# Anyone have the new Kenwood Excelon KDC-X995?



## NIU_Huskies

I know it only came out just over a week ago but wondering if anyone on here has one installed yet? Just would like to know how they like it and their experiences with it. I know that last year's KDC-X994 seemed to have a lot of issues pointed out by other owners.

This is the HU that i'm looking to get so any help would be appreciated.


----------



## zoom_zoom

same here, looking for an upgrade over my old Pioneer 7900bt. Its either this or what I assume is the competition (based on price) the Alpine CDA-117, thoughts?


----------



## beyondcr

I spent the better part of 10 hours of non stop searching with no price range in mind and this is the hu I ended up with, I haven't seen any reviews on this model yet but I did read alot of good stuff about the x994 the main problem being the screen glare. So I ordered the x995 should have it in my hands by Friday and installed by the evening I will post some pics and a small review. The hu will be going into a stock 2000 528i wagon. If anyone else finds any reviews on the hu I would love to know about them.


----------



## zoom_zoom

I wouldn't expect reviews at least for a few weeks since it did just get released, but looking forward to pics/first impressions.


----------



## NIU_Huskies

beyondcr said:


> I spent the better part of 10 hours of non stop searching with no price range in mind and this is the hu I ended up with, I haven't seen any reviews on this model yet but I did read alot of good stuff about the x994 the main problem being the screen glare. So I ordered the x995 should have it in my hands by Friday and installed by the evening I will post some pics and a small review. The hu will be going into a stock 2000 528i wagon. If anyone else finds any reviews on the hu I would love to know about them.


Where did you purchase it? Crutchfield?


----------



## sbelew

I had an x994 but had some issues with it when I tried adding an amplifier. So I contacted Crutchfield, informed them of the problem and they gave me a great deal on returning the 994 and upgrading to the 995. I should have it Monday. I really liked the 994 so I am hoping the 995 is as good but without the problem. The screen glare is definately a problem with the 994, I did not experience any of the problems others were experiencing, with the USB taking too long to read, or the system locking up. Ipod control and bluetooth were excellent.


----------



## beyondcr

Ok I just got my kdc-x995 today and installed it into my 2000 e39 bmw.... I have to tell you this thing did not disappoint! It put my stock hu and my buddies premium dsp bmw system to shame! I played with quite a few headunits and this is the best sounding with out any additional upgrades I came across. I have yet to see this in the daytime it dose have a gloss screen but I dont think it will have a bad glare issue I was able to come really really close to matching the color scheme of my hud. The controls are very solid and with very little lag. Blue tooth works great I would check with their web site to make sure your phone is supported altho mine was not on the site and it works well. All I have to say is this thing sounds AMAZING! Well worth the money spent. My buddy is a huge alpine fan and he is seriously thinking about getting one.


----------



## beyondcr

NIU_Huskies said:


> Where did you purchase it? Crutchfield?


Yes I got it from Crutchfield seeing how they gave me the wiring harness dash install kit antenna adapter and 2day shipping free.


----------



## ZAKOH

^ you should play with time alignment if you figure out the thing. Ignore the measurements in ft. Just use your ears. Try on just the front right/left channels. It makes a noticeable difference.


----------



## beyondcr

I did play with it for a few minutes I will have all day tomorrow with it. I have a audio reference disc I want to use in it but I barely scratched the surface with mine and love it.


----------



## JAX

Dang they still have the gloss face on them? It's the biggest pain on an otherwise great series of decks. Tried the 993&994. Glare was attrocious. That's why I use a eclipse 5030 and it wasn't easy to find


----------



## NIU_Huskies

JAX said:


> Dang they still have the gloss face on them? It's the biggest pain on an otherwise great series of decks. Tried the 993&994. Glare was attrocious. That's why I use a eclipse 5030 and it wasn't easy to find


I've tried searching the net for the eclipse 5030 but i can't find them. I like eclipse units but they're hard to find because they are discontinued and they haven't updated their line with new products.


----------



## eggyhustles

NIU_Huskies said:


> I've tried searching the net for the eclipse 5030 but i can't find them. I like eclipse units but they're hard to find because they are discontinued and they haven't updated their line with new products.


Contact this guy
DIYMA.com - View Profile: MACS

He usually has a couple eclipse gems in the stash :laugh:


----------



## NIU_Huskies

Well, i just purchased the X-995 from Crutchfield. I found it for $40 cheaper elsewhere but i want the 2-year Excelon warranty. I figure that's worth the $40, plus Crutchfield gives me the $30 lower dash kit for my Accord for free and i got a $25 gift card by using the 3A865 coupon code.


----------



## Salad Fingers

I have the 994 in my truck for right now and I don't really know what the glare complaint is about. I have noticed that it seems like it's a bit of a delicate flower with CDs.


----------



## beyondcr

Thats what I did, I normally go else where but crutch field hooked me up with the dash installation and everything. also it dose have a bit of a glare issue, I came out today and the sun was in full effect but it will be the same with any hu. I give this hu a 5 out of 5.


----------



## NIU_Huskies

I agree, i think all HUs are going to have a glare issue when they have glass on them. I'm not worried about it as much in my car because my HU will be installed lower and further out of the sun's view. I really like the look of this HU though and i'm interested in the built-in HD Radio, Bluetooth, and Pandora capabilities.


----------



## Pillow

How timely! In my research this new 995 has the most features per dollar that I can find. Pandora, Bluetooth, HD radio, + great built in crossovers for the sub section + TA. 

I plan on ordering one from Crutchfield this week. 

... Yes glare is an issue depending on install. I have a 993 in the Suburban and a 994 in the 911. IMO the 993 and 994 are about the same function wise but with a different layout/look.

FWIW I will also add the Sirius tuner. To be installed in a '10 Jetta TDI... I hate too lose the double din, but this 995 just looks too good to pass up. 

I cannot wait for more user reviews!


----------



## nineball

feel free to use this referral code for crutchfield. it will get you $20 off $200. 

p3xht-5r681-r1hix


----------



## NIU_Huskies

Pillow said:


> How timely! In my research this new 995 has the most features per dollar that I can find. Pandora, Bluetooth, HD radio, + great built in crossovers for the sub section + TA.
> 
> I plan on ordering one from Crutchfield this week.
> 
> ... Yes glare is an issue depending on install. I have a 993 in the Suburban and a 994 in the 911. IMO the 993 and 994 are about the same function wise but with a different layout/look.
> 
> FWIW I will also add the Sirius tuner. To be installed in a '10 Jetta TDI... I hate too lose the double din, but this 995 just looks too good to pass up.
> 
> I cannot wait for more user reviews!


Agreed, that's why this is the unit i was looking at the hardest. It has the most built-in features for a good price. I was also looking at the Alpine CDA-117 but it is already a year old and the cost vs features doesn't seem worth it to me. The only thing i liked about the unit was its SQ abilities. I also liked the JVC Arsenal KD-A925BT that comes out at the end of the month.


----------



## ReloadedSS

When you folks get them in, please do a review (mini or in depth) -- so far, I think this might be the deck I go with, due to the features and pricing.


----------



## beyondcr

The only downfall I found so far is that I cannot seem to get my nexus one (android 2.3) phone to play audio via blue tooth I don't know if I am missing something or they just don't have the feature but I can connect my phone to take phone calls.... I will contact Kenwood soon to see whats up... was the x994 able to play audio via blue tooth?


----------



## nick650

x994 is able to stream audio via bluetooth


----------



## beyondcr

nick650 said:


> x994 is able to stream audio via bluetooth


Ok it might just be my phone... whenever one of you gets your unit can you try to stream audio via bluetooth... I just sent a email to kenwood but they probably wont get back to me until mid week.


----------



## newtitan

I have a 994, for the backup, that im thinking of upgrading, wonder what the big difference is, other than pandora (which I dont use personally)


----------



## NIU_Huskies

beyondcr said:


> Ok it might just be my phone... whenever one of you gets your unit can you try to stream audio via bluetooth... I just sent a email to kenwood but they probably wont get back to me until mid week.


Try asking Kenwood USA on Facebook. They seem to answer questions on their wall within hours.


----------



## NIU_Huskies

newtitan said:


> I have a 994, for the backup, that im thinking of upgrading, wonder what the big difference is, other than pandora (which I dont use personally)


I think the 994 and 995 are virtually the same except Kenwood added built-in HD radio and Pandora compatibility in the new 995. Most add-on HD radio kits are around $100, so it's nice to have it built in.


----------



## t1n0m3n

Can anyone comment on the MP3 on USB stick functionality? I have the x994, and I finally just broke down and bought an iPod due to most of the functionality missing for the MP3 on USB stick in this head unit. I hate Apple products and would like to kick the annoying iPod to the curb, but with the x994 I am SOL.

Edit:
Also, can someone comment on the Bluetooth sound quality?
I am not sure if it is the phone (Samsung Vibrant with Bionix 1.3.1 and Overstock 1.5 kernel) or the x994, but the sound is in mono, not stereo.


----------



## nick650

any stream VIA BlueTooth is HORRIBLE. Use the USB, or Ipod or w/e, just don't use the BT


----------



## nineball

nick650 said:


> any stream VIA BlueTooth is HORRIBLE. Use the USB, or Ipod or w/e, just don't use the BT



never had any problems with my x993 and bt streaming. worked perfectly with my iphone 3g, 3gs and 4.


----------



## beyondcr

nick650 said:


> any stream VIA BlueTooth is HORRIBLE. Use the USB, or Ipod or w/e, just don't use the BT



Kenwood got back and they said they do not have any current plans to support audio over bluetooth although they may create an update in the future, I guess audio quality is the reason why they left it out.... As far as usb support on the x995 it works great I can use my android phone as a usb device and It finds all the folders with little load time, There is also a "aux in" so if you wanted to stream online radio or whatever. I also had the chance to plug my friends iphone via usb the ipod feature works real nice although I did not have time to go to far in depth ever thing felt very responsive, the x995 also allows you to control and stream Pandora radio when you have the iphone plugged in. The HD radio works great almost all the HD stations around my area has 3 different streams.


----------



## HomicidalTherms

t1n0m3n said:


> Can anyone comment on the MP3 on USB stick functionality? I have the x994, and I finally just broke down and bought an iPod due to most of the functionality missing for the MP3 on USB stick in this head unit. I hate Apple products and would like to kick the annoying iPod to the curb, but with the x994 I am SOL.


I've got the 994 and the USB MP3 works great for the most part. What functionality are you missing? If you're looking for the ability to play by artist, album, genre, etc you have to create a database on the stick using the Kenwood Music Editor. The software is really basic but it will help out significantly in that area.


----------



## Mark the Bold

Just did an install with the KDC-x994. Outstanding headunit. Bluetooth is the best I've seen on any headunit to date; hand free calling. Unlike the Pioneers (retch) you can control the music with your ipod directly. Really helpful with 60gb+ of mp3's.

However, the first KDC-x994 I installed in my wife's car was DOA with really wonky behaviour. Still waiting for my replacement from a TERRIBLE ebay vendor. Going on four weeks without a HU in my wife's car. Sheesh.


----------



## ZAKOH

nick650 said:


> any stream VIA BlueTooth is HORRIBLE. Use the USB, or Ipod or w/e, just don't use the BT


I'd be more concerned about SQ. Pandora content is streamed over the internet, so it has to be lossy and bit rate can't be very high. You have to pay $36/month to get even 196kbit stream. My guess it's better than an average radio station I listen to, but high quality mp3s will probably be better in terms of SQ.


----------



## t1n0m3n

nick650 said:


> any stream VIA BlueTooth is HORRIBLE. Use the USB, or Ipod or w/e, just don't use the BT


Sorry, I thought that it was fairly obvious that I was referring to the sound quality of bluetooth versus the competition.

We are all aware of bluetooth's inherent lack of SQ. Yet we do not feel the need to FORCE THE KNOWLEDGE DOWN EVERYONE'S THROAT IN ALL CAPS.

To be clear, bluetooth from my phone to some stereo bluetooth headphones are of acceptable quality. Bluetooth to my x994 is not. I was asking for comments as to the sound quality of the x994's bluetooth versus the sound quality of the x995's bluetooth implementation.

Thank you beyondcr for your comment.


----------



## t1n0m3n

HomicidalTherms said:


> I've got the 994 and the USB MP3 works great for the most part. What functionality are you missing? If you're looking for the ability to play by artist, album, genre, etc you have to create a database on the stick using the Kenwood Music Editor. The software is really basic but it will help out significantly in that area.


First and foremost... How about search? IIRC, searches were a nightmare on the x994. Or all random? I am not sure if that was one of the issues... Beyond that I cannot remember correctly, it has been a year since I have bought the iPod. I will break down tomorrow night and put some music on a USB stick and report back. There were 4 or 5 dealbreaking (for me) issues with MP3 on USB with the x994. I do remember it being bad enough that I was thinking about taking the head unit back.

