Kenwood KDC-X859 Car CD / MP3 Player
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Similar in In Dash Receivers
- MP3 / WMA Playback: MP3 Playback
- Player Type: CD
- Controlled Devices: CD Changer Sirius Ready
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Kenwood KDC-X859 CD-MP3 Receiver - All you need and then some
Pros
Volume knob, D-Mask, built-in crossovers, MP3 playback
Cons
Busy look... subtly not an option
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
The "average Joe" may not need a HU of this magnitude, but he sure would be happy with it anyway.
I purchased this head unit about 5 months ago. I had a stereo shop do the installation as per my instructions. I chose the x859 for a number of reasons. One was because of the amount of features it has to offer... System E's Advanced Crossover System being the main one... along with the three 4.5 volt pre-amp outputs. To be frank, this is the best head unit I have ever owned.
Usage
As with most car receivers, the controls take a bit of getting used to. For me, a once-through with the manual in addition to playing with all the menus as much as I could early on was all that was needed to master this head unit. Once you get used to it, however, tweaking the settings are a breeze. I particularly love the volume knob as opposed to having an up/down button. The Kenwood cd player I owned prior to this one had the buttons... and I just never got used to it.
The Look
While this is a sharp looking HU, it's a busy-looking one. Plenty of animated graphics and the Kenwood trademark purple-glowing buttons adorn the faceplate of this thing. There are plenty of options in this area though. You can go with a classic clock/station/cd track # display style or you could go the other way with it and choose to have one of the various waveform monitors occupy the entire fine-dot 3-D multicolor display screen. So if it's subtly and quietness you're looking for, this ain't it!
A major plus in this department is the ability to change the button colors (presets, functions) from green to red to match the color style of your dash. I drive a Pontiac - known for their red dash lights. So this HU fits nicely with the scheme of my interior. I have even come to like the glowing purple SRC and AUDIO buttons, as well as the glowing ring around the volume knob. They give it that unmistakable Kenwood feel.
D-Mask is simply Kenwood's term for a faceplate that rotates a full 180 degrees when the car is turned off, thus concealing the entire faceplate. You can also have this faceplate flip around at any time you feel it necessary (i.e. when it goes through the carwash, etc.). Alternately, you still have the option to remove the faceplate completely if you wish.
Technical Stuff
Crossovers
I'll give a quick explanation of what exactly a "crossover" is, in case you're confused by this point. Crossover simply means "filter." You may have heard of "hi-pass & low-pass" audio filters. This is what a crossover is. In short, you can set which frequencies you want particular speakers to play. For instance, with this HU you can set the FRONT CROSSOVER (front speakers) at 80hz. This means that (roughly) all sounds falling below 80hz will not get sent to the front speakers. Why is this useful? For me this is very useful because I am using amplifiers that have no crossovers built-in for all of my speakers and my subwoofer. This allows me to use these types of amps and still have complete control over the staging of my sound. I like my front sound stage to be strong and handle all the sounds it can, my rear speakers to provide a little "fill" to make the sound seem full... but since I only have 4" speakers in my rear deck, I may set the rear crossover to be a little higher... say 120hz. This means that the low bass sounds will NOT get sent to those speakers... and that means that I can crank the volume without damaging those speakers or in the least cause them to crackle.
Pre-outs
Having three 4.5v pre-outs is a great option if you are going to add amps to your system (although, at 50w peak x 4, the internal amplifier is probably more than enough for most users). Pre-outs are simply jacks on the back of the HU that send a "line level" signal rather than a "speaker level" signal. This is the best type of signal for use with external amps. Two of the outs are for speakers (front, rear) and the third is for a subwoofer.
Also, there is an aux. input. You can connect a cd changer or any number of external devices to this input. I have a portable mp3 player connected to mine at the moment.
Miscellaneous
This deck plays MP3 discs. I have spent many an hour on my computer converting my cd's to mp3's. You can fit roughly ~150 songs on a single MP3 disc! I have Led Zeppelin's entire catalog on ONE disc. Need I say more?
Another neat feature is the RDS, or Radio Data System. Some stations send out info with their signal, and all you have to do is tune in to the frequency and the next thing you know, you see "BOOMER! 99.9" (or whatever it is) on your display!
Sound
Originally I excluded this portion of the review due to the fact that the quality of a sound system has much to do with amplification and of course speakers. Nonetheless, I will tell you how mine sounds...
INCREDIBLE!
This is by far the best sounding sound system I have ever had in any vehicle I have ever owned. Is it ready for an audio competition? Not by any means. But it is capable of pumping a healthy signal around 75 watts to each of my speakers, and over 300 watts to my sub.
This is all well and good, but I must reiterate that this is due to having three external amplifiers and aftermarket speakers. However, I have talked to a few owners of Kenwoods fairly equal to the x859 in power who have it hooked up to stock stereo systems (Delco) and say it has improved their stock sound immensely.
