Cool iPhone headunit: Dual XML8110

[JnC]

Ok, these headunits finally started shipping this week and I ordered one. I found it for a bit less than MSRP thanks to El Goog: a whopping $95 inc. shipping! Gotta love cheap Chinese made goods. (There's actually two models, the XML8110 is advertised with 40W more power. However, according to CEA-2006 standards it's only 1W more per channel: 18Wx4.)

And at that price I expected it to be a complete POS.

And I was wrong...

Visually it looks a bit cheap (see red plastic power button) & overly shiny, but it's all business. No animated graphics of dolphins or other silliness. The control panel buttons are purposefully arranged unlike most headunits whose design bureaus consist of a puppy that regurgitates button bits onto the front panel.

It actually holds the iPhone very securely, with spring loaded 1cm tall rubber hands on both sides. The sound is very clean, with no discernible amplifier hiss noise at high volume. And is certainly powerful enough for my ears (CEA-2006 rating: 17W x 4). It has 4 preouts if you prefer to use an amp for more power. The iPhone touch screen remains completely operational to run apps, yet you can use the headunit controls to advance tracks, play or pause.

Perfection... well almost.

In fact, it's a partial POS! At least in this application.

For the Elise there's a significant fitment problem. The "ledge" that protrudes above our radios prevent the iPhone from snapping into the integrated dock. In order for the iPhone to clear properly, I have to slide the headunit forward by about 1.25".

With this protrusion, it's quite ugly from the side view due to the metal DIN cage being exposed, but I'm going to cover it with some black plastic and give it a go. The plastic will prevent the cage from sliding further into the radio slot.

At least I'll have tons of space behind the thing to clear the wiring harness adapter and crimps.

With the iPhone dock down, the view of the ventilation controls is partially obscured, but there's no issue with adjusting the knobs. The front panel door that contains the flip down dock is spring loaded and not motorized (one less thing to break on a cheap radio). I'll try to get better pix with it properly mounted, but I wanted to show the problem.

And stay tuned as I have the Bluetooth module ordered as well. I fully expect it to be swamped by wind and exhaust! I can't imagine a better way to answer a phone call in the Elise.

[JnC]

Update: Wally World has the Dual XML8100 for $100.00 (until price rollback) bwahahaha

[ozracer]

We need something like this

Ferrari F430 Scuderia 16M with iPod as a radio? | Car 411 - Best automotive stories and Car Events Calendar

The latest Ferrari F430 16M has a snap in snap out Ipod as standard equipment looks neat......

Maybe someone in California can contact Al & Eds Autosound in West Hollywood,Ca nd ask them where we can get the head unit I cant find them anywhere

[mrcarcrazy]

Curious to see your fix for the metal cage showing.

[JnC]

Originally Posted by mrcarcrazy

Curious to see your fix for the metal cage showing.

Well I continued along the cheapskate route, and kludged something together.

Covering the cage wasn't just cosmetic but needed to be functional. The outer dimension of the mounting cage that protruded from the DIN slot had to be thicker so it wouldn't slide forward. I could have done this with a sufficiently long bolt with a cork on the end that would seat into the existing mounting bumpstop hole at the far back of the radio well. (And I still may do this when I pull it this weekend to plug in the Bluetooth module, to give a little support.) But I'd still have to cover up the holes in the cage.

I considered getting a 1.25" wide leather belt and just cutting it up and gluing it onto the cage. Trim shop on a budget. But if I was relying upon the leather as a spacer, if it changed over time from humidity/sun I'd have a creaky radio.

So after stumbling around Wallyworld* at midnight for over an hour (don't you hate it when the project bug kicks in right before a trip), I found a sufficiently craptastic solution.

Thin metal rulers. Not in the tool section, but in the office supply section. They're precisely 1.25" wide, and they have a nice black rubber antislip backing. I bought two of them for $2.44 each (rather expensive by Walmart standards) and cut them to length with tin snips. The great thing is since they're rulers, they measure themselves.

