I have always wanted a fixed TV in the Maxima's double din (along with CD/DVD and navigation) but I never wanted to give up my push out drawer below the double din. So, now that Kenwood has an all-in-one, I am considering it. What do you guys think?



DDX7015

DV4100 Navigation

Demo

 

They're not new. They've been out for about a year now. I've had mine since they first came out.

 

That wasn't my question.

 

Your subject was "Any experience with the NEW Kenwood...."

But, to answer your question. I love it. Never had a problem with it. Looked great in my I30t, and now my 2k2.

Of course, now you're going to start getting all the people in telling you to get the Eclipse AVN.

 

I may have incorrectly used the word 'new', but it still wasn't my question.

Thanks for the reply max5spd. A few questions for you. Can you play movies while driving (either out of the box or easily defeatable)?

I trust you can listen to music and do Nav. simultaneously?

What do you think (if any) is the closest competition (double din all-in-one)? The silver on the Kenwood bothers me so if possible, I would actually like to get an all-black unit.

Is it possible for me to buy the 7015 and use it with my stock Bose speakers for now?

Thanks so much.

 

I love mine aswell very good unit "good job kenwood"

 

Easily defeatable.

Yes.

THe only one is the Eclipse AVN. All the others are flip out units.

I was able to do that in my I30t before I upgraded the speakers. Some say it won't work, but some say it would. Your mileage may vary.

 

Actually...the Pioneer Avic D2 is also double din


Yes it will work fine with Bose. this is from Tons of experience, not just heresay

 

^^^wow, i wanna see that unit!

 

Cool, is that out already? I rad somewhere else that you can't bypass the video when driving. Is that true?

 

Thanks so much guys. I am learning a lot. I searched high and low for the Eclipse. I finally found it (AVN 2494) on their Web Site but that is least years model (ugly silver buttons along the side). I called Al & Ed's and apparently there is a new model out, AVN 5434. It now has black buttons! However, it still has silver on the top and bottom. I guess it will look like this:


However, I can't find this Pioneer AVIC D2 any where. I can't even find a D1. Anybody have a link or a pic? Thanks.

 

It's not AVIC D1 or D2
It's AVIC N1 and N2

 

No sir. The AVIC N1/N2 are single din flip out models. The D1/D2 are fixed double din models. Even though I couldn't find them on Pioneer's site I did find a few sites that discussed the D1 and D2 (no pics though). I am sure it exists, I just would like to see it (hoping it is all black, no silver)

 

im looking at the same units...max5spd is right, around here people swear by eclipse and pioneer. i prefer kenwood, but people say that they have reliability issues. i've never had any problems. at the auto show last weekend, i talked to some installers. they said the kenwood unit is good, no prblems, but they liked the picture quality and sound output of the pioneer. i think it boils down to personal preference.

btw, you do know that it can be purchased in a combo, but the ddx 7015 DOES NOT come with nav. the nav unit is the dv4100

 

Thanks sshock. Which one are you leaning towards? If all three have silver, I will probably go with Eclipse (cheaper and nav. built in). However, the Pioneer is the only one I have not seen yet. If it is all-black, I'll go for that. Have you seen the Pioneer? Is it black? Thanks.

 

havent seen pioneer. im leaning towards kenwood because i already have so much other kenwood gear. i was going to buy in a couple of weeks, but decided to wait until everything else comes to market. i figure that if i do decide to go with kenwood, it may be cheaper then. i dont think you can go wrong with any of the three

 

I agree. I think I will join you on this. $2000 hurts but it is a cool toy. I wrote to all three and ordered their 2005 catalogues. I'll probably wait a little just like you, do a bunch of homework, and then take the plunge. If any one can provide pics of the Pioneer, it would be much appreciated.

 

I've tried very hard to find out more about the Pioneer. Customer support tells me it isn't even out yet but is supposed to be out this month (March 2005). All they have for me is this press release:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pn...756431,00.html
I can't wait to see this thing. The fact that it has G-Tech capabilities is amazing!

 

The Kenwood Unit was the 1st thing I bought for my Max. I got a REALLY good deal off of Ebay. I think I paid $979 shipped. I love mine. A lot of people, at 1st glance, think it was a stock unit...which may not sound good 2 some of u but i took it as a compliment. It sits in the dash perfect and u can tilt the screen 7 diff angles i think. The only thing i dislike about the unit is the backgrounds for the screen r a little plain, and there is not many to choose from. Other than that i would HIGHLY recommend it. The New Eclipse Unit is nice too. It has a CD and a CD/DVD slot behind the face, great for the dual-zone. I'll try to get some pics posted of my Kendood n my dash.

