Group Buy / EOI new generation DNS head units (RNS-510 alternative)

[moda]

Another note, not only is my SD effected by the half volume issue. So is my Bluetooth audio

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It really sounds like a hardware issue, ontop of everything else.

I haven't had any volume issue, touch wood.

Go find yourself an unfinished, bug-less, pre-production alpine and let us know how you go

I think its time to say, if you don't own a unit. Don't bother voicing your opinion. As its not needed.

The bugs are being worked on, and if it comes down to it being a hardware problem, Sandy has states that the unit will go back for a replacement unit.

That being said, again if you don't have a pre-release installed. Keep your opinions to yourself.


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Agreed with both comments.

[Mister Jim Lahey]

Go find yourself an unfinished, bug-less, pre-production alpine and let us know how you go

Well see that's the thing: this was never marketed as a "pre-production" bug-ridden alpha-grade stereo for patient tinkerers; it was supposed to be a finished product that was to be not only cheaper but to have advantages over the stock model. The notion that it might be like every other cheap Chinese multimedia device (rough as guts) was laughed off.

Somewhere along the long a massive bait & switch has happened. It's turned up months' late, missing critical features, and pretty much broken. It's like every other cheap Chinese multimedia knockoff. Crammed with features, half of which don't quite work properly.

I understand many here among us failed to act on proper instincts and bought in good faith, and good luck to you in getting something that doesn't embarress you in front of your passengers, but please don't play down what's been a complete farce from start until now.

As for Alpine, Bose, Pioneer, etc, I somehow doubt they'd let something as crappy as this into the wild for fear it would smear their brand.

[Mister Jim Lahey]

I think its time to say, if you don't own a unit. Don't bother voicing your opinion. As its not needed.

The bugs are being worked on, and if it comes down to it being a hardware problem, Sandy has states that the unit will go back for a replacement unit.

That being said, again if you don't have a pre-release installed. Keep your opinions to yourself.


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Sandy has said a lot of things. How's that been working out for you?

[cpkk]

Well see that's the thing: this was never marketed as a "pre-production" bug-ridden alpha-grade stereo for patient tinkerers; it was supposed to be a finished product that was to be not only cheaper but to have advantages over the stock model.

Could you please clarify this statement? When I last checked Sandy made clear that the DNS in its current form is a pre-production unit which has bugs.

[polski_ogurek]

Well see that's the thing: this was never marketed as a "pre-production" bug-ridden alpha-grade stereo for patient tinkerers; it was supposed to be a finished product that was to be not only cheaper but to have advantages over the stock model. The notion that it might be like every other cheap Chinese multimedia device (rough as guts) was laughed off.

Somewhere along the long a massive bait & switch has happened. It's turned up months' late, missing critical features, and pretty much broken. It's like every other cheap Chinese multimedia knockoff. Crammed with features, half of which don't quite work properly.

I understand many here among us failed to act on proper instincts and bought in good faith, and good luck to you in getting something that doesn't embarress you in front of your passengers, but please don't play down what's been a complete farce from start until now.

As for Alpine, Bose, Pioneer, etc, I somehow doubt they'd let something as crappy as this into the wild for fear it would smear their brand.

I have had passengers some who didn't know anything about the unit I bought, and all complimented me on the speed, quality and sound of it. I have had minimal issues, maybe I'm the lucky one, but what are you basing your remarks on?

I never expected a 100% bug free unit, look at the ANS series, thats got small issues still, but don't all units, my stock RCD310 had bugs!

Sandy has said a lot of things. How's that been working out for you?

IDK about you but i have had absolutely no problems with Sandy, has always answered PM's within reasonable time and even accommodate some of my requests, which he never had to(sending camera early and seperately, as i had a break from uni and could install it).

[benoz11]

Mines pretty good too. Fast, sound quality is excellent and fairly big free. I haven't updated the software yet either.

[Mister Jim Lahey]

Could you please clarify this statement? When I last checked Sandy made clear that the DNS in its current form is a pre-production unit which has bugs.

