Vais Tech MML for '04 430
#61
Rookie
Thread Starter
I know I don't ever want an ugly aftermarket head unit in my car, I don't even like new corollas with their aftermarket looking factory head unit.
My MML should arrive today.
I prefer to buy from an American company for price of mind.
My decision is different to others because of the factors at play, an MML is only about $100 (US) more than the Yatour once installed.
My MML should arrive today.
I prefer to buy from an American company for price of mind.
My decision is different to others because of the factors at play, an MML is only about $100 (US) more than the Yatour once installed.
#62
I know I don't ever want an ugly aftermarket head unit in my car, I don't even like new corollas with their aftermarket looking factory head unit.
My MML should arrive today.
I prefer to buy from an American company for price of mind.
My decision is different to others because of the factors at play, an MML is only about $100 (US) more than the Yatour once installed.
My MML should arrive today.
I prefer to buy from an American company for price of mind.
My decision is different to others because of the factors at play, an MML is only about $100 (US) more than the Yatour once installed.
#63
You keep making this claim that everyone else imports, except VAIS.
Are you saying VAIS units have NO imported parts on their units? I'd love to see VAIS make that claim. Nowhere on their site or unit does it say "Made in the USA".
Electronics are now largely now made overseas, it's just a reality. Doesn't mean they are all low quality. Again, I would bet money that VAIS imports many if not most of their internal components.
Are you saying VAIS units have NO imported parts on their units? I'd love to see VAIS make that claim. Nowhere on their site or unit does it say "Made in the USA".
Electronics are now largely now made overseas, it's just a reality. Doesn't mean they are all low quality. Again, I would bet money that VAIS imports many if not most of their internal components.
BTW, where is the smartphone made that you listen to music from?
#64
Rookie
Thread Starter
Because my LS is made in Japan (where the best cars in the world are made) and I've seen soldering on some Chinese made electronics that don't like to last very long, which is cool, but getting warranty repairs or returns from them is another thing altogether.
I should have it installed tomorrow and will definitely report back after a few weeks of use.
Not happy with the pricing in Australia, $400 + post for the unit, then installation.
I really want to go through the local distributor but I'm paying a huge premium to do so.
I should have it installed tomorrow and will definitely report back after a few weeks of use.
Not happy with the pricing in Australia, $400 + post for the unit, then installation.
I really want to go through the local distributor but I'm paying a huge premium to do so.
#66
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (6)
Hey All.
Would I not be better off getting a Double Din (I have no Nav.) and skipping the VAIS tech? The Double Din would give me a 6"-7" touchscreen display, bluetooth for both streaming music and answering/receiving calls, Pandora/Spotify, voice controls through my phone, etc. I could probably have all this for $300-$350.
The only thing, which does not bother me at all, is that some have said it's about preservation, and not having a 3rd party device in the public eye (but again, I could not care less about that).
Thoughts?
Would I not be better off getting a Double Din (I have no Nav.) and skipping the VAIS tech? The Double Din would give me a 6"-7" touchscreen display, bluetooth for both streaming music and answering/receiving calls, Pandora/Spotify, voice controls through my phone, etc. I could probably have all this for $300-$350.
The only thing, which does not bother me at all, is that some have said it's about preservation, and not having a 3rd party device in the public eye (but again, I could not care less about that).
Thoughts?
2003 Lexus LS430 - YouTube
I have a question for Yatour/GROM/MML users, how does the usb connection work exactly? Will I have to compile a list of songs in a certain folder beforehand? Or could my wife say: just hit play from her amazon music account and go?
Thanks,
#67
With the Yatour, it is either. You can save up to (approx.) 600 songs on a usb stick and insert that into the Yatour and play off of that, or you can plug in your phone and play off of your Amazon account, Pandora, etc.
#68
Rookie
Thread Starter
Install was today.
We decided not to wait 2 weeks for the professional installers and did it ourselves, it took 15 minutes to install (into the LS430) and check to see if it worked, followed by another 45 minutes re-routing cables and tidying up the install. I ended up putting the unit in the glove box which I'm not happy about as it wasn't going to fit under the CD stacker. I really needed the space in the glove compartment
I've just come home from work and I've experienced many minor issues already. My trip home is long and boring, so I have plenty of time to fiddle with the new toy.
For one, the volume **** has been intermittently lazy, I'd turn the volume up and it would take a while to respond and then it was way too high and just frustrating, it did it three times and hasn't since.
The I agree button (which I haven't bypassed yet) takes quite a few seconds (about 10) to disappear when selected as evidenced by the button here in green:
This happened immediately after clicking I agree:
For some reason I can't get Artist information to display all the time:
YouTube videos either show YouTube as the artist name and song which is okay, but a couple of times it's chosen the name of a random song:
This time the artist name is working:
The rear screen and buttons seem to work well:
I'm happy with the product and the way it works, I understand it may have glitches every now and then, but these images were captured in quick succession, about 10 minutes from start to end, so I have many, albeit very minor, issues which are occurring often.
Had I opted for the cheapest alternative I would be a little miffed, but I purchased the best (two of them) from the correct distribution channels, new, so I expected more reliability and am quite dissatisfied as a result.
That's my opinion, I hope it helps with anyone else's decision to purchase, I haven't used any of the other alternatives, so cannot comment on them.
We decided not to wait 2 weeks for the professional installers and did it ourselves, it took 15 minutes to install (into the LS430) and check to see if it worked, followed by another 45 minutes re-routing cables and tidying up the install. I ended up putting the unit in the glove box which I'm not happy about as it wasn't going to fit under the CD stacker. I really needed the space in the glove compartment
I've just come home from work and I've experienced many minor issues already. My trip home is long and boring, so I have plenty of time to fiddle with the new toy.
