Kenwood eXcelon DNX6980

Kenwood DNX6980

The navigation of the kenwood is the most usefull part of the system as a whole. there were many parts that i still had to buy ( adapter cables, satalite radio etc.). occasionally the fm radio gets static to where it isnt able to be heard, change the station a couple times and it fixes itself. the usb connection and aux cable do not work in my 2011 camaro but the iphone connector is perfect. it may be a loose connection so be sure that every cable is secure before you install everything back into your car. the screen quality is amazing, i couldnt ask for more in a navigation based product. compared to a stock nav system changing the songs is somewhat slow and a hastle but works great other than that. overall i would recommend this product to anyone who asks of my opinion.

Great features, mediocre usability

Believe it or not, this is one of the better decks out there for usability but it is far from perfect. but it suffers from really slow screen redraw times and frustrating user interface.

Finding a song via the iPod interface is an exercise in patience and dexterity. Impossible on a bumpy road. The feature for finding songs by the same artist or on the same album as the current song is buggy and barely ever works. I never bother anymore.

There is a 4 second delay from the time I touch the answer button when the phone rings to the time that the phone actually stops ringing and picks up.

The homescreenbuttons are in a nonsensical order and put Pandora and the CD button front and centre. I don't subscribe to the former and who the heck still uses the latter? I usually have to scroll the buttons to see the one I need.

The Sirius interface lacks the ability to navigate by category/genre so I've had to set up and remember presets for one station in each genre and then step up or down from it.

I could go on. Car audio manufacturers suck at user interfaces. Now that much of their clientele has experienced Apple and Android smartphones, they need to adhere to a much higher standard for usability.

Good product. Easy install

I bought this from Sonic ( great price and fast shipping ) and installed this unit myself. Easy install. Everything was pretty much plug and play. I love having this unit. The bluetooth works flawlessly with my Droid X2. The GPS is easy to operate. Some of the menu functions are hard to find. My only complaint is that touch screen is sometimes hard to hit the song or number you are trying to get due to the small size and sensitivity. Overall a great unit. Switching modes seems a little slow but tolerable. Maybe kenwood will so a software update to make touchscreen easier to operate.

DNX 6980

Sucks, I will never buy this unit again. This is my 2nd one. Nothing but problems!!!

I am happy with this system

I bought this DNX6980 for my 2011 Toyota Tacoma Sport. I installed this unit myself (my first stereo installation). I work on the road, so I put this head unit to use 8-10 hours a day. First, this unit is really cool looking. I changed the color of the lights on the face of the unit to match the other lights on my dash, and it looks awesome. All in all, I am very happy with the performance of this unit. The GPS is pretty good, I would give it an 8.5 out of 10 score. Sometimes it will direct me onto some strange paths, getting off of the freeway, taking a feeder road, then getting back on the freeway for no reason. I have my Droid RAZR as a backup, if it gets too wierd. I bought the KCA-IP202, and hooked up an Ipod 5th gen Nano. The Ipod interface sucks. I am really not impressed. Searching for an artist is a pain, and I am disappointed. The menus are difficult to scour through, and you have to start from scratch at the beginning of the menu when you want to select a new artist. I ended up wiring up a Zune dock (I love my Zune) and hooked it up through the AV input. I am extremely pleased with this setup. The remote is almost worthless. When controlling the Ipod, the play/pause, volume controls, and previous/next track buttons were the only ones that functioned.
The unit will glitch every once in a while. The mapping will refuse to load, or a DVD will lock the unit up, but this is a rare occasion. For what its worth, I recommend this unit.

Great Product

This radio is top notch in most cases. Easy to install, best features, awesome display, bright colors, garmin navigation is by far the most advanced when it comes to navigating. A little slow at times when going to different icons. When you have Pandora or your iTunes playing and you make or receive a phone call. It plays the music through your speakers so u have to unhook your phone from the cable. If wanting to listen to iTunes or Pandora you have to purchase a cable in order to play the music. I would definitely recommend this product!