Car audio - Head unit seems weak, how to resolve?

[Mike S]

I have an Android Head Unit for a Peugeot 107, brand is ESSGOO. Everything seems to be working well, except that I have to put the volume to at least 30 - 40+ to listen to music.

This is the Head Unit:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2657608397...d=link&campid=5335951755&toolid=20001&mkevt=1

I had a similar type of radio in my previous 107 and it only needed about 10 - 12 volume. I don't know what the difference is exactly, but I feel that it should not be 30 -40. I feel pressure on my ears when playing music.

I also bought new front speakers (no rear installed). The sound is really good as long as I put enough volume.

The equalizer settings on the Head Unit are all set to zero.

Before installing the radio, the volume was around 10 - 15 for music on the original radio. I tried using a bluetooth FM transmitter in my cigarette socket (12V) and I had a very similar result. I needed to set the volume to 40 to hear sound and my ears felt pressure, so I stopped using it. I've read that it was because of the low voltage of these transmitters.

I'm not sure how to proceed. If there is no solution for this, I might have to stop listening music altogether in my car to protect the health of my ears. But I do hope this issue is solvable, since I do want to keep the nice Android display for navigation. I hope I can use it for music as well.

If you have any ideas, please let me know.

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[1aespinoza Premium Member]

I don't know what the difference is exactly, but I feel that it should not be 30 -40. I feel pressure on my ears when playing music.

These two sound contradictory. You say volume must be set high to hear music but at the same time it is hurting your ears. What exactly is the sound that is causing discomfort if not sound pressure from the music?

 

[Mike S]

These two sound contradictory. You say volume must be set high to hear music but at the same time it is hurting your ears. What exactly is the sound that is causing discomfort if not sound pressure from the music?

 

[Mike S]

These two sound contradictory. You say volume must be set high to hear music but at the same time it is hurting your ears. What exactly is the sound that is causing discomfort if not sound pressure from the music?

Hi, thanks for asking. The volume is set higher than before, but the output of what I hear is very little. I have the feeling that the speakers are still on high volume with just a little signal and that is what causing my ears to feel pressure.

Before changing the head unit, I hadn't really had issues with my ears in the car. Though it might be from my first drive where I had put it louder on Friday. Now today I didn't out it any higher than 40 and the music was hardly noticeable. I do feel pressure sometimes, my ears close down and I notice they start relaxing about an hour after leaving the car and walking in nature

 

[1aespinoza Premium Member]

out it any higher than 40 and the music was hardly noticeable. I do feel pressure sometimes, my ears close down and I notice they start relaxing about an hour after leaving the car and walking in nature

Your's is the second case I have heard of this issue. The other guy was also using an Android unit.
Were adapters used to connect the radio or did the car's wires get cut to splice in the radio? Does the car have an OEM amplifier?
When you say low sound at high volume, it makes me think of the source volume being the issue. On Pioneer radios you can control individual source volume. Do all sources sound low?

 

[Mike S]

Your's is the second case I have heard of this issue. The other guy was also using an Android unit.
Were adapters used to connect the radio or did the car's wires get cut to splice in the radio? Does the car have an OEM amplifier?
When you say low sound at high volume, it makes me think of the source volume being the issue. On Pioneer radios you can control individual source volume. Do all sources sound low?

Thank you for your help, you seem to understand the issue.

I brought the car to a reputable car audio specialist for installation of the head unit. But it should be a straight forward installation as the unit is made exactly for this model. You can see the example of the wires below.

I don't think the car has an external amplifier installed, but pretty much everything else in the car is original.

 

[shredder1 10+ year member]

I also bought new front speakers (no rear installed). The sound is really good as long as I put enough volume.

Which speakers did you install? Stock replacements or maybe something with more power handling?

 

[1aespinoza Premium Member]

I brought the car to a reputable car audio specialist for installation of the head unit. But it should be a straight forward installation as the unit is made exactly for this model. You can see the example of the wires below.

I don't think the car has an external amplifier installed, but pretty much everything else in the car is original.

So it was basically a plug & play. Did the shop not do a test run? See if you can take it back before doing something that may void a warranty.

 

[Mike S]

Which speakers did you install? Stock replacements or maybe something with more power handling?

Hi, thanks for asking. I bought these: https://usa.pioneer/products/ts-a1081f

 

[Mike S]

This is a video recording by the way of sliding up the volume towards 40 with the radio on. It shows clearly what happens.

 

[shredder1 10+ year member]

Hi, thanks for asking. I bought these: https://usa.pioneer/products/ts-a1081f

So you put a 10-15w headunit on some 50w speakers and see a change over the factory speakers? Tbh I did not research your HU but those janky android HU's usually lack in output.
I put some solid 100w coax on my hu once and they sounded better but they needed an increase in volume to get there over the previous setup.
Maybe a small amp is in order?

 

[shredder1 10+ year member]

This is a video recording by the way of sliding up the volume towards 40 with the radio on. It shows clearly what happens.

Sounds like your sub channel overpowers the hi's to me. I'd either add a small amp on the hi's or tune it better.

 

[Mike S]

Sounds like your sub channel overpowers the hi's to me. I'd either add a small amp on the hi's or tune it better.

Thanks for your reply. So you think maybe an external amplifier would help to compensate the limited output of the head unit?

Would you help me understand please, as I'm a bit new to this. What do you mean by hi's?

 

[shredder1 10+ year member]

Thanks for your reply. So you think maybe an external amplifier would help to compensate the limited output of the head unit?

Would you help me understand please, as I'm a bit new to this. What do you mean by hi's?

Its not about sensitivity or overall power handling per-se, underpowering some upgraded coax in a factory location /w/ under 50w will of course lack output-wise over lower power factory speakers.
It seems to me that your front speakers are the main thing that changed over your previous setup, I'm still unsure as I am not there but feeding those coax more power may fix the issue imo.
Maybe change sub levels and crossover points in the meantime to make it more useable but understand a pair of 4" 50w coax won't deliver midbass no matter what you do. Change your crossover points to reflect your substage is my advice.
What is your substage anyway? I hear some knocks in your vid

 

[1aespinoza Premium Member]

So you think maybe an external amplifier would help to compensate the limited output of the head unit?

Maybe a small amp is in order?

After watching the video, I do not think an amp will help. If you listen carefully, you can tell the radio's amp is at full volume but the source volume is barely coming through. The noise I hear is like turning your volume to max while the music is paused. It sounds like when your amp's gain is set too high.
I think that radio is bad. Look at your settings to see if you can modify your source volume. Do not be afraid to move those eq settings. If it is external, I would say it is a wiring issue done at the shop.
Wait a minute, I take that back. If you use the RCA outs with an amp, you should be good. Bypassing the high speaker outputs would probably solve the issue. Before that I would test the RCA outputs. What if they have too little output; you would be back to square one.