For one, the volume **** has been intermittently lazy, I'd turn the volume up and it would take a while to respond and then it was way too high and just frustrating, it did it three times and hasn't since.
The I agree button (which I haven't bypassed yet) takes quite a few seconds (about 10) to disappear when selected as evidenced by the button here in green:
This happened immediately after clicking I agree:
For some reason I can't get Artist information to display all the time:
YouTube videos either show YouTube as the artist name and song which is okay, but a couple of times it's chosen the name of a random song:
This time the artist name is working:
The rear screen and buttons seem to work well:
I'm happy with the product and the way it works, I understand it may have glitches every now and then, but these images were captured in quick succession, about 10 minutes from start to end, so I have many, albeit very minor, issues which are occurring often.
Had I opted for the cheapest alternative I would be a little miffed, but I purchased the best (two of them) from the correct distribution channels, new, so I expected more reliability and am quite dissatisfied as a result.
That's my opinion, I hope it helps with anyone else's decision to purchase, I haven't used any of the other alternatives, so cannot comment on them.
Last edited by Damian@FI; 09-01-16 at 03:02 AM.
#69
One thing I did have to do is upload new firmware and reboot the VaisTech, when I originally received it. Contact Eugene and ask if firmware could be emailed to you so you may try the same. If this does not work, please do not "live" with it - simply return and purchase something that works. You purchased a premium product and should expect it to work ALL the time with ALL of the included features AVAILABLE to you. Anything less and you may as well have purchased a different product mentioned in this thread.
#70
Does anyone here have any experience with the Yatour regarding to glitches? Damian@FI, thank you for the very informative post regarding to the minor issues. I hope that the issues you were facing especially with the Nav Screen going wonky for a bit is a rare occurrence. Also, do you have any other suggestions on hiding the box? TOM57, where were you able to mount the box to do such a clean install?
#71
Lead Lap
iTrader: (1)
One thing I did have to do is upload new firmware and reboot the VaisTech, when I originally received it. Contact Eugene and ask if firmware could be emailed to you so you may try the same. If this does not work, please do not "live" with it - simply return and purchase something that works. You purchased a premium product and should expect it to work ALL the time with ALL of the included features AVAILABLE to you. Anything less and you may as well have purchased a different product mentioned in this thread.
#72
WAAAY too many bugs for such an expensive product. And how about the company updating the firmware before the product ships out? It's not like software on a phone or computer that's easily updated by the end user. ClubLexus is full of stories of people having to send their units back in some cases.
Some of these issues are not minor, things like volume **** not working properly or the screen going scrambled for periods of time.
Every time I've purchased something like this that ties into the factory system, it has little issues. Usually you can live with them, but it's still annoying, but these are pretty major issues.
That's also why I prefer ones that tie onto the headphone jack vs a USB connection even at the expense of sound quality. It's much harder to screw that up. The control is then with the smartphone itself and you don't have to rely on firmware updates for the 3rd party unit. Android and iPhones get constant OS updates and then all sorts of new streaming apps and updates come into play. If the iPhone changes its cable (again) that will also be an issue with these, etc.
As far as I know, VAIS doesn't have a headphone jack for these models, which is odd since it's such a simple feature that most of the low-cost units offer. It also doesn't make it future proof in the coming years.
Some of these issues are not minor, things like volume **** not working properly or the screen going scrambled for periods of time.
Every time I've purchased something like this that ties into the factory system, it has little issues. Usually you can live with them, but it's still annoying, but these are pretty major issues.
That's also why I prefer ones that tie onto the headphone jack vs a USB connection even at the expense of sound quality. It's much harder to screw that up. The control is then with the smartphone itself and you don't have to rely on firmware updates for the 3rd party unit. Android and iPhones get constant OS updates and then all sorts of new streaming apps and updates come into play. If the iPhone changes its cable (again) that will also be an issue with these, etc.
As far as I know, VAIS doesn't have a headphone jack for these models, which is odd since it's such a simple feature that most of the low-cost units offer. It also doesn't make it future proof in the coming years.
#73
Rookie
Thread Starter
Ah, I didn't think about firmware!
Will contact the local distributor here and see if there is one available and yes, I would expect it was loaded with the latest firmware.
i really didn't want to post experiences this soon and please understand it could be issues relating to our install, setup, firmware, or the particular device or software on the device used in conjunction with the unit.
It could be an issue relating to my iPhone (6+), so I'm going to test a small HDD loaded with music today, I'll grab a thumb drive later and test that a well.
I run a manufacturing business that makes premium automotive products and I'd hate to have a review like this so I'm careful to make sure I test thoroughly and report honestly and accurately.
Anyone here understand how to get Bluetooth streaming (from iPhone to MML) working?
Will contact the local distributor here and see if there is one available and yes, I would expect it was loaded with the latest firmware.
i really didn't want to post experiences this soon and please understand it could be issues relating to our install, setup, firmware, or the particular device or software on the device used in conjunction with the unit.
It could be an issue relating to my iPhone (6+), so I'm going to test a small HDD loaded with music today, I'll grab a thumb drive later and test that a well.
I run a manufacturing business that makes premium automotive products and I'd hate to have a review like this so I'm careful to make sure I test thoroughly and report honestly and accurately.
Anyone here understand how to get Bluetooth streaming (from iPhone to MML) working?
Last edited by Damian@FI; 09-01-16 at 04:33 PM.
#74
I did add that if this does not fix it, then return it. I was ready to return the product when I originally had the issue. But now - not so much. Extremely satisfied with the quality of the product.
#75
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (6)
From poking around and searching the forums, it seems like any aftermarket stereo integration is going to have a certain % of defects and bugs, no matter who you buy it from.