DNX8120? Opinions?

[djeazie 10+ year member]

Sold my D3. Thinking about the Kenwood DNX8120. Anybody have any experience with this unit? And how do you like it? I like the big eq, built in bluetooth, and Garmin nav. What else is out there that is as loaded as this unit?

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[eskimochaos 10+ year member]

I have the DDX712...essentially the same thing minus high band EQ/NAV...I love it. I think that it is great. The iPod interface is awesome and super quick...sounds great as well.

Good luck..IMO its the best all in one HU you can buy

 

[blazeplacid 10+ year member]

i played with one for about 30 min

the time alignment and eq sold me =)

when i get 1400 saved im going to buy it

the sound was great the nav is great

built in blue tooth also

 

[djeazie 10+ year member]

Hey thanks for the responses. I really dont think there is an equal DD right now. I was waiting for the new Pioneer F series units, they are out now and are having a ton of problems. For anybody thinking about those Pioneers check out avic411.com and read before you buy!

So, I think im gonna pull the trigger on this Kenwood!

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Finalized the order on mine yesterday.

 

[djeazie 10+ year member]

Finalized the order on mine yesterday.

Were did you order yours from? Whos got the best deals? I got a 10% off up to $100 bucks coupon from ebay. Ive seen them around $1050 on their. So I would be around $950 after the discount. Thats the best deal I could find. But, do I want to spend that much money on an unauthorized (no Kenwood warranty) unit. I might just pay full price at Crutchfield just so I know I have something to fall back on.

 

[eskimochaos 10+ year member]

Were did you order yours from? Whos got the best deals? I got a 10% off up to $100 bucks coupon from ebay. Ive seen them around $1050 on their. So I would be around $950 after the discount. Thats the best deal I could find. But, do I want to spend that much money on an unauthorized (no Kenwood warranty) unit. I might just pay full price at Crutchfield just so I know I have something to fall back on.

HU I would definitely buy from Crutchfield...got my DDX712 on eBay w/ 2 year seller warranty.

Seller had like 200,000+feedback

If you find a trusted seller on eBay w/ warranty I say go for it...even if it is a couple $ more

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Got mine from thecameraprofessionals.com. With an extended warranty it still came out several hundred cheaper than Crutchfield.

http://www.thecameraprofessionals.com/prodetails.asp?prodid=543762

 

[djeazie 10+ year member]

Got mine from thecameraprofessionals.com. With an extended warranty it still came out several hundred cheaper than Crutchfield.
http://www.thecameraprofessionals.com/prodetails.asp?prodid=543762

Please let me know how this goes for you. That is a great price. Im about 2 weeks from buying one. Maybe by then you will be able to give some details on the unit itself!

 

[Mr. C 10+ year member]

The DNX8120 is a sick all-in-one head unit. Very nice sq, nice eq, time alignment, bluetooth, very fast iPod interface that can show video on screen, and additional USB output. Navigation is dead on the money (Garmin FTW) accurate. The head unit to have in my book.

 

[djeazie 10+ year member]

Thats what it looks like.

 

[jayhawker 10+ year member]

I love mine. I have had it for 3 weeks now and still haven't opened the owners manual. I have a Razor2 and my texts won't appear on the screen like my buddies does with the KRZR. I might be sending my phone back later in the year and get an updated version if it supports sending the texts to the unit. My buddy is an authorized Kenwood dealer so I paid $1150 installed with the ipod cable.

 

[kodak314 10+ year member]

does anyone know if it can play video files via the usb

 

[mcsoul 10+ year member]

does anyone know if it can play video files via the usb

download teh manual. That's wat I did.

 

[sierra4x4 10+ year member]

I have had mine for three weeks, and I am really happy with it so far. My experience with the unit is limited to DVD/CD, USB playback, Bluetooth phone connection, GPS Navigation and the Radio tuner. I have not hooked my Ipod to the HU, not do I have a HD Radio or Sat Radio tuner. To an earlier question, video playback is possible from the Ipod using the proprietary Ipod cable adapter, though I have not purchased the adapter and have no experience with Ipod playback on this unit.

-The sound quality is very impressive. It is much louder and seems to have better imaging and instrument separation than the Pioneer Premier (4V pre-outs) I was using for a year before buying the Kenwood.

-There are too many features to mention, and have not even touched the multitude of sound processing options available. So I could conceivably further improve the SQ by fine tuning it to my vehicle and my musical taste.

-The touch screen is very responsive, and after a couple of days use, the correct pressure and timing become second nature.

-The NAV is spot on, and very quick to register a signal and lock in the location.

-Bluetooth has worked perfectly. The caller comes through clearly and loudly, and from what they tell me, I come through just as well on their end.

I have not encounte.red anything I would qualify as a problem, but there have been some unexpected issues to get used to.

-The manual for the most part explains how to do everything, but not so much WHY to do something. In other words, it will tell you how to change an option but not always what effect that option has. I have directed a couple of questions to Kenwook customer service, and have thus far been satisfied with their help.

-This HU essentially has to boot into what is basically a mini-operating system, so for those customers used to the quick startup of a standard stock or aftermarket HU, the longer boot time of the Kenwood will take some getting used to. This is not a big deal, as most people will be listening to their music/navigating by the time they get out of their driveway.

-The most frustrating issue I have had has been with the USB usability. I have a large digital collection (over 2000 music files) and have filled up a 32 GB flash drive. Up until yesterday, many of my music files were not being detected by the HU. The problem turned out to be an issue the HU has with the directory/sub-directory layout on the drive. I initially had my files organized according to Artist -> Album -> Song, with each level being in a new sub-folder. I tried several iterations, until finally I just created individual folders for all my albums, each containing all the songs from that album. I am not sure what this issue stems from, and if a firmware update will eventually resolve it. Now that I have solved that problem, USB playback works fine. SQ is just as good as the other sources and navigation is very "Ipod like." After adding/removing music files or using a new drive, the HU must establish a new database by reading all file tags and organizing according to typical criteria (Album, artist, song, genre, etc.) and this can take nearly 5-10 minutes with a collection as large as mine, but that is to be expected. Smooth runnin after the database is created.