JVC Head Units...good? bad?

[Mattd0344 10+ year member]

So I thought I made up my mind and was going to go with the Kenwood Excelon KDC-X693 but I've been looking at the JVC Arsenal KD-AHD59. What I like about the JVC is that it is CEA compliant, has 5 volt pre-outs, hd radio, and is a bit cheaper.

I've searched quite a bit, but still can't find enough info. I don't know much about JVC head units and was wondering if they skip at higher volumes or have any reliabilty issues?

Should I just go with the Kenwood as I originally planned or should I go with the JVC?

Thanks!

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[MrDave 10+ year member]

I've known a few people who went JVC and never had a problem. They make a capable headunit.

The CEA compliance is an afterthought, being that it relates to the headunits amplifier. Your speakers should be powered be an external amplifier, no doubt.

By that fact alone, I'd go with the Kenwood. The JVC only has two sets of pre-outs, so you would be limiting your expandability options from the start.

Other things to consider are the 110 vs 98 signal to noise ration of the Kenwood vs the JVC, as well as the lack of digital time alignment on the JVC.

The JVC is just a lesser unit, with an HD radio tuner built in. Other than the 1v difference in pre-out voltage, the Kenwood has the leg up. Even then, I've found Kenwood's pre-out voltages to be more accurate than JVC's. On top of that, in your situation, the 1v really won't matter anway.

 

[jchargu3 10+ year member]

I'm extremely happy with JVC stuff, and even happier when I went to the Arsenal HU's

I'm currently running an older KD-AR7000 in my Sierra, that I had in my s10. has been through multiple systems...

I'm extremely picky on an HU's sound reproduction, and am very happy with every JVC I've ever had...

 

[kkreit01 10+ year member]

I'm on my 3rd JVC HU, and have never had a problem with any of them. Buy the one with the features you like/need the most, and you should be happy.

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

i really like my JVC. i'd only replace it if i found something better at a hella crazy price. and even then i'd be hesitant to pull it out. idk about skipping at high volume though. never been loud enough to have that problem //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[Mattd0344 10+ year member]

I've known a few people who went JVC and never had a problem. They make a capable headunit.
The CEA compliance is an afterthought, being that it relates to the headunits amplifier. Your speakers should be powered be an external amplifier, no doubt.

By that fact alone, I'd go with the Kenwood. The JVC only has two sets of pre-outs, so you would be limiting your expandability options from the start.

Other things to consider are the 110 vs 98 signal to noise ration of the Kenwood vs the JVC, as well as the lack of digital time alignment on the JVC.

The JVC is just a lesser unit, with an HD radio tuner built in. Other than the 1v difference in pre-out voltage, the Kenwood has the leg up. Even then, I've found Kenwood's pre-out voltages to be more accurate than JVC's. On top of that, in your situation, the 1v really won't matter anway.

Thanks for all of the input guys, I really appreciate it!

I kinda left this out but, this unit is going in an SPL build so 1v may matter. As far as the CEA compliant, I wasn't sure if this applied to both the pre-outs and the internal amplifier. The Kenwood isn't CEA compliant which gives me some question whether it may do what it says. I'm not going to be buying an external amplifier and if I decide that I want to add one later, I can always either sell it or add power to the fronts only.

 

[Mattd0344 10+ year member]

Jvc HU's are all I run in my daily's....

How is the Ipod interface on them? I'm going to be using my Ipod quite a bit.

 

[MrDave 10+ year member]

If it's SPL, maybe check into the Clarion DXZ585USB. I believe it's discontinued, but still available with the online retailers.

A buddy used it with good results, although I've never used anything by Clarion.

You get 6v pre outs, and a CEA rated internal amp. However, it lacks HD Radio, which may turn you off.

 

[Kaltenberg 10+ year member]

Im looking at a Jvc too, the JVC Arsenal KD-A805 actually, its cea-2006 compliant and all. I think its the hu im gonna get, anyone here have one?

 

[nineball 10+ year member]

I kinda left this out but, this unit is going in an SPL build so 1v may matter. As far as the CEA compliant, I wasn't sure if this applied to both the pre-outs and the internal amplifier. The Kenwood isn't CEA compliant which gives me some question whether it may do what it says. I'm not going to be buying an external amplifier and if I decide that I want to add one later, I can always either sell it or add power to the fronts only.

How do you do an SPL build and not use amps?

I have used a kd-g820 and it worked great. I have a kd-sh1000 in one of my cars and I love it. I also have a kenwood x993 in another car and love it. All of them had great sq and various features, you just have to decide which ones are most important to you.

 

[jdmferio13 10+ year member]

How do you do an SPL build and not use amps?
I have used a kd-g820 and it worked great. I have a kd-sh1000 in one of my cars and I love it. I also have a kenwood x993 in another car and love it. All of them had great sq and various features, you just have to decide which ones are most important to you.

hey man i finally got a kd-ar8500 gonna hook it up this weekend ill let you know when i do.Im going to run active when i get some mids

 

[Mattd0344 10+ year member]

How do you do an SPL build and not use amps?
I have used a kd-g820 and it worked great. I have a kd-sh1000 in one of my cars and I love it. I also have a kenwood x993 in another car and love it. All of them had great sq and various features, you just have to decide which ones are most important to you.

The guy I was talking to was saying that I should run an external amp for my speakers.... I'm not going to though, only the amp for my subs since it's not my daily driver. I may amp the fronts in the future, we will see.

 

[Mattd0344 10+ year member]

hey man i finally got a kd-ar8500 gonna hook it up this weekend ill let you know when i do.Im going to run active when i get some mids

Ya let me know how you like it

 

[jdmferio13 10+ year member]

will do big upgrade going from sony 2 volt hu to this 5 volt and active

 

[thegreatestpenn 5,000+ posts]

the jVC units don't have pause so using them for burps can be a little "challenging" but you can work around that. Besides that i love the units, been using Jvc exclusively the last 3 years