# Dynavin N7-PRO Multimedia GPS System....NEW FOR 2020



## [email protected] (Jun 24, 2014)

Now that the new N7 PRO units are shipping.....its time for a NEW THREAD 
*DYNAVIN N7 PRO​*
*Dynavin has updated their lineup to the new N7-PRO head units. An update on the already solid N7 platform, the new PRO models have all the same extensive features from the N7 but add the ability to run Apple Carplay and Android Auto via the iLink USB connection. These phone based interfaces allow you to utilize your phones music, navigation, communication, and connectivity functions, while keeping your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road.

If you are not familiar with these new technologies you can learn more here:

https://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/

https://www.android.com/auto/

The goal of this thread is to keep all the relevant info and discussions in one place for future users of this forum. Please lets try to keep this thread about Dynavin and try to keep it informative, Q & A stuff....try to leave opinions and speculation out of it, there are already 100 other pages of that. Thank you in advance. *








As always, they are available in a variety of shapes and sizes to fit the *BMW E46, E39, E53, E90,*, and an assortment of Audi, VW, Porsche, Mercedes, Chevy, Jeep, and Ford models.

Details can be found on Dynavin's website, http://www.dynavin.com

*Or our website: http://www.jandtdistributing.com/*

Also you can download the install guide from our website's E46 page if you want to get an idea of what its about
[B]https://www.jandtdistributing.com/pages/installation-setup[/B]

Im just going to go over the new and significant stuff here....there are lots of old dynavin threads here on the forums but to see the BIG ONE that started it all, and get a look at what the install is like, look here, all really old info now but still lots of good stuff in there:
*Dynavin D90 (V5) thread: (The Big One!)* https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=793437

And the for the last 6 years of previous generation N6 and N7 discussion you can go here:https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1044105 and here: https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1191033

*What's new?*

Much of this post is carried forward from the previous N7 post so we will cover the new stuff first. The *N7 Pro* adds Carplay and Android Auto compatibility via the USB iLink connection. Simply plug your phone into the included iLink USB module (typically installed inside the dash)



















And you will be greeted with:

Carplay









OR

Android Auto









Its that easy, select apps like Google Maps, Waze, Text messaging Music, Spotify, Pandora, etc...














































Similar to the Bluetooth function in the Dynavin the steering wheel phone button can be configured to active your phones voice functions (right side knob does the same), so you can navigate, make calls, send text messages, play music, etc. all without taking your hands off the wheel.


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## [email protected] (Jun 24, 2014)

Now for the stuff that carries forward from the previous N7....

*Source Selection Screen*

Like previous Dynavin units the MODE button brings up a source selection screen, large easy to press on-screen buttons display your most used sources for easy selection. These screens on the N7 Pro are much cleaner and subdued compared to the past brightly colored N6 "windows" looking tiles.










Swiping the screen side to side reveals the various settings menus and ALL of the potential sources.










The front panel also includes a programmable hard button....its the one with the 4 squares on it....you can select what you want it to do, I use A2DP bluetooth streaming a lot so I set mine to that but you can set it to access the sound menu, the camera function, aux in, whatever you want quick access to...










*Digital Music: IPOD/SD/USB/Internal HD*

The ipod, SD, USB, and the internal 4GB storage functions all share the same basic interface. Simple and intuitive, with selections for artist/album/song/playlist, and in the case of SD and USB, additional selections for folders/video files/picture files. The list can be swiped up and down AND a quick jump alphabetical search allowing you to jump to any letter in the lists so large libraries are no longer a problem to navigate.










Also in the name of simplicity the ipod now just plugs into the USB plug, no more proprietary cables, no more need for lighting adapters for the newer apple devices. Just use the cables you already have. The unit comes with a USB extension to get the rear mounted USB media plug to the glove compartment, console, etc... and we also have on our website flush mount USB plugs and ipod to USB cables if you want to do something a little more custom.