Like I said, the product changed. There was no mention of this being pre-production and buggy when this thread was started up until a few weeks ago.

[moda]

Well see that's the thing: this was never marketed as a "pre-production" bug-ridden alpha-grade stereo for patient tinkerers; it was supposed to be a finished product that was to be not only cheaper but to have advantages over the stock model. The notion that it might be like every other cheap Chinese multimedia device (rough as guts) was laughed off.

Somewhere along the long a massive bait & switch has happened. It's turned up months' late, missing critical features, and pretty much broken. It's like every other cheap Chinese multimedia knockoff. Crammed with features, half of which don't quite work properly.

I understand many here among us failed to act on proper instincts and bought in good faith, and good luck to you in getting something that doesn't embarress you in front of your passengers, but please don't play down what's been a complete farce from start until now.

As for Alpine, Bose, Pioneer, etc, I somehow doubt they'd let something as crappy as this into the wild for fear it would smear their brand.

Man, calm down.

Everyone that currently has a unit put their hands up and asked for a preproduction unit. We knew what we were getting. No one that currently has one was expecting it to be release quality.

The issue was that Sandy got the group buy going when AS first started development, they had only just started. Product development takes time, and final specifications tend to change as the scope changes and as development goes on.

It's not a 'farce', nor an 'unmitigated failure'... it's just not done yet.

The software, in its current form, i'd call a beta, to be honest. 90% of it is there, there are just some minor tweaks and things to fix and change to hone it into a release ready product. If you look at the list of bugs (minus the ones that are caused by hardware issues, which Sandy has said he will replace), then it's pretty obvious they're just software bugs. Give it a few months (accounting for jan/dec being the lowest productivity months of the year) and it will get there.

As I said, calm the **** down, and if you don't have anything productive to add, stop posting.

Sandy has said a lot of things. How's that been working out for you?

Eh? No idea what you're on about. Sandy is running an even earlier unit than we are.

[moda]

Like I said, the product changed. There was no mention of this being pre-production and buggy when this thread was started up until a few weeks ago.

See my post above.

Everyone was asked months ago, you can have a buggy, preproduction (but final hardware) unit sooner, or you can wait until the software is finalised (in the new year).

Everyone that currently has one right now KNEW THAT THEY WERE GETTING A PREPRODUCTION, HANDASSEMBLED unit.

There was no bait and switch or anything untoward. We knew.

[benoz11]

Like I said, the product changed. There was no mention of this being pre-production and buggy when this thread was started up until a few weeks ago.

Yes there was. The early order was very definitely going to be pre production and buggy. Sandy was very clear about that. That's why the main order has not yet gone through.

Its best to be factually correct when making accusations.

[DkN]

Thank you for everyone's support - and apologies for not making an appearance yesterday.

Big thank you to all that contributed to the spreadsheet - I really should have done all this myself but I just haven't had the time lately.

I will make a new thread in the VW Car Audio and Electronics section with all important information linked in the first post this weekend. The problem with this thread is that it's in the Parts for Sale section and I don't think it's meant to drag on this long, and the first post is near its character limit (those URLs are lengthy...)

I do need to clarify on the bug spreadsheet though - I need to sit down and go through it all properly over the weekend. Many issues in there are related to the CAN-Bus instability which was fixed in the later firmware. Several are duplicates of each other, and more are isolated incidents that may be related to the pre-production hardware build. The rest are mostly either minor issues or feature requests. My own sample unit has been running fine and I wouldn't hesitate to show it off to any passenger.

In other news, there is new firmware available:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/96960779/DNS_MS9.E_MPU20131214_MCU20131217.rar

I don't think this one focused on many bugs - I just sent the latest Google spreadsheet to the software engineer and it is a little overwhelming at first glance. There is no BSP update yet, just MCU and MPU. But the upside is, there is an updated UI, and IMO it looks amazing.

I haven't had time to do a thorough test but I have noticed a couple of little improvements.

By the way I've noticed after a full firmware flash the BT is maxed out at full volume. There is a bit of noise at full volume but that's normal - dial it back to about 30 and you should be fine.

