Dynavin Installed
 

I have had my X for 4 1/2 years now. In that time frame I have gone through several audio solutions. Back in 2006 I installed a Pioneer Avic and did a writeup on it. The Avic was a nice system minus the navigation. Another issue with the Avic was that I couldn't find a bezel that worked for me. I decided to pull the Avic and went back to the MID. Well, it turns out I really can't live without navigation. My next try was the Kenwood factory integration. I ended up putting two monitors on the dash. I didn't do a writeup on that system, I wished I did as it was an amazing (challenging) install. I had components hidden in every nook and corner in this trunk. Even though I am much more tolerant of aftermarket items then most on this board, two monitors on the dash was just not working, so I pulled it. Just when I had given up, enter Hualingan and Dynavin.

This was a really tough decision for me. I really wanted the Hualingan but decided to get the Dynavin instead because I refuse to hack my dash for the Hualingan as it does not provide a straightforward way to mount it. Hualingan really needs to provide some type of mounting bracket. When they do that, I will sell my Dynavin and get one. The Dynavin is just plain ugly to me so I ride around with a bag over my head. :D


Initial impressions

• The external hardware quality is top notch. I was not expecting this. It looks as good as anything BMW puts their name on.
• The rectangle buttons are an exact match to OEM.
• The round knobs are a little too big for me.
• The screen size and the "forehead" at the top is one of those glass half full observations. Some will notice the "forehead" while others will mention the screen size. For me, the "forehead" is not a problem at all as it blends in well with the rest of the dash. It's the screen that is too small. It needs to be bigger or at least centered vertically.
• The manual doesn't do a good job of explaining how to install the unit, however there is enough information on the unit itself (for wiring) and on the forums to help you figure out most of it.
• They really need to explain how to remove the unit once it is installed and how to pull the "removal tools" out of the unit
• They also need to explain what the two boxes are with the speaker colored wires (they are line converters) and how to attach them. I don't see a plug and play way to do this.
• iGo8 that comes with the unit has a 400x240 resolution whereas the unit's resolution is 800x480. Needless to say this does not look as good as it would at native resolution.

Let's start at the beginning and unbox this unit. I read a lot about it on e46fanatics before I purchased it. I ended up purchasing from a sponsor on that forum. Products | J & T Distributing Store


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There are a lot of wire connections in the back. This makes what should be a very easy install somewhat difficult. You have to bend the wires under the radio or it won't sit in the dash properly. After getting it into the dash I could see right away that the unit does not actually fill all the vertical space. There is space at the top and bottom. I decided I only wanted space at the top. I was able to realign it so the bottom was flush. The downside is that my unit does not snap into place. After driving with it for over a month it has not moved. I really would prefer to have it secured though.


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As I mentioned earlier, I once had an Avic installed. I had to cut my bracket to install it. Lucky for me this did not prevent me installing the Dynavin. The Dynavin has clips that attach to the sides of the OEM bracket.

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Here is a side view of a clip.
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To release the clips you have to use these "keys". This did not work well for me. Only one of my clips actually locked into place and when I went remove the unit the key did not pull it in enough and I ended up bending it. I decided to just bend it out of the way and not use the clips.
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Here is what mine looked like after I bent it pulling the radio out of the dash.
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This time I decided to install the navigation antenna in the dash. There is a metal crossbar just above the radio bracket. There is enough room to put the antenna on it. This is working perfect.

I also decided to install the external mic because my wife said it sounded much better than the internal one. The big foam looks funny and can be removed. It also has a suction cup which I didn't like at first. I ended up placing it on my windshield in the top left corner.
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And a night picture
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This product is officially called DVN-E39. This strongly suggests that it was not originally intended for the E53. Instead, it just so happens to fit in an E53. As I noted before it does not fit vertically and it has the same viewing angle problem that other aftermarket units have in the X5. The picture starts to fade away for my seating position. I had to adjust my seat a little to fix this problem. I had the same problem with my Pioneer Avic.

My install is not complete as I have DSP. I have decided to finally get rid of the DSP amp and go aftermarket. I purchased an Alpine PDX5 and created a custom bracket for it above the OEM amp. I am currently using it to push my JLAudio subwoofer (I did a writeup on this also a while back). I will be adding Focals soon to replace the factory speakers. I plan on doing a writeup on that install.

I bought the Dynavin mainly because I wanted navigation. The software that comes with the unit is a joke to me. So I changed it. That's right, you can change the navigation program. I decided to go with IGo Primo. It has a huge following on the internet and some people even makes skins for it. Also, IGo Primo supports 800x400 resolution and looks really good on the Dynavin.

You really have to do your homework before purchasing one of these. They are not on the same level as a Pioneer, Kenwood, or Alpine. I have decided not to use the iPod feature because the unit does not resume on the last song when you turn the car off. I am using an sdcard instead. The unit will resume the song from the sdcard. The sdcard interface is not well executed and leaves a lot to be desired visually. I figured it wouldn't be that big of a deal since I am usually on the navigation screen. But then I found out that I can't forward to the next song unless I am on the sdcard screen. Another annoying limitation is that settings like random and repeat reset when you turn the car off. So I have to press them everytime if I want them on.

Yet another annoying limitation is that when I put my trunk in reverse and the camera screen turns on, then the sound turns off. This same limitation is there when streaming music from my iphone. If I navigate away from the bluetooth screen then the sounds turns off. So, I can't use navigation and stream Pandora or ESPN radio at the same time.

At the end of the day the Dynavin feels like a rushed job. Many features don't work the way you expect them to. Some screens have a different look and feel than others, so it looks like different applications instead of a single integrated one. Most of the problems can be fixed in a firmware upgrade but Dynavin is a little slow putting those out.

Great writeup. Please keep us informed.

I'm sure they can be fixed, but I'm guessing they won't. The price point is very sensitive and is already borderline on the X5 so the extra R&D to get it working right will be very hard to recoup. How many people want to pay £500 for a radio to put in their £5000 car ? Not many so far. How many will pay £800, or £1000 ? Even fewer.

FWIW here's my story - I bought my X5 in Jan and it had a Dynavin already fitted. I lasted a week of driving it before I took it out and refitted the stock 4:3 screen and tuner. The Dynavin just sucked in so many ways I couldn't stand it. The only good thing was the nav, that worked well, but 99% of my driving I already know where I'm going so don't need it and it didn't integrate with the other functions anyway. Things like the RDS and iPod functions simply didn't work. It stops the OBC working properly and doesn't connect to the stock CD changer.

If someone had built the Dynavin in their shed as a DIY project I'd be impressed. As a supposedly retail-ready product it's a long way short of being acceptable IMO.

What about the BMW hl-8786gb? Seems to have these issues fixed and larger screen? Thoughts