Album art now displays alongside the track info. As you can see, clean and refined is what Dynavin was after here....
Interestingly apps like pandora display similarly (from my iphone at least), displaying track info and album art.










*BLUTOOTH PHONE*

Dynavin's bluetooth phone is as clean as ever, will display your phonebook, and has a quick alphabetical search function to jump to any letter in the alphabet. As before it works with the phone buttons on your steering wheel.

I recommend experimenting with the external mic location for best results but the mic is pretty forgiving so most locations that work cosmetically, should function pretty good as well. There is a bluetooth level and mic gain adjustment here as well so that you can fine tune the mic sensitivity to your specific install.










My favorite feature.....there is a setting in the bluetooth that allows you to activate your phone's voice functions (Siri or Google assistant). This allows you to do anything with your phone hands free, make calls, request music, dictate text messages, etc...



















*BLUETOOTH AUDIO STREAMING (A2DP)*

As with the N6, the Bluetooth audio streaming quality is now as good as plugging in, It connects pretty much immediately and works with apps like pandora, stitcher, etc... in addition to your standard media apps. In addition track info is displayed on the screen:










The steering wheel control buttons work as well, including in apps like pandora. I find that this is now my go-to choice as a music source.

*RADIO, CD, DVD etc...*

The radio is what you would expect, 15 presets, RDS, Pretty standard stuff here. Settings for different regions etc...










Starting with the Dynavin N7 all Dynavin radios are Sirius satellite radio ready....some of you guys have been asking for that for years! The N7 Pro comes with a cable that allows you to use the "universal" Sirius SVX300 tuner, plug and play with your Dynavin.

Sat radio is found in the same area as the AM/FM screen when USA is set as the region in the system settings menu....Here are a couple pics of it in action (pics happen to be on our new Dynavin GM unit....not a BMW but you get the idea...):



















The N7 Pro plays CDs, DVDs, etc.... same as always.










*NAVIGATION*

As with previous dynavin units we are able to offer our units with pre-installed, *licensed* iGo Primo navigation software. Although its likely most of you will just be using Google/Apple/Waze Maps via the iLink function, iGo is well established and has an easy update path available via their website www.naviextras.com,

Its clean and intuitive, easy to quickly search and enter addresses, all the maps are already on board so no internet connection is needed. With the newer higher res screen on the N7 and N7 Pro the icons etc... are a little smaller on the screen while displaying more info. This is an "on board" nav system, same as an OEM system, so if you are in a weak cell reception area you may find it more useful than the phone based systems.










*REVERSE FUNCTIONS*

As always the new Dynavin N7 Pro will work with a reverse camera, but dynavin continues to refine this function to work with PDC (parking sensors, if your car has them) and is completely configurable within the settings menu. You can have just a backup camera, PDC, backup cam WITH PDC displayed, or nothing at all.










*AUDIO FUNCTIONS*

Dynavin is going after a higher end audio market and as such has a lot of good audio features in the N7 pro. Time alignment, three band bass/mid/treble AND a 9 band EQ with separate sub control, 4 volt RCAs for clean signal transmission to aftermarket amps, and 24bit burr brown D/A converters....you old school audio guys will know what thats about.

Most of you guys probably dont know what time alignment is or what to do with it but its probably the single biggest factor affecting sound quality in a car stereo environment, this adjustment allows for you to delay the speakers at the 4 corners of the car independently so that the sound from each reaches your ears as the same time....basically putting YOU in the "sweet spot". Ive been running time alignment of one kind or another for a couple decades now, in my opinion its a MUST HAVE for any higher end system. One thing to keep in mind though is setting this wrong can also make your system sound terrible so its important to at least understand the basic fundamentals of time delay before you jump into this setting. Also keep in mind this is optimizing ONE spot in the car at the detriment to the other seating positions. So if you regularly listen to music with passengers you may not want to use the delay settings, set them all to 0.

