Opinions wanted Alpine vs Kenwood

soundbit · Post by **soundbit** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 6:57 am

I am looking at 2 head units and trying to decide what will work best for me.

I have it narrowed down to an Alpine INA-900BT or a Kenwood DNX9960.

I know the kenwoods wins hands down in NAV as long as there is turn by turn NAV (which I think thye both have) and updatable maps then that should be good for me.

I am looking for best sound quality, Iphone music and bluetooth. USB MP3 playback. Reliablity. ease of use, build quality.

I know the alpine only has 2volt preouts which doesn't bother me as it willbe running directly into a PG Line driver. Which one has the CLEANER preouts?

Any feedback is most helpful.

davewaibel · Post by **davewaibel** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 4:28 pm

something else to keep in mind, is processor speed, how fast the unit reacts to inputs, I think the kenwood processor is significantly faster than the alpine- if you have a chance to play with both, check that out- my alpine processor is a little slow, and is kind of aggravating-

Post by **ttocs** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 4:49 am

honestly if you were to do an a-b on the two SQ wise and be able to tell which is which you are a VERY educated listener.

soundbit · Post by **soundbit** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 5:25 am

Old kenwood decks always sounded very harsh and tinny sounding to me. Not sure why. Just remember removing an older kenwood (early 2000) and replacing it with a Panasonic. The Pana had a much richer, fuller sound to it. I have always ran eclispe, Nakamichi, or Panasonic heads so I honestly don't know too much about Kenwood or alpine, just what I have encountered installing a couple here and there. This is why I ask the question.
Hell I could even pick out the difference between an old eclipse 5303R vs. a Nakamichi CD45z. Both very nice sounding HU but the Nak was much more detailed and it was noticable.

Post by **ttocs** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 7:01 am

I hearby step down from my "golden ear" podium and will now give the title for you. Treat it well and it will, well do nothing for ya

They said I was nuts for saying I can hear when speakers in are out of phase

...

soundbit · Post by **soundbit** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 7:06 am

LMAO, No you keep the title.

Hmmm now phasing that is a whole new ballgame there :0

PhuckinGood · Post by **PhuckinGood** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 2:31 pm

In a kind of bad tv presenter link style, I spotted an Apline F1 head unit on egay this side of the pond, I no gambler but I bet that is one nice unit. Shame I cannot afford a sneaky little bid

lashlee · Post by **lashlee** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 12:25 pm

I don't have any direct experience with the two units you are looking at but I have an Alpine W505 in my Accord and a DNX9980 in my Outback. Like you said the Nav aspect is hands down to the Kenwood. The Garmin unit is far and away better than anything nav related that Alpine has put together in the last 10 years.

H/U voltage is a matter of choice, some say that more is better. I don't disagree with that but if you have a poor install than the voltage won't matter. A solid install with identical units with two voltages will yield the higher voltage setup using less amplifier gain.

Unless you have to have the Alpine unit I would go with the Kenwood.

soundbit · Post by **soundbit** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 12:52 pm

Thanks for the replies. I ended up going kenwood dnx9960. Excited to get it in.

Post by **ttocs** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 2:25 pm

while I like the nav on kenwoods as they did the right thing having garmin do it for them but the only thing I don't like on kenwoods is getting through their menus. A buddy of mine has one of the high-end units in his audi and finally last week for the first time told me he still does not like the menus and has problems getting through them and it occasionally locks up. He also said that he will never own another touch-screen deck as its a PIA to take your attention away from the road to see what buttons you have access too, where you need to go and how to get there... In that case I think alpines menus are easier to get through myself and would have to say alpine > kenwood myself. Yes the nav is better, as is the voltage output but your using a line driver and for ease of use any other time I would go alpine.

00goobs · Post by **00goobs** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 3:17 pm

I've only ever owned a Pioneer Premier or Alpine. I've repaired or replaced Kenwoods and other brands. A buddy recently bought a mid-higher end Kenwood. Right out of the box, if we use all 3 RCA outputs we get engine noise on all channels. If we use the sub and either the front or rear, no noise and great sound. If we use both front and rear, engine noise on all channels. Never used the internal amp and even using line drivers to lessen the load on the preouts, noise. I've never had that issue in an install and the place we got the Kenwood head unit said they've warrantied at least four of those units... Just a bit of experience...

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

soundbit · Post by **soundbit** » Sun Jul 29, 2012 9:50 am

Well I ended up going with the alpine ina-w910 after having a kenwood dnx9960. The kenwood is a great peice don't get me wrong but the touchscreen did not like my finger at all don't know why. I sold it to a buddy of mine and he has 0 issues with it and loves it. The kenwood has a ton of features but a lot of which I would never use.
The SQ on the w910 is nothing short of amazing. This is the first alpine piece i've owned. I have always ran panasonic, eclipse or namakichi. Even on factory speakers the sound is crisp and clear. However, I noticed on the kenwood after we installed it, it sounded a little harsh on factory GM speakers (i have experienced this with other kenwood products as well). But it was very clear i have to say.
Overall, I am glad I went with the alpine. the interface is kinda plain but I like that (that is why I always like nakamachi as well) I like simplicity.
thanks for everyone help. now I am trying to figure out if the PXA-H100 is for me or not since I have a PG EQ215IX.