Summary
Overall I am extremely happy with this purchase. I did pay a bit more than I originally intended, but I really needed a head unit that:
1. Had internal crossovers
2. Had at least two pre-outs
3. Had red buttons!
Today, it still works like it did the first day, and should it break down I have Kenwood's 2 year warranty to back me up.
Usage
As with most car receivers, the controls take a bit of getting used to. For me, a once-through with the manual in addition to playing with all the menus as much as I could early on was all that was needed to master this head unit. Once you get used to it, however, tweaking the settings are a breeze. I particularly love the volume knob as opposed to having an up/down button. The Kenwood cd player I owned prior to this one had the buttons... and I just never got used to it.
The Look
While this is a sharp looking HU, it's a busy-looking one. Plenty of animated graphics and the Kenwood trademark purple-glowing buttons adorn the faceplate of this thing. There are plenty of options in this area though. You can go with a classic clock/station/cd track # display style or you could go the other way with it and choose to have one of the various waveform monitors occupy the entire fine-dot 3-D multicolor display screen. So if it's subtly and quietness you're looking for, this ain't it!
A major plus in this department is the ability to change the button colors (presets, functions) from green to red to match the color style of your dash. I drive a Pontiac - known for their red dash lights. So this HU fits nicely with the scheme of my interior. I have even come to like the glowing purple SRC and AUDIO buttons, as well as the glowing ring around the volume knob. They give it that unmistakable Kenwood feel.
D-Mask is simply Kenwood's term for a faceplate that rotates a full 180 degrees when the car is turned off, thus concealing the entire faceplate. You can also have this faceplate flip around at any time you feel it necessary (i.e. when it goes through the carwash, etc.). Alternately, you still have the option to remove the faceplate completely if you wish.
Technical Stuff
Crossovers
I'll give a quick explanation of what exactly a "crossover" is, in case you're confused by this point. Crossover simply means "filter." You may have heard of "hi-pass & low-pass" audio filters. This is what a crossover is. In short, you can set which frequencies you want particular speakers to play. For instance, with this HU you can set the FRONT CROSSOVER (front speakers) at 80hz. This means that (roughly) all sounds falling below 80hz will not get sent to the front speakers. Why is this useful? For me this is very useful because I am using amplifiers that have no crossovers built-in for all of my speakers and my subwoofer. This allows me to use these types of amps and still have complete control over the staging of my sound. I like my front sound stage to be strong and handle all the sounds it can, my rear speakers to provide a little "fill" to make the sound seem full... but since I only have 4" speakers in my rear deck, I may set the rear crossover to be a little higher... say 120hz. This means that the low bass sounds will NOT get sent to those speakers... and that means that I can crank the volume without damaging those speakers or in the least cause them to crackle.
Pre-outs
Having three 4.5v pre-outs is a great option if you are going to add amps to your system (although, at 50w peak x 4, the internal amplifier is probably more than enough for most users). Pre-outs are simply jacks on the back of the HU that send a "line level" signal rather than a "speaker level" signal. This is the best type of signal for use with external amps. Two of the outs are for speakers (front, rear) and the third is for a subwoofer.
Also, there is an aux. input. You can connect a cd changer or any number of external devices to this input. I have a portable mp3 player connected to mine at the moment.
Miscellaneous
This deck plays MP3 discs. I have spent many an hour on my computer converting my cd's to mp3's. You can fit roughly ~150 songs on a single MP3 disc! I have Led Zeppelin's entire catalog on ONE disc. Need I say more?
Another neat feature is the RDS, or Radio Data System. Some stations send out info with their signal, and all you have to do is tune in to the frequency and the next thing you know, you see "BOOMER! 99.9" (or whatever it is) on your display!
Sound
Originally I excluded this portion of the review due to the fact that the quality of a sound system has much to do with amplification and of course speakers. Nonetheless, I will tell you how mine sounds...
INCREDIBLE!
This is by far the best sounding sound system I have ever had in any vehicle I have ever owned. Is it ready for an audio competition? Not by any means. But it is capable of pumping a healthy signal around 75 watts to each of my speakers, and over 300 watts to my sub.
This is all well and good, but I must reiterate that this is due to having three external amplifiers and aftermarket speakers. However, I have talked to a few owners of Kenwoods fairly equal to the x859 in power who have it hooked up to stock stereo systems (Delco) and say it has improved their stock sound immensely.
Summary
Overall I am extremely happy with this purchase. I did pay a bit more than I originally intended, but I really needed a head unit that:
1. Had internal crossovers
2. Had at least two pre-outs
3. Had red buttons!
Today, it still works like it did the first day, and should it break down I have Kenwood's 2 year warranty to back me up.