Setting it up is pretty easy though, just sit in the drivers seat and measure the distance from each woofer (the bigger speakers) to the center of your head (roughly), enter those values into each corner of the dynavins delay settings. Now listen, does the sound appear centered and focused in the car? Bass solid? If so, you are done. If not, try adjusting one side up or down while you listen to what effect it has on the sound, listen for the sound to come "into focus" and become solid in the center of the dash.










9 band EQ, self explanatory:










There is now a more advanced OEM amp integration setting....it allows you to variably set the output level of the head unit to better match your factory amp, if you find that the volume level is too high in your car and the adjustment too abrupt, turn on the factory amp setting and lower the level until the desired results are achieved. In our particular E46 shop car, turning the setting down almost all the way works best. If you are using an aftermarket amp via the RCAs....you will want to leave this setting off.










*LIGHTING AND SCREEN*

Dynavins have always had matching button lighting, not a big deal, but FYI, the buttons match the other buttons in the car and dim with the dash light dimmer. Nice and OEM.

Another feature new to the N7 is that you can change the accent color of the interface to match the color scheme of your car....most of the text in the interface is white on black so I'm just talking about the accents and lines on the various screens, on the older N6 these accents were always red....On the new N7 there are 4 colors to match the 4 common automotive interior lighting scheems:










In most of the pics on this page I have it set to orange as that happens to look good in the E46 orange lit interior. But I also like the looks of blue....










Now this next thing may not sound like a big deal at first, but for day to day, real world use....its HUGE. The LCD dimmer can be configured in multiple ways and the dimming amount is fully adjustable. There is an onboard ambient light sensor as well. SO you can set the unit up to dim when your headlights come on OR when the sensor sees its getting dark, or you can dim it manually. There are pros and cons to each approach and the overall ambient lighting where you are at and your headlight use habits will dictate which setup will work best for you. The adjustable LCD dimmer looks great as it does not just darken the screen as most "dimmers" do, it dims the backlight, so there is no "LCD glow" at night. Between the nicely dimmed screen and the clean white/red on black interface this is the best looking aftermarket unit at night ive ever seen

A night pic in my E92,










E46 night pic.....










*SCREEN.*

Starting with the N7 models Dynavin has a new screen that is a BIG DEAL....Screen visibility has always been an issue in the past, especially on the E46 and E53 since the screen is angled back where it can be hit with both direct lighting from above, and the reflection of the back window. The N7's new screen is both VERY black and resistant to washout, but is also anti glare and resistant to reflection.

You can see in the pics throughout this post that the screen is very high contrast and unlike many LCD screens, it is VERY black in color. In the picture below I tried to make a worst case scenario....I opened the sunroof to let the sun shine directly on the screen from behind the car, then I put the camera into position where the back window was reflected directly on the screen. Note that you can still clearly see the text on the screen, even in this challenging situation.










This pic is from my actual driving position, the rear window reflection is only in the corner, sun still shining directly on the screen though.










In addition, the touchscreen is capacitive, so it is much more responsive and accurate than on old units.

*ETC...*

You can set the boot screen to whatever you like. Put it on a SD or USB and select it as your boot screen, real simple. A word about start up.... The N7 has about a 20 second boot time BUT dynavin has done something clever, the unit starts booting when you unlock or open a door. So in regular use, running errands, that sort of thing, you wont see much of that boot time. I like things clean and OEM so I went with this in my personal car....










Dynavin has moved the Canbus (or iBus in these BMWs) interface inside the unit on the N7....so the wiring is somewhat simplified and there are no external modules to install. In addition this allows updates to the CAN interface via firmware updates. No special tools or hardware required, simplifying things for everyone.










The N7 uses an oem style Fakra antenna plug on the unit so that the cars antenna can plug directly into the unit without any adapters. One less thing to install, one less thing to go wrong. For those of you with the old style antenna they provide an adapter.










