tk8lm6

After reading about the idiosyncratic behaviors of the Grom vLine and seeing how it looks like most people seem to mount it in their glove box which takes up a lot of real estate, I went ahead and ordered the Beat-Sonic unit. The install looks pretty straight forward and concealable. It does not seem to have a separate GPS antenna like the Grom. I hear Grom is responsive and rolls out fixes and refinements on a frequent basis but I am not sure about devoting my glove box to it.

So I will let y'all know about how the Beat-Sonic unit performs. I don't think it does wireless but I can live with that. I also ordered the recommended in-line noise filter and the usb port that fits in the blank switch above the center differential lock button under the starter switch.

I hope Beat-Sonic rolls out updates and patches and fixes with some regularity.

Wish me luck!

_______________
tk8lm6

skeegs

Very interested to hear how this turns out!

bob58

I have no experience with either unit but have been researching them for awhile.

The Grom vLine2 has many more capabilities as a stand alone android unit that can also do CarPlay (wired and wireless) and Android Auto. Those extra capabilities also come with added size, complexity and potential glitches and challenges.

The Beat Sonic unit you ordered is only a wired CarPlay and Android Auto interface. The prices are comparable. Even so, I am leaning toward the Beat-Sonic because I really only want to add CarPlay while minimizing headaches.

I'm really interested in how it goes for you.

VinceD714

I am in the process of slowly upgrading my 2014. I definitely would love to add Android Auto to my SUV. I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. I've been lurking around and looking at the Grom Vline 2 reviews. It seems like many people that go the Grom route will likely encounter issues and glitches. Beat Sonic system looks pretty basic. But I don't think that is a bad thing. I like the KISS method, keep it simple stupid. I am hoping it is glitch free and reliable. I don't care if it is wired, as long as it is glitch free. I will give credit where it is due and I like the fact that Beat Sonic addressed their known issues off the bat such as the phone call Bluetooth issue. They even given a band aid solution for it in the time being. I like their installation video on how thorough it was. Please keep us updated on how your install goes, and possibly a 1 or 2 month review.

m5rahul

Subbed!

IanB2

I had the GROM for about a week, it was obvious it would never work well/consistently enough for my wife to use it and be happy with it, so I sent it back.

I'll be watching for your review of the Beat Sonic unit, it sucks that it costs the same,but I'm hoping the lesser functionality will equal a smoother user experience, as all I really want is to add carplay to the vehicle.

efaroh

Considering for myself. following for reviews.

tk8lm6

Well I installed the Beats-Sonic unit in my 2018 Lexus GX460. As the title says, I bought a LGVIF-CB4 S ( https://www.beatsonicusa.com/lgvifcb4.html ) and I also bought the Noise Loop Isolator and the USB jack that easily mounts in the switch blank just above the Center Differential Lock button below the car start button. They promptly shipped the day after I ordered it. USPS mail, tracking and signature confirmation. It arrived a day or maybe two earlier than expected.

As you can see from the instruction manual ( https://drive.google.com/file/d/1umh...lMHYuo1W7/view ) and the pictures on the website above, it is two small boxes (one plastic and one metal) and a couple of harnesses and other wires that you will be putting between the factory wires and the back of the display unit and the radio. I prepared by watching the installation video from Beat-Sonic several times. Also I have taken apart the center console apart before when I installed the Crawl Control modification so I was not too worried about the dash disassembly.

I am glad that Eric in the installation video stressed the importance of sorta wrapping things up to protect them. I protected everything very well, bubble wrapped the exposed shiftter shaft, etc. He also stressed the importance of being gentle with the connectors so I managed to do this without breaking any connectors.

Some installation notes:

• The installation was pretty straightforward and the disassembly of the display, radio, and the trim pieces was pretty easy.
• Before you remove the connectors from the back of your display and radio, look at them carefully and make note of any jacks that are empty from the factory. When I was putting stuff back together, I had some empty jacks and I was worried that I had missed something. It turns out that a couple of jacks are unoccupied on my 2018 Premium from the factory.
• Mercifully, each Beat-Sonic harness and cable connector mated with only one receptacle on the factory harness/radio/display, so you cant connect stuff incorrectly.
• There is plenty of room under the console to put both of the Beat-Sonic devices and the extra wire length of the microphone cable, the Aux line, the USB line, the HDMI, and the line filter. The metal box sits very far forward under the console towards the front of the car. The plastic box I placed rearward to the right of the shifter assembly.
• Initially I left one connector unplugged behind the radio. Before I buttoned up, I tested everything and it all worked EXCEPT ... NO SOUND!!!. It was getting late and I was sweating more than Eric in the video. The next day I went back into the console thinking I had misconnected the Aux and Microphone into the wrong jacks. But I checked and they were properly connected. One other interesting symptom is that I no longer even had an AUC and AV option under the SOURCE selector in the head unit. Weird. SO I started tracing the little aux cable from the plastic box and I realized that it ties into a connector on a harness that I had not connected to the back of the radio. So I hadda take everything apart again to get that connector back on. Yay. That HAD to be the problem right? Well when putting things back together so I could test .... I must have accitently moved dip switch #1 on the metal box out of position ....
• BE VERY CAREFUL TO KEEP THE DIP SWITCHES IN THE CORRECT POSITION. When I first installed but before I did the final button up, I tested and it was not working.. When I pushed the NAV button which is supposed to toggle between native system and the Android/CarPlay, nothing happened. Luckily the first thing I checked was the dip switches. Switch 1 was out of position. I corected it and put a piece of electrical tape over it to protect it.
• Fired everything up and it seemed to work. I use Android and all the Android Auto apps showed up and worked. I had sound. Made a phone call. Everything seemed ok so I buttoned back up.
• I don't think it is necessary to spend a lot of time securing the metal box and the plastic box. there is not much room for them to move/rattle around. We'll see.
• I benefited from watching the video multiple times and also because I have pulled my dash apart a couple of times for Crawl Control and Multi Terrain Select.