I couldn't find black, but went with a deep purple (you could spray paint them if that bothers you) and mounted them on the DIN chassis with some supersticky double-sided art tape with the black rubber coating on the outside. Flash photos make it seem lighter, but with natural lighting it looks black.

As you can see from the photos there isn't that much of the cage that would show, (only the bit beyond the shiny glossy cowling) but it's adequately camouflaged now. Apologies for focus errors in a dark garage.

So yes, it sticks out like a sore thumb and looks even uglier in iPod mode, but it works reasonably well. Enough to where it's a keeper until some better integrated headunit comes along... in which case I'd still have to extend the DIN mounting cage by a similar amount.


*During the Wallyworld excursion I happened to glance at the ghetto tree radio stand, and there's the exact same Dual XML8100 on display for $100 staring back at me. No googles or internet merchantz required.

[JnC]

Ok, so I took this contraption out for a shake down drive over the weekend. Literally. 300 miles. (200 highway, 100 twisties)

Observations:

Sound: Certainly not as punchy as my previous headunit (Becker TrafficPro), but sufficiently loud for me as it's competing with a Larini exhaust. I tested it to about 40/46 of the volume setting and it didn't distort. At least thus far. I found the loudness and EQ settings later and this livened things up a bit. But less dynamics meant less fatigue in a loud car.

iPhone operation: no surprises. Actually there was one, it charges quick! My old Kensington LiquidAUX charger would struggle to keep the iPhone 3GS afloat: if the GPS and iPod was playing, it would lose charge during the course of a trip. I started the test drive at about 80% battery with the GPS and podcasts playing, and ~30 min later it was at 100% and never dropped. (At this time I don't have the Bluetooth module in, so I haven't tested as a phone but don't have high expectations.)

iPhone mount: quite secure. It stays put, even over washboard surfaces at speed with Elise dampers that are overdue for replacement. No shake or any hint that it may launch into low earth orbit. The placement is ideal. It's up high where you can see it even when your hands are on the wheel. Apps run fine. I ran the Navigon GPS and used the buttons on the faceplate to skip, play, pause tracks. There isn't a dedicated shuffle button though (I refuse to use the supplied remote). In order to shuffle with the Navigon, I had to launch the iPod first and select shuffle, then launch the GPS. Placing your wrist on the top of the shifter steadies the hand enough to navigate the touchscreen if required (not endorsed).

Operation: adequate with some quirks.
1. If you remove the iPhone from the headunit and it's still powered on, it defaults to the radio. If you're on a trip and there isn't a station on your default band, be prepared for a blast of FM static.
2. For whatever reason the front half of the door is completely live when it's opened up for iPod mode. This means if you grip the underside of the panel, you can easily accidentally power off, skew the volume, hit the mute button, etc.
3. The only way I know to power off when the iPod/iPhone is mounted is to reach underneath and hit the red power button. It's not recessed, so it's easily found but it's quite odd.
4. A good thing: There's no key code to worry about. Nobody's gonna nick a $100 radio anyhow.
5. Unlike the Blaupunkts, it won't operate without the key in the accessory position. I miss this, but didn't want to chance the power drain by wiring the switch wire to constant. I don't know what the standby current is otherwise, but when it's off, it's off.
6. Unlike most euro radios, there's no speed wire so no auto volume adjustment based on speed. There's also no illumination wire either. (I removed all the unsupported wires from the adapter harness.)
7. There's no option to change the blue backlit color of the dials, which I don't particularly care for (gimme orange!).
8. "EQ" seems to be limited to just bass/treble. If you adjust bass/treble, any EQ setting you selected previously is replaced by "User".

No showstoppers. Just quirks. I'd gladly pay more for some additional refinement. But so far it's a keeper.

[woundedgoat]

Hi JNC, any chance you could email me a link so I can grab one of these.