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10-30-2020, 01:35 PM | #1365 | |
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10-30-2020, 05:58 PM | #1366 |
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I installed a Kremersino v3 unit in my friends E60 (CCC) with good results. Can't give it a direct comparison to the v2 I had in my car (CIC) because his car doesn't have EPS and doesn't have a backup camera.
I'm so fed up with the factory BT quality issues with newer iPhones/iOS versions - it seems that with every new iPhone or iOS release, the call quality gets worse and worse when paired with the factory BMW bluetooth system. When I had my Kremersino v2 installed, this was not an issue - the call quality was excellent. So I caved in and ordered a v3 for myself for my 2012 E93 M3 (CIC). Just installed it, wired to AUX (the v3 doesn't support audio via BT combox as the v2 did). Will post feedback this weekend once I've had a bit of time to use it. |
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10-31-2020, 09:24 AM | #1367 |
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Thanks brettcp and a bunch of others for testing all these out and providing feedback for the rest of us. Sounds like a few of you talk to Michael at Kremersino, has he or the company mentioned anything about a next gen V4 version being released or any timing on this to fix some of the V2 shortcomings?
I'm interested in Android Auto and in between Kremersino V2 and Bimmertech with sales coming up on 11/11 on aliexpress and black friday, I just have a few questions. 1) About ~30 pages back, 1.5 years ago, it was mentioned that Bimmertech was the same unit as Kremersino just double the price. Is this still relatively accurate and is the price difference still for the better/more responsive support from Bimmertech? 2) For the updated Kremersino V2 unit (link below) the price comes out to only $232 when selecting CIC, is this the price now and the correct unit? ~10 pages back there were prices in the $300 range, I see $300 price only for the CCC option. I have a 2011.5 e90, with individual audio and bluetooth audio, assuming I have to select the CIC option at checkout. US $232.20 10%OFF | Wireless Apple CarPlay Android Auto Retrofit for BMW 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 X1/X3/X4/X5/X6/Z4/I3/I8/M3/M4/M5/M6 Mirroring OEM Microphone https://a.aliexpress.com/_msKIXYh Any thoughts on to whether to go with Bimmertech vs Kremersino V2 as it relates to Android Auto Wireless? |
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10-31-2020, 11:25 AM | #1368 | |
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I can't comment on the Android Auto as I no longer have an Android phone. |
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11-01-2020, 06:37 AM | #1369 |
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Glad I checked and didn't purchase the wrong one, is this the V2 then?
US $278.00 | Mirror Wireless Apple CarPlay AndroidAuto Retrofit for BMW 1/2/3/4 Series for BMW Retrofit E87 E88 E90 E91 F22 F23 F30 F31 F45 https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMhjEPF |
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11-01-2020, 01:42 PM | #1370 | |
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11-01-2020, 02:46 PM | #1371 | |
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11-02-2020, 10:15 AM | #1372 | |
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Both listings state "Audio Sound Channel. AUX Channel: User must to activate the car AUX function or its already exists." I don't think I see a difference between these two listings, other than a $20 price difference: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000459408132.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001035957221.html Looks like they just raised the price of the V3 a bit as well. |
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11-02-2020, 11:03 AM | #1373 |
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After getting fed up with the factory BMW BT audio quality getting worse and worse with every new iPhone and iOS update, I installed the Kremersino “V3” unit in my 2012 E93 M3 (CIC with EPS audio, with a backup camera via an emulator). Got it on sale, but it looks like they raised the price recently. Installation was straight-forward, nothing out of the ordinary. Here’s my initial feedback and comparison to the V2 box I had.
