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I had the same question you do about a month or so ago and I was looking at the same exact units (you have good taste btw =)). I mulled over this decision for at least a month before I finally bit the bullet and placed an order. My search included driving to different towns to play with demo units in audio shops and countless tiring hours behind this very keyboard on this and other forums as well as a lot of time on crutchfield.com. Also, check out youtube for vids of these units in action. Very helpful.
To make a long story short, I messed around with all the units in question. I decided against the Kenwood because, while it had many advantages, the screen and overall quality seemed, in my opinion, cheap and asthetically lacking.
I actually started out looking at the Alpine AVI-W505 myself and was completely sold on it until I saw the Pioneer AVH-P4100DVD and realized that I did not want to pay $500 for navigation. Dont get me wrong. Alpine makes an awesome product but The Pioneer unit will do just about everything the Alpine will except for navigation. To me, navigation is not that important and the technology changes so quickly that I did not really want it in my HU. If i want navigation, I will get one I can switch from truck to truck and update easily. If you do not really want the Navigation, you'll have a hard time beating the AVH-P4100DVD. I also like the visual setup of the Pioneer better.
The reasons I love my Pioneer so much are that the screen quality is awesome, the controls are awesome and the iPod interface is killer. Screen quality was a big factor in this purchase and I have no regrets with the Pioneer at all. The contols are clean and the touch screen is very responsive. The whole reason I started looking at stereos is because I dont use CD's anymore and I needed something with a great iPod interface. IMO, this one is second to none. I can stow my iPod away and completely control it from the unit with the fimiliar setup i am used to with my iPod. I can even watch my iPod videos on the screen. Other than that, I dont think there is a format or type of disc that this thing wont play except for maybe Blu-Ray.
I know this post has been opinionated but I have been where you are recently, I feel your pain and I would have loved to have had someone go before me and tell me what they learned. You really wont go wrong with any of these but as you can see I am a little partial. Hope this helps and does not confuse you. Good luck man.
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