Ok, so I recently have been looking into getting a tablet to replace my Pioneer HU. Unlike the S1 guys, our navi/headunit is all combined, so there is no "easy way" of installing a tablet. For those that haven't seen how the S1 guys are doing it, basically they are putting the tablet in the nav hood, and wiring the tablet audio to the stock radio (or aftermarket) aux connection.

We (as far as I know) dont have an easy option like this. So the question comes down to (and excuse me, I am completely ignorant when it comes to car audio systems) how would I connect the tablet to my car speakers (i do not have bose audio).

I understand that I will need an amp (4 channel i assume), but how would one connect the car speakers to that amp without having to get some speaker wire and rewire the oem speakers. Is there any "mazda stereo harness to amplifier" type adapter. (one can only dream right?)

 

Headphone jack to RCA cables to an external amplifier/ signal processor that has high level RCA inputs? The headphone jack will only give you left/right sound. To make surround sound would have to be "virtual". I don't think any tablet has dedicated sound outputs for front and rear speakers.

 

what would be the easiest way to connect a amp to the OEM speakers without having to cut up the factory harness or run new wires to each speaker? possible?

 

Well this sure looks interesting:

TDA7850 Internal 4 x 50W Quad Bridge Power Amplifier

 

paimon, I would be hesitant to drop your HU (stock or aftermarket) completely for a tablet. There are far too many gotchas through normal use that will leave you for measurable periods of time with no audio whatsoever in that case.

Granted, we're talking 15-20 minutes under normal circumstances ... typically after letting the car sit for a couple days and the tablet dipping below its minimum charge spec. There tends to be a 20 or so minute period post deep discharge where the device is inaccessible.

I'll have to take a look at the S2 top center console at some point. My initial thought was you could just drop an S1 hood in and go from there.

How do the S2's do integration for things like SAT and BT? Would it be possible to hijack one of those inputs similar to how we hijack the AUX port on the S1 radio? Not that it would matter much in your case as you dumped the stock HU some time ago.

I would think you'd want aftermarket HU with BT capabilities. That's how I've been "binding" to my stock HU and it significantly simplified the whole steering wheel control thing... although I know you have a little more flexibility there with all that data being on the S2 CAN bus.

 

You do make a very good point. I guess i never thought of that. blah

You might be able to fit something up there, but not an active hood since there is little to no space in there. There is normally a speaker housed in there if you got the Bose system. Heck i had a tight squeeze fitting my gauges in there.

All canbus communications as far as that goes, but yea, i now have a pioneer headunit so it wouldn't make much of a difference

I guess what would make the most sense if I really wanted to go this route is to have to retain some headunit. Orrrr we can cross our fingers and hope that android headunits start coming out lol.

 

There's the Parrot Asteroid but I haven't heard many good things about it.

 

Yea, I am actually waiting to see what happens with this one:

Parrot - Parrot ASTEROID Smart

I also considered trading my x920bt for the AppRadio2 by pioneer which would essentially hdmi mirror my phone to the screen (using a market app).

 

Also, don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my in-car tablet. It is really slick. You might want to try just base connectivity for a couple weeks before committing to a full cutover (no HU).

None of the problems I've run into make it 100% prohibitive... they simply create a need for some kind of compensating control. I've been managing deep discharge in two ways. The first is powering off the device manually (am considering a broadcast receiver to automate it) when power is disconnected and charge is below 15%. The second is a little more unorthodox and merely prolongs the inevitable.... I plug in a 9000mAh external battery pack and it keeps the tab at 100% charge for a solid week.