Why Buy From Us?
We are a truly Australian based company, with over 50 years combined
industry experience! We are a team of 4, based around the Newcastle area on the
mid coast of NSW.
As may already know, there are many brands out there selling what initially
looks like the same product at the same or much lower price. Whilst at first
glance our units and our competitors units look extremely similar, there are
few differences when it comes to the product itself, and the service behind
that product:
Buying from overseas:
You may have considered purchasing a unit from overseas. Let us explain just
some of the risks involved:
Installation / user guides- most (if not all) of units
purchased overseas will not have installation or user guides. We write our own
user guides right here in Australia (in plain English) that have clear colour screenshots
of the screen covered. We also have various features of our units covered with
videos - available to be viewed if you run into any issues whilst using the
unit! Our installation guides come from experience installing the exact same
unit in your model car! The installation guides also have lots of clear colour
photos for most steps, we make the install easy!
Tech support- getting tech support from an overseas seller
can be troublesome, simply understanding what they mean can be a mission in
itself! That’s if you’re lucky enough to find a seller who actually gives tech
support! We are Australian based, we are contactable via Facebook or email and
are very responsive to messages!
Warranty / Returns / Refunds- Many countries overseas do
not have the same consumer rights as Australia. Most of these sellers won’t
accept a return and certainly are very hesitant to give any type of refund! You
also need to take into consideration the cost and time to return the faulty
product/s - this can easily cost over $100 and take several weeks to arrive
back with the seller! Then you need to wait for them to repair or replace the
product and send it back - it could be several months, not to mention this is
if you’re lucky enough to even get a return address!
Manufacturer:
Our manufacturer has over 20 years experience building components suitable
for in car use. We have been working closely with their engineers for the past
5 years to develop and refine the products we stock. We have exclusivity with
this manufacturer for the Australian / New Zealand market. Rest assured, no
other brand has the exact same product as us!
Memory:
4GB or 6GB of RAM (Random Access Memory) - this memory determines how fast
and smooth the unit performs, especially when using high-demand apps like
navigation or movies. Other brands can have only 1GB or 2GB of RAM, sometimes
this specification isn’t even listed! 64GB or 128GB of onboard memory or
ROM (Read Only Memory) - this memory is the amount of storage room the system
has internally for things like the operating system, apps / mapping and for
media like music or movies. Other brands can have 16GB-32GB of ROM, take out
the memory used for the operating system and it doesn’t leave much free space
at all!
Operating System:
This is the software the unit uses to operate. Software and the UI (User
Interface) is what you are using to navigate through the main menu, adjust the
settings and customise the unit to the way you use it! Many brands have a
limited UI, and don’t enable the system to be adjusted or customised properly.
They can also make navigating to frequently used features hard. This is
definitely NOT ideal when you are driving!
In a nutshell, all the software and UI versions used android based units
(including ours) are a modified version of an Android based tablet. Whilst the
software and UI might work great in tablet form, it certainly is the opposite
when used in a car environment! Some of the features our units have that others
may not have include:
Turn on “boot” time - our units use a “sleep” mode. This means the unit
doesn’t actually completely turn off when you turn your car off, they are
similar to a home PC that has sleep mode. This won’t have any effect on your
cars battery if you are using your car fairly regularly. If you don’t drive
your car for more than 24 hours, the unit will fully shut down to conserve your
cars battery. This sleep mode enables the unit to turn on almost instantly,
within just a few seconds! Other brands can take up to 45 seconds to start up!
Imagine waiting 45 seconds every time you start your car just to be able too
see your reverse camera or even connect your phone! Complete customisation
of the “Home Screen”, change the apps that appear along the bottom, add more
apps to the Home Screen and even change the wallpaper to your own picture!
Let’s say you want a certain app or feature to open up automatically when you
start your car, no problem! Allow all or only certain apps to be displayed
in full screen, this removes the top notification panel to display the app
without having distractions along the top of the screen - see directions or
trip details quicker and easier, adjust in-app settings and access their menus
quicker and easier! Add “widgets” to the Home Screen. Want a large clock
in the centre of the Home Screen - no problem! Want to have a Spotify widget on
the Home Screen? Easy! Screen brightness - with our units, you can
independently adjust the “daytime” and “night-time” brightness.Reversing -
adjust the volume level when you select reverse. You can choose to have the
volume mute, or maybe reduce by 25%, 50%, 75%, or not adjust at all! You can
also turn the reversing camera grid lines off / on, and even adjust these grid
lines to suit your car and needs! Adjusting the reversing camera picture brightness,
contrast and saturation is easily possible too! Both the grid lines and picture
adjustments can be made whilst in reverse so you can get them just right.
Android Version:
This is fairly important when it comes to downloading and installing
different apps. Earlier versions (Android 6, 8 and 9) may not be compatible
with certain apps. This will reduce the speed of the unit and also reduce the
number of apps you can install, not to mention when a newer version of an app
that’s only compatible with later Android versions. Our units use Android 10 -
the latest possible version available!