Observations
This unit seems to work as advertised and is pure Android Auto/CarPlay. The Grom, I think tries to be and do more. it has a processor and allows you to side-load apps natively into the Grom, if I am not mistaken. The Beat-Sonic is just simple and pure. Just what I was looking for.
YOU DO NOT LOSE YOUR GLOVE BOX. That is huge. I think though, that people were glad it was in an accessible location because they kept having to do power off restarts and stuff. But the Beat-Sonic mounts invisibly.
The screen resolution of the factory display sucks. The picture is not crisp but that is what you get. It is adequate, and you are using it for Waze and Maps so it gets the job done. Thats not Beat-Sonic's fault.
I have been trying to find the sweet spot of brightness and contrast settings to keep the Waze map in day mode from not appearing too washed out..
This does not do wireless car play or android auto. Probably a deal breaker for some but not for me.
I like the USB jack in the switch blank. Clean AF. However I may install a usb jack in the center armrest console so I can completely hide my phone while it is connected. and I dont have that USB cable flopping around.
I wish the unit was less expensive. I feel a little dumb for paying 660 or whatever it was just to have Android Auto and be able to not have a phone mount on the vent .... but oh well.
I will update as I discover issues or quirks. I'm really happy with it so far.just based on the clean install and not losing my glove box just to have Android Auto/CarPlay.

EDIT: VERY IMPORTANT: So after a week or so of using the unit I had experienced a lot of random disconnects. I troubleshot it but could not find a rhyme or reason. I contacted Eric at Beat-Sonic using the email on the instructions He almost immediately recommended I make sure I am using a "High Speed Data Cable" and not a crappy charging cable. I was skeptical because I thought "copper is copper" but I started using the factory cable that came with my phone (a OnePlus 7 Pro) and the problem has not occurred since I did that.

So make sure you are using a quality "High Speed Data" cable. At first I was a little worried but now I am extremely happy with this thing. THe only issue I have not untangled is how this thing switches from day to night mode in the maps. In Android Auto settings in the unit it is set to automatically swittch. I go under a dark bridge, it switches to night mode but when I emerge, it stays in Night mode. So it seems to read something from the head unit light sensor, but inconsistently. Similarly, I activate the unit after startup while in a parking garage, but the map starts in day mode. I am not sure how that works, but it is a very minor issue. I will probably reach out to Beat-Sonic about that to see if they have any ideas. But this does not detract from the solid simplicity of the device and how it operates.

Cheers!

xychromo

@tk8lm6, thanks for that detailed review. Looks like beatsonic is the way I want to go as I share the same sentiment of simplicity over functionality. I will struggle over justifying that price point however, looking forward to the next sale.

GXLUX

HA! I have watched this video myself and know exactly what you are talking about!
Almost laughed coffee out of my nose....

tk8lm6

VERY IMPORTANT: So after a week or so of using the unit I had experienced a lot of random disconnects. I troubleshot it but could not find a rhyme or reason. I contacted Eric at Beat-Sonic using the email on the instructions He almost immediately recommended I make sure I am using a "High Speed Data Cable" and not a crappy charging cable. I was skeptical because I thought "copper is copper" but I started using the factory cable that came with my phone (a OnePlus 7 Pro) and the problem has not occurred since I did that.

So make sure you are using a quality "High Speed Data" cable. At first I was a little worried but now I am extremely happy with this thing. THe only issue I have not untangled is how this thing switches from day to night mode in the maps. In Android Auto settings in the unit it is set to automatically switch. I go under a dark bridge, it switches to night mode but when I emerge, it stays in Night mode. So it seems to read something from the head unit light sensor, but inconsistently. Similarly, I activate the unit after startup while in a parking garage, but the map starts in day mode. I am not sure how that works, but it is a very minor issue. I will probably reach out to Beat-Sonic about that to see if they have any ideas. But this does not detract from the solid simplicity of the device and how it operates.

schwein

This sounds like what I have been looking for, my wife has our GX as her daily driver, and i would love her to be able to use Carplay, but am only worried about the user friendliness (she has a very low tolerance for that type of stuff). the fact that its simple, and only has one feature is a plus and that its a plug in only option is also a plus since i think the connectivity will likely be simpler. looking forward to hearing more about your experience with this unit!

One question on the install, have you done any radio work on other vehicles, or was this your first time? i am fairly handy but am worried i would take this install on and 12 hours later we still dont have a working radio!

Thanks

tntcandy

I reached out to Beat-Sonic if they would have a kit for the 2021 units,

Eric was quick to reply that they would release the kit in a few month.

I'll wait for this to be available as I only want the CarPlay, no need for any other features.

skeegs

Can we get a longer tern update on this? I've been waiting for a sale or a group buy, but now the Beat-Sonic website says the price is increasing to $749 on 11/1. If everything still looks good with the usability, I'm going to buy (or get on the waiting list) now.

tk8lm6

I am the OP and I've been using the Beat-Sonic for several months.

I strongly recommend it. As long as you use a quality "high speed" data cable it seems rock solid. I love it.

Couple things :

When plugged in, the unit relies on GPS reception from your phone so your phone needs to have a little bit of visibility in order to receive satnav signals.

The day/night map settings in auto mode are inconsistent. Minor annoyance.

When transmitting 2 meter band on a handheld radio, the RF causes the unit to disconnect and reconnect. Eric told me to try putting one of the modules (the plastic box) into a Faraday pouch (easy to buy on Amazon) ... easy fix. I haven't tried that yet because I rarely transmit.

This thing is simple and does what it is supposed to do and installs clean.

You won't be disappointed.