2014 Kenwood DNX691HD review
11-26-14, 09:29 AM
#1
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
2014 Kenwood DNX691HD review
2009 Lexus RX 350
Mated to the Metra double din plate the fit & finish were perfect. Cost for me was around $700 on sale. Measuring 6.1" this little head unit punches well above its weight class in performance and sonic quality. The difference in screen size between this and the models higher u is about a thumps width. Once the power has been delivered to the unit, start up time from my non scientific count is roughly 15 sec which is very acceptable in my book. This is roughly the time it takes to exit your garage and watch it close and zoom off. Access to the three screens is simple as swiping from left to right. Moving an icon is simple as pressing hard on one of the icons and holding it then moving it to the front screen thus prioritizing your preferences. Very much like a phone. I also like the volume *** that came with it and also the one touch push of the **** to mute it. The layout is simple and intuitive, offering non technical people such as myself a rather easy learning curve without even reading the instructions(except the USB connection).
Once you get a hang of this unit menu layout you realize that they made the instructions basically go in a loop with the added feature of a back button screen. Over simplifying but you’ll get the gist of it.
Pairing a Bluetooth was straight forward and while I don’t have the purported high def of APTX imbedded in my 2011 Motorola RAZR HD phone, I noticed no loss of sound quality streaming directly from my device. Streaming from Spotify, IHeart was ify via BT depending on the music. Some sounded a mile away while others were front & center. My main phone based radio is Sky FM which runs at 320k streaming across all genres and sounds excellent. This unit also supports FLAC files via flash drive for you hard core audio addicts.
Specs using a USB are as follows:
MP3: bit rate of 8-320kbps w/ sampling frequencies of 8-48kHz
WMA: bit rate of 5-320kbps w/ sampling frequencies of 8-48kHz
AAC: bit rate of 16-320kbps w/ sampling frequencies of 32-48kHz
WAV: bit rate of 16-bit w/ sampling frequencies of 44.1kHz
FLAC: bit rate of 16-bit w/ sampling frequencies of 8-48 kHz
Speaking of usb connection I’ve yet to figure this out fully and while I’ve played with its menu this is one instance where I’d get lost attempting to explain its functions and is to detailed to go into. Access into this area of folders and pages is not unlike a DOS file with touch features. PIA. Also for some reason once I plug in the usb to my phone it defaults to a random video from a year ago.
CD quality is outstanding as I’m able to hear details that were not present on the previous factory HU. I attribute this to the Helix dsp and proper calibration of the speakers that is paired with a JL audio 100/6 channel amp for its outstanding sound. So really not a fair comparison. But, if I were to go with poor sonic memory I’d say this is better than the last system. There I had the Pioneer AVH- BT3200 HU, JL audio z series speakers JL audio subwoofer, along with100/6 amp & 250/1 sub amp. Much better hands down.
HD Stations. Perhaps the only weakness of this system is its lack of being able to pull in stations only several miles out of town. When it works the sound is “close” to cd quality. This unit offers automatic switching mode which allows it to be in HD 1 when available but regular analog in other cases. A nice touch. It also allows the user to go into menus that lets you choose full digital but I’ve not had success with that so left it on auto.
Navigation while I’ve had only several times to use it seemed good. The features I like are the “pop up” gas stations and restaurants that show it along the route. While I’ve never ran out of fuel one can have a car go kaput.
My wife on the need for the nav unit said “Why do we need a navigation unit? You have me and we have your phone & mine”.
Several reasons actually. Saving battery life, possibility of service being out, listen to my sky based radio stations and finally while she may have the navigation on her phone it’s a pain in the rear to have a phone call come in while navigation is on as is normally the case on our road trips. One cannot run a navigation unit while talking simultaneously on the said phone. With four kids they always “need” mom and my wife is constantly taking calls. This navigation unit has freed up both our phones and unlike other HU is not intrusive or obnoxious when it gives it directions while you’re listening to your music simultaneously. It’s rather silent in the back round when telling you to exit but tuning your ear to its prompt will allow you to look and take appropriate action.
