Kenwood DNX893s

Anyone running a Kenwood DNX893s? I recently purchased and installed a Pioneer 8200nex and it's having some issues (going blank randomly or not coming on at all), so I'm going to try to return it to Crutchfield... I'm debating on whether to exchange for another 8200nex, or fork over the extra $ and give the Kenwood a shot. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

@Mr Marv, do you have any input on this?

 

How 'bout you, @manethon? Any input?

 

I'm just curious, what does that do that a cheaper unit doesnt? Is it built in nav that makes it so expensive? IMO I'd rather use my phone for nav and save $500.

 

Capacitive touch screen, and using the built-in nav saves the data usage on my phone. That's pretty much it.

 

I had an 893s installed a couple of months ago in an FJ. I had the JBL unit with Nav in my Taco b4 trading it for the FJ. The FJ OEM system is pretty primitive. Missed the features the JBL had in the Taco so I went with the 893. Wanted in dash navigation and have always liked the Garmin systems. Kenwood is the only one with Garmin, so that was the primary driver behind my decision.

I have no complaints about the Kenwood. Love the Garmin Nav and Apple Car Play. Am able to use all steering wheel controls with it. If you have any specific questions, I'll try to answer them.

 

Thanks for the response! I don't have any specific questions, really. Just wondering if people have had a decent experience with the Kenwood unit, because so far the Pioneer Unit has not been good to me.

 

I had an 893S on my WRX and loved it. Took it out when I sold the car. It has every audio source you would use and sounds and looks amazing. The glass screen cannot be beat. My one complaint is the BT does take some time to connect but that was it. That being said, I have one for sale

 

Thanks for the reply! I'm going to update the Nex unit today and see if it works out the issues, if not, I'll be moving to the Kenwood. If the Pioneer interface continues to annoy me, I may just swap it out anyway and sell it.

 

For nav I'd rather spend $100 for a separate GPS. Much easier and can be shared

 

I wanted to get the Pioneer deck, either the 8200 or the 4200, what issues are you having with it? Should I just get the Kenwood?

 

The CarPlay interface seems slow and buggy, and I've had issues with the unit not turning on when I start the truck. Crutchfield says that it's likely a software problem that an update will fix. The more I look at the Kenwood units, the more I regret not taking it in that direction. They seem a little more user friendly for the things that I'll be using, the sound quality is supposedly better, and you have the ability to BT two phones at the same time (I have both a work and personal iPhone). Whatever you choose to do, Pioneer or Kenwood, make sure you update the unit as soon as you get it installed. Based on the reviews, it seems that most of the issues anyone is having with any of the units are software related, and easily fixed with the update.

 

Going back a couple of years, I ultimately chose the Kenwood over the Pioneer because Kenwood had 24-bit DACs and 5V pre-outs versus the Pioneer of that year which was still using 2V pre-outs on a "flagship" double din unit. I have stuck with Kenwood since. Looks like Pioneer has stepped up to the 4V pre-outs (not sure when that happened) so at this point for either of you it comes down to two things.

User Interface - which one you like better/easier to use
The screen - I have not seen the Pioneers, but I will tell you the 893S screen looks absolutely amazing. I wish I had a better picture of it but this was all I could find.

 

I ultimately chose the Pioneer because of the user reviews, and I'm regretting the decision. It seems the only bad reviews of the Kenwood products are from people who didn't update their firmware... I'm updating the Pioneer now and I guess we'll see how the unit functions when it's done. I'll update in a few days to let everyone know if the problems are persisting.

 

how much u want?

 

PM coming your way

 

Next in line if you don't sell to stmpjmpr.

 

go for it Im out

 

Update: I did the firmware update on the 8200nex. The firmware update solved the issue of the unit not starting up when the ignition was turned on (so far at least), but now the unit is having other intermittent problems, mostly associated with the CarPlay interface. Most notably, I'm having issues with Pandora and IHeartRadio loading, and then once loaded, I've had issues with absolutely no sound when streaming music. I've contacted Crutchfield and sent them a video of the problems. Hopefully they make good and exchange the unit for the Kenwood. I'll keep this post updated on the outcome, and assuming Crutchfield comes through, I'll post a quick review on the Kenwood unit and comparison to the Pioneer once I get it installed.

 

Just got the confirmation. DNX893s inbound from Crutchfield. I should have it in over the weekend.