There is still an OBC display but at least on the E46 it doesnt show much....just a couple temps, not all the readouts will work with every car, your results may vary:










On my E92 there is a lot more, the newer canbus based cars have more data available, still though it depends on the particular model, options, etc...:










Finally, a word about updates. As with the N6 and N7, the N7 Pro has updatable firmware. Dynavin has built into the unit an easy update path so that as they develop and activate new features it will be easy to update the units. Don't expect huge, earth shattering, changes in the firmware updates. But just know that refinements, bug fixes, and new features are possible, and easy to apply to existing units.

Finished look:










Ill keep adding to this post as we go, ill try to make it a inclusive resource for all the new, relevant, N7 Pro info.


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## [email protected] (Jun 24, 2014)

For those of you that need to relocate your HVAC controls down to the lower location to make room for your new head unit, we also now have a relocation Bracket that eliminates the E46 ashtray and puts in its place a couple USB plugs! REALLY useful when installing a new head unit. They come in both the single and individual row versions (details below) and while they all have 2 USB plugs on the front they can be configured on the back side in the following ways:

2 USB connections (for connecting to a Dynavin or other head unit equipped with 2 USBs)

1 USB and one 12 volt harness that connects to the cigarette lighter for use with head units that have only 1 USB. The other USB plug becomes a USB charging port.

Same as the Dynavin Head units, you can find them on our website E46 Page: https://www.jandtdistributing.com/collections/bmw-e46-3-series-1998-2006




























The next question.....Single Row? Individual Row? Which HVAC control relocation bracket do I need for my E46?

Look at your car's buttons. If there are no seams between the buttons and they are all housed in a single assembly, you need the "single row relocation bracket" as pictured below. The single row version is for switches that are part of and pull out as a long, single unit.

(Single Row button style)









If you can see seams between the buttons (as pictured below) or you have one button with a "blank" filling in the rest of the area, you need an "individual row relocation bracket". The number of buttons is irrelevant but what is crucial is whether there are vertical seams between them or not. The individual row version is for switches that pull out individually.

(Individual Row button style)


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## [email protected] (Jun 24, 2014)

reserved


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## [email protected] (Jun 24, 2014)

Its that time again.....BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL! :shhh:

Use discount code *BLACKFRIDAY100* at checkout to get the best price of the year on the new Dynavin N7 Pro Multimedia Navigation System!

For more info about the new models, see here: https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1264351

:thumbsup:


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## [email protected] (Jun 24, 2014)

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## [email protected] (Jun 24, 2014)

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## [email protected] (Jun 24, 2014)

Technical issue with the forum...:dunno:


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## sun3301 (Jul 8, 2004)

Guys, thought I'd post about the N7 Pro. I purchased the Dynavin N7 Pro from J&T Distributing after having been looking at it for over a year or so. Prior I had seen the N6 too. When the Pro model was announced, that was what made me decide to pull the trigger. I'm the original owner of my 2001 BMW 330ci. It's pretty much stock but in the last couple of years I've made a few changes that I've always wanted to do. Such as the complete ZHP bumper and side skirt and trunk lip conversion using the Mtech kit in the European configuration, so the front bumper has no side reflectors. Also upgraded the wheels to the M135 18" wheels. The main reason I made went with the N7 pro was the original business radio's display had gone bad and was displaying gibberish.

I was waiting for a bit to buy the N7 because of some mixed reviews. But the great customer service you guys have reported from Jeff made me feel better about it. Dynavin is not a well known name such as Pioneer or Sony, so I was also a bit apprehensive as they seemed like a very new company.

I made my order the weekend before Thanksgiving and I received it on Tuesday so I'd have it on time to try to install it over the long holiday weekend. I ordered the Dynavin N7 Pro with the OEM BMW HVAC relocation bracket. I also ordered the camera for back-up usage.