I expect to have some response from the software engineer regarding a few of the bigger remaining issues with the software later in the week.

[moda]

Thank you for everyone's support - and apologies for not making an appearance yesterday.

Big thank you to all that contributed to the spreadsheet - I really should have done all this myself but I just haven't had the time lately.

I will make a new thread in the VW Car Audio and Electronics section with all important information linked in the first post this weekend. The problem with this thread is that it's in the Parts for Sale section and I don't think it's meant to drag on this long, and the first post is near its character limit (those URLs are lengthy...)

I do need to clarify on the bug spreadsheet though - I need to sit down and go through it all properly over the weekend. Many issues in there are related to the CAN-Bus instability which was fixed in the later firmware. Several are duplicates of each other, and more are isolated incidents that may be related to the pre-production hardware build. The rest are mostly either minor issues or feature requests. My own sample unit has been running fine and I wouldn't hesitate to show it off to any passenger.

In other news, there is new firmware available:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/96960779/DNS_MS9.E_MPU20131214_MCU20131217.rar

I don't think this one focused on many bugs - I just sent the latest Google spreadsheet to the software engineer and it is a little overwhelming at first glance. There is no BSP update yet, just MCU and MPU. But the upside is, there is an updated UI, and IMO it looks amazing.

I haven't had time to do a thorough test but I have noticed a couple of little improvements.

By the way I've noticed after a full firmware flash the BT is maxed out at full volume. There is a bit of noise at full volume but that's normal - dial it back to about 30 and you should be fine.

I expect to have some response from the software engineer regarding a few of the bigger remaining issues with the software later in the week.

Thanks for the update Sandy. Just loaded it and it looks good. It fixed the iPod charging issue! Woo.

Versions went to:

BSP: MS9E
MCU: DNS810.131217
MPU: 9005AS.A9.20131214_1

Shouldn't the volume across all modules be universally set? I find it strange that you can set the volume independently for Radio/SD/BT etc. It just seems strange. They should all be the same.

[moda]

Also, what's the deal with the mirroring module?

Do you plug in a USB cable into the module, or into the DNS itself? and for iPhones, does plug into the already existing 30pin connector, or do you use a different cable? and what's the compatibility with lightning cables/iOS7?

[Fdandy]

Just did the update. The text the radio buttons seem a bit clearer, I'll have a good play tomorrow. Thanks Sandy. Love getting updates.

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[DkN]

Thanks for the update Sandy. Just loaded it and it looks good. It fixed the iPod charging issue! Woo.

Versions went to:

BSP: MS9E
MCU: DNS810.131217
MPU: 9005AS.A9.20131214_1

Shouldn't the volume across all modules be universally set? I find it strange that you can set the volume independently for Radio/SD/BT etc. It just seems strange. They should all be the same.

No it allows for different volumes because the volume between different sources can vary - one of the issues with the old ANS series is that DVD volume is very quiet, SD / USB is about normal and Radio is a bit loud - so switching between sources, especially back to radio after watching a DVD, was a big scare. Having different volumes fixes that problem, the volume for each individual source is remembered so it will be at the right volume when you switch.

Also, what's the deal with the mirroring module?

Do you plug in a USB cable into the module, or into the DNS itself? and for iPhones, does plug into the already existing 30pin connector, or do you use a different cable? and what's the compatibility with lightning cables/iOS7?

The module connects to the back of the unit, and the USB / iPod cable goes from your phone into the module. See the image below:



edit: just been told you will need the Apple official AV cable (I believe this is the one Audiosources is referring to) to connect to the mirroring module. I've asked for full details to be provided to me tomorrow. Just to clarify that image above is provided by Audiosources so I don't have the module to look for myself.

I Just did the update. The text the radio buttons seem a bit clearer, I'll have a good play tomorrow. Thanks Sandy. Love getting updates: )


Hmmm, might need to do again, wrong version

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You must have left out the MCU update - remember after the MPU update and rebooting the unit back into radio, insert the SD card again to update the MCU.