This is a review and detailed measurements of the Dasaita 13.3" Android Automotive OS stereo head unit. I purchased this from Amazon for $558 (has a coupon for $40 now).
As you see from stock image, this is a "double din" unit with a "floating" (adjustable) display. The advantage of this type of unit is that the display doesn't have to fit in the dash as it will sit in front of it. There are various sizes and you need to choose one that doesn't impede your dash controls, vents, etc. Even though this is their top of the line unit, it only comes with 64 Gigabytes of storage whereas the norm is 128 Gigabytes. There is USB input though so expanding storage is no big deal. Likewise RAM is 6 Gigabytes instead of 8. Supply chain disruptions have limited availability of different options as others have very long lead times.
The launcher is the default, boring, low resolution one which is in dire need of more customizations. The right bottom widget that says "Amplifier" is not. It opens the standard Android Automotive Equalizer, DTS upmixer, channel delays, etc.
As I have noted in reviews of other Android Automative Head Units (not to be confused with Android Auto which is supported here as well), you get these units to get access to Google Play Store with hugely increase capabilities of these units and allow it to stay current. Here is a snapshot of my podcast app after I installed it:
The large 1080p display is a joy this way (actually image is far better than what you see above).
Somewhat unusual is inclusion of old fashioned touch buttons on the bezel. I actually like that as it also includes the volume control up/down which is very handy to have. While I have not tested it, it also includes a microphone should you not want to attach the external mic.
One distinguishing feature is built-in gyroscope and nice, modern app that shows your inclination, etc. Nice for people who go on difficult trails and such.
I double checked and this unit indeed runs Android 13 (latest that is available on these units):
Anyway, let's get into measurements.
Dasaita Android Head Unit Measurements
Unlike other units I have tested, there were hardly any settings for audio other than aforementioned EQ, etc. So I adjusted the volume to get 2 volts on analog output and here is what we get:
We are back to 80s SINAD which matches my expectation. I have been noting the power consumption on the dashboard and was happy to see this unit use the least amount of power than other Android units I have tested. At full brightness, it uses a bit more power but lower the display brightness and it is uses less power.
Switching to digital we once again get disappointing performance, although not as bad as Joying head unit unit I tested recently:
[Top 3 are standard head units/bottom 3 run Android OS]
The -10 dBFS was puzzling as other units (also strangely) only maxed out to -3 dBFS instead of 0. Digging around, turns out this is the headroom that the Android EQ is imposing. If you max out all the sliders there, you get to 0 dB and even over! With no bypass button, you are leaving 10 dB of dynamic range on the table. Why it is 10 dB here and 3 in others, I don't know. Both are broken, this one just more so.
I should note that all the test tones I have used so far have been at 48 kHz to avoid Android resampling. Switching to 44.1 kHz, causes the Roon player I use to upsample to 48 kHz, resulting this odd performance:
This is the same thing I have seen in other head units. The noise floor goes down but we see those strange distortion spikes.
Our dynamic range is not bad for this class of product but could be far better for digital output:
Back to the EQ headroom thing, if I max out the levels on all the bands, we do indeed get better dynamic range:
Analog jitter is not bad for the class:
Digital jitter suffers from many things:
Without sorting out the audio pipeline, it is pointless to keep testing different ways.
Conclusions
I am absolutely in love with the larger display. Comparing to my phone, it brings incredible joy and functionality -- much more so than the 9.5 inch DUDU7. On performance front though, both the UI and objective measurements were far superior on the DUDU7. Unless I can solve the mounting issues with the DUDU7, I am going with the Dasaita.
Overall, what we have is much nicer than any proprietary head unit (btw, it does have amplification) so I am going to recommend the Dasaita Android car stereo. Hopefully they work with us to improve its performance.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
As you see from stock image, this is a "double din" unit with a "floating" (adjustable) display. The advantage of this type of unit is that the display doesn't have to fit in the dash as it will sit in front of it. There are various sizes and you need to choose one that doesn't impede your dash controls, vents, etc. Even though this is their top of the line unit, it only comes with 64 Gigabytes of storage whereas the norm is 128 Gigabytes. There is USB input though so expanding storage is no big deal. Likewise RAM is 6 Gigabytes instead of 8. Supply chain disruptions have limited availability of different options as others have very long lead times.
The launcher is the default, boring, low resolution one which is in dire need of more customizations. The right bottom widget that says "Amplifier" is not. It opens the standard Android Automotive Equalizer, DTS upmixer, channel delays, etc.
As I have noted in reviews of other Android Automative Head Units (not to be confused with Android Auto which is supported here as well), you get these units to get access to Google Play Store with hugely increase capabilities of these units and allow it to stay current. Here is a snapshot of my podcast app after I installed it:
The large 1080p display is a joy this way (actually image is far better than what you see above).
Somewhat unusual is inclusion of old fashioned touch buttons on the bezel. I actually like that as it also includes the volume control up/down which is very handy to have. While I have not tested it, it also includes a microphone should you not want to attach the external mic.
One distinguishing feature is built-in gyroscope and nice, modern app that shows your inclination, etc. Nice for people who go on difficult trails and such.
I double checked and this unit indeed runs Android 13 (latest that is available on these units):
Anyway, let's get into measurements.
Dasaita Android Head Unit Measurements
Unlike other units I have tested, there were hardly any settings for audio other than aforementioned EQ, etc. So I adjusted the volume to get 2 volts on analog output and here is what we get:
We are back to 80s SINAD which matches my expectation. I have been noting the power consumption on the dashboard and was happy to see this unit use the least amount of power than other Android units I have tested. At full brightness, it uses a bit more power but lower the display brightness and it is uses less power.
Switching to digital we once again get disappointing performance, although not as bad as Joying head unit unit I tested recently:
[Top 3 are standard head units/bottom 3 run Android OS]
The -10 dBFS was puzzling as other units (also strangely) only maxed out to -3 dBFS instead of 0. Digging around, turns out this is the headroom that the Android EQ is imposing. If you max out all the sliders there, you get to 0 dB and even over! With no bypass button, you are leaving 10 dB of dynamic range on the table. Why it is 10 dB here and 3 in others, I don't know. Both are broken, this one just more so.
I should note that all the test tones I have used so far have been at 48 kHz to avoid Android resampling. Switching to 44.1 kHz, causes the Roon player I use to upsample to 48 kHz, resulting this odd performance:
This is the same thing I have seen in other head units. The noise floor goes down but we see those strange distortion spikes.
Our dynamic range is not bad for this class of product but could be far better for digital output:
Back to the EQ headroom thing, if I max out the levels on all the bands, we do indeed get better dynamic range:
Analog jitter is not bad for the class:
Digital jitter suffers from many things:
Without sorting out the audio pipeline, it is pointless to keep testing different ways.
Conclusions
I am absolutely in love with the larger display. Comparing to my phone, it brings incredible joy and functionality -- much more so than the 9.5 inch DUDU7. On performance front though, both the UI and objective measurements were far superior on the DUDU7. Unless I can solve the mounting issues with the DUDU7, I am going with the Dasaita.
Overall, what we have is much nicer than any proprietary head unit (btw, it does have amplification) so I am going to recommend the Dasaita Android car stereo. Hopefully they work with us to improve its performance.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
