Audio splitter deep in infotainment?

[Horsey]

I'm cross shopping a few brands and wanted to know if there's a way to split the audio/microphone signal to an external port? I want to hook an external music/microphone source into the vehicle and bypass the infotainment completely. I don't plan to use the center console for anything outside of the main cabin controls (HVAC).

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[NY_Rob]

No.

 

[Mousetrap]

I don't plan to use the center console for anything outside of the main cabin controls (HVAC).

This is a different type of vehicle than most you're used to if you haven't had one from a "modern" manufacturer before (Tesla, Rivian....). Watch some of the videos out there (I know Tesla has training walkthroughs, I'm not sure if Rivian has the equivalent or if you'll need to go to YouTube) to get familiar with the functionality. Or book a demo drive. In a Rivian, EVERYTHING is controlled by/on the center screen - in this case, even the direction the vents are pointed. You'll be hard pressed to have a good experience without using the screen.

2 minor addendums:
-many of the most useful controls you'll need while you're driving such as volume adjustments, answering/ending phone calls, and triggering the Rivian Assistant are available via steering wheel buttons.
-Speaking of, Rivian Assistant was released this week and can control much about the car via voice instead of needing to go through the screens. You have options like "turn on my seat chiller," "warm up all the seats except mine," "change the drive mode to sport," and any number of other things including navigation, etc. Voice controls aren't for everybody, but if your goal is to not look at or touch the center screen when you're driving, it's a great level-up.

 

[electruck]

It's not clear specifically what you're hoping to accomplish. you might see if what EV Play offers would be of any use to you.

 

[Horsey]

I'm trying to hardwire in an iPad/Galaxy Tab to use as infotainment. I just refuse to pay for a subscription on the in-car tablet when my phone service is free to tether, and the tablet runs at 120hz and can run literally anything on the App Store. If everything in the infotainment came free for the life of the car I'd use it, but since it costs money to use an inferior product, I'd rather not pay for Connect+.

Also, I use an iPad for work anyway, so having my work tablet be the trip computer is a huge win for me.

Please don't recommend me a Slate truck either... I simply cannot justify the purchase of a vehicle with less than 330 miles of range (what I'm currently getting).

 

[jrmbadger]

I'm trying to hardwire in an iPad/Galaxy Tab to use as infotainment. I just refuse to pay for a subscription on the in-car tablet when my phone service is free to tether, and the tablet runs at 120hz and can run literally anything on the App Store. If everything in the infotainment came free for the life of the car I'd use it, but since it costs money to use an inferior product, I'd rather not pay for Connect+.

Also, I use an iPad for work anyway, so having my work tablet be the trip computer is a huge win for me.

Please don't recommend me a Slate truck either... I simply cannot justify the purchase of a vehicle with less than 330 miles of range (what I'm currently getting).

As @electruck said, you can try EVPLAY - it converts your center screen into android auto or apple car play as well as streaming, etc... I don't have one or use it (no need to) so I can't answer questions about it, but there are forum members that have it and use it.

 

[CharonPDX]

I'm trying to hardwire in an iPad/Galaxy Tab to use as infotainment. I just refuse to pay for a subscription on the in-car tablet when my phone service is free to tether, and the tablet runs at 120hz and can run literally anything on the App Store. If everything in the infotainment came free for the life of the car I'd use it, but since it costs money to use an inferior product, I'd rather not pay for Connect+.

Also, I use an iPad for work anyway, so having my work tablet be the trip computer is a huge win for me.

Please don't recommend me a Slate truck either... I simply cannot justify the purchase of a vehicle with less than 330 miles of range (what I'm currently getting).

Hardwired? No.

Bluetooth, yes.

 

[shamoo]

I've been out of the car audio game for many years, but before I stopped working on that stuff, car infotainment systems were already starting to become very integrated.

Removing the radio/screen or tapping into anything would seriously screw up something else, or make it not function entirely.

To go around this, if you're able to find the audio output from the Rivian to the speakers, you may be able to put some sort of "line output converter". JBL, AudioControl, etc all make stuff like that. That will capture the audio out, clean it up, and then you have the option to send it somewhere else such as a secondary amplifier, and then to your speakers.

