[segwayne]

Morning!

So... Yesterday, I went a little ape-spit crazy with the card which I've known I would do ever since the "Best Buy blew up my speaker install" incident.

Since Kenwood "released" their latest CarPlay/Android units yesterday, I went ahead and placed my Crutchfield order. It's SO much more confusing now than it was when I was in my 20's...

I'm wondering, did I miss anything?

Kenwood Excelon DNX893S Navigation Receiver
-- Item #113DNX893S

SiriusXM SXV300V1 Satellite Radio Tuner

Nissan Antenna Adapter OEM antenna to Motorola Male
-- Item #12040NI12
Metra 70-7552 Wire Harness for Niss/Infi/Suba 06-up
-- Item #120707552
Nissan Titan 2013-Up Kit DD
-- Item #120957619 (they added, zero cost)

Axxess ASWC-1 Steering Wheel Control Interface
Nissan ASWC-1 Harness 14-Up Versa, other late model vehicles
-- (additional Axxess AX-NIS32SWC Cable to retain backup camera)

NISSAN 4 PIN USB ADAPTOR
-- Item #120NISUSB2 (to retain factory USB location)

 

[MNCarl]

Wow that Kenwood DNX893S looks awesome...You will be one of the first people anywhere to have one.
I am hoping to hear some real world feedback on this head unit (No reviews yet on the internet)
Good luck on the install.

 

[Boomer32]

I'm wondering, did I miss anything?

Kenwood Excelon DNX893S Navigation Receiver
-- Item #113DNX893S

Nissan Titan 2013-Up Kit DD
-- Item #120957619 (they added, zero cost)

Nice option - I had considered the Kenwood Excelon w/navigation which has a ton of options, but went with a mid level Pioneer unit instead.

Did you get the right dash kit? The Nissan Titan #120957619 shows on Crutchfield it doesn't fit the Frontier. Check out Metra 99-7428B Dash Kit but should have been part of a kit Crutchfield has as an option to purchase that includes harness, & steering wheel controls.

 

[segwayne]

Nice option - I had considered the Kenwood Excelon w/navigation which has a ton of options, but went with a mid level Pioneer unit instead.

I was 50/50 on buying the nav unit versus the non-nav 9903s (saving $500) but thought "If I truly hate Apple maps, I can't add the Garmin part later", so I had a spit-fit moment and bought the more expensive 893s.

Just saw the first one at a local store about 30 minutes ago and it's awesome. Exactly what I'm looking for. I would have instantly canceled my Crutchfield order and bought locally (saving the 2 hour drive for the install), but the local store's install times are pushed out until "mid August", which I thought was ridiculous...

Did you get the right dash kit? The Nissan Titan #120957619 shows on Crutchfield it doesn't fit the Frontier.

I had that exact same question but that's the one that they (Crutchfield) says goes with my unit, but the guys says "when you show up, talk with the installer and if it's not the right one, we'll swap you out"...

Crutchfield's Web site is almost uselessly out of date for the 2016 Frontier. Every add-on, every adapter, every kit says "won't fit your 2016 Frontier" because they haven't updated the dates.

So far, the only thing I've caught that I missed is the adapter for the OEM XM Radio antenna, which Crutchfield says "oh, we have those, just let us know when you get here"...

Install is set for July 12th at 10am EST. (I *hate* waiting)...

Did you get the right dash kit?

Update: I just went back to Crutchfield and checked out the installation guide for the "Titan" kit they sold me which does specify "2013 - up Frontier and XTerra".

So, mischief managed.

http://pdf.crutchfieldonline.com/ImageBank/v20140307123600/Manuals/120/120957619.PDF

Wayne

 

[DubGA]

If you don't mind, as soon as you get it installed, post up how long it takes this unit to boot up from off to the last source. Kenwood was claiming these new units would have much better boot times than their old ones, but Crutchfield is saying that it takes 17 seconds to boot. I'm considering this unit and another one and want to get my order placed Tuesday or Wednesday. The boot time is the only thing making me sway away from the Kenwood.

 

[raine]

Morning!

So... Yesterday, I went a little ape-spit crazy with the card which I've known I would do ever since the "Best Buy blew up my speaker install" incident.

Since Kenwood "released" their latest CarPlay/Android units yesterday, I went ahead and placed my Crutchfield order. It's SO much more confusing now than it was when I was in my 20's...

I'm wondering, did I miss anything?

Kenwood Excelon DNX893S Navigation Receiver
-- Item #113DNX893S

SiriusXM SXV300V1 Satellite Radio Tuner

Nissan Antenna Adapter OEM antenna to Motorola Male
-- Item #12040NI12
Metra 70-7552 Wire Harness for Niss/Infi/Suba 06-up
-- Item #120707552
Nissan Titan 2013-Up Kit DD
-- Item #120957619 (they added, zero cost)

Axxess ASWC-1 Steering Wheel Control Interface
Nissan ASWC-1 Harness 14-Up Versa, other late model vehicles
-- (additional Axxess AX-NIS32SWC Cable to retain backup camera)

NISSAN 4 PIN USB ADAPTOR
-- Item #120NISUSB2 (to retain factory USB location)