Audio Quality: They have improved the AUX audio quality issue with this box. No significant difference between BT combox audio quality and the V3 AUX audio quality. With my V2 unit (and my E93 EPS factory sound), carplay AUX audio quality was nearly identical to combox BT quality after adjusting the V2 carplay’s built in EQ settings. The V3 audio quality is what you’d expect, and it’s good that they’ve addressed this because the V3 does NOT have an EQ (at least not that I can find). So if you wanted to make any adjustments to the V3 sound settings, you’re limited to the BMW factory EQ settings. I do get an occasional momentary cut-out or hiccup in the audio, will have to troubleshoot this further, could just be a poor wireless connection between my phone and the carplay box (UPDATE: turns out this was just Waze notifications coming through in low volume). Connection Speed: I do not notice any difference in connection speed between the V2 and V3 box. They advertise that the V3 box is “5G” connection speed, but I believe the V2 was 5G as well as I remember the physical V2 carplay box is labeled “5G” at the antenna port. So far it has auto-connected to my phone every time I’ve got into the car. I’m using an iPhone 11 Pro Max with iOS 14.1. Microphone: The V3 uses a secondary (included) microphone and does NOT tap into the factory mic as the V2 does. It works, and sounds fine. The person on the other end hears an occasional blip of a garble sound - will need to troubleshoot this further. I called my wife a couple of times, and my brother a couple of times, both who claim that while my voice is clear, they do think the background noise comes through a bit louder than the factory microphone does. I tried wiring it to the factory BMW mic, but this produced horrible audio quality. Maybe somebody smarter than I am with electronics can provide some input on how to adapt this to use the factory mic, as it would provide a much cleaner look without having a secondary mic. Backup Camera: It works with my Amazon $30 backup camera ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GE7NQH6/ ), no emulator needed. Parking lines and PDC sensor alerts work. What I don’t really like is that the picture is stretched across the entire width of the screen, so you lose a bit of clarity (compared to when using an emulator or factory BMW backup which uses 2/3rds of the screen for the camera). Takes a bit of getting used to I suppose. I do notice that when the backup video comes on, it quickly flickers just once or twice within the first second or so before becoming a clear image. All my wiring is clean, could be my camera. Not sure if I'll stick with this or go back to my factory BMW/emulator setup. Overall the wiring is a bit cleaner when wiring the camera to the carplay box as there’s no longer a need to use an emulator. Misc: The V3 brain is Limcet, where the V2 was GPLink. The V2 definitely had more advanced options to configure throughout its menus (the V2 is also more expensive than the V3). The lack of EQ on the V3 is a bit disappointing. The wifi antenna included is on the end of a long wire on the V3, so you could relocate the wifi antenna if needed. I haven't spent a lot of time with it yet but overall I'm happy with it so far, especially given the lower price than the V2. I haven’t been using my car lately nearly as much as I used to, but the factory BMW Bluetooth quality with newer iPhones/iOS was so bad that I was fed up with it. The carplay box resolves this. What's odd is that with the carplay box intsalled, even if I switch over to the factory BMW Bluetooth for a call, the BT phone audio quality is back to normal. So just having the carplay box installed seems to resolve whatever is causing the factory BMW Bluetooth to sound terrible with newer iPhones/iOS versions. Last edited by brettcp; 10-29-2022 at 04:19 PM.. |
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11-02-2020, 02:15 PM | #1375 | |
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I was curious to see if there is any OEM info on the PCBs to compare with the Bimmertech kit.
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11-02-2020, 03:15 PM | #1376 |
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Within the iPhone, when you look at the Bluetooth and Carplay settings, the V2 showed "GPLink", the V3 shows "Limcet Box".
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11-03-2020, 02:07 PM | #1377 | |
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11-03-2020, 08:31 PM | #1378 | |
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11-04-2020, 08:01 AM | #1380 |
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Just got the Carsara unit in, compared to the Kremersino V3 that Brett shared with me it's very obviously a completely different unit and schematic. The Carsara is a single board layout (vs multi-board for the Kremersino V3), supports Wifi 2.4/5ghz, 2GB ram, I can't ID the CPU without ripping off the heatsink which is glued on, but the board schematic is "GPCIC 2020-0810" which makes me think it's a GPlink unit (may be more obvious once it's installed and some software is available).
If anyone bites the bullet and buys a Bimmertech unit, post a picture of the PCB and we'll compare notes if it's worth the ~$400 price delta. Hopefully my backup camera arrives from China by Friday and then I can try to install this over the weekend.
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11-04-2020, 08:03 AM | #1381 | |
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11-04-2020, 08:06 AM | #1382 | |
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In full disclosure, I am severely deaf in 1 ear so my qualitative feedback on sound quality will be of limited value, but my left ear is good so we'll see.
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11-04-2020, 09:28 AM | #1383 |
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If I ever take apart my dash again (I hope not for awhile) I''ll open up my kremersino v2.
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11-04-2020, 02:47 PM | #1384 | |
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This is where the $400 for english instructions might be handy.
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11-05-2020, 04:48 AM | #1385 | |
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11-06-2020, 07:46 PM | #1386 |
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WPPPPHHHEEWW. That was a long thread. Just finished reading after like 3 hours from the beginning lol.
Seems like Kremer got most everything ironed out. Although im still slightly fuzzy on a few things. 1. V2 uses combox BT and factory mic using a wiring adapter. Good audio and call quality. 2. V3 uses AUX, external mic. Good audio and call quality. My car does not have factory combox but does have BT calling (individual sound). So what is the preference right now? I value audio much more over call quality. I listen to a lot of bass heavy/mixed music so its important to have good audio. Im using a tune2air dongle right now and its decent. Compared to the combox audio its not as good, you loose bass, and overall clarity. I haven't seen any solid info on wiring in an OEM style backup camera. What works? derbo thanks for your hard work. brettcp thanks for the updates on v3. Last edited by icanturn; 11-06-2020 at 10:53 PM.. |
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