Eonon vs Avant-2 Comparison -- Updated Review

[tcbob11]

I had previously reported in this post that I had purchased an Eonon radio/GPS unit to replace the Avant-2 that I had sent to Avinusa in exchange for another unit. My radio was lost in China Customs or elsewhere and after several months of waiting for the USPS search process to complete unsuccessfully I filled the hole in my dash with a Eonon GA6166.

I have just received a replacement radio from Avinusa at no cost to me and I think it is only fair that I correct my comparison of the Eonon unit with the newer version of the Avant that is now available from Avinusa for the E39/E46 and E53 BMWs. The new unit looks similar to predecessor but uses Android 6.x instead of the 4.1.1 version provided with the previous version. The newer OS seems to make all the difference in the world in the performance of the Avant unit. Several additional modifications not only improve performance over the previous Avant unit, but also improve its performance over the Eonon GA6166 currently installed in my E53. The Avant now has a Wi-Fi antenna mounted to the unit and this has greatly improved Wi-Fi reception, the touch screen function is greatly improved, Blue Tooth detected and connected to my OBDII device without a hitch, and even the installation was made easier with a mod to the radio antenna connection.

My E53 does not have the BMW navigation unit, but it does have the premium sound system with DSP. I had already altered the bracket in the dash to hold the Avant-2 unit, and the Eonon fit right in without any additional mods. Also, I had moved the Business Radio/Disc Player to the rear side compartment and made the necessary wire hookups to get the Avant-2 to work with the DSP, so installing the Eonon was basically a plug-and-play installation.

All in all, I have to say that the new Avant unit performs better than the Eonon GA6166 that I was using until installing the new Avant. I want to make sure in fairness to both Eonon and Avinusa that anyone using my review of the two units be sure of the model/version of each unit that is being compared. For example, Eonon recently started offering an updated version for the E39/E53.

While I was initially disappointed with the support provided by Avinusa, I am impressed by the professionalism and more than fair way the company dealt with my lost radio, and would recommend Avinusa to a friend for that reason.