I will also try out that editor. Thanks for the suggestion.


----------



## The Dude

I have the KIV-BT900, and had issues at first with the Bluetooth coming out the right channel only. There was a setting in the Bluetooth setup that allowed you to select whether the audio comes out through the front speakers, or through all of them. Once I changed to "all" I was good to go, as I have the 4 channels of my Belle bridged to 2, to run my component speakers up front.....













t1n0m3n said:


> Can anyone comment on the MP3 on USB stick functionality? I have the x994, and I finally just broke down and bought an iPod due to most of the functionality missing for the MP3 on USB stick in this head unit. I hate Apple products and would like to kick the annoying iPod to the curb, but with the x994 I am SOL.
> 
> Edit:
> Also, can someone comment on the Bluetooth sound quality?
> I am not sure if it is the phone (Samsung Vibrant with Bionix 1.3.1 and Overstock 1.5 kernel) or the x994, but the sound is in mono, not stereo.


----------



## Salad Fingers

Hey Lebowski, do you have an iPhone 4?


----------



## sbelew

I got my install pretty much finished up this weekend and had some time to play around with the x995. The bluetooth seems to work the same way and as good as on the 994. I had a little trouble pairing my phone initially but after I re-read the instructions, I got it first try. 

The AUX input connection is turned off by default, so if you want to use it, you have to go into the menu and enable it. I didn't as I just use the USB. 

The HD radio works great and displays a lot of info on the screen. One thing I found that the 995 does that the 994 does not is the random play on a USB drive. The 994 would only play random songs in 1 folder, the 995 when you set the folder random to ON, will play random songs from all folders. Or I think you can set it to play random in whichever folder you have selected. I am trying out the Kenwood Music editor software right now to see what can be done with that software.

The glare on the screen is a problem. I took the HU out and flipped the Crutchfield mounting bracket so that the little storage area was at the top, thinking that by getting the HU a little lower in the dash it might help. It didn't. But I did find that if you set the colors to one of the brighter ones, it helps somewhat.

I set the speaker settings up to match what I had, 6.5" in front doors with tweeters, rears set to 6x8 and sub set to 12" But I didnt try any of the time alignment settings. I am still playing with tweeter locations and trying to get the amp gains and crossovers set right. Im new to this and my lack of experience is taking me longer to get it set just right.

There are several menus and setting adjustments to try out, I have barely scratched the surface so far but its definately a nice unit.


----------



## t1n0m3n

Dude, great info. I have mine bridged as well, so that would explain the mono/lower output. I will definitely check this setting when I get home.


----------



## Mark the Bold

sbelew said:


> The glare on the screen is a problem. I took the HU out and flipped the Crutchfield mounting bracket so that the little storage area was at the top, thinking that by getting the HU a little lower in the dash it might help. It didn't. But I did find that if you set the colors to one of the brighter ones, it helps somewhat.


Amen. Did an install for my wife's car and she complained about the glare.

Solution: Go buy one of those anti glare peel-n-stick coatings for cell phones / iphones. Cut it to fit the HU, Dude its like night and day. We live in Arizona so we gets lots of sun!


----------



## NIU_Huskies

I got mine late last week from Crutchfield and have it almost ready to put in but i'm waiting for one more item to come in the mail so that i don't have to take it out of the dash again. Item should be here tomorrow, then maybe if i have enough time left i might install it tomorrow. Probably come back next week to report my experiences with the unit.


----------



## bamaster

Mine arrives later this week. Once I get it installed I'll try to report back here. I mainly am looking for USB thumb drive support and hands-free calling. I have an iPod but I never use it... much easier to throw MP3's on my thumb drive.


----------



## NIU_Huskies

Got mine installed today. Overall, my audio system sounds better with this unit than the previous factory HU and LOC setup. The HD Radio is awesome, have a bunch of stations out here. I bought and hooked up a Monster iCable 800 for the rear auxiliary port. Tried my Android phone on it playing music through the cable and sounded good but had to turn up the unit volume more to hear it. Tried a CD too. Haven't tried the USB port yet but I only got to play with it for 20 mins today. I'll let you all know more after i use it some more and adjust the audio settings.


----------



## Salad Fingers

If you use a mini USB to USB cable it will charge your phone. Also, if you tell the phone to see it as a mass storage device it will pull all of your music up on to and function from the HU.


----------



## bamaster

Salad Fingers said:


> If you use a mini USB to USB cable it will charge your phone. Also, if you tell the phone to see it as a mass storage device it will pull all of your music up on to and function from the HU.


So basically, my phone's storage is treated like a USB drive? With folders I can move back and fourth?


----------



## Resonant

Thought about getting one but ended up going old school and purchased an Alpine CDA-7949


----------



## Mark the Bold

I just ordered one this week for my truck. Finally decided to smash my 880prs to smithereens with a sledghammer for all the active crossover noise it generates.

Glad to hear its working well. I'm stoked to install it. On paper it has everything I need; bluetooth, HD radio and hi quality sound. Also it lets me control the mp3's WITH my ipod while letting the HU do the DAC'ing. No other headunit on the market to my knowledge can do that without buying all the add-ons for it. 

My wife has the kdc-x994 and her only complaint was the glare but we fixed that with a cut-to-size cell phone anti-glare protector.


----------



## ZAKOH

On x994, I reversed the background and foreground colors and set the color to be bright green. Since then sun glare wasn't a big issue. It can help if the head unit panel is slightly oriented towards the driver.


----------



## Chris C

I've been considering buying this deck and am looking over the on-line manual, and I have a question for those of you who already have it regarding the crossover settings: If I'm running a two way component system with sub, it looks like there's a lowpass filter for the "subwoofer" output, and a highpass filter for the "front" output, but for the "rear" output, there's only a highpass filter and no lowpass filter. So if my "front" speakers are tweeters, and my "rear" speakers are mid/bass speakers, how am I going to limit the freq range going to the mid/bass since the "rear" output doesn't also have a lowpass filter?


----------



## nineball

It is not an active capable headunit. If you want to bandpass your mids you need some form of external processing.


----------



## NIU_Huskies

Salad Fingers said:


> If you use a mini USB to USB cable it will charge your phone. Also, if you tell the phone to see it as a mass storage device it will pull all of your music up on to and function from the HU.


Yes, i have such a cord for my phone but if i want to play Pandora through my phone then i have to use the auxiliary connection because the HU only supports Pandora for iPhone.


----------



## NIU_Huskies

Chris C said:


> I've been considering buying this deck and am looking over the on-line manual, and I have a question for those of you who already have it regarding the crossover settings: If I'm running a two way component system with sub, it looks like there's a lowpass filter for the "subwoofer" output, and a highpass filter for the "front" output, but for the "rear" output, there's only a highpass filter and no lowpass filter. So if my "front" speakers are tweeters, and my "rear" speakers are mid/bass speakers, how am I going to limit the freq range going to the mid/bass since the "rear" output doesn't also have a lowpass filter?


The HU has an audio setting that let's you use the internal crossover or bypass the internal crossover. If you want to go active then you need to bypass it.


----------



## Chris C

NIU_Huskies said:


> The HU has an audio setting that let's you use the internal crossover or bypass the internal crossover. If you want to go active then you need to bypass it.


Okay, now I'm confused; Doesn't using the internal crossovers of the deck mean that it's an active crossover?


----------



## nineball

Chris C said:


> Okay, now I'm confused; Doesn't using the internal crossovers of the deck mean that it's an active crossover?


no. you cannot bandpass with this model. you can only specify high pass or low pass.


----------



## Chris C

nineball said:


> no. you cannot bandpass with this model. you can only specify high pass or low pass.


Okay, thanks; too bad- this deck has everything I want but not quite everything I need.


----------



## NIU_Huskies

Chris C said:


> Okay, thanks; too bad- this deck has everything I want but not quite everything I need.


I think all HU's are like that. You have to find the one that has the most features you want and pick that one. It doesn't seem like there is a HU out there that will do everything you want.

The higher end HU's that offer more SQ options seem to lack the extra features (unless you buy all the add-ons), and the lower-to-middle end HU's that offer more features tend to lack in the SQ options.


----------



## F150 dude

Continuing on the subject of the thread:

I had to replace an Eclipse 3100 yesterday & bought the 995. Was going to buy the 895 but the 995 has more EQ control & I was not a big fan of a joystick like controller the 895 has.

After getting home from the dealer, I was fine tuning the settings (the EQ) & somehow got the unit to freeze up. Nothing would work & had to reset the unit to get it back. It was more than likely my fault pushing buttons too fast or something. :surprised: After the reset I returned to the settings & everything went well. 

I love the unit...I have the sound quality almost where I like it...need to do a few more small adjustments to get it where I want it. I like the color choices as some are easier on my eyes than others so you can pick from almost any color.

The bluetooth works great with my phone. I don't use Pandora so can't say much there. I had no problems getting Sirius/XM installed with this unit.

The Eclipse I had lasted 3 years before just stopping while playing CD's. It got worse & now certain buttons no longer worked. After 6 months of trying to make it work, I gave up & bought the 995. You guys asked for reviews so I decided to post. I've only had the 995 one day so will see what happens but so far, seems like a really great unit to me !


----------



## certifiedquality

Does anyone know if the volume fading at 22/35 issue that the x994 has was resolved in the x995?

Reading through the x994 thread revealed that at around 22/35 volume the volume fades and sound distorts as a result of the internal amplifier overheating.


----------



## nick650

never heard of that issue but I turned mine off as I use my zed leviathan to power my whole car


----------



## certifiedquality

Ok, didn't know they have that option.
Can it be turned off for the x994 also?


----------



## Salad Fingers

certifiedquality said:


> Ok, didn't know they have that option.
> Can it be turned off for the x994 also?


Yep, I believe it is in Initial Settings in Standby mode.


----------



## nick650

YEs you can! I have the x994.


----------



## Mark the Bold

Just installed mine this weekend. Just got out of a long and messy divorce with my Pioneer 880prs. Time to move on.

Lets start with the complaints first just to get them out of the way.

ipod by hand: I have an older 60gb ipod and for some reason the HU wont let me direct control it by hand. My friends more recent ipod touch works great. Not a major gripe, but I've always thought the ipod's interface for navigating large amounts of mp3s was vastly superior to any HU interface. However, the x995 is pretty damn good. Just spin the wheel really fast and it zips to the alpabetical super search mode where you can go from A to M real fast. ALSO it beats the ipod as you can reverse and go from A to numbers (or Z) just by scrolling up. ipod cant do this so this is a minor gripe.

glare: I knew this when I bought it but you definitely need to put a glare protector / clear plastic layer when trying to read the display in direct sunlight.

bluetooth is a bit tinny sounding Now I'm splitting hairs. The audio in/out from the bluetooth mic is very tinny sounding. My friends pioneer mvh-8200bt sounds a lot more natural. But it gets the job done.

slight turn on pop There is a noticeable "pop" when I turn on the car. Its not an amp issue as the same setup with the 880prs never had this. But the pop is REALLY slight so I know there's no damge being done but its still a minor gripe.


PROS:

SQ: Fantastic SQ and coming from using the 880prs for 4 years thats saying a lot. I don't EQ with the HU because I bought a DQXS D) but the highs sound so much brighter than with the 880prs with the same DQXS profile.

FAST-Fast Forwarding / FAST - Rewinding of MP3's I don't what the deal was with Pioneer headunits, but fastforwarding and rewinding mp3's was an AGONIZINGLY slow experience on all their headunits. I gave up on it really. Practically only 1.5 times play speed ffs. This baby FLIES in both directions. No more 2 minute $hitty and pretenious rap monologues before the music starts!!!

HD-Radio I listen to Rush limbaugh and this feature REALLY brought AM radio to life. Also, the info displayed is pretty cool. Especially when listening to NPR as it tells you exactly whats coming up and what they are talking about.

Non-mechanical faceplate opening I seriously think PIoneer made their faceplates mechanically move just to sell replacement gears and ribbons for it. The Kenwood design relies on simple ol' gravity to get the job done without moving parts or gears. I likey.

Accelerating Analog Volume Control Unlike the excruitiating large variance in volume on the 880prs (volume 0 to 60 wtf?) and the BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP as you scroll thru it, this kenwoods volume dial is like old school analog volume dials where it increases and decreases almost exponentially the faster you turn the volume dial / steering wheel buttons. Very natural feeling. Also 0 to 40 is a more reasonable volume range.

Rear USB chord Self explanatory. I have this thing nicely flush mounted in my console. Much cleaner looking than the "guts spilling from the front" of most front usb ipod setups with chords dangling over your AC / heating / fans controls on your car.

Well hope this review helps. I love the headunit. My cons are pretty trivial.


----------



## farfromovin

Well, I've had this hu since the week it was released. Got it from Crutchfield and it replaced a stock radio. The rest of my stereo is OE except for the deck right now. I have no use for the x-over settings, and when my external amps go in I'll really have no use. I will use the built in time alignment features though. If you live in an area with HD radio, this unit is a real good buy. Built in hands free, HD radio tuner, iPod control, and Pandora? Doesn't get any better for the price in my book.