This will clean up OEM audio very nicely and allow you to use aftermarket amplifiers, attach subwoofers, etc. If you have those line converters/amplifiers now in place, you're able to accept external inputs which then go to your speakers and entirely bypass your OEM stereo system AND retain use of it. Many people do this to retain the aesthetics of the OEM dashboard/stereo system. It looks completely stock and it sounds amazing.

Will this work on a Rivian? I have no clue.

But it does work on Tesla (specifically a 2022 I worked on a little), and multiple (2012-2017) Hondas with integrated HVAC controls in the screen (both touch screen versions and not), and many modern Porsches.

 

[Mousetrap]

Maybe he meant "hardwire" as-in "solid mount and leave plugged into USB for power and stream audio via bluetooth" - in that case, it's totally possible!

 

[Horsey]

I'm definitely interested in EVPLAY, but I'm concerned with how laggy it looks in reviews. My iPad runs better than the EVPLAY module, so that's disqualifying imho.

 

[Dasoss]

I'm cross shopping a few brands and wanted to know if there's a way to split the audio/microphone signal to an external port? I want to hook an external music/microphone source into the vehicle and bypass the infotainment completely. I don't plan to use the center console for anything outside of the main cabin controls (HVAC).

There are no analog signals in Rivian's infotainment system short of the speaker amplifiers. There are multiple speaker--18 in my R1s--that require crossover, equalization, and delay correction by DSP in order to sound decent. Multiple speakers is a tough design problen. There is no native way to introduce an analog signal into the sudio system. You must go through the entertainment system to use the vihicle's speakers.You can get a tiny device that has a mic or a stereo line input and has a Bluetooth interface. Pair that with Rivian audio and you are good to go. You can turn off the equalization and sound stage enhancement features using the center screen, if you like. Amazon lists several Bluetooth adapters. They are intended for connecting microphones to Bluetooth speakers or for connecting airplane entertainment headphone outputs to Bluetooth headphones or earbuds.

 

[Horsey]

I've been out of the car audio game for many years, but before I stopped working on that stuff, car infotainment systems were already starting to become very integrated.

Removing the radio/screen or tapping into anything would seriously screw up something else, or make it not function entirely.

To go around this, if you're able to find the audio output from the Rivian to the speakers, you may be able to put some sort of "line output converter". JBL, AudioControl, etc all make stuff like that. That will capture the audio out, clean it up, and then you have the option to send it somewhere else such as a secondary amplifier, and then to your speakers.

This will clean up OEM audio very nicely and allow you to use aftermarket amplifiers, attach subwoofers, etc. If you have those line converters/amplifiers now in place, you're able to accept external inputs which then go to your speakers and entirely bypass your OEM stereo system AND retain use of it. Many people do this to retain the aesthetics of the OEM dashboard/stereo system. It looks completely stock and it sounds amazing.

Will this work on a Rivian? I have no clue.

But it does work on Tesla (specifically a 2022 I worked on a little), and multiple (2012-2017) Hondas with integrated HVAC controls in the screen (both touch screen versions and not), and many modern Porsches.

Can you link me to the audio splitter tech for Tesla? I'm cross shopping a Model Y, so if they can do audio splitting without any issues, I'll go with them.

 

[Mousetrap]

I'm cross shopping a Model Y

Out of curiosity, which Rivian are you interested in and what's your goal in a vehicle? The R1S (and certainly R1T!) are VERY different platforms from the Y and I personally wouldn't consider them very reasonable competitors by most metrics outside of "modern electric." If the R2, then you already know it's not out yet and maybe we're just having a hypothetical conversation about the future - which is fine, but a different grounding for the conversation.

 

[Nixapatfan]

I'm confused here, if your intent is to use the iPad for everything, why wouldn't you just connect audio with Bluetooth and call it a day. Doesn't make sense to lose the steering wheel controls for volume and track changes.

Most of the Rivian infotainment features work fine without connect+

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