The speakers in the 2009 Lexus RX 350 are very good speakers once you have them dialed in. This after having come from Focals 30th anniversary V165 poly glass speakers and JL Audio z series speakers. Once dialed in with a DSP such as the Helix sound processor you notice how the 6x9’s are able to kick and deliver solid mid range bass and lower octaves down to 70 even 60hz. During my two hour commute the lack of ear fatigue is a welcome absence that would be an hour into the commute with the JL audio speakers. The tweeters are mellow and smooth unlike some that give off that metallic brightness often found in titanium thus giving excellent clash of symbals and high picks of guitar strings. One can listen to many music genres and hear the artist slide their fingers along the strings. The mids offer a clarity that is also mellow and detailed. You can hear the artist breath in be it Norah Jones or other jazz singers giving a warmth to the ears and are laid back.
No review of the dvd playback. I mean I stuck on in and played well without ghosting, screen pixels shoing and such. The blacks seemed good while sound was excellent. f'll never use this feature ever while driving but do have plans to have it connect to the back area for our daughter one day. I'll report then.
A few tips I found along the way which will make your life easier. The heart radio station has two apps. One being a desktop version and the other an auto mode app. The latter is crap. Stick with the desktop mode. Yes the latter has the advantage to throw what’s on your phone to the HU but its layout and lack of features leaves a lot to be desired. High school kids could have made a better app.
In my case I found that the Amazon mP3 app was interfering with my phone by “pinging” every ten seconds which made listening to Bluetooth streaming unbearable regardless of the mode I used. Even attempting to listen to songs directly on my device was being stopped. This took a solid week of sleuthing, researching and process of elimination and finally found out purely by accident that it was this sole app that was jamming everything up. In five days that I had downloaded Amazon mp3 it had used 1.5GB of data. I thought this odd as I barely used it. So bye and viola! music was restored to all my music based apps.
In case your curious I decided to keep my stock 3 way component Pioneer based system and glad I did. Once calibrated the 6x9 are able to play with authority and sheer power. While the imaging of the mids in the dash and tweets in the pillars give it amazing depth and pinpoint accuracy in terms of soundstage. For example listening to John Meloncamp "Ain't that America" via bluetooth I was able to hear the deep pull of the bass guitar string in the opening sequence. While a little later a delicate "puff" of drum some half way through the song was nicely balanced with the mids and tweets.
I’m usually in need of a subwoofer as has been the case in all my vehicles but these 6x9’s are amazing and the star of the whole three piece set. That says something about these 6x9’s. In fact I’ve lowered the bass response via the HU by two clicks and have hit the sweet spot without the music distorting or sounding muddy. Solid, strong bass response. All this I credit to having a whole system makeover and worth every penny.
Take care & thanks for the read.
Mated to the Metra double din plate the fit & finish were perfect. Cost for me was around $700 on sale. Measuring 6.1" this little head unit punches well above its weight class in performance and sonic quality. The difference in screen size between this and the models higher u is about a thumps width. Once the power has been delivered to the unit, start up time from my non scientific count is roughly 15 sec which is very acceptable in my book. This is roughly the time it takes to exit your garage and watch it close and zoom off. Access to the three screens is simple as swiping from left to right. Moving an icon is simple as pressing hard on one of the icons and holding it then moving it to the front screen thus prioritizing your preferences. Very much like a phone. I also like the volume *** that came with it and also the one touch push of the **** to mute it. The layout is simple and intuitive, offering non technical people such as myself a rather easy learning curve without even reading the instructions(except the USB connection).
Once you get a hang of this unit menu layout you realize that they made the instructions basically go in a loop with the added feature of a back button screen. Over simplifying but you’ll get the gist of it.
Pairing a Bluetooth was straight forward and while I don’t have the purported high def of APTX imbedded in my 2011 Motorola RAZR HD phone, I noticed no loss of sound quality streaming directly from my device. Streaming from Spotify, IHeart was ify via BT depending on the music. Some sounded a mile away while others were front & center. My main phone based radio is Sky FM which runs at 320k streaming across all genres and sounds excellent. This unit also supports FLAC files via flash drive for you hard core audio addicts.