I took a day to unpack everything and became familiar with all the cables and harnesses and which cables I'd use. The PDF installation instructions Jeff made available was on the same car I have, but it was for the N6 I believe, so the cables and connections were not all the same. So the extra time I took to study everything helped. I determined the two harnesses for audio and video were not needed as I'm using the stock Harmon Kardon amplifier. And I wasn't planning to add screens on the back of the seats so those cables were not used. That saved with the mass of cables to deal with during the installation. I determined the main things I wanted were the USB cables, one for the iLink for CarPlay and the other USB for a USB stick or hard drive or iPod. I had to first remove the old ICE-link device from Dennison I installed way back in 2006.

The process of disassembling and removing the original head unit was straight forward. I used the trim removal tools I also purchased from Jeff. The air vents came out surprisingly easy using Jeff's suggestion to lift and pull. (I'd seen the BAV Audio video of the guy removing that and it looked harder the way he did it.) There was the horrible sound they made as they came out. The hard part was disconnecting the main harness from the head unit, never did that before. Then the next hardest part, the more difficult was removing the HVAC control unit. It would not budge. After almost an hour, I consulted the web and found a Pelican Parts tutorial on removing it, it suggested removing the lower shifter trim to access the lower console ashtray section to remove that. I did that so I had access to the HVAC from below and above with the radio out of the way. Then it popped out as I could apply force from below and above. But the next hurdle was one of the connectors. There was no obvious release tab to press to release it. That took nearly another hour. So after a lunch break, I found another guy had the same trouble on a BMW forum. I could see if I used a thin screw driver, I could get it into the connector side and release the tab inside the connector. Then it came out easy.

With everything out, then I could then begin the installation. I have the European tray in place of the cup holders, so I ran the iLink to it. I ran the second USB to the glove box. I finally figured out that I could removed the handbrake leather boot cover to access under the console to help route the USB cable. I managed to also lift the console to slip the USB cable under it near the shifter and up into the area where the head unit will mount. Oh, and I removed the passenger side A pillar trim so I could carefully run the Bluetooth mic cable up the inside and around the airbag and up to the headliner to the factory mic location. At this point, I opted to not install the back up camera cable to the Dynavin connector in back. I also installed the GPS antenna to the metal bracket under the air vents as shown in the instructions. Luckily it works there as it does for others and I get a GPS signal. At least so far. As has been mentioned before, the trick was to best manage all the cables and the big harness coming out the back of the Dynavin so the head unit can be inserted fully and mounted. I did turn it on to be sure it worked before finally re-installing the trim and glove box. It worked! Entire disassembly and install took a full day.

One thing I'm afraid to do just now is fully insert the HVAC control module, it looks like once's it's fully inserted and the spring clips fully engage, it will be very difficult to remove if I need to add the camera cables or make other changes. So for now, it's just sitting there.

CarPlay in action:









So for the past week, I've been getting used to how to use it and adjust the settings. One thing I was curious about was playing videos. The J&T website FAQ said to disengage the brake setting so I unchecked that box in the set-up menu. But videos will not show, so I checked the box and then the videos played. So that seemed counter-intuitive. Checking the box enables the brake, so the Dynavin thinks the parking brake is on I would think. A quick test below and I was able to play this Looney Tunes short from an MP4 file on the USB thumb drive.










The next thing I'm still getting familiar with was the audio level settings. When I use CarPlay, Siri's voice and the navigation voice from Waze is very loud. I am using the Harmon Kardon amp, so I used Jeff's suggestion to engage the Factory Amplifier HiFi setting, and I experimented with the sound level, going all the way to the left to the lowest setting and back up slightly. I saw that when Siri is speaking or the Waze or Apple Maps navigation voice is speaking, I can adjust the volume with the volume knob and I see a blue line along the top of the screen indicating volume level. This is opposed to the red line when adjusting volume levels when the radio or iTunes is playing. I also found the Source audio levels setting and tweaked the level a bit there to see if the CarPlay music levels is close to the radio volume levels. It seems to be OK for now.

