kenwood xxv vs pioneer 880prs??

[zfactor 10+ year member]

what would be the best of the 2 ..... have breifly owned and used the xxv but not the pioneer.... from what i remember the xxv cant do active though very well or if at all really since it cant bandpass... can the pioneer??? any info would be great thanks

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[zachzchw 5,000+ posts]

Get whichever one has the features you need- either should be fine.

Not too many people will have had experience with both, though.

 

[aadadams 10+ year member]

That Kenwood certainly gets rave reviews. I have a feeling that the Pioneer will as well in due time. Simply put, you need to do a feature by feature comparison to determine which one is best for your needs.

 

[bumpin_blazer 5,000+ posts]

if i read the description correctly( as i didnt fondle it enough yesterday at the shop) the 880 has dual 16 band eq's and the pro-mode that you talk about doing bandpass/active 2-way comps and sub control. so if that's what you need, get er' done with that and be happy as a clam, if you don't need all those features and the xxv is cheaper, get the xxv. both are amazing units i like the display/remote on the xxv better though.

 

[billybrown66 10+ year member]

well, unfortunately i just checked crutchfield and they are apparentley out of stock, i'm glad i ordered mine on friday. however, i'm know you can still find one elsewhere, just giving you a heads up about crutchfield.

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

well, unfortunately i just checked crutchfield and they are apparentley out of stock, i'm glad i ordered mine on friday. however, i'm know you can still find one elsewhere, just giving you a heads up about crutchfield.

Were you able to stack those discount codes billy?

 

[billybrown66 10+ year member]

yes, i used the PA440 code, but couldn't quite figure out how to use your account number, for some reason it wasn't an option when ordering online. but thanks for offering and the 50 bucks off man.

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

yes, i used the PA440 code, but couldn't quite figure out how to use your account number, for some reason it wasn't an option when ordering online. but thanks for offering and the 50 bucks off man.

Ok no prob man. You actually enter it right before you check out where it asks if you have a promo or refer-a-friend code.

So if anyone want's to get $70 off the deck, PM me for my code. YOu must be a first time customer though....or actually just using another credit card might work too.

 

[phantomdjx 10+ year member]

I was able to order the xxv-01d saturday morning. I just check back with crutchfield and its no longer available.

 

[Babs 10+ year member]

Wow.. I got mine last week. Guess I got while the gettin' was good. All gone now.

I'm loving it.. Never had sound like I have now with this setup. Kappa 6 1/2 components front, Kappa 4's inback, single JL 10w6.

Setup is by all accounts a little tricky but I basically dissabled all the DSP stuff, started with a flat EQ and set my crossover manually rather than going by assigning speaker sizes. I bypassed the amp crossovers. Going totally by ear (I'm an amatuer at car audio but a home theater buff and musician).. so I hope my ears can serve for setting a flat freq response and for detecting and minimizing distortion. Then I started tweaking the EQ. All this after setting first the time alignment manually bypassing cabin setting and set seat position.

Sound quality sofar is "getting there".. Just a little tweaking left, depending on the type of music. I recommend great recordings.. Believe it or not, using my wife's Jewel CD and some Fleetwood Mac. I listen to heavier stuff but it's easier with good acoustic instruments, real cymbals and drums and well recorded vocals. Then when I pop in Tool it will still be right on the money.

Now.. In comparison, I will say I think the front panel controls could be a little more "tough".. The control toggle button seems a little delicate. If this is a factor, I recommend finding a Pioneer or Premier of equal sound quality but possibly more rugged front panel. Make sure you get dac's as good as the burr browns in the XXV though.. It is SOOOO worth it. The processing is the real strength I think of this unit.

Also.. I do hear a little noise.. only at lower volumes.. Just a tad more than the old Alpine elcheapo 9805 this one replaced. I attribute it to higher voltage preouts on the xxv. I think tweaking the amp gains will fix that, and with the detail and crisp highs, and the soundstage and imaging this thing throws out.. I can live with a little hiss.. Got too much road noise as is in the trooper anyway, for now, until the raamaudio soundproofing goes in.

one guys opinion. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[billybrown66 10+ year member]

Setup is by all accounts a little tricky but I basically dissabled all the DSP stuff, started with a flat EQ and set my crossover manually rather than going by assigning speaker sizes. I bypassed the amp crossovers. Going totally by ear (I'm an amatuer at car audio but a home theater buff and musician).. so I hope my ears can serve for setting a flat freq response and for detecting and minimizing distortion. Then I started tweaking the EQ. All this after setting first the time alignment manually bypassing cabin setting and set seat position.

so did you use the time alignment feature while running passive? i didn't know you could do that.

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

Also.. I do hear a little noise.. only at lower volumes.. Just a tad more than the old Alpine elcheapo 9805 this one replaced. I attribute it to higher voltage preouts on the xxv. I think tweaking the amp gains will fix that, and with the detail and crisp highs, and the soundstage and imaging this thing throws out.. I can live with a little hiss.. Got too much road noise as is in the trooper anyway, for now, until the raamaudio soundproofing goes in.

Actually the higher preout voltage should have done away with the noise NOT introduced MORE noise.

 

[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

Actually the higher preout voltage should have done away with the noise NOT introduced MORE noise.

eww...hissy unit..

 

[Babs 10+ year member]

so did you use the time alignment feature while running passive? i didn't know you could do that.

Passive meaning?

Well, I originally played around with it with the cabin and speaker size settings.

I think (keyword "think") that when you go into DTA and setup the distances, that overrides the cabin setting. Position is just position. All that I believe is all independent of EQ or Crossover settings.

Then I set the EQ settings flat in the parametric, overriding the EQ presets.

Then setup the crossover on the head unit, and shut off the crossover on the 4 channel. I don't have a shutoff on the sub amp but I can raise the frequency so the head unit xover will have the lower cuttoff.

The I tweaked the EQ a little. It's not perfect but reaching the limits of the poor acoustics in the trooper I'd say.. raamaudio products going in sometime in the near future.

On the NOISE / HISS issue:

There is one thing I did change on this install.. I used some better quality 16gx4 four conductor speaker wire.. Proflex direct burial stuff.. Two runs, for fronts and rears.. It replaced four runs of old and I mean OLD monstor 16g lampcord. Soldered the connections. I can't explain the noise unless, I moved an RCA or speaker wire two close to something.. It's a possibility...

Going from memory, it's also a possibility that I'm just paying more attention to it now, as the old low-end alpine was pretty much just a noise-maker in comparison. So as I was pretty tolerant of the old alpine, I'm nit-picking the kenwood, maybe.

I did shut off the internal amp, so I'm hoping (should be) running at full voltage.

 

[Babs 10+ year member]

I found this.. one of the last posts about noise.

http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57873

If the ground is near the head unit it can cause a noise issue..

I remember some of the leads wanting to bunch up above the unit instead of behind when it slid into the dash.

I'm going to pull it and make sure the wiring goes behind inside the dash.

I think I remember seeing the ground itself laying ontop of the unit at one point during the install.

I'll bet 10 bucks that's the issue.