Oh, and I know it's compressed, but I purchased a $36 annual Pandora subscription. It sounds amazing on the stock amp/speakers in my car.


----------



## BoostedNihilist

Chris C said:


> Okay, thanks; too bad- this deck has everything I want but not quite everything I need.


you can use your amp crossovers with your deck crossovers to make a bandpass if you want to go full active.


----------



## stevo revo

Does this unit require a mic for phone operation? I'm assuming so but...... ? Also, does it come with a usb and aux extetion for the rear inputs or is that something I'd have to get on my own?

Something else I noticed on the Kenwood website, that these newer hu's that have usb are firmware upgradeable. Would be nice if more manufacturers would get on board with Android. Seems to be kicking Iphones a$$ lately!


----------



## Dave-ROR

I've had one sitting in my garage for a week or so, haven't gotten around to installing it yet.


----------



## Dave-ROR

BoostedNihilist said:


> you can use your amp crossovers with your deck crossovers to make a bandpass if you want to go full active.


Unless he has an amp that will bandpass..

I'm going to use the 995, fronts to channel 1+2, rears to 3+4, my amp can bandpass both channels so I'll bandpass 3/4 and run to mids, 1+2 will be highpassed and run to the tweeters. 

I'm just going to use the deck's controls for EQ and time alignment.


----------



## Dave-ROR

stevo revo said:


> Does this unit require a mic for phone operation? I'm assuming so but...... ? Also, does it come with a usb and aux extetion for the rear inputs or is that something I'd have to get on my own?
> 
> Something else I noticed on the Kenwood website, that these newer hu's that have usb are firmware upgradeable. Would be nice if more manufacturers would get on board with Android. Seems to be kicking Iphones a$$ lately!


USB is run from a wire on the rear of the unit. IIRC there is an aux as well (1/8" stereo jack) but I'm not 100% on that part.

It comes with the microphone for hands free.


----------



## ReloadedSS

Dave-ROR said:


> Unless he has an amp that will bandpass..
> 
> I'm going to use the 995, fronts to channel 1+2, rears to 3+4, my amp can bandpass both channels so I'll bandpass 3/4 and run to mids, 1+2 will be highpassed and run to the tweeters.
> 
> I'm just going to use the deck's controls for EQ and time alignment.


I think that's going to be the same route that I'm going. Or running something like the 995 to a processor (like the Alpine H800), to get four-way but still have the front end features that I want.


----------



## NIU_Huskies

stevo revo said:


> Does this unit require a mic for phone operation? I'm assuming so but...... ? Also, does it come with a usb and aux extetion for the rear inputs or is that something I'd have to get on my own?


The cell phone mic comes in the packaging with the HU.

Yes, it comes with USB and AUX input. Both come from the rear of the HU. The USB wire is about 18" in length and comes with a mount so you can mount it somewhere accessible. Kenwood didn't include an AUX input cable so you have to purchase your own. I bought the Monster iCable 800.


----------



## Jakkkke

Question for all of you stereo experts. My mind is willing, but my abilities are weak. Is this a good stereo for a do it yourselfer with limited abilities?
My goal is to replace the stereo in my son's 2003 camry with one with easy to use bluetooth phone system and be able to hook up his ipod.

My desire if for something that is easy and safe for him to use to switch songs. One concern I have is if you cannot read the screen because of the glare, it is hard to select songs looking at the indash.

thanks

PS any thoughts on tricking it out a bit, like an equalizer, amp?? I used to love the lights on the equalizers on my 79 formula pontiac.


----------



## Chaos

Jakkkke said:


> Question for all of you stereo experts. My mind is willing, but my abilities are weak. Is this a good stereo for a do it yourselfer with limited abilities?
> My goal is to replace the stereo in my son's 2003 camry with one with easy to use bluetooth phone system and be able to hook up his ipod.
> 
> My desire if for something that is easy and safe for him to use to switch songs. One concern I have is if you cannot read the screen because of the glare, it is hard to select songs looking at the indash.
> 
> thanks
> 
> PS any thoughts on tricking it out a bit, like an equalizer, amp?? I used to love the lights on the equalizers on my 79 formula pontiac.



The X995 is a nice unit, but if you don't need HD Radio, something like the BT848U might be a better choice for you.

The built in EQ is effective for most basic installations, and you can even set the display to "Spectral Analyzer" mode reminiscent of the good 'ol days of graphic equalizers.


----------



## stevo revo

Hey thanks for all the feedback. I picked up the 995 from Crutchfield yesterday. They also had a deal with 2 pairs of kenwood speakers with a hu.... get $50 off. So I picked up 6 1/2 component speakers for the doors and 4x6's for the pillars in my Silverado. I will keep my current amp and truck boxes and use them as subs still. Cant wait for the brown truck to show up friday!

Anyone have any idea what kinda filter I will need for the 4x6's to keep the bass out of them? Or can I do that with the head unit? 

Thanks!


----------



## nineball

do it with the headunit. start around 80-100 and see how the speaker responds, moving up as needed.


----------



## nineball

Jakkkke said:


> Question for all of you stereo experts. My mind is willing, but my abilities are weak. Is this a good stereo for a do it yourselfer with limited abilities?
> My goal is to replace the stereo in my son's 2003 camry with one with easy to use bluetooth phone system and be able to hook up his ipod.
> 
> My desire if for something that is easy and safe for him to use to switch songs. One concern I have is if you cannot read the screen because of the glare, it is hard to select songs looking at the indash.
> 
> thanks
> 
> PS any thoughts on tricking it out a bit, like an equalizer, amp?? I used to love the lights on the equalizers on my 79 formula pontiac.



if it is anything like my x993, and i am sure it is, you will be happy with the bt and ipod/phone support. there is a button on the remote to answer an incoming call (or you can set it to auto-answer after so many seconds). i have way too many songs on my iphone so i just set the hu to all random and let it play. if i don't like the song i just hit next.

as far as the screen, i just set mine to be a giant clock and nothing else, reversed image. i know the songs on my iphone so i don't need to see them on the screen. i do however need the clock.


----------



## ZAKOH

nineball said:


> if it is anything like my x993, and i am sure it is, you will be happy with the bt and ipod/phone support. there is a button on the remote to answer an incoming call (or you can set it to auto-answer after so many seconds). i have way too many songs on my iphone so i just set the hu to all random and let it play. if i don't like the song i just hit next.


Oh.. that's a waste of a good ipod. According to the manual, this head unit has the ability to browse and select songs to play by genre/artist/album, etc just like on ipod interface, as long as they're properly labeled. Moreover, the same effect can be accomplished if the songs are on a simple USB stick and a database is created using Windows software called "Kenwood Music Editor Lite". It didn't work for me because it screws up the titles of some song in foreign languages. Another possibility is to group songs using folders. That's what I do. The music again need to be properly tagged. I use program called foobar2000. After some configuration, it will sort all my music into a directory tree structure by genre/artist/year-album, so I can browse through about 100 albums on a USB stick very easily through the head unit interface, never having to scroll though more than 5-10 items at each level.


----------



## nineball

ZAKOH said:


> Oh.. that's a waste of a good ipod. According to the manual, this head unit has the ability to browse and select songs to play by genre/artist/album, etc just like on ipod interface, as long as they're properly labeled. Moreover, the same effect can be accomplished if the songs are on a simple USB stick and a database is created using Windows software called "Kenwood Music Editor Lite". It didn't work for me because it screws up the titles of some song in foreign languages. Another possibility is to group songs using folders. That's what I do. The music again need to be properly tagged. I use program called foobar2000. After some configuration, it will sort all my music into a directory tree structure by genre/artist/year-album, so I can browse through about 100 albums on a USB stick very easily through the head unit interface, never having to scroll though more than 5-10 items at each level.


beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. what you call a waste i call ease of use. i have almost no need to browse for a particular song, and if i did it's quite easy to do so on the hu OR the iphone. when you spend 4-7 hours a day driving you will eventually hear every song that your storage device can hold


----------



## ZAKOH

nineball said:


> beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. what you call a waste i call ease of use. i have almost no need to browse for a particular song, and if i did it's quite easy to do so on the hu OR the iphone. when you spend 4-7 hours a day driving you will eventually hear every song that your storage device can hold


I see, though I generally like a thematic coherence in what I listen. E.g. all songs in the same album, all songs in all albums by some artist (in correct order, by year and song number), best selected songs of the same singer, etc. If I randomized everything, it'd be a mess.. Russian Rock, ranging from Punk to Classical, mixed with some folk music, Ska, ambient music, mixed with Latin Rock mixed with Latin Pop and some English language rock and hip hop.


----------



## nineball

ZAKOH said:


> I see, though I generally like a thematic coherence in what I listen. E.g. all songs in the same album, all songs in all albums by some artist (in correct order, by year and song number), best selected songs of the same singer, etc. If I randomized everything, it'd be a mess.. Russian Rock, ranging from Punk to Classical, mixed with some folk music, Ska, ambient music, mixed with Latin Rock mixed with Latin Pop and some English language rock and hip hop.


yep, i am the exact opposite. just got back to the office and here ae the last 5 artists played: michael crawford, motley crue, van morrison, the doors, the black keys. 

i spent many, many years as a dj and as a result i have more styles i like then i don't. country is about the only thing i don't like anymore, but there are probably less than 10 albums i could listen to from first to last.


----------



## NIU_Huskies

ZAKOH said:


> Moreover, the same effect can be accomplished if the songs are on a simple USB stick and a database is created using Windows software called "Kenwood Music Editor Lite". It didn't work for me because it screws up the titles of some song in foreign languages. Another possibility is to group songs using folders. That's what I do. The music again need to be properly tagged. I use program called foobar2000. After some configuration, it will sort all my music into a directory tree structure by genre/artist/year-album, so I can browse through about 100 albums on a USB stick very easily through the head unit interface, never having to scroll though more than 5-10 items at each level.


I didn't even use a USB thumbdrive. I had a Seagate GoFlex 500GB external hard drive that is USB-powered. I created a 32GB partition on the hard drive just for music and then used the Kenwood software to create a database. I just plug in my hard drive and can browse through the playlist with the HU. All an iPod is is a hard drive with Apple software on it that plays music. External hard drives are much cheaper per GB than iPods and thumbdrives.


----------



## NIU_Huskies

I took pictures of the HU when i un-boxed it. Just click on the thumbnails to see the larger image. This might help some of you who are interested to see what it looks like.


----------



## ZAKOH

NIU_Huskies said:


> I didn't even use a USB thumbdrive. I had a Seagate GoFlex 500GB external hard drive that is USB-powered. I created a 32GB partition on the hard drive just for music and then used the Kenwood software to create a database. I just plug in my hard drive and can browse through the playlist with the HU. All an iPod is is a hard drive with Apple software on it that plays music. External hard drives are much cheaper per GB than iPods and thumbdrives.


I didn't know head unit can power a hard drive through USB interface. That seems like a good idea except that supposedly these kenwoods can not work with drives or partitions larger than 32GB. So all that big space will go to waste. If I outgrow my 32GB USB thumb drive, I might indeed need to buy an ipod, to use it has a hard drive. Fortunately, there are plenty of used ipods sold cheaply enough..


----------



## NIU_Huskies

ZAKOH said:


> I didn't know head unit can power a hard drive through USB interface. That seems like a good idea except that supposedly these kenwoods can not work with drives or partitions larger than 32GB. So all that big space will go to waste. If I outgrow my 32GB USB thumb drive, I might indeed need to buy an ipod, to use it has a hard drive. Fortunately, there are plenty of used ipods sold cheaply enough..


This external hard drive is the size of an iPhone. It doesn't take much power. The HU's USB port provides enough current to power more efficient, smaller external hard drives.

It's not just Kenwood, it's everyone else that uses the FAT32 format as well. The FAT32 format only let's you partition up to 32GB.

I use the rest of my hard drive for other things, so that other space isn't going to waste. I don't leave it in my car.

A 32GB thumbdrive costs between $50-70. A used 32 GB iPod, depending on what generation it is, will cost $125+. The 500GB external hard drive i got...$65 brand new.


----------



## MerlinWerks

NIU_Huskies said:


> It's not just Kenwood, it's everyone else that uses the FAT32 format as well. The FAT32 format only let's you partition up to 32GB.


To get FAT32 partitions greater than 32GB search for a program called "Swissknife" I believe the last free version was 3.22. It appears that it has been turned into a commercial product since I last looked at it, "Swissknife Premium", but hey it's only $9.95 and probably more up to date than the free version.

You may also be interested in "Drivesort" to get all those files arranged in alphabetical order on you stick/drive, unless the newer HU's have the horsepower to do proper sorting now.