But the way, when I say Hey Siri, I could see the wave pattern on the screen so it heard me, but I couldn't hear the answer, I finally realized by looking at Jeff's photos above, that I could try the mic button on the steering wheel. That worked for asking Siri questions. So I guess I need to use the mic button. I had a new 2018 BMW 4 series loaner car from the dealer that has CarPlay and it worked via Bluetooth. On that car, CarPlay worked for voice input for track selections and Siri help by me saying Hey Siri. But I guess on the Dynavin, it's set up so one has to use the mic button. Hopefully someone can tell me if I have this set up right.

I connected the old 5G ipod I had been using with the DICE iPod integration with the Apple USB cable and it played for a few seconds but then I just heard nothing but hiss and the album art wouldn't show. I then connected a 6G160gb iPod classic, the last generation that Apple made and it worked when connected to USB. There was no hiss, but album access was messed up. I'd select The Beatles Abbey Road and the song list is from a different album! I tried removing the iPod and reconnecting it but it resumed with the same song it was last playing. Maybe the Dynavin does not support the iPod Classic.

For the back lighting, I set it to sensor as I use the headlights during the day sometimes like in the rain.

I might rethink the iLink USB cable routing and drill a hole in the back of the console on the tray that's next to the coin holder thing. As I said, I did not install the back up camera. I think I probably should have connected the cable to the back of the Dynavin, but I'll have to remove the Dynavin to connect the cable if I do install the camera. I don't like the non factory looking options for mounting the camera on the trunk handle area. I'll see if I can come up with a better way.

Button line is that it's a hoot to finally have a modern radio and CarPlay working on my 18 year car! I always regretted no ordering navigation when I bought this car new. So now I have it and with CarPlay integration. CarPlay was a major factor for me to get this. So it's great to have access to music on my iPhone. It's a shame I'm not having luck with the iPod connections, but the iPhone access is working. Also, it was a hoot to test a movie file I converted to mp4 format and it played on the Dynavin screen. I tried a DVD, and it was working as well. But I think I like the mp4 option better. By the way, the igo navigation is set up too and I have not used it yet, other then to turn it on and see if the GPS was working, I left it on while driving to work and it was tracking my location.

I took one phone call via my iPhone using CarPlay. I was able to answer the phone and talk handsfree. The mic is in the factory location and my friend mentioned the my voice was hard to hear when I was on the freeway. But earlier, I was parked and he said I sounded better, so I adjusted the mic sensitivity by one notch. Just to see if that improves the sound of my voice. I could hear my friend clearly on the speakers. That was pretty cool!

Which brings me to the User Interface. In looking at pictures of the on-screen icons of the earlier N6, such as for radio, iPod, settings, etc, I like those icons better then the new ones. The new ones lack the simple clean look of the earlier icons. Maybe this will be addressed in a future firmware update to have other icon options. I have not done it yet, but I'd like to add icons for the radio stations, though the radio stations in my area have dwindled in recent years. Looks like station icons has to be done with a tiny SD card like loading the igo maps. Wish those could be stored on the internal storage.

One last thing about CarPlay. When I used the loaner BMW's Carplay, I could see that Carplay took over the infotainment system, so if I wanted to hear the radio, I had to get out of CarPlay. On the Dynavin, I can listen to the radio still with CarPlay running when doing Maps or Waze. That surprised me. Overall, so far the N7 Pro is working out and I'm pretty happy!

And thanks Jeff for the quick shipping and the install resources you provided.


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## sun3301 (Jul 8, 2004)

Hey guys, if anyone happens to look at this thread, does anyone know if the new iPhone 12 amd iPhone 12 Pro will have any compatibility issues with the Dynavin N7 Pro? I just ordered the new iPhone 12 Pro and so I hope it works with the Dynavin N7 Pro I installed last year. Thanks!


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