Kenwood DMX905S - Install, Reviews and Quirks thread - 2018 TRD Sport

Nice!

 

So my plan now is to start pulling apart my truck Friday night after work. I have a bunch of other stuff to do while I have everything apart in the back seat area for clean up/wire organization, as well as running the BT mic to the OEM spot (I really wish there was a solution on the market to keep the OEM that didn't include splicing wires/etc).

I'd actually like to get everything "loose" installed Friday night, re-tune the amp Saturday morning with the DD-1, then put everything back together.

 

I got a good amount done today. I took the opportunity to teach my son how to rip apart a car and wire, but I did not get everything finished.

Also, the Scosche TA2122B is not the right size. Lol.

This picture reminds me of the puking pumpkin pictures:



Look, the screen floats



Anyway, I still have a list of stuff to do.

Run mic for Bluetooth
Plug into amp
Tune
Plug in wires
Put sub/amp back in it's spot
Put back seats back in

I've function checked and we are good to go, but I have another dash kit on the way. It'll get here Sunday.

 

I finished the install, tuned the amp, everything is wired. I have a lot of notes, but it will have to wait until I get to a computer. Lots of pictures as well. But for now I will say: holy shit I'm happy AF.

 

Looks great, totally jealous! I am having android auto withdraws!

I was hoping to pick your brain a bit too. I just did my very basic install today as well. Just did a swap of the HU and installed the dmx905s as well. Everything works fine with exception of Wired Android Auto. Not trying to hijack your thread, but was wondering did you run into any quirks while testing that sounds familiar to mine below.

I know my way around testing so i think i've narrowed it down a bit but i dont know enough about the electrical side to put together the entire picture.
Everything works.
backup cam
Bluetooth
Bluetooth calling
AA works very briefly but then fails and says usb error or unsupported device.
Phone = Oneplus3t, oneplus6, and an old axon7. If you dont know the Oneplus phones there are very similar to the Pixel line, very close to stock Android.
AA works with all the above devices on my wife's Mazda5.
Tested a bunch of different cables both official and not, under 3 feet ect ect.

Think i've rule most things out, think i have something wired goofy or possible a bad USB extension cable. I'm gonna pull it out tomorrow and plug the phone directly into the back without the extension and see if that works to rule that part out.

 

Switch which USB you are plugged into. The DMX905S has two USB ports, one gray, one black. I believe one is specific to Android, the other is Apple/data.

Before I put the stereo into the dash I tested everything. I found that my Android was not coming up. Kept telling me invalid or some such nonsense. So I switched the USB and it worked just fine.


If you haven't tried that, give it a shot. I did not use the supplied extensions.

Also, do not run the Kenwood WebLink at the same time as connecting with AA. It does funky shit.

Edited to add: my android usb cord is plugged direct into the gray usb on the back of the head unit.

 

OK, all wrapped up, and with the right dash kit!


A few items of note/first impressions:

1. Holy shit what a difference in sound. The Morels I have in the truck were nice with the OEM head unit, but now they are incredible. The clarity at high volume is astounding.
2. I don't like WebLink. At all.
3. I have a Pixel 2, so my phone hooks up flawlessly to wireless Android Auto. I put my phone on the plug to get the battery charged and to have wired AA.
4. The back up camera resolution is not bad, but not as good as the OEM head unit

5. Pre-Loaded equalizer settings!
6. For some reason on the gauges I get no fuel reading:

7. The Apple Music iPod over airplay is very nice. The sound quality is better than I expected it would be.
8. The iPod and USB are labeled just that, the names don't change based on what the item says it is (my USB came up as "Catalogs" on the OEM head unit, and the iPod as "Moar Muzak")
9. Max volume before distortion was 37 on the Kenwood. That is where I tuned the amp at, 37. I turn it up to 30 and my hair is vibrating. VIBRATING. The clarity is amazing.
10. Turning the volume up, you can press and hold until it gets to 15. After 15 you have to press the up button for every notch higher you want to go. Wonder if there is something in the settings to change that.
11. Do not run Kenwood Link/WebLink at the same time as running AA. Funky shit happens.
12. If running AA, make sure the phone you are using is utilizing the GRAY USB. I know the manual says you can use either, but I call bull shit. I had my phone plugged into the black USB, and the only way it would link up to the head unit was if I downloaded Kenwood link/connect or whatever. I switched USB, and all was right; phone went right to AA.