 

heres ya pic...

http://www.f150online.com/forums/arc.../182589-1.html

 

Thank you soooo much Ness. VERY much appreciated. You made my day! Now I know it is all black (nearly anyway) so I will wait for him. And the fact that he does G-Tech functions is icing. Thanks again.

Now I just hope he is at/near $2000....

 

Youre welcome! Im watching this release like a hawk!!! I want one of these bad! It has everything I could ever want in one unit!!!

 

Well.... bad news. The Pioneer does not have DVD video playback! Only DVD ROM (for navigation). Hard to beleive. Well, that means it's the Kenwood or the Eclipse... I'm leaning towards the Eclipse.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pn...219118,00.html

 

My DDX-7015 is scheduled to be delivered on Monday. I should have it installed sometime Tuesday.

 

you will love it ,its a lot less cartoonish than the eclipse ,but everone love the eclipse

 

'cartoonish'?? care to explain?....

Also do you have the Navi?

 

I used to sell pioneer and before i quit i was talking to the rep, he said you cannot drive and watch movies (uses the gps gyros to sense moving, thus stopping playback). It also does not have a dvd player built in, you would have to have a standalone dvd player.

 

damn im so confused right now. I dont know what to get. The AVIC-N2 are real nice, but the only MAJOR thing thats stopping me from getting one is that you cant watch movies while driving.

I also like the idea of no flipout screens, like the DDX7015 and the D2.

i need Don to help me out with any recommendations...
Im lookin for touchscreen, navigation, dvd player, mp3, looks cool, can watch movies while driving in either flipout screen or no flipouts (fixed in double din)

I really like the N1 and N2's but the fact that u cant watch movies while driving. I was doing some research and found that u can hook it up so that the N2 thinks that its in the rear camera view and thus allowing it to play DVDs while driving. However, theres a little warning thing that shows up on the screen that says something like the "image is reversed". That can get annoying.

 

If your looking for "flashyness" then go for the Pioneer, if your more focused on overall SQ, then the Eclipse wins all hands down.

I am still waiting to hear from darrick about where he sees something "cartoonish" about Eclipse. Toyota/Lexus didnt think that it looked that way when they signed the contract with Eclipse to do All of their Navi units.

 

Personally, I never liked Kenwood products. Every time I'd see a new HU, it would look nice, but in person it looked/felt very poorly and cheaply made. Of course though, I'm not sayin that applies to all of their models. However, I do like the new Eclipse AVIC D2 alot, but honestly I still like my flush mounted 7" screen way better than any Double Din, even though a Navi system WOULD be F-n nice to have.

 

Umm Mike.. Eclipse AVIC D2?? A little confused?

BTW, got your message, just didnt get a chance to call back yet, been pretty busy. You should come out tomorrow night

 

Hate to say it, but I'm a big Kenwood fan. This is one of the units I plan on getting if I can ever save up the dough. Kenwood's I believe have the most up to date range in navi points of interest also. I don't think you can go wrong with this unit, and the interface is pretty nice also.

 

HaHa...whoops! *ahem* I meant AVN-5435. No problem man, I figured you were prolly doin a buncha sh*t. Where to? You gonna be at Brunswick? I got work at 10, so I could hang around till bout 9:20-ish.

 

Yea Ill be over there, I get there around 8:45

 

I installed my DDX-7015 on Saturday and was able to easily defeat the DVD-while-driving protection. I'm able to watch movies while driving without problems.

 

My friend has the Pioneer AVIC-N1 with the navigation and is able to watch movies while he's driving. I was under the impression that the only difference between the N1 and D1 was that the D1 was a double-din unit.

 

No sir, go to the link I provided for the D1 and read the specs page. No DVD video playback.

Joel, why did you choose the Kenwood over the Eclipse?

 

That's too bad about the D1, what a waste. I got the ddx7015 without the navigation so I didn't have to unload $1800 at once and later down the road I'll see if I can pick up the Nav unit. The Eclipse has it built in (if I'm not mistaken). The two are very similar in features but I've talked to alot of Kenwood owners who spoke highly of the Excelon's sound quality. I'd recommend you try to see both on display somewhere. There are some minor things that are annoying with the Kenwood but all-in-all, I'm happy with it.

 

like what?

 

Like the fact that you can't change the wallpaper screen when no DVD is playing or even change the color of the screen for that matter. The power antenna does not go down when playing a CD from the changer. The FM reception isn't as good as the factory Bose system. It's a little difficult to get used to because of so many possible screen-audio configurations and the instruction manual is a little lacking. Other than that, the sound quality is awsome and the DVD playback is impressive.