Does this unit have the ability to access more than 500 folders? That's the limitation I've ran into in the past, I have a 64gb stick only about 40gb used, music is arranged in artist/album folders, but because of the 500 folder limit most HU's will only access into the "R's" and not beyond 

I'm not an Apple fan, but for me this one area where the iPod rules.


----------



## NIU_Huskies

MerlinWerks said:


> To get FAT32 partitions greater than 32GB search for a program called "Swissknife" I believe the last free version was 3.22. It appears that it has been turned into a commercial product since I last looked at it, "Swissknife Premium", but hey it's only $9.95 and probably more up to date than the free version.
> 
> You may also be interested in "Drivesort" to get all those files arranged in alphabetical order on you stick/drive, unless the newer HU's have the horsepower to do proper sorting now.
> 
> Does this unit have the ability to access more than 500 folders? That's the limitation I've ran into in the past, I have a 64gb stick only about 40gb used, music is arranged in artist/album folders, but because of the 500 folder limit most HU's will only access into the "R's" and not beyond
> 
> I'm not an Apple fan, but for me this one area where the iPod rules.


In the owner's manual for the HU, it says that USB only supports FAT16/FAT32. I'll have to give that SwissKnife a try.

As far as the folder limit that the HU will recognize, i will have to check the manual for that. I don't remember reading it anywhere. I think it might be 999.


----------



## NIU_Huskies

I downloaded SwissKnife v3.22 as suggested and created a 100GB FAT32 partition for my music. Let's just say i have a lot of music. Good stuff!


----------



## MerlinWerks

NIU_Huskies said:


> I downloaded SwissKnife v3.22 as suggested and created a 100GB FAT32 partition for my music. Let's just say i have a lot of music. Good stuff!


Excellent! I'm glad that worked out...

Now the big question is can you access all of it?


----------



## chili_dog

My Alpine 9835 is dying or dead. It started with no illumination several weeks ago. Now, it has stop playing CD's. This thing has seen its last day. It was a classic and one of the best back in the day. After researching, the new x-995 seems perfect. I considered another Alpine, the 117, but, all the additional accesories you have to buy is ridiculous. It appears that the 995 and 117 are close.

I assume the 995 will play nice with other mp3 players such as Sansa or Zune? I am not a fan of Ipod or Apple.

Thanks


----------



## Mark the Bold

chili_dog said:


> My Alpine 9835 is dying or dead. It started with no illumination several weeks ago. Now, it has stop playing CD's. This thing has seen its last day. It was a classic and one of the best back in the day. After researching, the new x-995 seems perfect. I considered another Alpine 117, but, all the additional accesories you have to buy is ridiculous. It appears that the 995 and 117 are close.
> 
> I assume the 995 will play nice with other mp3 players such as Sansa or Zune? I am not a fan of Ipod or Apple.
> 
> Thanks


I'd call Kenwood to be sure. From my experience, I would NOT assume that assumption. It might treat it as a USB drive at the least, but playlist, "ipod" by hand, etc. might not work.


----------



## stevo revo

I purchased the 995 last week but have not installed yet. Man the owners manual looks like this thing is a handful. I am quite literate when it comes to controls on different things. Is this unit pretty intuitive once you get the menu flow? Also, with this being a state of the art hu, does it remember its settings in the event of a power loss? If not, can you back them up to usb?

My last pioneer head unit is 7 years old, so this one is quite a leap for me with all the features. Can't wait to get it installed though!!!


----------



## NIU_Huskies

stevo revo said:


> Is this unit pretty intuitive once you get the menu flow? Also, with this being a state of the art hu, does it remember its settings in the event of a power loss? If not, can you back them up to usb?


There are a lot of menus and submenus. I still haven't gotten use to them all.

It does not remember your settings in the event of a power loss. I disconnected my car battery because i was installing a second amp and i had to re-do all my settings. I haven't seen a way to save them yet, if at all possible.


----------



## chili_dog

stevo revo said:


> I purchased the 995 last week but have not installed yet. Man the owners manual looks like this thing is a handful. I am quite literate when it comes to controls on different things. Is this unit pretty intuitive once you get the menu flow? Also, with this being a state of the art hu, does it remember its settings in the event of a power loss? If not, can you back them up to usb?
> 
> My last pioneer head unit is 7 years old, so this one is quite a leap for me with all the features. Can't wait to get it installed though!!!



Steve, 

I am in the same boat. This will also be a leap for me. Please post your thoughts after you get it installed. I am wrestling with purchasing the 995, Eclipse 7200II or maybe see if the dinosaur in my dash can be fixed. 

Thanks


----------



## bamaster

I got mine installed over the weekend. First off... as others have stated, the glare is terrible. My Alpine would be difficult to see sometimes but this makes you wonder what Kenwood was testing this thing in... a windowless tank?

It sounds much better than my Alpine. Not sure why, either. Does this have some preset equalization or something like that? 

I haven't familiarized myself with the settings yet, but I only see a setting for adjusting bass output... no treble adjustment? Is that right?

It's kinda cool that you can change the color of the device buttons (power, source, phone, etc) independent of the LCD screen. So I have my buttons on red, matching my dash color, and the LCD screen is blue. Neat!

I had my installer wire an AUX line into my arm rest console and the USB into my glovebox. I don't keep gloves in there but that's where my thumb drive is. Works like a charm. Also, with the thumb drive, it will display the folder names to scroll through. The Alpine didn't do that, so that was unexpected.

Anyone know how to easily move up a folder on the USB drive? I can click "Search Mode" button and it will skip to the next folder but I don't know how to click to go back a folder. Anyone?

I'm having trouble with bluetooth sync with my HTC Thunderbolt. It pairs up but then doesn't re-pair when I go back into my car. Sometimes it does, sometimes no. Other Thunberbolt users are reporting bluetooth pairing issues so I don't think this is related to the Kenwood.

Overall, I love the device so far. Buttons are easy to use, knob is easy to turn an responsive. I will look into anti-scratch film to fix the glare problem. I'll first try to play with the colors/contrast to see if any of those fix it first. I hate to put a sticker on such a nice unit.

fin


----------



## Mark the Bold

bamaster said:


> I'm having trouble with bluetooth sync with my HTC Thunderbolt. It pairs up but then doesn't re-pair when I go back into my car. Sometimes it does, sometimes no. Other Thunberbolt users are reporting bluetooth pairing issues so I don't think this is related to the Kenwood.
> 
> Overall, I love the device so far. Buttons are easy to use, knob is easy to turn an responsive. I will look into anti-scratch film to fix the glare problem. I'll first try to play with the colors/contrast to see if any of those fix it first. I hate to put a sticker on such a nice unit.
> 
> fin


The only quirk I noticed with the BT audio / USB is that if you plug in your iphone to the USB jack while the BT is updating, when you switch to the ipod/usb source no audio is output. In other words, if you run your iphone as an ipod via USB, you must wait for the HF connect to complete otherwise no audio is output during ipod mode when you physically connect it.

The reason I say this is because BT audio clips virtually ALL bass from the music. So unless you dont want any bass output out of your expensive car stereo  , BT audio is a waste of time.

I attached an anti-glare overlay and turned the contrast up hi to get it be visible during daytime.


----------



## ZAKOH

bamaster said:


> I got mine installed over the weekend. First off... as others have stated, the glare is terrible. My Alpine would be difficult to see sometimes but this makes you wonder what Kenwood was testing this thing in... a windowless tank?


Reverse the foreground and background color and set the color to bright green (or anything you like more). Once I have done it, the glare was seldom an issue on my x994. However, perhaps it also helps that my car's stereo console is slightly turned towards the driver, just a tiny angle. I am having trouble sometimes seeing the unit text from passenger's seat.



> It sounds much better than my Alpine. Not sure why, either. Does this have some preset equalization or something like that?


It may be possible. In the detailed settings of the unit, under "car type", there are settings for your speaker sizes, locations, and car size. Perhaps the unit does something with this information. Another feature this unit has is some kind of music quality restoration feature that works with Mp3 files and CDs. Perhaps, it's enabled?



> I haven't familiarized myself with the settings yet, but I only see a setting for adjusting bass output... no treble adjustment? Is that right?


Are you talking about the "Bass Boost" feature? That's not the equalizer. My equalizer section has five bands, with lowest centered at 65Hz. The highest three bands are at 1Khz, 4Khz, and 16Khz. So I guess the highest two stand for treble. There is also subwoofer volume control. I don't use "Bass Boost" any more and don't recommend it. I have run into some issues with it. The bass drum kick is just way too strong in many tracks, specially if your sub crossover point is above 60Hz.



> Anyone know how to easily move up a folder on the USB drive? I can click "Search Mode" button and it will skip to the next folder but I don't know how to click to go back a folder. Anyone?


I have not idea. What I click is the "play button" above the rotary dial, select music, then backtrack into album/folder view, and scroll to an upper folder.

Overall I like this unit too. Display configuration is nice (you can change the text fields). I like being able to see the song/album name, plus cell phone signal strength, battery charge, and clock at the same time. Time alignment is just great when configured correctly (the factory "preset" TA parameters were ALL completely wrong)


----------



## NIU_Huskies

bamaster said:


> I got mine installed over the weekend. First off... as others have stated, the glare is terrible. My Alpine would be difficult to see sometimes but this makes you wonder what Kenwood was testing this thing in... a windowless tank?


All i did was purchase an iPad anti-glare film for $7 and cut it to fit the screen. I can see the screen better and i like that added protection of not having my faceplate get scratched up.



bamaster said:


> I haven't familiarized myself with the settings yet, but I only see a setting for adjusting bass output... no treble adjustment? Is that right?


Should be right there under all the audio settings. I've seen the treble setting when going through all the settings.



bamaster said:


> Anyone know how to easily move up a folder on the USB drive? I can click "Search Mode" button and it will skip to the next folder but I don't know how to click to go back a folder. Anyone?


If you hit the "Menu" key and select "Music" you can browse all your music by folders, artists, playlists, etc.


----------



## ZAKOH

stevo revo said:


> I purchased the 995 last week but have not installed yet. Man the owners manual looks like this thing is a handful. I am quite literate when it comes to controls on different things. Is this unit pretty intuitive once you get the menu flow? Also, with this being a state of the art hu, does it remember its settings in the event of a power loss? If not, can you back them up to usb?
> 
> My last pioneer head unit is 7 years old, so this one is quite a leap for me with all the features. Can't wait to get it installed though!!!



The menus can get quite deep but there is no way to design access for so many settings and navigate albums without going deep into menu system. I eventually got hang of it. Some things I can access with half closed eyes..

My biggest gripe about unit now is only that the interface is kind of slow... When I open a folder with music file, it lists the contents kind of slowly, which gets annoying if you want to do something like to scroll down to track 8. Another problem is that the menu system will boot you out if you have just turned it on until bluetooth initialization is completed.


----------



## farfromovin

I really like the menu system in the x995. My wife has a cheaper Pioneer (can't remember the model) but it's the opposite of intuitive IMO whereas this Kenwood is pretty easy to navigate through. 

One quick question though, do you have to have the Sub RCA hooked up to get to that menu? I don't have the subwoofer options in my menu system even though the manual says they're there. Just doing some pre-checking for the real sound system upgrade next month  Decided against buying an amp level control knob because the head unit has a very similar feature with the sub level control


----------



## nineball

Mark the Bold said:


> The only quirk I noticed with the BT audio / USB is that if you plug in your iphone to the USB jack while the BT is updating, when you switch to the ipod/usb source no audio is output. In other words, if you run your iphone as an ipod via USB, you must wait for the HF connect to complete otherwise no audio is output during ipod mode when you physically connect it.
> 
> The reason I say this is because BT audio clips virtually ALL bass from the music. So unless you dont want any bass output out of your expensive car stereo  , BT audio is a waste of time.
> 
> I attached an anti-glare overlay and turned the contrast up hi to get it be visible during daytime.



yes, the bt connection trumps the cord. it's been that way since at least the 993 and there is no "fix" for it, just the way things work. i have no idea however why you don't get any low end while using a bt connection. on my 993 there is no loss at all while using bt. when i had the big sub in the trunk i used bt to control everything from outside the car to demo the sub.


----------



## Fat B

I've had my eye on this head unit for a while. Can anyone comment on the radio station presets? I see there aren't specific buttons for radio presets which seems petty but I'm a compulsive station flipper. Fairly easy to change station presets or do you have to navigate through a menu to get to the presets every time? 

I can't argue with this head unit. It offers way more features than any others that I've looked at.


----------



## ZAKOH

Fat B said:


> I've had my eye on this head unit for a while. Can anyone comment on the radio station presets? I see there aren't specific buttons for radio presets which seems petty but I'm a compulsive station flipper. Fairly easy to change station presets or do you have to navigate through a menu to get to the presets every time?
> 
> I can't argue with this head unit. It offers way more features than any others that I've looked at.