Specs using a USB are as follows:
MP3: bit rate of 8-320kbps w/ sampling frequencies of 8-48kHz
WMA: bit rate of 5-320kbps w/ sampling frequencies of 8-48kHz
AAC: bit rate of 16-320kbps w/ sampling frequencies of 32-48kHz
WAV: bit rate of 16-bit w/ sampling frequencies of 44.1kHz
FLAC: bit rate of 16-bit w/ sampling frequencies of 8-48 kHz
Speaking of usb connection I’ve yet to figure this out fully and while I’ve played with its menu this is one instance where I’d get lost attempting to explain its functions and is to detailed to go into. Access into this area of folders and pages is not unlike a DOS file with touch features. PIA. Also for some reason once I plug in the usb to my phone it defaults to a random video from a year ago.
CD quality is outstanding as I’m able to hear details that were not present on the previous factory HU. I attribute this to the Helix dsp and proper calibration of the speakers that is paired with a JL audio 100/6 channel amp for its outstanding sound. So really not a fair comparison. But, if I were to go with poor sonic memory I’d say this is better than the last system. There I had the Pioneer AVH- BT3200 HU, JL audio z series speakers JL audio subwoofer, along with100/6 amp & 250/1 sub amp. Much better hands down.
HD Stations. Perhaps the only weakness of this system is its lack of being able to pull in stations only several miles out of town. When it works the sound is “close” to cd quality. This unit offers automatic switching mode which allows it to be in HD 1 when available but regular analog in other cases. A nice touch. It also allows the user to go into menus that lets you choose full digital but I’ve not had success with that so left it on auto.
Navigation while I’ve had only several times to use it seemed good. The features I like are the “pop up” gas stations and restaurants that show it along the route. While I’ve never ran out of fuel one can have a car go kaput.
My wife on the need for the nav unit said “Why do we need a navigation unit? You have me and we have your phone & mine”.
Several reasons actually. Saving battery life, possibility of service being out, listen to my sky based radio stations and finally while she may have the navigation on her phone it’s a pain in the rear to have a phone call come in while navigation is on as is normally the case on our road trips. One cannot run a navigation unit while talking simultaneously on the said phone. With four kids they always “need” mom and my wife is constantly taking calls. This navigation unit has freed up both our phones and unlike other HU is not intrusive or obnoxious when it gives it directions while you’re listening to your music simultaneously. It’s rather silent in the back round when telling you to exit but tuning your ear to its prompt will allow you to look and take appropriate action.
The speakers in the 2009 Lexus RX 350 are very good speakers once you have them dialed in. This after having come from Focals 30th anniversary V165 poly glass speakers and JL Audio z series speakers. Once dialed in with a DSP such as the Helix sound processor you notice how the 6x9’s are able to kick and deliver solid mid range bass and lower octaves down to 70 even 60hz. During my two hour commute the lack of ear fatigue is a welcome absence that would be an hour into the commute with the JL audio speakers. The tweeters are mellow and smooth unlike some that give off that metallic brightness often found in titanium thus giving excellent clash of symbals and high picks of guitar strings. One can listen to many music genres and hear the artist slide their fingers along the strings. The mids offer a clarity that is also mellow and detailed. You can hear the artist breath in be it Norah Jones or other jazz singers giving a warmth to the ears and are laid back.
No review of the dvd playback. I mean I stuck on in and played well without ghosting, screen pixels shoing and such. The blacks seemed good while sound was excellent. f'll never use this feature ever while driving but do have plans to have it connect to the back area for our daughter one day. I'll report then.
A few tips I found along the way which will make your life easier. The heart radio station has two apps. One being a desktop version and the other an auto mode app. The latter is crap. Stick with the desktop mode. Yes the latter has the advantage to throw what’s on your phone to the HU but its layout and lack of features leaves a lot to be desired. High school kids could have made a better app.
In my case I found that the Amazon mP3 app was interfering with my phone by “pinging” every ten seconds which made listening to Bluetooth streaming unbearable regardless of the mode I used. Even attempting to listen to songs directly on my device was being stopped. This took a solid week of sleuthing, researching and process of elimination and finally found out purely by accident that it was this sole app that was jamming everything up. In five days that I had downloaded Amazon mp3 it had used 1.5GB of data. I thought this odd as I barely used it. So bye and viola! music was restored to all my music based apps.
