Kenwood DNX 7100 - Thoughts?

Hi All,

Looking at putting this deck in my 2007 TRD access cab.
Kenwood DNX-7100

In-Dash Double-Din 6.95" Widescreen DVD Navigation Receiver.
With these options
- Bluetooth module for cellular wireless
- Backup camera
- Steering control adapter for TRD controls to still work

Anyone have any comments? Thoughts?

 

That stereo is awesome. It has a bunch of great features and navigating through it is easy compared to older models...

I work for Sonic Electronix and I have installed/played with many units and this is one of the best. The nav unit is part of the stereo instead of an external box like their older models. Easier to install with less wires.

Also, the signal to noise ratio is high. This means that there won't be any extra humming/hissing coming from the unit so you get the best possible sound quality.

The only thing that I am still deciding on is which model...(the DNX7100 is expensive). Also most install kits don't match the factory dash that well.. The one made by Scosche is a close color match but does not have the same texture.. Metra and American International make some kits as well but they come in the usual black abs plastic....I haven't seen the texture up close on these but it looks similar and maybe some color matching paint might make it look "factory".

Your other option for a quality stereo is going to be either Eclipse or Pioneer....I prefer Eclipse over Pioneer because the Pioneer Sig-To-Noise ratio is low. And Eclipse is one of the best.

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions let me know !!!
Thumbs up

 

hope you aren't looking for sound quality

 

Not quite sure what you meant by that. If you are referring to the Kenwood unit it WILL have better sound quality then say a pioneer or other...

 

yeah a pioneer mobile video. I'm just saying that most mobile video's (including your kenwood) focus on mainly features and whatnot, not sound quality. You'd get much better sound quality from another deck. Like the pioneer deh960... makes any kenwood sound like a bose, lol

 

Maybe I just don't understand you. From what I understand you are saying that the Pioneer is better and the Kenwood unit is like a BOSE stereo...well as most of us know BOSE is one of the best out there for aftermarket audio. And if you actually took the Pioneer and the Kenwood unit and placed them side by side with them on you would CLEARLY see that the Pioneer has way more visual, graphic, and other non-essential features that don't add sound quality. And when you looked at the Kenwood there would be nothing but controls for music. Sound quality coming from the unit is called the signal-to-noise ratio. It can be found on all stereos, the higher the number the better.....now that we have beaten a dead horse....

 

I would strongly recommend anyone look at this before buying from sonixelectronix:
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/SonicElectronix

It appears alot of their stuff is refurbs, or repaired goods. I called yesterday and asked how they can do their stuff so cheap and he refused to answer.

 

That's a bunch of crap. Everything that we sell is brand new in box. We CLEARLY list all items that are not new. The only refurbed items we sell are from Kicker and it is only their amps. There is a section on our page called the liquidation station where anything used, returned, or damaged is sold. So whoever says that we sell used, refurbed, or FAKE items is mis informed. This business has been growing for over 7 years now and continues to do so.

Look at the feedback score from eBay alone and you will see over 33,600 customers that have been more than pleased by not getting raped in their wallet from companies like Crutchfield that make HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS on each item. It doesn't take an idiot to figure that one out. But then again who knows. And our warranty policies are far superior to other companies..the number one thing that we get complaints about is repair times...wouldn't you rather have authorized repair facilities handling your units that we pay for out of pocket to have done...unlike some places that have in house guys taking your units apart....hmmmm, that's not a tough decision.

And your link is a joke....you are quoting a source that has 13 posts...13, out of hundreds of thousands of orders...come on.....look at ebay, look at the BBB. And if you actually worked in sales and ran a business you can't please everyone. There are going to be the people that you just can't please...

Our prices are low because we don't have to sell products at the MSRP. It's called wholesale. Also we get our items from distributors from all major manufacturers. Some serial numbers are taken off since we aren't authorized to sell some items..to protect our sources. Some people are willing to pay less for an item that is NEW without a serial number, wouldn't you like to save $150 on a subwoofer that still has a 1 year warranty, or $600 on a stereo that still has a warranty.

And if our business was a joke, we wouldn't be authorized by Kicker, Bazooka, Monster Cable, JVC, DUAL, Power Acoustik, MA Audio, Clif Designs, Nesa, Scosche, RCA, Omega, Autopage, Beyma, Global Navigation. These are reputable companies that we are partnered with.

So if you want to talk about this further or if anyone has any questions call me at 877-289-7664 ext 107. Andy

 

4X4Taco, X2 on that thought.

