd Gen Fl 'bird
Kind of sounds like I might need to use your approach to keep sound quality. I heard a system the other day running off of just a tablet. I really liked the idea but, I could tell the sound was flat, not crisp. Might need to think about this more.
personally I think it's the easiest way to set one up and you can move the headunit to a different location if you wanted to mount the tablet in the dash plus you can retain CD and FM radio this way.
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Old Nov 9, 2014 | 06:38 AM
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So basically a single din with a tablet but, connected with cable. No tethering?
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Old Nov 9, 2014 | 12:43 PM
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Originally Posted by 2nd Gen Fl 'bird
So basically a single din with a tablet but, connected with cable. No tethering?
yup, can't get any simpler then that in my book.
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Old Nov 11, 2014 | 10:46 AM
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I never got a chance to do this, but here is my idea.

7 " Google Nexus Tablet (Wired to Equalizer)

Equalizer (hidden behind the tablet and wired to amp).

4 Ch Mini Amp. (2 Channels to Power Pair of Components Up front and 2 channels for coxials in the back).

Single Channel Mini Amp to power a single 10" Sub woofer.

Bluetooth Streaming is definitely great in the cheap modern cars like a nissan sentra but I'm not sure what it would take to get that clean, crisp sound in a custom tablet stereo?
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Old Nov 11, 2014 | 03:31 PM
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Originally Posted by bad_408_vert
I never got a chance to do this, but here is my idea.

7 " Google Nexus Tablet (Wired to Equalizer)

Equalizer (hidden behind the tablet and wired to amp).

4 Ch Mini Amp. (2 Channels to Power Pair of Components Up front and 2 channels for coxials in the back).

Single Channel Mini Amp to power a single 10" Sub woofer.

Bluetooth Streaming is definitely great in the cheap modern cars like a nissan sentra but I'm not sure what it would take to get that clean, crisp sound in a custom tablet stereo?
This^^^^ is exactly the same set up in a friends Subaru WRX. He seems to know what he's talking about but, the sound isn't crisp to me. Maybe there's adjustment to be made.
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Old Nov 11, 2014 | 04:31 PM
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Originally Posted by 2nd Gen Fl 'bird
This^^^^ is exactly the same set up in a friends Subaru WRX. He seems to know what he's talking about but, the sound isn't crisp to me. Maybe there's adjustment to be made.
honestly to me it just seams like a lot of extra work versus just running into a headunit like I do and the headunit gives you everything you need for outputs to amps or even retaining the stock monsoon amp if your car has that.
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Old Nov 11, 2014 | 04:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Daniel Richards
honestly to me it just seams like a lot of extra work versus just running into a headunit like I do and the headunit gives you everything you need for outputs to amps or even retaining the stock monsoon amp if your car has that.
I agree. Will do a HU definitely. Whats your opinion on running the Monsoon amp with new HU and speakers in stock location? Don't need ear blowing sound just a good sound.
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Old Nov 11, 2014 | 07:09 PM
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Originally Posted by 2nd Gen Fl 'bird
I agree. Will do a HU definitely. Whats your opinion on running the Monsoon amp with new HU and speakers in stock location? Don't need ear blowing sound just a good sound.
Probably easiest route. I got a new head unit, replaced the factory speakers and added an amp for the 10" sub. Works great for me but there's a lot of options.
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