The only buttons available for changing stations are the < and > buttons. They have 3 modes of operation. First is normal manual seek, second is autimatic seek, the last is "preset". You have to go deep into menus to change those modes. Normally, you have to go into "auto seek" mode to find your stations, then go deep into menus to assign a number to each one of them. Then switch into "preset" seek mode to access them from memory... so basically as long as you use preset stations, you can't seek random stations. and there are only 6 slots for preset stations, which is a stupid design decision (I understand that it made sense when there were actually buttons numbered 1,2,..6 but now it's just stupid). There are 6 more, but you need to go into menus again to switch from "FM1" to "FM2".


----------



## nineball

damn. there were no buttons ont he face of my 993 but i just held the button on the remote for a couple seconds and it stored it into the preset memory. i could use the remote numbers for presets or use the left/right arrow to seek, hold it to manually tune. changing to fm2/3 was the up arrow, am/2 was the down arrow.


----------



## ZAKOH

I guess you can use the remote for that stuff. I forgot. It's really not that hard to go through all 6 stations with just < and > buttons.


----------



## mlobos

Hi everyone! I'm from Chile and I just buy this unit and now I just hope it reaches my country to use it. NIU_Huskies wanted to ask: What is the difference between "Monster iCable 800" with another aux cable? What are its advantages?. Excuse my English. I await your response.


----------



## stevo revo

I installed the 995 about a week ago. Described in a nutshell, it is an awesome unit in almost every aspect. The sound quality is nothing less than impeccable. There is so much adjustability it would be hard pressed to not make any application work, factory speakers or not.

I can’t seem to overdrive any speaker in my system at even high volumes. The fact you can set the Hz that each speaker will see, I’m sure has a lot to do with this. Also being able to tell the hu what size speakers it is driving, INCLUDING the subs is just phenomenal. 

This thing trumps my 7 year old (expensive) Pioneer in sound, hands down. 
I installed in a regular cab truck, using 4 new Kenwood speakers driven by the Hu, and kicker boxes with a 250 watt amp used as subs. While I can’t get extreme low end on the 8” boxes, they still do a wonderful job of filling in the low frequencies with the cab space allowed.

The features of on this unit are great too….. so any of you that are on the fence about this…… BUY IT. You won’t be disappointed.

I don’t use an Ipod, I have a Samsung Mezmerize, that I use for my phone and media. It came with a 16 gig card so that’s where the music goes. USB connection works great, I can flip thru all my folders of music. Bluetooth worked good too, all contacts load up and calls are pretty easy to make from the Hu. 

The menus are deep as stated by others, but it is very intuitive, and after an hour of flipping around, you’ll have it figured out 

My only complaints are the glare (I’m not alone on this one) and the fact that you have to go online and download and print the 100 page manual if the included (pos) quick start guide don’t answer your questions.

Oh, and the fact that the presets are a bit of a pia is also a downfall. 
Overall I give this thing 4 ¾ stars  not 100% perfect, but DAMN close!


----------



## nick650

PERFECT budget head unit except for the PITA glare (x994).


----------



## NIU_Huskies

mlobos said:


> Hi everyone! I'm from Chile and I just buy this unit and now I just hope it reaches my country to use it. NIU_Huskies wanted to ask: What is the difference between "Monster iCable 800" with another aux cable? What are its advantages?. Excuse my English. I await your response.


Probably not too much of a difference, but I wanted something higher quality than a cheap auxiliary cable. Afterall, you are talking about a cable that is carrying your audio signal so I wouldn't skimp on that. Just like I don't skimp on the RCA cables that carry my audio signal from my HU to my amps. Don't want to spend all that money on your amps, HU, and speakers just for your weak link to be the audio cables. I've also never had the noise interference that others have had.


----------



## mlobos

NIU_Huskies said:


> Probably not too much of a difference, but I wanted something higher quality than a cheap auxiliary cable. Afterall, you are talking about a cable that is carrying your audio signal so I wouldn't skimp on that. Just like I don't skimp on the RCA cables that carry my audio signal from my HU to my amps. Don't want to spend all that money on your amps, HU, and speakers just for your weak link to be the audio cables. I've also never had the noise interference that others have had.


I ask because in my country I have not found and would have to import it.
Thank you very much for your response. Now I have to wait to get the unit.


----------



## NIU_Huskies

mlobos said:


> I ask because in my country I have not found and would have to import it.
> Thank you very much for your response. Now I have to wait to get the unit.


It would just be best for you to find a quality aux cable in your own country. I wouldn't spend a lot of money on shipping an $11 cable.


----------



## Miguel.Gto

NIU_Huskies said:


> Probably not too much of a difference, but I wanted something higher quality than a cheap auxiliary cable. Afterall, you are talking about a cable that is carrying your audio signal so I wouldn't skimp on that. Just like I don't skimp on the RCA cables that carry my audio signal from my HU to my amps. Don't want to spend all that money on your amps, HU, and speakers just for your weak link to be the audio cables. I've also never had the noise interference that others have had.


what kind of RCA's do you use ??


----------



## NIU_Huskies

Miguel.Gto said:


> what kind of RCA's do you use ??


Stinger Expert and HPM3


----------



## GSINGLETON

Hi guys I'm new to the site but have been reading for the past week. You guys have been a wealth of information. After reading all the great things about the kenwood 995 I couldn't wait to run out and buy it. Unfortunately, I ran into a small problem. The assembly units were a smooth black. The current assembly unit in my 2011 altima coupe is more of a mate finish. Has anyone else ran into this problem? I am afraid it may not look right. Any suggestion?

I appreciate your help.


----------



## Miguel.Gto

most if not all cars are matte black, grey or some other color... the unit will look good, of course its not going to look stock, its not meant to be


----------



## GSINGLETON

Ok that sounds good. I have been bitching about it all afternoon. I Just thought it would look odd, with the flat black and the matte finish. I hear the sound will be awesome but I am into the looks also haha.


----------



## Pat-Savij

Hey guys i'm new to the forum I stumbled across this thread searching about the x995. Since I just purchased the unit a few days ago I figured I would give my input.

The unit itself is great. Sound quality is fantastic(much better than my previous alpine model, about 4 years old now). The sheer amount of options is kind of overwhelming. It gives you all the xover, low/high pass options you could ever want. I've found it most convenient because now I no longer have to go back to the amps to adjust stuff. HD radio works surprisingly well; everyone told me it cuts in and out but I haven't had any issues so far. Programming stations can be a bit of a pain though. Blutooth hands free also works well, but for some reason when you use the Blutooth audio only comes through the front two speakers? I have not found a solution for this yet although its not that big of a deal.

My only real issue with this unit is the glare. When driving in heavy sunlight there is quite a bit of glare on the screen and it can be pretty distracting. Some color schemes work better than others(with the glare)but all in all its still there. I was thinking of purchasing a matted cell phone screen cover or something to try and stick over the screen but im not sure if that will work or not. Any suggestions? If not ill give it a shot and post my results. 

Overall a great HU and probably the best single-DIN unit on the market right now for the price. There isn't a single thing missing on this deck: it literally has it all and for the most part everything works as it should. So far the glare is my only issue but ill experiment a bit with it and see if I can't get it down to a reasonable amount. The only other thing I can think of is watch the length of your rca's; mine were a little too long and therefore the unit isn't quite flush against the panel but im fine with it for now. Any suggestions or comments on the glare issue would be great.

Good site with good information. Thanks.


----------



## GSINGLETON

Well, I got my 995 installed yesterday. Damn this system is awesome. Im sure it will take me a few weeks to learn how to work the darn thing. Sound quality is awesome and pandora works great. I also had a JL Audio 12" sub and amp put it. Only problem now is that the factory front speakers suck. All the sound is coming from the rear. I was thinking about the Focal components for the door to try to balance things out. Any suggestions of something better?


----------



## adp99

You all are pretty influential!

Based on what I read here and in other places, I upgraded the existing aftermarket stereo (Alpine CDA 9857) in my '10 Subaru with the KDC X995 this afternoon.

The Alpine had been in my previous car and while I was leaning towards Alpine again based on previous experience and knowing the interface, it appeared I'd be adding all sorts of extra boxe$ to get bluetooth for my phone and HD radio.

These options were all standard on the Kenwood. And - better quality audio? 

Twist my arm.

I only know from driving home with the stereo store setup, but my sub, amp and upgraded speakers DO sound better with the Kenwood than the Alpine. 

Exactly my kind of upgrade. Took less than 45 minutes to swap head units AND my steering wheel control adapter box works with Kenwood too.

I now have 72 pages of manual and no glare screen protector in hand and am off to figure it out. 

Thanks DIYers!


----------



## Gmcc1224

Hey, I have been having a problem with Pandora fading in and out. I thought it was my reception but now I see that the music on my Iphone is doing the same thing. I didnt notice what the volume level was but will check the next time. Has anyone had this problem with the X995. I have had it for a month now.


----------



## t1n0m3n

I just remembered another issue with the x994 that I am wondering if they fixed on the new x995 head unit...

I set everything related to DSP to 0, or Off, when I switch DSP from "Bypass" to "Through", I lose a big chunk of mid bass.

Is this still the case?


----------



## ZAKOH

t1n0m3n said:


> I just remembered another issue with the x994 that I am wondering if they fixed on the new x995 head unit...
> 
> I set everything related to DSP to 0, or Off, when I switch DSP from "Bypass" to "Through", I lose a big chunk of mid bass.
> 
> Is this still the case?




Did you have "Suppreme+" or "Bass Boost" or Equalizer turned on before turning off the DSP?


----------



## t1n0m3n

I had every thing that I know of set as off as I can get it. No Supreme plus, No bass boost, eq set to natural, fader 0, balance 0, sub level 0, etc.

I checked each setting on bypass, and again on through.


Eat at Joe's


----------



## t1n0m3n

I do have a true rta setup, and can get a pink noise snapshot of before and after if that helps.

Eat at Joe's


----------



## 02bluesuperroo

nineball said:


> It is not an active capable headunit. If you want to bandpass your mids you need some form of external processing.





BoostedNihilist said:


> you can use your amp crossovers with your deck crossovers to make a bandpass if you want to go full active.


Looking at the manual, I only see the ability to high-pass the front and rear pre-out up to 250 hz. You can't lowpass anything and you can't high pass your tweeters. You would need to be able to lowpass your mids at say 3000hz and highpass your tweets at 3500hz or something like that in order to run active, unless you have an amp with unusually extensive crossovers.

Am I missing something in the manual?


----------



## shaco

I'm seriously considering buying this headunit. I've been scanning this thread but would like more input from people who possibly use their Android phone via USB cable to play music. I currently have an Alpine iDA-x300 that's about 3 years old. I have about 15 gigs of music stored on my phone. When I hook my phone up via USB, it takes about 5 minutes "banking" and when it finishes, it stops at the P's in artist so I'm missing Q through Z. I'm wondering if this unit is better at playing music through the USB than my current Alpine? I'm hoping that they've updated the unit to play more music via USB since my Alpine came out.


----------



## ZAKOH

shaco said:


> I'm seriously considering buying this headunit. I've been scanning this thread but would like more input from people who possibly use their Android phone via USB cable to play music. I currently have an Alpine iDA-x300 that's about 3 years old. I have about 15 gigs of music stored on my phone. When I hook my phone up via USB, it takes about 5 minutes "banking" and when it finishes, it stops at the P's in artist so I'm missing Q through Z. I'm wondering if this unit is better at playing music through the USB than my current Alpine? I'm hoping that they've updated the unit to play more music via USB since my Alpine came out.


I have close to 100 albums on my 16GB USB drive connected to x994. When I turn it on, the receiver spends about 5 seconds reading the USB drive and then starts playing when it left before being turned off. So, I think there should be no problem with reading drives with large music collection. However, the interface is kind of slow when working with large collections of folders and songs. Try not to keep all your albums inside of root directory (e.g. sort by genre, and then by artist).


----------



## jslloyd

GSINGLETON said:


> Well, I got my 995 installed yesterday. Damn this system is awesome. Im sure it will take me a few weeks to learn how to work the darn thing. Sound quality is awesome and pandora works great. I also had a JL Audio 12" sub and amp put it. Only problem now is that the factory front speakers suck. All the sound is coming from the rear. I was thinking about the Focal components for the door to try to balance things out. Any suggestions of something better?


I'm a huge fan of the upper end Focal components, but it also depends on what your ear likes. Give some different brands a listen. I usually lean more to a brighter tweet, so I like the metal dome ones. If you like something softer and more natural, look into a silk dome. Hertz makes some nice speakers. I still have some MB Quarts that I bought years and years ago before they went through an identity crisis. A buddy of mine just tried some DLS components that sound great. Best thing is to identify a price point and go listen. Your ears will tell you what sounds best to you. You can drop some serious cash on components.