In case your curious I decided to keep my stock 3 way component Pioneer based system and glad I did. Once calibrated the 6x9 are able to play with authority and sheer power. While the imaging of the mids in the dash and tweets in the pillars give it amazing depth and pinpoint accuracy in terms of soundstage. For example listening to John Meloncamp "Ain't that America" via bluetooth I was able to hear the deep pull of the bass guitar string in the opening sequence. While a little later a delicate "puff" of drum some half way through the song was nicely balanced with the mids and tweets.
I’m usually in need of a subwoofer as has been the case in all my vehicles but these 6x9’s are amazing and the star of the whole three piece set. That says something about these 6x9’s. In fact I’ve lowered the bass response via the HU by two clicks and have hit the sweet spot without the music distorting or sounding muddy. Solid, strong bass response. All this I credit to having a whole system makeover and worth every penny.
Take care & thanks for the read.
Last edited by rxonmymind; 12-12-14 at 10:16 PM.
12-12-14, 09:56 PM
#2
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Whooohoo! Going to get the custom sub box area measured & priced tomorrow!! More than likely buying either an Alpine PDF 1/500 or JL Audio 1/1000 amp. Super happy. Another early Christmas present.
Update: Looks like were doing a custom MDF install while down firing it and "corner" loading it.
Update: Looks like were doing a custom MDF install while down firing it and "corner" loading it.
Last edited by rxonmymind; 12-13-14 at 08:31 PM.
12-14-14, 06:06 PM
#3
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
I've decided on the JL audio shallow subhttp://www.jlaudio.com/10tw3-d4-car-audio-tw3-subwoofer-drivers-92184
Paired with the JL audio xd 600/1
This sub will be a downfiring "corner" non ported sub enclosure hidden underneath the cargo area. Any Lexus RX owners with custom installed sub?
Paired with the JL audio xd 600/1
This sub will be a downfiring "corner" non ported sub enclosure hidden underneath the cargo area. Any Lexus RX owners with custom installed sub?
01-27-15, 04:07 PM
#5
I have decided to upgrade the audio system in my RX350 as well. I already have the head unit, speakers, amp and subwoofer. Now I just need to decide (1) if I want to pull the trigger on a DSP unit and (2) where/how to mount the subwoofer. I am not sure if I want to hide the subwoofer in the car jack space with a custom fit enclosure, or just sit it in the cargo area with a more conventional enclosure.
01-29-15, 12:13 AM
#6
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Here you go
I HIGHLY recommend the Helix DSP. That single item will pay you back more than any other gear in the entire system and more importantly help tie it ALL together. It helps place the music sound stage where it should be upon the dash. Even the base & kicks of the 6x9 will be heard up there! It's beyond me to explain how they do it but it's amazing when done right.
That one gear alone saved me big as the owner of the audio store informed me I didn't need speakers for my car. Instead he assured me my speakers were fine that they only needed proper time alignment, slope and phasing. How many store you know will turn away a sale and instead encourage you to keep stock speakers? That's integrity.
As to your second query I just had the JL audio sub installed under the cargo area. I had the scissor jack replaced by a 2 ton bottle jack which when wrapped up tightly in foam fitted nicely in one of the triangular holes.
Anyway it's my first week with the JL Audio 10TW3 thin subwoofer and it's a PERFECT sub paired to the RX in that together they compliment each other without much effort. Playing Basetronics, a HEAVY base album I fully expected the base to escape the confines of the RX. Not so. I was pleasantly surprised that even with the volume turned up and the base pounding away inside the cabin when I stepped outside and closed all the windows one could just make out only a "thud" sound. As you can see I don't wait to break in a sub. It either works or it doesn't. On the album by Melanie Martinez song Carousel approximately 30 seconds into it the base literally shake the entire cabin in a deep rich sustained base. This sub has no problem with anything I've thrown at it.
On Jazz tracks such as The brand new heavies song" I feel right" all the base noted are displayed tightly and proper cadence.
On George Ezra song "Leaving it up to you" in the beginning of the song you can hear the base strings keeping the sub at a low delicate strum until 1:12 sec then a nice steady soft drummer comes through then back to strum and back to drums. Nice transition.
A few songs I've found the base "slapping" the sub and am trying to figure out if it's the gain set to low causing distortion as the shop doesn't want to set it too high or it's the song. Admittedly I have the adjuster **** up half way
So far I give this sub HIGH marks. A solid B+. An A+ perhaps once broken in and dialed in again.