 

bose is good?? are you serious? Yeah maybe they got the home audio aspect under wraps but car audio? not in my opinion. it's an ok factory sound but where the hell are the highs? and the lows for that matter? not to mention factory bose equipment is so hard/expensive to replace in most vehicles.
anyway, i still say kenwood sucks. i've had alot of kenwoods and they seem to poop out after a while. When I replaced my last kenwood (cd player quit working) with a PIONEER my sound quality dramatically improved. The kenwood before that had bad preouts, the kenwood before that quit reading reglular cd's AFTER the ribbon cable on the Dmask started going out. And the kenwood before that (i was an avid kenwood fan) had the internal amp go bad. And I wasn't buying cheapo decks, these things were like 400 to 500 a piece, the last one retailed for nearly 600 bones! So when I came across the pioneer premier 960 i nearly messed my pants when i plugged it in. My Type R 6.5's and 6x9's sounded beautiful pushed by my Alpine amp. Maybe it was the 6.5v preouts on the new pioneer that made me grin ear to ear, but I swore off kenwood for good. I've been using the pioneer for running on two years now and Pioneer has won me over.

 

Has anyone had problems playing a DVD that they authored in a Kenwood DNX7100? I've tried creating several DVDs (DVD-R, DVD+RW) with folders (one level deep) containing a variety of MP3s and keep getting a disc read error. I know the DVDs are fine as I can play it on my other computers.

The Kenwood manual says it should be able to play these formats, but haven't had much luck.

I have been able to get it to play a CD-R with no problems.

 

I have the DNX 7100 and I am verry plesed. I looked at all the options for months before i picked this one. the only downside to this unit are the menu graphics. they could be laid out more user friendly, but that is something you learn in a day. the Ipod interface is the best I have seen, and it plays movies, tv show and video podcasts from the ipod. plus dvd's and even bootleg dvd'd flawlessly. the highlight of this unit is the navigation system. Garmin brand stored on the hard drive with an sd slot to update. it has 3d maps while most have 2d. I heard the Pioneer systems have so much problems and you cant do anything while driving. I also have the back up camera and i had them install a usb splitter behind the unit so i can use the ipod interface and still have the usb pot to upload backgrounds and play stuff off a flash drive. Great unit and worth every penny. Here are some pics to check out.

 

Nomolos,
How did you go about grounding the safety features? I was looking into the Alpine W205 and you could by a PAC TR-7 and click switches on/off in a sequence. Is it easier to do this for the kenwood unit?

Also, are you using the GXM 30 antenna for Traffic/XM. If yes, where did you mount it and how does the XM sound (I have heard it sucks and I have heard you just have to get the EQ right)?

I appreciate anyone that can add to this.

 

I haven't bypassed the safety features yet, Best buy wouldn't do it and I haven't found anyone to yet. I don't have the XM feaure, but the gps antena wa mounted inside the dash so you don't see anything.

 

I did some more research today and it seems that to bypass the safety feature you just ground the wire that goes to the parking brake. Seems that is one of the major reasons that people are buying this unit. If this is true, it would probably be easy enough to do it yourself. Just look at your wiring diagram and find the parking break wire and connect it to a dedicated ground or just a piece of metal that is connected to the frame of the truck.

Also, I came across the updates for Kenwood units to work with the Ipod Classic, nano, and touch screen (http://www.kenwood.com/usb/info_program_en.html). At the bottom of the page you click on "Update Program", enter your serial number and download the program to a memory stick. Then you upload this to the head unit. If anyone has actually done this for the Classic to get the video to work, I would love to know. The 80GB Classic seems to be much cheaper than the 5th generations of the same size (don't know why).

 

I just purchased a Kenwood DNX8120 (waiting for local professional installer to put it in once the dash kit he ordered arrives). I was looking at the GPS Navigation manual from Kenwood and shows instructions under setup how to turn Safe Mode on and off. Does this mean I don't have to go the route of the brake bypass grounding?

 

Here's probably a dumb question, but I have a friend that told me I should have pre-outs coming off my stock deck. Anyone know if this is true? I have an 07 Tacoma with the 6 disc changer

 

No such thing as dumb questions, only dumb answers! (a few of which can be found in this thread unfortunately ) In any case ask him to take out your deck and show you. (BTW, that means no )

 

Here's a pic of the back side..

 

I too am getting the DNX 8120 put in this week with infinity refernce tweeters and 6 X 9s in the front and 6.5 in the back with a reference amp to power them - no sub for me ( I want the space and will have plenty of "normal" bass from the 6 X 9s

Can't wait - I 'm just wondering if it is worth getting the stering whell controls for it - I've heard they can be slow with a delay. Anybody know how they work with Kenwoods.