----------



## BoostedNihilist

02bluesuperroo said:


> Looking at the manual, I only see the ability to high-pass the front and rear pre-out up to 250 hz. You can't lowpass anything and you can't high pass your tweeters. You would need to be able to lowpass your mids at say 3000hz and highpass your tweets at 3500hz or something like that in order to run active, unless you have an amp with unusually extensive crossovers.
> 
> Am I missing something in the manual?


unusually extensive, not at all.

tons of amps have high/low pass crossovers with a frequency multiplier.

Pretty easy to figure out from there.. anyways

to create the midbass/midrange bandpass you use the highpass filter on the deck and the low pass filter on the amp with the frequency multiplier. The nice thing about the kenwood is even though your crossover points are limited they do give you the ability to choose the slope, which means you can match the xover slope of your amp.

to highpass the tweets, again the high pass filter with the frequency multiplier

sub, that's taken care of by the deck

there you go, quasi three way active.


----------



## MasRoberts9

I recently sought a HU that would allow me to hook up a HDD instead of an ipod. I think apple is way over rated, figured that I could use the extra storage and huge cost savings. I kind of thought that I might be one of the first to think of this idea lol. Nope! People have been installing HDD's for 5 or 6 years now. The one I'm looking at is the 500gb iomega eGo. I figure that it has the durability to survive in a glove box with it's Drop Gaurd protection. Anyhow, the guys at Crutchfield steered me towards this deck. I'm happy they did. I installed mine yesterday. Only real complaints I had was the glare, using the preset radio stations, and finding a station's alternate HD channels. Im glad I checked this place out. I have learned quite a bit. However I still don't know how to find a station's HD 2 channel. My old deck was the JVC KD-HDR1. It maybe the first built in HD radio made. Anyway, to switch from HD1 to HD2 you just pressed up on the d pad. 



NIU_Huskies said:


> As far as the folder limit that the HU will recognize, i will have to check the manual for that. I don't remember reading it anywhere. I think it might be 999.


When I talked to the people at Crutchfield, it was explained to me that the folder limit is 250 with a file limit of 250 per folder. It won't recognize a 
251st file even if you only have 200 folders. So, I asked if there is a size limit. The response was that it just has the number of folder/file limit.


----------



## digdug18

i have an X995 I bought a little over a month ago off ebay, for $200. It works great, there are some minor issues, like any deck but so far I haven't had a problem with it. 
The built in crossover is great, you can even switch phase right from the deck, time alignment all that. I like the HD radio, but on the sub channels, the radio seems to cut out like satellite did when going under over passes and such, I'm not sure if that is a problem with all HD radios or just mine. I've been playing with a cd in it, it doesn't seem to complain about my scratched cd's, I'll keep my fingers crossed on that one as well though. I haven't tried pandora yet, I haven't an iphone, and their manual doesn't list that you can use other phones with pandora on it. 
In my car atleast, the cage for the radio doesn't seem very tight, if you give it a nice light pull the radio comes right out, the locks and cage itself seems like its made of an even thinner material then other radios I have bought in the past. I dunno if this is just cost savings or what, but it is a concern. I also am not a fan of the non motorized faceplate, seems old school, or maybe just cheap. I like it when you hit the button, it folds down, you insert cd then it folds back up. With this, you have to manually fold it back up, yeah its a half a second action, but still, with a new stereo. Another thing I know I'm not going to like is the lack of station buttons on the faceplate. Other headunits have a 1-6 buttons for radio stations, this one doesn't, you need to navigate through the menu to get to where you save it, which is 4 menu's down or so. Kind of a pain. By the time I do that I can be at the new station via the remote.

If you have any other questions I'll be happy to answer them for you.

Andrew


----------



## digdug18

NIU_Huskies said:


> There are a lot of menus and submenus. I still haven't gotten use to them all.
> 
> It does not remember your settings in the event of a power loss. I disconnected my car battery because i was installing a second amp and i had to re-do all my settings. I haven't seen a way to save them yet, if at all possible.


Only half true, if you save your settings for crossover and such, then pull the battery cable, it saves those settings, but none of your radio freq setting will be saved.

Andrew


----------



## MasRoberts9

well i figured out the hd2 radio station thing. Once the hd signal has been recieved then pressing the right skip button takes me to the station's hd2.


----------



## extremepaint

ill be ordering mine on wensday... that is all!

wait no 

actually i have something to add i'll be pairing this up with an nx2 amp and some ck6 comp's 

how would i go about lowering the db on the tweeters can i do this with the head unit or will i have to ad din a resistor like i've seen done.

i still cant wait to get this thing in and start playing with settings and find out just how amazing time alignment is 

its my first time doing a car audio setup so i hope things go well i've done a fair amount of searching and reading


----------



## digdug18

All I know is that the negatives I posted above after hearing the clean crisp sound come out of these doesn't matter anymore. The head unit makes my cheapy speakers sound much nicer then they actually are, and the settings are fun to play with. I've left the EQ on natural, seems to be the best one so far for my setup.


----------



## Miguel.Gto

with the dsp on "through" seems to thin out the sound.... im not liking it very much, only had it 1 day, need to mess with it more, any suggestions ???


----------



## newandbetter

I adjusted my equalizer, which is unlike any equalizer I've messed with.


----------



## t1n0m3n

Miguel.Gto said:


> with the dsp on "through" seems to thin out the sound.... im not liking it very much, only had it 1 day, need to mess with it more, any suggestions ???


Thanks for confirmation. I will assume that they did *not* fix the issue on the X995. Funny that no one else actually tried it for confirmation before your post. The midbass loss with the DSP enabled is instantly recognizable.

Anyone care to provide a negative finding?

Eat at Joe's


----------



## Mark the Bold

Miguel.Gto said:


> with the dsp on "through" seems to thin out the sound.... im not liking it very much, only had it 1 day, need to mess with it more, any suggestions ???


I have my DSP on through and it sounds great.


----------



## Miguel.Gto

i messed with it a lil more, lowered the hpf to 80hz @ 18db and raised band 1 to +3 and band 2 to +3, sounds alot fuller now. reason u hear more sound with bypass is because there is no hpf, so you are hearing all the low frequencies. anywho, i still havent dialed it in completely, will take more time. i do love the time alignment though, on the driver side speaker i added +1.5ft or something like that, almost sound centered, cant really tell which speaker the sound is coming from. what do yall think about the supreme + feature ??


----------



## Mark the Bold

I turned off the Supreme and Highway sound on mine. I don't use time alignment either......keep it simple. Make it sound good with a flat signal before you tinker with all the bells and whistles.....


----------



## ikari2_2000

Mine came in today. I'll keep you guys posted.


----------



## JAX

having had the 993 and 994 which is basically the same I prefer my jvc avx-44 which is heavier, more powerful and looks better. 

I know the kenwood is loaded but I hated the crappy 1985 display. my jvc is much better. imo


----------



## t1n0m3n

Miguel.Gto said:


> i messed with it a lil more, lowered the hpf to 80hz @ 18db and raised band 1 to +3 and band 2 to +3, sounds alot fuller now. reason u hear more sound with bypass is because there is no hpf, so you are hearing all the low frequencies. anywho, i still havent dialed it in completely, will take more time. i do love the time alignment though, on the driver side speaker i added +1.5ft or something like that, almost sound centered, cant really tell which speaker the sound is coming from. what do yall think about the supreme + feature ??


I have a DQXS for all my crossover needs. I have never even turned on the crossover. I don't use any sound shaping features on the head unit at this time because of the problem below:

Do this: 
Set the DSP to through. Set EQ to natural. Supreme+ to Off. Highway to off. Crossover Off. Fader 0. Balance 0. Basically every setting to off, zero, or no effect as you can get it.

Set the DSP to bypass and go through the same steps.

Play music

Flip between bypass and through.

Results?

Basically, my stereo sounds beautiful and super accurate with everything on zero. I would have liked to use the TA feature to try to move the stage a bit for times when I have a passenger versus no passenger (a physical body in the seat moves the stage slightly)... However, every time I enable DSP (to enable the TA features) I lose a noticeable amount of mid-bass. Even though everything else is off, zero, or no effect.

Basically I think Kenwood's "DSP" feature is coloring the signal. I chalk it up to being a crappy DSP processor.

I guess I will have to take a trip to the store and hear it for myself. I count the x995 worth buying if they fixed this one issue that the x994 has.

Edit: Added Info:
Regular cab truck, DQXS (HPF @ 63 all eq 0) to Arc Audio KS300.4 Bridged to JL ZR650CSi woofers in custom door pods, tweeters in the A pillar.


----------



## Miguel.Gto

if you put the DSP on bypass then you dont get to any of the features (eq, crossover, ect ect) so YOU HAVE TO use the DSP on through to use the features. if u put it on bypass, you would have flat eq and just use the crossover built into whatever amp ur using.


----------



## ZAKOH

^^

If you lose some midbass with TA feature, then you're not doing something right. It's conceivable that whatever setting you have tried, might have put some speaker out of phase. If TA is configured right, this should not happen. They key is never to use Kenwood's preset settings. Set everything to 0 in car type adjustments and DTA settings menus. Go into DTA adjustments and set left/right speaker delay by ears. I have the x994 unit, and on it the distances that you enter are equivalent to time delay. So you need to add delay to the front speaker that's closest to you and leave 0 for all others. (Kenwood's presets do basically the opposite thing, so they're COMPLETELY wrong). I got used to TA sound so much, that if someone by accident flips it, to say optimize the sound for front right passenger instead, I immediately notice it. The way I hear it, this feature does not color the sound. It just makes the speakers sort of disappear, and shifts the sound stage to the center of dash, if configured right. This is something I have never experienced with HU without TA. I haven't tried configuring TA for the subwoofer yet.


----------



## ZAKOH

PS: in any case, I don't see how it's conceivable to leave the DSP off. At very least you need to set crossovers between the subwoofer and the front stage. I have experimented with EQ and Bass Boost and decided that I don't need them for now. Bass Boost should probably be used only in installs without a subwoofer. With a sub, eventually it seems like too much of boost. I am not exactly sure about what it does, but I like how Supreme+ sounds. It boosts highs or "restores" them. Either way highs become noticeably more clear to me with supreme+ on.


----------



## nineball

ZAKOH said:


> I have the x994 unit, and on it the distances that you enter are equivalent to time delay. So you need to add delay to the front speaker that's closest to you and leave 0 for all others.



why would you only adjust 1 speaker? are all the other speakers exactly the same distance from the driver in your car? i have never seen a car where this is the case. it's impossible.


----------



## t1n0m3n

So.... what everyone is saying is that *you have tried* the scenario that I explicitly laid out and you *do not* have the same results?

I can't help but feel that everyone is "giving advice" without actually trying it.

If I weren't completely anal about the way my stereo sounded, I would have never noticed that enabling DSP does this.


----------



## t1n0m3n

Delete me


----------



## Miguel.Gto

TA does not affect the midbass... its the DSP. and yes i have tried it and there is a difference, but i do like how the higher frequencies sound with the DSP on through. 

@nineball - if you only have 2 speakers like me up front, then you only need to adjust time alignment on 1 speaker, which one be the one closest to me.


----------



## crystalcastles16

Can anyone confirm if an ipod touch would work with the pandora feature for this receiver? My ipod touch is either a 2nd or 3rd gen. Wifi is not a problem because I can use my android as a wifi hotspot as part of my unlimited data plan from t-mobile.


----------



## NewJerseyDude

Good day all, my first post here and thought I would place it in the thread that got me here... I just received my unit via Crutchfields. It's for my wife's 99 Passat. The oem hu finally started to act up, first the Phatnoise stopped playing. Hooked the OEM cd changer back in but then the HU started to intermittently stop playing all together. Going to get the wiring harness going.. still need to find that link for the online manual and the music editor software, I know its in this post somewhere a few pages back...

Thanks to everyone for their inputs, it is the reason I purchased this HU..


----------



## Riveted1

t1n0m3n said:


> I have a DQXS for all my crossover needs. I have never even turned on the crossover. I don't use any sound shaping features on the head unit at this time because of the problem below:
> 
> Do this:
> Set the DSP to through. *Set EQ to natural.* Supreme+ to Off. Highway to off. Crossover Off. Fader 0. Balance 0. Basically every setting to off, zero, or no effect as you can get it.
> 
> Set the DSP to bypass and go through the same steps.
> 
> Play music
> 
> Flip between bypass and through.
> 
> Results?
> 
> Basically, my stereo sounds beautiful and super accurate with everything on zero. I would have liked to use the TA feature to try to move the stage a bit for times when I have a passenger versus no passenger (a physical body in the seat moves the stage slightly)... However, every time I enable DSP (to enable the TA features) I lose a noticeable amount of mid-bass. Even though everything else is off, zero, or no effect.
> 
> Basically I think Kenwood's "DSP" feature is coloring the signal. I chalk it up to being a crappy DSP processor.
> 
> I guess I will have to take a trip to the store and hear it for myself. I count the x995 worth buying if they fixed this one issue that the x994 has.
> 
> Edit: Added Info:
> Regular cab truck, DQXS (HPF @ 63 all eq 0) to Arc Audio KS300.4 Bridged to JL ZR650CSi woofers in custom door pods, tweeters in the A pillar.



