Since the factory cd changer is shot, decided to get a new head unit. Got the 132 color 47x4 kenwood, model 6017. It looks very cool, but thats about it. Factory head unit sounded better believe it or not. Took it back to circuit city, replaced it with Alpine 60x4, 329 bucks, and it rules. Highs, lows, clarity, ease of operation, functions, etc. are all 100 percent better. Kenwood is much prettier, but thats it. I have always had Kenwood, and have loved them till now. But I will never go back, Alpine is worth the money. Just my 2 cents!!!

 

I will have to agree with you on Kenwood, they're ok looking but they pretty much suck.. I have Pioneer and LOVE it! My .02 worth..

LLover

 

HEY WAIT A MINUTE HERE! WHAT'S WRONG WITH KENWOOD? I JUST INSTALLED MY NEW KENWOOD CD PLAYER IN MY TRUCK, AND IT SOUNDS SWEEEET. IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY EARS? WHAT'S THE DEAL? WHAT KIND OF SPEAKERS DO YOU HAVE? THE ONLY REASON THE ALPINE SOUNDS BETTER IS BECAUSE IT HAS ALOT MORE POWER. WHEN YOU ADD MORE POWER YOU USUALLY GET BETTER SOUND DEPENDING ON WHAT YOUR SPEAKERS CAN HANDLE.

 

Don't get me wrong, I have been a big Kenwood fan for years. But have you heard an Alpine in comparison? I have pioneer 6x8 3 ways all the way around, 2 MTX thunder 8000 subs, and two sony 760 watt amps. My factory unit was a "high power" unit with a built in amp, uncommon according to install guys, so it sounded sweet before I changed it. Dunno what deck you had from the factory, but if it wasn't high power, the kenwood probably rocks. I wouldve fought someone before now if they told me my kenwood stuff sucked, but I am a true believer in Alpine now. Hope I didn't **** too many people off, but I just wanted everyone to know my experience.

 

Hey Travis W,

I have a Kenwood unit and it's a hellofalot better than the factory unit that it replaced.

I understand your experience was not the best but then again it's not really fair to Kenwood to just say "Kenwood Sucks" 'cause that's like someone saying that "Ford Sucks" because they've got a crappy pinto.

I like my Kenwood unit and just like anything, there's always someone who can make something better but at the time when I bought mine, Kenwood was one of the top recommended units at Crutchfields and I've been satisfied with it for the most part.

My $0.02

DaveMan

 

I have to take up for kenwood i do not know which model your talking about but i have the Kenwood Excelon X-917 its sound quality is amazing highs,lows,mids everything so clear and clean. not to mention it looks good. Im not saying that maybee the lower lines of kenwood are no good but i would not blacklist kenwood as a company because of a bad experience with one product. It puts my friends sony and jvc to shame so i would buy from kenwood again any day of the week plus its a 500 dollar cd player and i got it for 390 im happy with my deal. I have heard that alpine makes very good cd players but as for pioneer there pretty good i would not say there any better then the kenwood. actually i would list kenwood and alpine at the top 2 but im not the audio authority i say just listen to other peoples responces...but anyways sorry you had a bad experience i love mine thoug

Gl
Syeth

 

I dont think that this is a brand-specific issue. I've seen this time and time again... you get all the "oos" and "ahhhs" for the super duper whiz-bang fla****ty fla****ty blinkity blinkity screen with the graphics and animations, but when you're paying approximately the same price as another setup without all the visual whistles and bells, guess what you're paying for?

 

I just installed a $500.00 alpine in a freinds POS integra and it sucks compared to mine, and that was HIS words. All i got is the head unit, stock speakers, no amp.

 

big surprise... the first thing I replaced was the factory head unit with an alpine and it was the same story. the reason it sounds like crap is that the factory speakers cant handle the power that the upgraded HU puts out. Tell him to get some decent speakers, and he'll bee a LOT better off.

 

I like ruune's reasoning. I had the 6017 model Kenwood ($279), and it wasn't a defect, I mean it worked fine. No lemon I mean. But it had lots of pretty lights and visual stuff. I mean it cycled through 132 different colors for god sake. The Alpine is nothing special to look at but does sound tremendously better. Think you pay more for the looks (my wife loved the Kenwood's appearance, but she agreed the sound quality was no comparion). Also, aside from the wattage issue, which is moot when you compare sub perfomance through non-amplified pre amp outputs, on the Kenwood you cannot control sub level for one, which makes for a pain in the butt to climb in the back and turn up the gain when the booty rap cd goes in, and then climb in the back again when you want to listen to rock without the banging. Even the cheapest alpine (169$ 7856 I believe)has sub level control, to turn up the juice to the amp. The alpine has builkt in crossovers to custom talior the sound at various mhz, and the ability to turn bass off to any set of speakers that are made for highs or lows exclusively. Again, I have not heard the top of the line Kenwood stuff, but I know that the wall at circuit city has a lot of pretty blinky Kenwood stuff that runs up into the 700 dollar range. So not sure how much of that money is going to sound quality and feature improvement? I'd love to hear more opinions though, and I titled the post to get feedback and insight debate, I know they don't really suck. I agree they are in the top 2 or three.

 

[QUOTE=Travis W;472075]
I totally agree:
Purchased a DNX9980HD about 6 months ago. It is too slow; most of the features including the blue tooth are GARBAGE. The NAV system does not have many features like shutting off the annoying 2 steps disclaimer. Good luck with updates from Kenwood and especially GARMIN. Customer service at Kenwood SUCKS!
Purchased an iPod cable for it (did not know it was made in China). The plastic cover broke off within 3 months of minimal use. Kenwood will not replace it without me having to pay for 2 way shipping which will cost more than the part itself. Customer service at Kenwood SUCKS!
Purchased 6x8 speakers, which are of very poor quality. Purchased 4 of them with the NAV unit. What a waste of money on all Kenwood Gear. Kenwood is no longer making good stuff. In addition, most importantly, did I say that Customer service at Kenwood SUCKS?

 

I think the few of you who say their CS sucks haven't really delt with them. I'm a Kenwood Dealer and its better than most radios out there. I love them.

 

why did you dig up a 10 year old thread?

 

Asking the same thing here....

 

I have had 2 different Kenwood head units before, and they do not compare to Pioneer. Features, clarity, user-friendliness, ease of adjusting volume, radio station tuning...etc.
Pioneer is all I will ever purchase from here on out. I have also owned a Dual, a couple Alpines, and even a Sony. Kenwood is not the worst of my experience, but I prefer Pioneer. Just figured I would offer my opinion on this.