A nice unit, once you update the firmware. Updating the firmware is not hard, Kenwood has an easy to understand procedure for doing so. You'll just need a USB stick to accomplish this. Takes about 15 minutes. This is my third Kenwood Excelon unit in my 2005 Mustang GT convertible. (I would buy a new Mustang but you cannot turn off the lights while driving.) Anyway, the unit does just about everything. With the initial firmware it came with the unit I had some troubles with Apple CarPlay. After the firmware update things are working much better. The navigation is done by Garmin which I like. However, bear in mind that after the unit is three or four years old new updates may not be available. A wonderful safety improvement on the newer navigation systems is that it does not force you to stop the car in order to enter an address. When I have a passenger they can type in the address for me. Of course, when driving alone I always pull over and stop. Primitive navigation systems will require the vehicle to be stop even when there's a passenger in the car. This is dangerous because it requires additional unnecessary, and maneuvering. I miss the days when people could comment on reviews, I learned so much by people commenting on my reviews, it would often allow me to make updates or corrections. Sorry. Read more
Sounds so much better after installing this in my truck. Love it! Read more
Sound and graphics are awesome, problem is with the units boot up , takes between 45 seconds to 1 minute 5 seconds. And backup camera does not work until after long boot up. Read more
This product is amazing for how old the specs are sadly. What I mean by that is it has a lot of great features like andriod auto and mirror. But it can't mirror in real time ie, when your sitting in your car and decide to throw something on while you wait it is very laggy and stuttry. The navigation garmin, make sure to update it its free! If you are often in a few states a day the garmin system dosent like to find your next address your going to so much if I am in Tennessee it can't route me home to ky. (I am in the very next city on the state line) Now aside from the few things I have said it still is fantastic. Just dated for what your paying. The head unit gets 4 stars because it has everything it says it dose just dosent have the ability to use it to my expectations. I do not recommend buying this head unit. I recommend looking at kenwoods other offerings. When you are buying this unit or other top end units I recommend using the Idatalink meastro system to get the most out of the head unit. Also make sure to get the wire harness adapters so you really do have everything your car and the head unit can do. I replaced the DNX997XR with a DMX958XR. The 958 DOSEN'T HAVE NAVIGATION it also doesn't have a few other features like the physical display adjustment ability. But for HALF the price it is a much better option. Read more
Really no issues with this product. It went in easy, had great features, and was quick to setup. Compatible with the car, compatible with my cameras, and wireless Bluetooth Apple Car Play and Android Auto. Sound quality of the base product is amazing. I feel like however if you use the audio processed by Apple, it requires more tuning to ensure it sounds as good as just basic Bluetooth audio. Great product! Read more
While the receiver is great, Kenwood discontinues navigation map updates after a product has been on the market for 7 years. That's not 7 years after it is no longer sold -- it's 7 years from the initial release! I've had two top end Kenwoods and it has happened to both. So, this receiver will probably lose support in 2027 or 2028. Read more
I had to saw parts of my car to make it fit but this thing is amazing! Read more
I purchased this unit for long distance road trips. I knew from previous experience that the high end Excelon products produce top-quality audio output. I chose to pair this with a Kenwood 45 watt 4 channel amplifier. That's more than enough power as I never go above 25 out of 40 (it's freaking loud). What distinguishes this model? The audio processing adjustments available. If anything there are too many choices. My unit has been installed for 8 months and I'm still fine tuning it. The sound is amazing. Bass response is adequate (although I will be installing an amplied subeoofer) but this model has adjustments that really wake up your tweeters. The difference over my stock Sync3 system is amazing. The built-in Garmin navigation is worth the money for me. I regularly drive long distances and it's a great feature. I've found Garmin to be MUCH better than Google Maps. Even Waze can be annoying as I'm convinced that state troopers place bogus cop alerts. Garmin is consistently more accurate and it's GPS-based navigation means cell reception is irrelevant. You can use a smartphone app for real-time traffic conditions and travel alerts. I've found it to be very timely. So is it worth the price? That depends. Most of its physical features are present on cheaper models. What's lacking is the audio processing. If sound quality is your thing than this is the unit that you want. Read more
