Kenwood vs Alpine question
 

Kenwood DNX570hd vs Alpine INE S920hd.

Can any of you guys on here offer any advice on these? Likes/dislikes?

I am not an audiophile or techy. I want reliable nav, rear camera, Bluetooth and hardware/software.

I'm an iphone5s guy but I don't see myself streaming songs or anything. Mostly I'll just listen to Sirius.

Any advice would be great!

A lot of folks don't like Crutchfield as their prices are not the bottom dollar, but IMHO they are top notch. Shipping is probably overnight or maybe 2 days for you.
www.crutchfield.com
They ship everything you need in one box, and any issue is resolved very easily, no questions asked. I recently had to return a BT adapter that was not compatible with my HU (mixed messaging on websites).


I'll buy an Alpine over a Kenwood. I don't have experience with either unit you specify, but the Alpine interfaces with other items seem to be a little better integrated and thought out that I've seen with other brands. I am also a fan of matching components from one manufacturer as one moves around the car. (HU & speakers & amp, etc) Alpine speakers sound better than Kenwood IMHO as well.

I'm gradually shifting over from Sirius to Pandora streaming. It's cheaper to pay the $3.99/month for no ads Pandora than Sirius as well.

Back in the day i thought kenwood was a good head unit,,boy was i wrong,,after going through several head units i went with a alpine unit,,yes it was a little more money but it was worth it..+++ one on the alpine and dont look back..

I put a cheap Alpine head unit in the Ex's durango a year and a half ago..couldn't believe how much better it sounded.

Alpine.

Not happy with our Kenwood. The Built In Garmin NAV SUCKS. Hey did I mention it sucks!

I have had Kenwood in the past, but have since moved to Alpine and will never look back. My .02 :)

Is it alpine for reliability or???

I see that the ken woods seem to lock up on occasion.

I think the alpines screens look a little more factory but I don't like that you can't type in navigation while moving. The only time I use mine is if Kelli nd I are traveling and she is typing it in. The alpines apparently have a complicated e-brake and brake pedal combination used to unlock it. It appears this is bypassable through a couple toggle switches, but this is a huge turnoff for me.

The kenwoods on the other hand just have a basic e-brake safety that is easily bypassed by wiring it to a constant 12v (which on our fords are easy to find since the up fitter/accessory wiring is right under the dash

Was reading a couple of stereo message boards this summer while searching for a new head unit. The majority of responses between brand A and B questions for quality sound always recommended Alpine hands down, no question. Sony, JVC and Kenwood almost never got good recommendations. Kinda like asking for boat brands recommendations. You'll always get a variety of recommendations, but 1 or so will always lead the pack. The responses I paid attention to were from the guys involved in stereo competitions and shop owners, thinking they were more in tune with whats needed for quality sound, not just loudness. Seems most that choose other than Alpine were because of features, operational task, display light colors, and none sound related stuff, so a personnel preference at that point as I read them. As one of the responses said, "in order to get good sound out, you gotta have good sound going in". And I always thought the amps and speakers were the only components to consider when choosing. I'm replacing my 3 yr old JVC Arsenal series with the Alpine CDE-HD 149BT this spring as I've never been happy with my stereo sound since installed.