[SilverCamaroVert]

So I got my module back. Less than pleased. They put it together poorly. One end cap was crooked. The other had a broken screw hole from over tightening. While fixing it, I slid the board out to inspect. You wouldn't believe what they call a repair. Looks like they added a jumper from one leg of an IC to a nearby resistor, then jumped that with a single strand solid core wire halfway across the board to a crookedly soldered transistor/regulator of some sort. I'm somewhat suspect that it will survive the rigors of a bumpy road.

After much discussion with their support, they basically have a flawed PCB design and are unwilling to throw all of them away so they are reworking them like this and selling them. I guess the premium price doesn't get you a premium product.

They agreed to warranty the repair for life although I'm skeptical they would actually ever honor it.

It does seem to work for now. I haven't used it much so I don't know if the battery draining problem is gone or not yet.

In conclusion, I'm not sure if I recommend this module or not. If it weren't for the fact that it was the only option, I would say hell no.

[Petrol Head]

I’ve been following your story on the sidelines here because I was just about to buy this. Now I’m a bit hesitant. Especially if you think they’re modifying all the boards like a first year electronics school student and then selling them as new.

[SilverCamaroVert]

It's a sad situation.

From my discussion with support:

So I'm assuming the plan is to rework your pcb design but are trying to rework these ones

Correct, and in combination with new software, that did seem to address the start-up issues.

ok, so how do I get a proper new pcb? I do not want this reworked unit.

I don't really know when we will switch to a new board. For the time being we have quite a lot of these boards.

so as you can see, they are shipping new units with these repairs and don't know when they are switching to new boards.

Kind of a crapshoot. Maybe PAC will make a module within a year. IDK. In my case, I had already converted my car to requiring this module. I would have to rewire a bunch of stuff again.

The module sounds great in honesty. I would HIGHLY recommend it if it wasn't for this repair. An electrical engineer friend said it was a poor repair but should hold. He recommended I epoxy the wire to the board to keep it from stressing over time.

[Petrol Head]

That’s a good idea, I’m thinking when I go to order mine I will call instead of ordering on line and ask if they will verify the one I get is epoxied and assembled properly before they ship it.

Your engineer friend is spot on. I’m an electronic technician. Any time I use jumper wires on a board (which I really try to use only as a last resort), I glue it close to the board and bend it so it’s a minimal series of right angles between the two points instead of just loosely hanging like that.

[900RFWN]

Is there something that module does that an Audiocontrol or Wavtech can’t?

[SilverCamaroVert]

Originally Posted by 900RFWN

Is there something that module does that an Audiocontrol or Wavtech can’t?

Yes, big time yes.

Other modules take the heavily modified and compressed speaker level signals and attempt to process them down into a usable signal.

This module along with the MOST50 modules for 2018 and older models tap the unmodified raw balanced audio signal of the system.

I used an AC dm-608 for the first year. Trust me, it's a mess. As you turn the volume up, it rolls bass off. The AC has a bass enhancement feature that tries to compensate. It fails. There is a bunch of processing and EQ to try to create a flat stereo signal out of the door and dash inputs.

I was never happy with the sound no matter how much messing with it I did last year. Out of the box, the NAVTV sounds pretty darn good and volume is linear across all frequencies as you turn it up.

[900RFWN]

Originally Posted by SilverCamaroVert

Yes, big time yes.

Other modules take the heavily modified and compressed speaker level signals and attempt to process them down into a usable signal.

This module along with the MOST50 modules for 2018 and older models tap the unmodified raw balanced audio signal of the system.

I used an AC dm-608 for the first year. Trust me, it's a mess. As you turn the volume up, it rolls bass off. The AC has a bass enhancement feature that tries to compensate. It fails. There is a bunch of processing and EQ to try to create a flat stereo signal out of the door and dash inputs.

I was never happy with the sound no matter how much messing with it I did last year. Out of the box, the NAVTV sounds pretty darn good and volume is linear across all frequencies as you turn it up.

Well that’s not good if the NAVTV is the only thing that gives you a clean signal and yet there are quality issues. I wonder if the Audison Bitone/Ten has evolved. Either way I guess it’s just another good reason to stay stock.

[SilverCamaroVert]

The issue is GM switched from MOST50 to AVB for 2019. NAVTV is the only module on the market to my knowledge to support AVB yet.

[900RFWN]

I knew there were some updates to the Mylink and such for 2019 but didn’t know it was that extensive. So for us with the 2018 and prior MOST50 can use some of these other LOCs and DSPs then?

[SilverCamaroVert]

Definitely and I recommend it. There are 3 major options I know of for 2016-2018:

AX-DSP-MOST1 - Axxess
M650-GM - NAVTV
AP4-GM61 - PAC Audio

I personally was going for the AX-DSP-MOST1 prior to finding out the 2019 I just ordered had avb instead of MOST50.

[900RFWN]

Those prices are hard to swallow. At least you get 5v preouts with the Pac though. I’ve heard that some installers use an RTA to find the full range signal coming from the factory amps. I’m guessing that there are still some issues after they do this. Possibly loud chimes, sub frequency roll off etc. so the only clean way is with one of those modules.

[SilverCamaroVert]

Worth every penny, trust me. I did it for a year the "janky" way before an AVB option hit the market. The axxess unit has lots of EQ and crossover features built in. That, plus some amps you have yourself a very tunable system for less than a dm-608.

The biggest issue with the RTA summing concept is that, from the horses mouth, the bose system changes eq curves and compression settings as you turn the volume up let alone any form of dynamic control it does based on the mics in the car. It's a moving target. Your only hope is to get a middle ground that is good in some and not great in any situation.

My chimes and signals are perfectly leveled and my volume is linear and crisp no matter the level.

[900RFWN]

If you’re into audio and going to spend some coin no doubt it’s worth it. All those shenanigans with volume levels all over the place is not something I could live with and makes the investment worthless IMO. Anywho, happy with the stealthbox? It’s the W6 version right?

NVM, just noticed it’s someone else. What do you have for subs again?

[SilverCamaroVert]

StLCamarofan has the stealthbox. I have a vert so it doesn't fit. I have a 2 10 sealed box under my top with alpine type s.