I tuned the amp using 40hz @-5dB for the sub and 1000khz @-5dB. The Steve Meade Designs DD-1 is the most amazingly simple tuning tool. The last few amps I have set up, I used an oscilloscope, and they can be a pain in the ass. The DD-1 made this the easiest tuning ever, and is dead nuts on.

When I ran the first test song (Umphries McGee's Miami Virtue - lots of bass and full range), I was giddy. Like really giddy. Like way giddier than with the OEM unit's sound.

All in all, so far so good. Audio books have good sound, as well as the USB and iPod. Waze looks great on the screen:



Now for the dash cluster:

When you flip over to Audio you get all these choices:



GPS gives blank


Music



All others remain

Maestro/Steering Wheel Controls
Steering controls (what I have tested)

Volume works as normal
the up/down buttons on that same pad do nothing for audio. The up button changes the home screen (there are 5 home screens), and that is it. Nothing from the down button that I have found yet.


I removed screen 1, I won't be using weblink or Waze via weblink. You have to keep the phone on for that (screen stays unlocked on phone)

I have to play with the controls on the right side of the steering wheel (haven't gotten to far into that side yet), what I have found is it will control next/back on audio (up/down) if you have the audio screen up in the dash cluster.

I will update this thread as I find new quirks/features.

 

Maestro/Steering Wheel Controls

Quirk/feature I just found: holding volume down when you are above level 15 will mute the stereo.

When searching songs/artists in music (USB or iPod), you have to use the folder buttons. Just figured that out LOL.

Also, had the daughter in the truck and she put on Super Bass and we put it on 30. It vibrated one of the screws loos in my dash cam mount, and it dropped down in angle to Max (it was dangling from the rear view mirror). Mission complete.

 

Maestro/Steering Wheel Controls

Phone buttons work as they should.

 

You were spot on with that odd little quirk. Popped the stereo out and used the Gray USB connector and it works. I'm also in the same boat as you with the gauges, Fuel doesn't register. I'll also have to play with the Maestro and mapping new commands to the down button on the left side of the wheel. I'm sure i can find something useful for it to do.

 

I had the same issues with the Kenwood app and weblink, I'm glad to know it not just "me". I only wanted to use it for YouTube anyway so no big deal. My only gripe with this unit is the graphics when using Apple CarPlay look like shit. I usually use the built in Spotify app most of the time because it shows the album art on screen.

 

Yay! Let us know what you do with that down button.

 

Yeah. The back up camera view is less than ideal compared to OEM, but meh. The sound quality is what I wanted more than anything

 

Maestro/Steering Wheel Controls

The "Mode/Hold" button on the steering wheel cycles through all of the audio input choices, no matter what screen you are on, on the head unit or on the dash cluster (found this out this morning on my commute). I also found that on the Audio page on the dash cluster, if you are listening to music or audio books, if you get a phone call, even after you terminate the call, the "Incoming Call" and phone number stays on the Android Auto page of the dash cluster. Weird.

 

Curious as to why you want to make android auto work. I have the kenwood and I disabled it. Android auto minimizes the features of your phone while driving. I simply bloothtooth my audio to the speaker and then do whatever I want on the phone. What is the benefit of android auto or apple CarPlay? They are both safety features meant to disable things you can do on your phone while in the car (as a passenger or driver)

 

Thats how the manual stick looks on the 3rd gens? weak

 

Yes, they are both safety features. And that is what I wanted. And I will put those features in my kids' cars when they buy one for exactly that reason.

I'll be honest with you, I like the idea of pressing a button that says "I'm driving right now" when my wife texts me incessantly while I'm driving is very appealing to me.

I really haven't seen very much limitation in what I can (or want) to do. I laid out exactly what I wanted, and I got exactly what I wanted. I'm not a fan of handling my phone while driving, and see to many people on my commutes doing exactly that, blatantly, on extremely busy roads. I'm not looking to be "that guy".

 

holy shit what an install!

ps. loving the usb cable through the vent

 

Thanks! I put that there so the kids won't use it, and it's perfect for the phone mount.

Quirk/feature for today:

The iPod feature is great, but it seems like the head unit has to re-download the catalog every time you start the car up.

I set the listening position and it changed the sound stage a little bit (in a good way).

 

Quirk of the day:

During my commute in the morning, I usually talk to my sister on the phone. I noticed this morning that while I was on the phone, my iPod music kept playing. Not through the speakers mind you, there was no interference or anything like that, rather, the music just keeps going. In other words, ipod music mutes during call only, it doesn't pause. Not that big of a deal really, but weird.