Are the search and load times slow for the ipod controls on Kenwood receivers?

[BobT99 10+ year member]

I was browsing the internet and came to this guy's review -



He points out that the ipod controls on Kenwoods are much slower than other names like Pioneer and Alpine. Is this true, and if so how much?

I really like the unit (KDC-X693) otherwise, especially the display, but don't want to get it if it's really slower - functionality and efficiency are more important than looks and display clarity.

If this is the case, what unit would you recommend as superior in this regard while still being easy to read? Thanks.

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[john denver 10+ year member]

i have a kenwood kdcbt838u i belive is the model number. I dont find it slow only thing is when searching through the list fast they do show up blank for like a millisecond like at 4 minutes in the video. Never used the alpine or pioneer to compare to. I have an 80gig ipod and its usally full so theres alot of songs to go through.

 

[callmeryang 10+ year member]

I was browsing the internet and came to this guy's review -

i woul also like to know this since ill be getting the x693

 

[BobT99 10+ year member]

John Denver - if it is identical to how it plays in the youtube tutorial that is a big set back, no?

 

[john denver 10+ year member]

Its not all identical just when browsing through song really fast it takes it like a millisecond to show the name. Other then that it goes through them fast, I don't know if mine has a search feature cause i just pick an album and play through it for a while. When i start my truck it takes only 2 or 3 seconds to load the ipod then its ready to go. Like i said i have no experience with the alpine or pioneer so cant compare with those brands but i had a jensen that was slow as hell. The only part I dont like is when you first start searchig from the list and it starts at A and the album you want starts with S you cant you cant go inrevse to get to it you have to go through the whole alphabet to get there and when my ipods full it can take some time.

 

[boilermaker-744 10+ year member]

Its not all identical just when browsing through song really fast it takes it like a millisecond to show the name. Other then that it goes through them fast, I don't know if mine has a search feature cause i just pick an album and play through it for a while. When i start my truck it takes only 2 or 3 seconds to load the ipod then its ready to go. Like i said i have no experience with the alpine or pioneer so cant compare with those brands but i had a jensen that was slow as hell. The only part I dont like is when you first start searchig from the list and it starts at A and the album you want starts with S you cant you cant go inrevse to get to it you have to go through the whole alphabet to get there and when my ipods full it can take some time.

I have the Alpine IVA W505, and have it hooked up to a 120 ipod, and it does the same thing when you're flying through the lists, comes up blank for a second... I think its just cause there are so many songs on it. close to 7000... I still havent figured it all out yet though either...

 

[scottyk 10+ year member]

I don't know off hand what model my kenwood is, but I know exactly what the guy means by slow loading time.

As strange as it sounds, when scrolling through the head unit, in order to select an option, such as starting off, the artists; you have to push the control in to select that option and then put the knob over to the right. You then have to proceed to do that with every selection...selecting the artist you want...you select the item and then hit over...select the album...you select the item then hit over...down to the song...

While I'm getting used to it, it can be laggy at times. While I'm driving per say and just push the select button in on a desire song without really looking, it will actually register sometimes that I pushed the select button upward (You can push it up, down, right and left) Hitting it up sends you back to the previous page...and in many cases I was far down the list of artists and it sends you back to the top. Again, I don't know off hand what model mine is but it is certainly a pain sometimes. I thought I would go a different route because for ipod connectivity its normal for just about everyone to have a Pioneer. I like the Kenwood and since I bought it on an online shop, know I won't get anywhere with trying to return it so I'm not even gonna try but I wish I had done a bit more research first.

In all, be wary, not the most user friendly.

 

[BobT99 10+ year member]

So what brand name might be faster?

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

Last year I used the Kenwood X692 and X592 in both of my vehicles and got rid of them for that exact reason. The IPOD controls while they worked were slow and a pain in the butt. I would have to go back to the tuner command then back to the IPOD command to start a new search through the IPOD controls. I do want to emphasize through that the Kenwood units other than that were EXCELLENT. Definitely SQ head units for sure. Pioneer has the best IPOD controls in my opinion and then Alpine. I never tried JVC or Eclipse so I can't give opinions on those 2 head units.

 

[BobT99 10+ year member]

Last year I used the Kenwood X692 and X592 in both of my vehicles and got rid of them for that exact reason. The IPOD controls while they worked were slow and a pain in the butt. I would have to go back to the tuner command then back to the IPOD command to start a new search through the IPOD controls. I do want to emphasize through that the Kenwood units other than that were EXCELLENT. Definitely SQ head units for sure. Pioneer has the best IPOD controls in my opinion and then Alpine. I never tried JVC or Eclipse so I can't give opinions on those 2 head units.

I know, this is my problem - Kenwood makes better units and the display is by far nicer. I wish the **** ipod controls were fast. So which Pioneer should I get?

 

[BobT99 10+ year member]

Pioneer has the best IPOD controls in my opinion and then Alpine

Please explain this

 

[pawn man 10+ year member]

i have a kenwood double din & yes it is slow to read & play the thumbdrive. the ipod may also be slow.

 

[nineball 10+ year member]

my x993 is just as fast as using my iphone on it's own, except for scrolling as there is not touch screen on the x993.

 

[BobT99 10+ year member]

my x993 is just as fast as using my iphone on it's own, except for scrolling as there is not touch screen on the x993.

Is this demo inaccurate?

 

[nineball 10+ year member]

3 mins before he even got to playing the ipod. what a waste.

first thing i noticed is that his 993 did not automatically switch from standby to playing the ipod. mine does.

the searching does not take that long when reading my iphone 3g but that could be due to the fact it is a 16g and not larger. using his example of searching by "R" mine does not take that long to display the results.