I tested my X995 but set my EQ to "user" and all bands to 0db. I'm not familiar w/the X994, but I'm sure "natural" probably has boosts and/or cuts at certain frequencies. Turning all DSP functions off and toggling back and forth had no effect on the sound whatsoever. The first day I had the X995 I thought there was a problem too, but turned out to be a pair of mis-wired RCA's that were causing phasing issues on my mids. YMMV


----------



## NewJerseyDude

NewJerseyDude said:


> Good day all, my first post here and thought I would place it in the thread that got me here... I just received my unit via Crutchfields. It's for my wife's 99 Passat. The oem hu finally started to act up, first the Phatnoise stopped playing. Hooked the OEM cd changer back in but then the HU started to intermittently stop playing all together. Going to get the wiring harness going.. still need to find that link for the online manual and the music editor software, I know its in this post somewhere a few pages back...
> 
> Thanks to everyone for their inputs, it is the reason I purchased this HU..


Well I finally got mine installed over the past weekend. As others here have reported, it makes the old stock speakers sound a heck of a lot better..:beerchug:

Now if I can only find the 200 page downloadable user manual someone reference in this tread but can't find to save my life...:toilet:

Anyone have a link they can forward please 

Thanks


----------



## 93accordlxwhite

Found it on crutchfield's website in "what's in the box" 
http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchfield.com/Manuals/113/113KDCX995.PDF


----------



## frankc6

How does it sound compared to the x994? I just pulled out my x994 and put my alpine 9887 back in. The difference in sound quality is night and day. The 9887 is way better but lacks the usb input which is what I really liked about the kenwood. That is why I was wondering how the 995 unit compares.


----------



## shnitz

I have both a KDC-BT945u and KDC-BT948HD (basically the non-Excelon versions of the 994 and 995, respectively) and they sound pretty much the same. The difference is all features; the processing is no different.

What do you mean by the Alpine sounds better than the Kenwood? Does it have better preset EQ's, is there hissing with the Kenwood, etc? One thing is that the X994 has so many settings, that it's easy to "mess something up" and make the sound pretty pathetic. I reset the car type settings, and just adjusted the sound in other ways. As a test, set the DSP to bypass, and use the ipod's EQ. If the sound is noticeably worse, then there's a little gremlin somewhere; some crazy setting got set wrong.

If there is something you really like about Alpine, there's an ida-x305s that I still haven't opened. I'm in Austin, but running to San Antonio and Fort Worth soon . . .


----------



## frankc6

For one thing, the output voltage difference was pretty big. I use to turn the volume of the kenwood up to 23 or 24. With the alpine, the same volume is achieved at 17 or 18. The bass difference was very noticeable as well. Even with the hwy sound, and bass boost off, the kenwood seemed to boom. I actually had to go and turn up the gains on the sub amp to compensate just by switching in the alpine. The bass is a lot cleaner and more precise. It doesn't rumble as much. The vocals and midrange are a lot smoother and sound more natural. When I use to turn up the volume on the kenwood, the speakers sounded like they were straining to play the music. It was like it was starting to come apart at higher volumes. The alpine just plays smoothe at any volume. The kenwood is a great radio for all the features and adjustments that come with it, but I prefer the sound more than the features. I was hoping maybe the 995 had a better sound to it. Looks like I'll be sticking with the alpine until I can get a smokin deal on the pioneer top of the line unit. But, at $1,000 bucks, I think I'll be waiting for a while.


----------



## coolfuel

I purchased a few months back from the states the kdc 995 $280 landed including delivery.

Owns 117e with imprint + BT. (around $500)

Also purchased a eclipse 5030 yesterday. $299 

Without going into much detail, kenwood = win . minus AM radio for AU-least of my concern!


----------



## ZAKOH

frankc6 said:


> For one thing, the output voltage difference was pretty big. I use to turn the volume of the kenwood up to 23 or 24. With the alpine, the same volume is achieved at 17 or 18. The bass difference was very noticeable as well. Even with the hwy sound, and bass boost off, the kenwood seemed to boom. I actually had to go and turn up the gains on the sub amp to compensate just by switching in the alpine. The bass is a lot cleaner and more precise. It doesn't rumble as much. The vocals and midrange are a lot smoother and sound more natural. When I use to turn up the volume on the kenwood, the speakers sounded like they were straining to play the music. It was like it was starting to come apart at higher volumes. The alpine just plays smoothe at any volume. The kenwood is a great radio for all the features and adjustments that come with it, but I prefer the sound more than the features. I was hoping maybe the 995 had a better sound to it. Looks like I'll be sticking with the alpine until I can get a smokin deal on the pioneer top of the line unit. But, at $1,000 bucks, I think I'll be waiting for a while.



Make sure to turn off Kenwood's "Supreme+" as well. It messes up with highs and the lows a lot. I am convinced that all those features should be off.


----------



## Angrywhopper

Just to confirm, this unit does *not *do bluetooth audio streaming from an iPhone/Droid etc..?


----------



## nineball

Angrywhopper said:


> Just to confirm, this unit does *not *do bluetooth audio streaming from an iPhone/Droid etc..?


i would be really surprised if it did not. my old 993 did with my iphone.


----------



## beyondcr

Angrywhopper said:


> Just to confirm, this unit does *not *do bluetooth audio streaming from an iPhone/Droid etc..?


You are correct this unit dose NOT support Bluetooth audio streaming at the moment but I would press Kenwood to release a firmware upgrade to support it.


----------



## Angrywhopper

beyondcr said:


> You are correct this unit dose NOT support Bluetooth audio streaming at the moment but I would press Kenwood to release a firmware upgrade to support it.


Thanks . I assumed a unit at this level would have bluetooth streaming, but I guess not..


----------



## beyondcr

Angrywhopper said:


> Thanks . I assumed a unit at this level would have bluetooth streaming, but I guess not..


Exactly what I thought also, I believe it is mainly a software thing, It has all the capabilities of supporting Bluetooth streaming they just have to write abit of code to enable it. It was a let down but this unit still rocks.


----------



## Dan B

Blutooth steaming is like 5 year old tech. hope they get this fixed soon i just ordered this deck.. does anyone know if the usb will work with IPAD i have an iPad mounted in my car and want to use it for my music library i have 3g 64g so i can use pandora and all my music from my iPad just wanted to know if anyone has tried it? Ive been a faithful Alpine fan up until now but i really wanted all the built in features. i hope the sound quality will not let me down.


----------



## OldSchoolAudioandVideo

Total Bummer
To me Theres just no other brand that does it like Alpine
They got it right when they allowed an all active system even from the decks amplifier.

I use a 9887 and to me its just an awesome, flexible unit. I can use the 2 front speakers for tweeters and can cross them over an appropriate cutoffs and slopes. I can use the rear speakers as mids and cut them off using a bandpass crossover setup that I havent seen in any other deck.
The 2 things I dont like about the 9887 is the eq. It sucks. Bad. I can change the eq from any setting and it doesnt change hardly any sound.
The FM reception is horrible. Worst Ive ever had.
But, Since I like using the 4 channel amp in an all active setup using the decks crossovers, I keep the 9887. Some amps dont have the multiplier to crossover tweeters and surely dont have bandpass crossovers.
So, until I can find a unit that does those things and sound great, Ill stick with the Alpine.
This kenwood unit doesnt even come close the 9887 crossover capabilities.


----------



## Mark the Bold

You guys are doing it wrong. My kdc-x995 does bluetooth streaming. I never use it because it doesn't sound very good. But bluetooth streaming audio it does...


----------



## Dan B

Just want to let everyone know that the usb port does work with the iPad works well even works with the pandora app I love it i have an iPad mounted in my dash above my deck the big screen looks great and I can watch music videos and watch the video and the audio sounds pretty good too


----------



## Coppertone

^^ Pictures please.


----------



## pwhittle

I see BIN prices starting at $215 on eBay to $250 from SonicElectronix to $300 from Crutchfield. Crutchfield is the only authorized dealer on that list as far as I can tell.

There is certainly value in a warranty, but it depends how often you need it. 

What is your experience with warranty claims with the X995?

What is the peace of mind of buying authorized worth to you?

Where did you buy your X995?

Paul


----------



## ZAKOH

I am satisfied with my KDC-x994. For the price paid it's fine. However, I could nitpick here and there.

1. Once you turn on the unit, you have to wait about 20 seconds before you do anything with it (select folder, change playback setting, etc). Why? The message that says "Downloading" will bump you out of miles deep menu system. I am not sure why this message had to be so intrusive.

2. Folder number blinks when I set play mode to folder repeat. File number blinks when I set play mode to random. Who thought it's great to watch blinking *beep* in the middle of screen?

3. Radio reception is average.

4. Features like "Supreme+", Highway Sound, and Bass Boost will DESTROY your SQ. Do not use them. The first one is the worst. Turn in on and your channel separation drops to 15dB.

5. Only 5 band graphic equalizer.

6. Time alignment step could be smaller.

Things I like..
1. three sets of pre-amps
2. time alignment
3. Display looks nice once colors are reversed. Lots of layout options.
4. BT works ok.
5. USB port hanging off a cable on the back.


----------



## pwhittle

Found a happy medium. Authorized dealer CarToys has some factory refurbs for $180!

Order is in!

Paul


----------



## Angrywhopper

Mark the Bold said:


> You guys are doing it wrong. My kdc-x995 does bluetooth streaming. I never use it because it doesn't sound very good. But bluetooth streaming audio it does...


How?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## shilent

t1n0m3n said:


> I just remembered another issue with the x994 that I am wondering if they fixed on the new x995 head unit...
> 
> I set everything related to DSP to 0, or Off, when I switch DSP from "Bypass" to "Through", I lose a big chunk of mid bass.
> 
> Is this still the case?


I also turned everything to off or "0" on both bypass and through, and I do notice that I'm missing some midbass, though I wouldn't call it a big chunk. I even did I blind test to myself almost 10 times by turning the knob quickly without looking and listening, I got it right every time.

The only thing I couldn't turn off was car speakers. I have mines set to 6x8 because that's what I have, and there's no off option.



Miguel.Gto said:


> with the dsp on "through" seems to thin out the sound.... im not liking it very much, only had it 1 day, need to mess with it more, any suggestions ???


For now I have it on bypass and I'm using the crossovers on my amps.


----------



## OldSchoolAudioandVideo

This silly way of crossing over speakers is in my opinion CHEAP and futile. I remember seeing crossover setups in cheap home surround systems way back in the mid to late 90's using speaker size rather than crossover cutoffs. Who cares if Im using a 6x8 or 5.25 in the doors? The size doesnt matter. I want to SEE the crossover cutoff AND the slope to properly adjust the sound. Some 6x8's cant even handle midbass. So this speaker size feature is futile. Lets not forget you cant use this deck in a active 3 way unless you have amps with special crossovers in it. The Kenwood deck has subpar xovers. 
And from what I can tell the screen it a trouble maker. You have to invert the colors to see what youre doin on the deck. As if Kenwood didnt know this before they let it loose in the stores? Its just disrespectful.
I dont have the unit and wont buy it, But I did read the manual to make a decision and from what I read, it lacks SQ and no decent amount of tweaking capabilities. 
Instead of including good xover features with a good eq they thrown in this useless bloat wear like preset eq curves and predefined sound enhancements that ALL ruin the sound. EVERY TIME> 

IDk about you all but Im really sick of the prices we have to pay to get a decent SQ deck. $1000 for a good deck? Geez..... 15 years ago they had technology that would blow away anything made today. Like the Old School SOny decks. Why cant they use that old technology and offer it to us for a couple hundred bucks?

This is why we still see people looking for old school audio. That stuff was made for champions. Literally.

The stuff today is made for profit.


----------



## ZAKOH

shilent said:


> I also turned everything to off or "0" on both bypass and through, and I do notice that I'm missing some midbass, though I wouldn't call it a big chunk. I even did I blind test to myself almost 10 times by turning the knob quickly without looking and listening, I got it right every time.
> 
> The only thing I couldn't turn off was car speakers. I have mines set to 6x8 because that's what I have, and there's no off option.
> 
> 
> 
> For now I have it on bypass and I'm using the crossovers on my amps.



I believe in the "bypass" mode, the crossovers are not being applied to speakers. This is why you hear more bass with the bypass mode. In my opinion, running this unit with DSP in bypass mode, is kind of a waste... the whole point of buying this instead of cheaper head units is to be able to use the flexible crossovers and time alignment. Of course, mystery features like Highway sound, Supreme+, and bass boost should be turned off all the time. The had been confirmed to destroy SQ..