I HIGHLY recommend the Helix DSP. That single item will pay you back more than any other gear in the entire system and more importantly help tie it ALL together. It helps place the music sound stage where it should be upon the dash. Even the base & kicks of the 6x9 will be heard up there! It's beyond me to explain how they do it but it's amazing when done right.
That one gear alone saved me big as the owner of the audio store informed me I didn't need speakers for my car. Instead he assured me my speakers were fine that they only needed proper time alignment, slope and phasing. How many store you know will turn away a sale and instead encourage you to keep stock speakers? That's integrity.
As to your second query I just had the JL audio sub installed under the cargo area. I had the scissor jack replaced by a 2 ton bottle jack which when wrapped up tightly in foam fitted nicely in one of the triangular holes.
Anyway it's my first week with the JL Audio 10TW3 thin subwoofer and it's a PERFECT sub paired to the RX in that together they compliment each other without much effort. Playing Basetronics, a HEAVY base album I fully expected the base to escape the confines of the RX. Not so. I was pleasantly surprised that even with the volume turned up and the base pounding away inside the cabin when I stepped outside and closed all the windows one could just make out only a "thud" sound. As you can see I don't wait to break in a sub. It either works or it doesn't. On the album by Melanie Martinez song Carousel approximately 30 seconds into it the base literally shake the entire cabin in a deep rich sustained base. This sub has no problem with anything I've thrown at it.
On Jazz tracks such as The brand new heavies song" I feel right" all the base noted are displayed tightly and proper cadence.
On George Ezra song "Leaving it up to you" in the beginning of the song you can hear the base strings keeping the sub at a low delicate strum until 1:12 sec then a nice steady soft drummer comes through then back to strum and back to drums. Nice transition.
A few songs I've found the base "slapping" the sub and am trying to figure out if it's the gain set to low causing distortion as the shop doesn't want to set it too high or it's the song. Admittedly I have the adjuster **** up half way
So far I give this sub HIGH marks. A solid B+. An A+ perhaps once broken in and dialed in again.
Last edited by rxonmymind; 01-29-15 at 12:49 AM.
01-29-15, 12:43 AM
#7
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
I also have deadened the doors and this is easily something one can do on a weekend day.
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...l-removal.html
I used Hushmat & Ensolite by RAAMaudio. I'll not debate the merits of sound deadener but in my case it worked excellent. Second skin, Sound deadener showdown cld tiles or even Cascade Audio are leagues better I'm sure but I went with what my shop that installed my equipment had. Convenient and was easy to apply and not messy at all.
Once you do decide on a sub these access cut outs will need to be sealed as they rattle. A simple thin cut of either Ensolite or weather strapping will do.
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...l-removal.html
I used Hushmat & Ensolite by RAAMaudio. I'll not debate the merits of sound deadener but in my case it worked excellent. Second skin, Sound deadener showdown cld tiles or even Cascade Audio are leagues better I'm sure but I went with what my shop that installed my equipment had. Convenient and was easy to apply and not messy at all.
Once you do decide on a sub these access cut outs will need to be sealed as they rattle. A simple thin cut of either Ensolite or weather strapping will do.
Last edited by rxonmymind; 01-29-15 at 10:36 AM.
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01-29-15, 07:04 AM
#8
Thanks for posting the pictures. Thumbs up on the stealth installation as that is my preference.
Which Helix DSP did you use: (1) Helix DSP 8-channel, (2) Helix DSP Pro 10-channel or (3) other?
Which Helix DSP did you use: (1) Helix DSP 8-channel, (2) Helix DSP Pro 10-channel or (3) other?
Last edited by lexus997; 01-29-15 at 07:28 AM.
02-08-15, 02:00 PM
#12
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Here is the stealth sub install. Many of you will be familiar with that area. What I took out was the tire tool tray that took up an inordinate amount of room. Wasted space really. In exchange I did buy a 2 ton bottle jack that fits perfectly in one of the triangular tray in the side. My other reason for installing it her aside from wanting stealth was to help lessen the road noise that seems so prevalent within the cargo area. It helped but not a 100%
Last edited by rxonmymind; 02-08-15 at 02:05 PM.
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