I was curious to what the difference is between roadtop vs carlink vs beatsonic versions of carplay for our GS. I just ordered the roadtop version since it was significantly cheaper but I searched the various forums and I did not get a sense if it was better, worse, similar to the other options - only that some people have it and are satisfied with it.

I reached out for instructions for installing before purchasing and mr. roadtop (lol) was very responsive and emailed me what i was looking for. It did not include instructions on how to dissemble the car dash, but i figured I could find that on YouTube or following instructions to one of the other carplay vendors.

I was also curious as to how it works sound wise. I assume its best to route the phone connection through the default system, and music through the carplay system. Does this render the Phone app in the carplay system useless? I know the carplay system is accessed via AUX. Is there a degradation to sound quality by doing this for music? Will I still reap the benefits of the Mark Levinson system. I also heard that this version does not have a mouse cursor. How does one navigate to the different icons? I am also curious to how you guys mounted your GPS antenna and access the USB of the device after its installed.

 

Road Top looks the same as Carlinkit. Sound is through AUX, you can buy a ground loop noise isolator on amazon to improve the quality. I'm not an audiofile but unless I crank up the volume to 38+ I don't hear any noise. Yes you will get the benefits of Mark Levinson because all processed through the ML amp, all the speakers work. How are you suppose to control it without the mouse, maybe talking to siri? I mounted the GPS antenna to the top of the factory head unit. I forget what I used but my usb port is connected to the factory usb port in the center console, I think I used an adapter.

This is also the same as road top/Carlinkit:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/293614407769

You will find this unit all over the place sold under different brand names, but they are probably all made from the same factory in China.