----------



## ZAKOH

OldSchoolAudioandVideo said:


> The size doesnt matter. I want to SEE the crossover cutoff AND the slope to properly adjust the sound. Some 6x8's cant even handle midbass. So this speaker size feature is futile.


I think the speaker size, placement, etc could be used by Kenwood's mystery sound enhancement features like Highway sound and also for time alignment defaults.



> The Kenwood deck has subpar xovers.
> And from what I can tell the screen it a trouble maker. You have to invert the colors to see what youre doin on the deck. As if Kenwood didnt know this before they let it loose in the stores? Its just disrespectful.
> I dont have the unit and wont buy it, But I did read the manual to make a decision and from what I read, it lacks SQ and no decent amount of tweaking capabilities.
> Instead of including good xover features with a good eq they thrown in this useless bloat wear like preset eq curves and predefined sound enhancements that ALL ruin the sound. EVERY TIME>



Some much whinning about Kenwood deck that you have never even used..???

Let me point out, that this unit has a much better crossover selection between mid/subwoofer than most others on the market. You have a choice of frequencies from 30Hz up to over 200Hz, in 10Hz increments up to 100Hz, and also selectable slopes. The unit also has time alignment on 6 output channels which allows for a lot of interesting options for tuning SQ. Read the manual more carefully. The display looks fine with the colors reversed. I think this should have been default.


----------



## Mark the Bold

I have this deck and think its the cats meow.

Before my ms-8 I enabled the DSP and it sounded really decent. I turned the supreme and highway mode off and I much preferred the natural eq than the DSP being defeated.

Having previously owned the p880prs, my kdc-x995 sounds WAY better. The menus are tidy, it ACTUALLY fast forwards and rewinds mp3s (keyword fast), has the best iPod navigation I've seen on a headunit and has a gravity fed faceplate for CDs meaning no gears getting busted.


----------



## OldSchoolAudioandVideo

Yea I can see how the unit is liked. It has some nice features. But IDK about SQ level.
The crossover may be decent but it doesnt have bandpass, unless I skimmed over it to fast.
I had a Kenwood. It was the Kenwood XXV-01D.
Sounded nice until you stared playing with the silly eq settings and enhancements. Plus Im just not into the flashy screen with moving pictures. Its just stupid in my opinion. 
If they put more effort into SQ then in flashy gadgets, Kenwood would sell more. I sold it cause of the weak xovers and silly display. 
Kenwood is a nice product. Prolly better than the usual. But... for me. 9887 is still king and its ancient. They need to come out with a new an improved Alpine soon.


----------



## shilent

ZAKOH said:


> I believe in the "bypass" mode, the crossovers are not being applied to speakers. This is why you hear more bass with the bypass mode.


The point I was trying to make, and confirm with the other guys was that even with everything including the crossovers set to off or 0 in "through", I still lost a little midbass when comparing to "bypass".


I just want to use the built in crossovers without DSP affecting anything else.


----------



## ZAKOH

OldSchoolAudioandVideo said:


> Yea I can see how the unit is liked. It has some nice features. But IDK about SQ level.
> The crossover may be decent but it doesnt have bandpass, unless I skimmed over it to fast.


Yes, it does not have a bandpass feature. This unit certainly cannot hang out with the high end decks that come with band pass crossover capability, my refined EQ and other features. It's just decent for the money you pay IMO.


----------



## shilent

Can someone tell me the difference between POSI2/NEGA1 and POSI1/NEGA2?

Yes, the colors switch/invert, but I can't see any difference between POSI2 and NEGA1, and no difference between POSI1 and NEGA1.

This is under display/illumination settings.


----------



## hurrication

ZAKOH said:


> The unit also has time alignment on 6 output channels which allows for a lot of interesting options for tuning SQ.


I am looking into buying this unit for the time alignment, and I will be bi-amping an alumapro component set through its crossover. Do you know if all 6 channels are able to be aligned independently? I would have the tweeters running off of the front outputs, the mids off the rear outputs, and the sub off the sub output. Ideally, I would like to be able to align the tweeters and mids in each door to themselves first and then align each door to the other one.


----------



## OldSchoolAudioandVideo

hurrication said:


> I am looking into buying this unit for the time alignment, and I will be bi-amping an alumapro component set through its crossover. Do you know if all 6 channels are able to be aligned independently? I would have the tweeters running off of the front outputs, the mids off the rear outputs, and the sub off the sub output. Ideally, I would like to be able to align the tweeters and mids in each door to themselves first and then align each door to the other one.


I dont think you can do that with this unit.
The crossovers arent made for crossing anything over higher than mids. And it doesnt have a bandpass crossover for the mids. You are better off with a Alpine 9887 for that.
I skimmed over the manual. I may be wrong but you should really read the manual first to make sure the deck can do what you want.


----------



## cobb2819

OldSchoolAudioandVideo said:


> I dont think you can do that with this unit.
> The crossovers arent made for crossing anything over higher than mids. And it doesnt have a bandpass crossover for the mids. You are better off with a Alpine 9887 for that.
> I skimmed over the manual. I may be wrong but you should really read the manual first to make sure the deck can do what you want.


He is bi-amping with passive crossovers, not running active, so the crossovers on this unit will do just fine for that application. As for the T/A, pm stuckinok, he has one in this truck. 


Sent from my iPhone


----------



## OldSchoolAudioandVideo

cobb2819 said:


> He is bi-amping with passive crossovers, not running active, so the crossovers on this unit will do just fine for that application. As for the T/A, pm stuckinok, he has one in this truck.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone


Well, Im really not seeing how a person can "independently" time align tweeters and mids when you are using them on the passive crossovers.
That is unless the crossovers are capable of bi amping.


----------



## ZAKOH

OldSchoolAudioandVideo said:


> Well, Im really not seeing how a person can "independently" time align tweeters and mids when you are using them on the passive crossovers.
> That is unless the crossovers are capable of bi amping.


Which is what hurrication seems to have..


----------



## ZAKOH

hurrication said:


> Do you know if all 6 channels are able to be aligned independently? I would have the tweeters running off of the front outputs, the mids off the rear outputs, and the sub off the sub output. Ideally, I would like to be able to align the tweeters and mids in each door to themselves first and then align each door to the other one.


Yes, you can do it. That's a setup I am using right now as well. It did take a while to figure out what to listen for and such, to find correct values to time alignment. In my car, it seems like the closest tweeter needs to be delayed by at least "1ft" more than the woofer. Being able to time align the tweeters independently does seem to make imaging more consistent. This seems to contradict what I have heard before.. that time alignment supposedly is not effective on tweeters. Perhaps my ears have become more discerning with time to detect tweeters that are not aligned correctly, or perhaps my tweeters are not quite normal because they might play bit more of mid-range frequencies because of shallow crossover slopes. Having spent some time learning how to use time correction, I start to wish that the step size for time correction was a bit smaller, perhaps half of what it is now.

Unfortunately, this setup did make me lose my rear speakers, since front and "rear" channels are driving the front stage, and the subwoofer channel is for the subwoofer.


----------



## Socalstangman

I just picked up one of these from a member here and Im very,very impressed. I came from an Alpine IXA w407 DD unit with the imprint, this thing blows it away. I never could get that Alpine dialed in. I dont think -6 to +6 adjustments were enough. Changes were hardly noticeable at all. With the sub output I had to have the volume at 15 out of 15 for most of my music....with out changing anything on the Kenwood Im at no more than 5 because its too much. This really is a great unit!!

I have a question though. Im using a thumb drive for my music. I have it set on "Random Folder" but it only seems to play 15 to 20 songs and thats it. Sometimes it will play the same song 2 or 3 times in a row, what could I be doing wrong??


----------



## hurrication

zakoh, Thank you for the advice.. I'm glad the deck will do what I hoped it would! Looks like it will be my Christmas present for myself this year. And yes, the Alumapro passive crossovers can be biamped like Focal Utopias, Alpine X's, etc. The rest of the system will be an Aura MR4150 running the ALC front stage and an old Alpine M300 running a 12" sealed Alusonic.


----------



## ZAKOH

BTW, my x994 unit does not seem to have enough voltage to power a portable USB hard drive through USB port. I have a Seagate hard drive that resets every few minutes with engine off. When engine is running, I still see resets every one hour or so. I never had problems with USB thumb drives.


----------



## shilent

Does anyone dislike the "folder random" option? It's not random, it'll play the songs in a shuffled order, then will go to the next folder. Unable to select repeat folder and random folder simultaneously, am I missing something?


----------



## bigwise1

Is anyone elses kenwood finicky with cd's? Mine skips if the cd has a small scratch or smudge but the same cd played flawlessly in my old pioneer.


----------



## Cheeze

Mark the Bold said:


> You guys are doing it wrong. My kdc-x995 does bluetooth streaming. I never use it because it doesn't sound very good. But bluetooth streaming audio it does...


I'm pulling my hair out. I'm running a Droid Bionic, and cannot get the 995 to do bluetooth streaming. Can you tell me how you did it?


----------



## bugmenot

Cheeze said:


> I'm pulling my hair out. I'm running a Droid Bionic, and cannot get the 995 to do bluetooth streaming. Can you tell me how you did it?


+1

Mark the Bold, details please...


----------



## Tao Jones

I have the 994 in my girls car. From what I remember, BT Audio is a source you have to select. You might have to enable BT Audio in the bluetooth menu. Just hit the phone button and find it from there. Select your source as BT Audio and you should be good to go. I don't have a Bionic tho. I used and iPhone 4 with it and it worked.


----------



## Nismo

The documentation I ready said that the x995 does NOT allow the Bluetooth streaming audio profiles. That is likely why you can't get it to work.

As an aside, these are on sale right now, as they're on closeout. I'm hoping to get one, as this is the deck I'm planning to use.

Eric


----------



## bugmenot

Nismo said:


> The documentation I ready said that the x995 does NOT allow the Bluetooth streaming audio profiles. That is likely why you can't get it to work.
> 
> As an aside, these are on sale right now, as they're on closeout. I'm hoping to get one, as this is the deck I'm planning to use.
> 
> Eric


Where did you see them on sale? Apart from the refurbished ones I've seen at cartoys...


----------



## bugmenot

Tao Jones said:


> I have the 994 in my girls car. From what I remember, BT Audio is a source you have to select. You might have to enable BT Audio in the bluetooth menu. Just hit the phone button and find it from there. Select your source as BT Audio and you should be good to go. I don't have a Bionic tho. I used and iPhone 4 with it and it worked.





Nismo said:


> The documentation I ready said that the x995 does NOT allow the Bluetooth streaming audio profiles. That is likely why you can't get it to work.
> 
> As an aside, these are on sale right now, as they're on closeout. I'm hoping to get one, as this is the deck I'm planning to use.
> 
> Eric


So Tao says that he used his phone (iPhone 4) and he was able to stream BT audio.

Nismo says that you can't stream BT audio (per the documentation).

Uhh....so they can't both be right here...somebody's obviously wrong. Who's right?


----------



## Nismo

The way I read it (unless I missed something), Tao was discussing his girlfriend's x994.

Eric


----------



## Nismo

bugmenot said:


> Where did you see them on sale? Apart from the refurbished ones I've seen at cartoys...


*drumroll*Crutchfield!

The guy I talked to last night said 150 of them in stock, $60 off. Makes them $269, but with the discount coupon I found, it was $20 off. Makes it $249, same price as Sonic Electronix, but with a 2 year warranty vs. 1 year.

The guy I spoke with also said they couldn't guarantee the price past yesterday, but he did confirm the price drop was due to the closeout as the new models were coming.

Eric


----------



## Tao Jones

I'll check the 994 in my girls car to confirm. I thought the 995 and 994 was pretty much the same except for minor upgrades. I'll report back.


----------



## Tao Jones

Yeah it streams. Once it's paired up, you select the source on the HU as BT Audio. Pretty cool actually.... With ios 3 or 4 it didn't display any info nor could I skip tracks on the HU. Now I'm able to. Keep in mind this is the x994. I would assume the 995 is still the same. But from what the above poster said... The documentation for the 995 says it can't stream audio. So I dunno...


----------



## extremepaint

No the 995 will not stream. They gave up bluetooth stream for hd radio. I think it was the right choice


----------



## Tao Jones

Yeah, I just checked on Crutchfield and it specifically states that the 995 does not support BT streaming.


----------



## bugmenot

So let me ask you guys this...suppose I'm in the car, bluetooth linked up to my iPhone, and I'm sitting there watching a youtube video or hbo go or family guy on hulu...the point is, would I be able to hear the audio being streamed via BT through the car speakers? Or would it be simply coming off the iPhone speakers? (on x994 vs x995).


----------



## Nismo

On the x994, it would stream the audio. For the x995, it will not.

Eric


----------



## bugmenot

Nismo said:


> On the x994, it would stream the audio. For the x995, it will not.
> 
> Eric


Guess I'll be listening to family guy over my car speakers via BT audio streaming, courtesy of the x994. Giggety giggety.


----------

