New Headunit decision, Alpine vs Kenwood.

My local bestbuy is terrible and half the display models dont work and are mislabeled. I like everything about the alpine ilx 207 but i really want wireless android auto and leave the usb port connected to an old Ipod with a decent amount of songs . Im leaning toward Kenwood can anyone steer me in the right direction. concerning their lineup. is there any disadvantage of getting an older model at a discount? Kenwood DDX905S for $400 or the newer DDX906S for 600ish.

Ive done the searches and ive read the threads but was hoping someone could help me out.

 

I'm somewhat in the market and know most of the pros/cons between Alpine, Kenwood, Pioneer after reading through all their specs and even some of their manuals. Need to determine what the feature priority is (like AA or Carplay), and whether it needs to be wireless. And if you need wireless, then the model needs to be a 2018 or 2019 model, since the earlier Carplay and AA wireless models didn't work too well (Alpine ILX 107 for example). Once thats sorted, then you can into whether you need the 4 Volt preamps, all the EQ/DSP features + time correction, Capacitive vs. Resistive screens, 460 vs 720 res, dvd vs no disc. And also do you want nice UI transitions and VU meter displayed while music is playing. If you go with an earlier model Kenwood, I'd make sure it works reliably, and also there is a decent discount.

Kenwood seems to have plenty of models to accommodate all the different option combos someone may or may not want. Alpine is being stingy with some of the DSP features they used to include on non-display head units...and forcing you to go into the next higher model to get that extra one feature you might want or be used to having. Alpine also is going all in on that Halo 9 appearance. Pioneer for some reason is using resistive displays in their mid-high end models, which otherwise are very good featurewise. I think Kenwood right now is doing their display head units the right way without forcing you into an expensive model - use Crutchfield's sort and filter tools to determine what Kenwood model has what you want.

 

Ive been going through all the options on crutchfield. the main options i want are iDatalink, Wireless Android auto. That does limit my selection to last year and this year models. Ill have to find a place other than bestbuy to go and play with some radios to determine if capacitive screens are worth the extra 100-150 on the same radio.

 

Check out this thread:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...iews-and-quirks-thread-2018-trd-sport.597448/

It's a great head unit for the money.

Be advised though, right now ONLY Google Phones (Nexus/Pixel lines) work with the WIRELESS Android Auto, however, some people are saying that is coming soon with the official update on the AA UI refresh.

Also, the DMX head unit has 2 USB ports where the Alpine has only 1. 1 of them is apple specific.....

 

Alpine...all day long....I cheapened out and got a Kenwood and I have to keep resetting it to reconnect to Bluetooth. First time I went with another brand other than Alpine....yeah it was almost half the price but next time I will just spend the money.

 

Edited to add the word wireless. Sorry if I confused you.

 

ive sported Google/nexus phones for the past 4 year.

Ive had kenwoods since my first vehicle. Ive also owned alpines but these were all single din. What kenwood unit do you have? What sucks is alpine is asking wireless money for a wired unit. There is no value there.

 

Excelon

 

I have also been looking at the ilx207 but having a tough time pulling the trigger because cheap. I keep looking at it then saw this and wonder if I’d be happy with it https://www.crutchfield.com/p_500ILXW650/Alpine-ILX-W650.html. I’m already running an outboard amp so no need for the amp offered that mates with this.

 

I looked at that also but wanted the Idatalink integrated.

Ive bought a Kenwood 905s for a good price. Ill wire up the harness at my desk and install during the weekend. Im thinking for the mic ill drill a hole in the dash kit mount it cleanly. I really dont care for having a mic around the cabin besides the OEM (one of the big selling points of the alpine unit)

 

Pull out the OEM mic and wire the Kenwood mic in the same spot. Really easy, clean and sounds good

 

My OEM is in the headliner above the driver. not that easy to get to. So ive done this instead. This is clean enough for me.

 

That's a really good idea!

 

Initial fitting, im going to test it out tonight. next im going enlarge the hole a little and fit in some mesh (pipe filter) and see how that looks. Overall im happy with the idea.

 

This is exactly what I did when I installed the Kenwood DNX 875s. Pulled the oem mic out and custom mounted the Kenwood mic in. Looks factory and works just fine.

Btw, I went from two Pioneers to the current Kenwood and love it. All the bells and whistles and an interface that’s easy to navigate. Apple CarPlay ftw!

 

how'd it work out?

 

Got in late last night so pushed it back to saturday morning while the garage isnt 95+

 

Drunk purchase fuck yeah!!. Just got the alpine. Crutchfield has a new deal with a free backup cam ($80) and cable ($20) plus the usual free install kit (went with the scosche) and harness. Now I wont have to f with the stock camera wiring.

 

if you got the Masetro RR it wouldnt be complicated to mess with the stock camera. And Scosche is the way to go. I got all my parts from around the web and saved close to 70 dollars vs the crutchfield perferred kit

 

Im just about ready to install. Used the cap off the mic. Thats as clean as i need. Not exactly oem but neither is the radio