Hardware:
Dual Bluetooth 5.0 chips - compatible with BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy)
devices. Our units have dual Bluetooth chips, enabling you to connect a
Bluetooth device such as an OBDII adapter, dual battery monitor, TPMS etc
whilst also connecting your phone at the same time! Other brands just have the
one Bluetooth chip, this means you won’t be able to connect these other
products and still connect your phone. WIRELESS Apple CarPlay and WIRELESS
Android Auto - these functions are BUILT IN to the hardware of the unit, no USB
dongles or adapters are used. Having this hardware built in can greatly
increase the speed, fluency and reliability of these functions. Wirelessly connecting
your phone is much more convenient too! Access your phone contacts and make a
call using only your voice, have text messages read to you and reply using only
your voice. Navigate using up to date mapping on your chosen compatible app,
play or stream music from your phone through apps like Apple Music or Spotify
etc. Choose playlists and change songs, again, using only your voice! Please
also note, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto heavily relies on your phone to do
all the work - all apps used are actually the apps that are installed on your
phone. If you have an older phone, or you’ve noticed it is slowing down
somewhat over time, this will also impact on your experience when using CarPlay
and Android Auto. Phone manufacturers are great at “slowing down” older phones
through software updates! SIM card compatible - many customers of ours
take advantage of the possibilities with our units by using a dedicated SIM
card. This allows the unit to have permanent network access (provided you have
network coverage in the area) to use many apps that require a network. Apps
like Spotify, Netflix, YouTube, WikiCamps (all pre installed on each unit by
the way!) can be used. Of course, there is always the option of simply “hot
spotting” your phone through WiFi for network access if you don’t want to use
the SIM card. Our units also have a dedicated 4G antenna to get the best
possible reception and network speeds! DSP (Digital Sound Processor) - our
units have a comprehensive DSP. 16 band graphic equaliser, independent front
and rear high pass filters (both are a must for fine tuning the sound),
independent front and rear bass boost and even digital time alignment! These
features are very rare in a replacement unit! Our units also have RCA pre-outs
to connect external amplifiers and subwoofers if required.Screen quality - all
of our units feature hardened glass capacitive touchscreens, similar to what
you’ll find on the latest mobile phones. The glass itself is very durable and
will not break even in the harshest of environments (heat, vibrations etc). We
also have an “upgraded” version of our units that boasts a QLED (Quantum LED)
HD resolution screen - colours are far more vibrant and the extra contrast
makes viewing in your car much easier!
Tech support and Warranty:
Our team has over 50 years combined industry experience, made up of a fully
qualified auto electrician (with over 20 years experience in the car audio
field), an industry veteran with over 30 years experience in product
development and sales, as well as two “young guns” with around 7 years
experience each within the technology / software and automotive industry - it’s
fair to say that between us, there’s not much we haven’t seen! The two “older”
members were involved in the industry when cassette players were still
around! Tech support - With the experience above, we can supply you with
unparalleled technical support, for the lifetime of our products! If you’re
wanting to “tweak” your unit or maybe you just want to know how to do something
- we are always here to help! Warranty / returns - We offer a 14 day money
back guarantee, we also provide 12 months warranty on all our products. Even
after the warranty period has ended, if you happen to have a significant
failure or issue, we are happy to repair or replace components! (additional
costs may apply in some circumstances). We also pride ourselves on the
efficiency of our repair service. Other brands can take months to repair or
replace a faulty product, in most cases we can have your unit repaired or
replaced within a week or two!Software updates - as part of our commitment to
our customers, we work closely with our manufacturer to fix “bugs” and provide
software updates when required. Again, even after the warranty period has
elapsed.
Testing / preparation of each unit:
Each unit is fully tested for over an hour before dispatch. We check things
like the touchscreen, internal amplifier, Bluetooth, GPS reception and
apps! When you place an order with us, we load our custom made software
and all the apps etc onto your unit. We set up things like your reverse camera,
Navigation app (we preload Australia wide maps on every unit) and even little
things like changing settings so you don’t need to! This ensures you get the
latest software, the latest mapping and the latest system at the time you
order! Yes, this also means there is a small delay between when you order and
when it has been dispatched. We apologise for this delay and thank you for your
patience.
Optional Extras:
We truly embrace our business name “Custom Car Stereo Systems”. We provide a
wide range of accessories that you choose from when purchasing. If you order
our universal remote control for example, we connect the module and pre-program
the control to your unit before dispatch. This means your remote works straight
out of the box, no soldering or programming needed! We also provide unique
optional extras like factory GPS / DAB antenna adapters and even camera
override switches, so you can view your reverse camera at anytime whilst
driving - check on the trailer etc! and again, this harness / switch comes
pre-wired (and tested), ready to be installed and used straight away!
Installation Services:
If you’re local to us in the Newcastle region, we are happy to give you a
quote to come to your home / work and install our products! We can walk you
through the features, customising your unit and connecting your
devices. If you’re not local to us, we have a select group of installers
around the country. These guys have fitted our products in the past and we’re happy
to recommend them.If you’re not close to us or one of our installers, we can
put you in touch with a local professional who should have no issues installing
our products for you! Alternatively, you can opt to use a trusted Auto
electrician or accessory fitter / store.
Whilst internally our units are all very similar, the vehicle specific
frames / dash kits and plug + play harnesses are different and vary depending
on the model. Rest assured, we do not sell products that we haven’t fitted and
tested extensively ourselves! The format used commonly between all our models
has been (and still is in some cases) fitted to our own personal vehicles and
used on a daily basis over thousands of kilometres of driving in Australia. We
have worked tirelessly on “refining” this format, using real world scenarios
over the last 5 years!
In the end, it’s totally up you which brand you choose to purchase. But
please do not judge our units against others!
Old sayings like “you get what you pay for” and “poor man pays twice” are
certainly true!
If you’d like more information, have a question or just want to have a chat
about our products, please get in contact with us via email at customcarstereosystems@gmail.com or
simply shoot us a message on Facebook!