# Kenwood Excelon KDC-X997 vs Clarion CZ702



## raresvintea (Sep 17, 2010)

Kenwood Excelon KDC-X997
-has a diffrent look, but it's user (driver) friendly?

Clarion CZ702
-has buttons for presets radio

I want to help me to choose between those two. Now i have an Alpine 9833 (TA, 3 way) and i want something better with usb, bluetooth and of course 3 way and TA.

What to choose? I like those two and i would go for kenwood, but clarion is a litlle bit cheaper, just a litlle bit.

Oppinions?


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## Jagged Corn Flakes (Sep 10, 2013)

The Kenwood does not have a built in band pass crossover. If that is what you need, then you need to stick to the Clarion or possibly another unit.


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## raresvintea (Sep 17, 2010)

I cannot belive that the best cd player from kenwood doesn't have crossovers... correct if i'm wrong.


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

It does have crossover and slope adjustment just not band pass. Time alignment works well too and has a decent eq.
EQ would have been better if separate left and right


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## raresvintea (Sep 17, 2010)

If it has crossover network i can set 3 way lph and hpf for tweeter, midbass and subwoofer. Correct? What you mean with bandpass?

In the battle i will push JVC Arsenal KD-A95BT Very good techincal details and a good price also.

I would add that Clarion doesn't have over 12dB phase....


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## Jagged Corn Flakes (Sep 10, 2013)

Kevin K said:


> It does have crossover and slope adjustment just not band pass. Time alignment works well too and has a decent eq.
> EQ would have been better if separate left and right


You can set it up to have left/right eq if you don't have rear fill. The rear has a separate eq so you can run your right as front, and your left as rear....bam....separate left/right 13 band eq's.


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## Jagged Corn Flakes (Sep 10, 2013)

raresvintea said:


> If it has crossover network i can set 3 way lph and hpf for tweeter, midbass and subwoofer. Correct? What you mean with bandpass?
> 
> In the battle i will push JVC Arsenal KD-A95BT Very good techincal details and a good price also.
> 
> I would add that Clarion doesn't have over 12dB phase....


There is no low pass crossover for the mid; only high pass. Also, the high pass crossovers don't reach high enough to cross tweeters properly.


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## The Dude (Mar 24, 2007)

Sorry to dig up this old thread, but I was wondering what people thought about the 997? I have a KDC-X794 that I like, but the display keeps dropping out when you push on the faceplate. Has anyone run into this issue with the 997? Thanks


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

Jagged Corn Flakes said:


> You can set it up to have left/right eq if you don't have rear fill. The rear has a separate eq so you can run your right as front, and your left as rear....bam....separate left/right 13 band eq's.


That is a good thought but there is not separate front and rear eq either... plus that would mess up the stereo separation too.


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

The Dude said:


> Sorry to dig up this old thread, but I was wondering what people thought about the 997? I have a KDC-X794 that I like, but the display keeps dropping out when you push on the faceplate. Has anyone run into this issue with the 997? Thanks


I've been using the 997 for close to a year and decently pleased with it. To me, the only thing I would like to change about it is more eq flexibility.

About the display, I've had that happen twice. Very cold mornings, but I didn't loose sound and display came back quickly. May have just been an LCD issue, not sure.


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## sirlemón (Oct 23, 2013)

The Dude said:


> Sorry to dig up this old thread, but I was wondering what people thought about the 997? I have a KDC-X794 that I like, but the display keeps dropping out when you push on the faceplate. Has anyone run into this issue with the 997? Thanks


I don't have the Kenwood but I have a Pioneer 80prs and my display also drops out when I try and push a button. Changing the volume doesn't affect it but pressing the volume to get in the menu drops the screen. 

The only way I've gotten around it is firmly pressing in the faceplate when I initially put it on.


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## a390st (Nov 11, 2013)

I've seen a 997 installed and thought the display was really bad in sunlight. I had seen that in reviews, and I really agreed. I just wasn't impressed with the display overall.


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## The Dude (Mar 24, 2007)

Thanks all for the help with this. My brother picked up a 997, we installed it/tuned it last weekend. Very nice. He has a simple setup, but he was very happy with the sound/xover/eq functions, Bluetooth is much improved from my KIV-BT900 also.


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

There are a couple of firmware updates on Kenwood's site, be sure to do them soon.


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## Woosey (Feb 2, 2011)

the Excelon KDC-X997 is a USA device.. radio reception will not work like it should... so you are stuck with a handicap if you ask me...


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## The Dude (Mar 24, 2007)

Kevin K said:


> There are a couple of firmware updates on Kenwood's site, be sure to do them soon.


Did them already, thanks.


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