Head unit - check
Sat. tuner - check
Antenna adaptor - check
Main harness adaptor - yes, works... sorta (see my notes below)
Dash kit - check (it says "Titan" but it's compatible with your model year)
Steering wheel control - check
Rear camera adaptor - check
USB adaptor - check

*notes:
Unless they updated the Metra 70-7552 harness (which I'm pretty sure they didn't) you'll have to figure out how to add 3 more wires into it (pin 6, 15, 16) in order to connect the ASWC-1 for your steering wheel controls. Metra 70-7552 doesn't have wires in these positions. Your options are:

1. Get a spare Metra 70-7552, pull some of those wires out and add into your main Metra 70-7552
2. Hard-wire the ASWC to these wires on the vehicle side
3. Buy a custom harness pre-made by ae64 that has the required wires

 

[segwayne]

If you don't mind, as soon as you get it installed, post up how long it takes this unit to boot up from off to the last source. Kenwood was claiming these new units would have much better boot times than their old ones, but Crutchfield is saying that it takes 17 seconds to boot. I'm considering this unit and another one and want to get my order placed Tuesday or Wednesday. The boot time is the only thing making me sway away from the Kenwood.

I'm planning to do that, as well as a general overall review.

My thing is, I'm the type of guy who starts the truck and lets it idle down before going anywhere, so whether the boot is 6 seconds or 17 seconds, or even 30 seconds shouldn't (hopefully) be an issue with me.

Supposedly from what I've read, the playback starts quickly even if the interface is starting up, and the backup camera is online "immediately"

I just consider that it's booting a full Linux computer and think of it about the same way I would booting an Arduino or Raspberry Pi computer system.. Depends on what's loaded, what I'm tossing on there, and how it's configured.

Wayne

*notes:
Unless they updated the Metra 70-7552 harness (which I'm pretty sure they didn't) you'll have to figure out how to add 3 more wires into it (pin 6, 15, 16) in order to connect the ASWC-1 for your steering wheel controls. Metra 70-7552 doesn't have wires in these positions. Your options are:

1. Get a spare Metra 70-7552, pull some of those wires out and add into your main Metra 70-7552
2. Hard-wire the ASWC to these wires on the vehicle side
3. Buy a custom harness pre-made by ae64 that has the required wires

Or 4. Let Crutchfield figure it out rather than blowing my own bleep up this time

Thanks for the check list..

Wayne

 

[raine]

Or 4. Let Crutchfield figure it out rather than blowing my own bleep up this time

That's right, you're having it installed at Crutchfield... I wonder what they'll end up doing. My guess is option #2, but if you have a say in it I'd recommend Option #1 in case you need to pull the head unit out for any reason later on down the line

 

[DubGA]

..Supposedly from what I've read, the playback starts quickly even if the interface is starting up, and the backup camera is online "immediately"...

Ahhh, so the backup camera is available right away and music starts playing sooner than 17 seconds. That alleviates my fears there. I was imagining cranking up and waiting 17 seconds before I could see out of my backup camera. I'm usually backed out and on the way by then.

 

[raine]

Update: so I just checked on my 892, the backup camera DOES come on immediately (no boot screen at all). What DOES take a few seconds is the on-screen guide lines... and then a few seconds after that I get audio. I hope the 893 is the same way, or faster.

 

[segwayne]

Please note at no one has any practical experience switch it yet, so I'm only going on what I've heard. As you noted though, kenwood says 6 seconds to boot, crutchfield claims 17, so really, who knows?

I'll let you know tomorrow..


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Update: so I just checked on my 892, the backup camera DOES come on immediately (no boot screen at all). What DOES take a few seconds is the on-screen guide lines... and then a few seconds after that I get audio. I hope the 893 is the same way, or faster.

The onscreen guidelines are what concerned me.. Cool?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[DubGA]

Also, if you are getting SiriusXM module as well, see if you can set alerts by favorite artists/songs. That's another feature I am interested in. The Crutchfield details section says its there, but the owner's manual doesn't mention it. I posed the question to Crutchfield, and they responded that the feature was on previous models but not on this new one, and that they would update the description on their site to reflect this. It would be nice to hear first-hand if it exists or not.

 

[segwayne]

8 hours waiting at Crutchfield. Maybe I'm exhausted, maybe I'm just not used to it, or maybe there's something wrong with my head unit. But so far, I am not impressed... More to come, maybe...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[segwayne]

OK. I'm home (9pm) and I took a few minutes to swap out my SiriusXM subscription ($15) and to tinker with the settings a little bit.

Got it to sounding MUCH better than it did by default install, but not perfect. There may be an amp and sub in my future, but it's too early to tell.

Here's what I don't like so far.

Twice on the 2.5 hour trip home, the audio just quit. Had to restart the system to get sound back. That *may* be related to me screwing around with it at 60mph. Dunno. Willing to give it a chance.

The Garmin aspect is woefully out of date. I have a Garmin 5" 25xxLMT unit (2592?) which is about 4 years old now that has 2x the features of this brand new Kenwood with Garmin built in. Things such as voice search and trip data which don't exist on the Garmin. UNACCEPTABLE on a $1300 unit. Everything about the interface is physically the same as it would be on a 2008 4" Garmin, only bigger. "Traffic" is handled via an app on your phone which automatically fires up and eats your bandwidth, so we'll see how that works.

Half way home, I tried out the Apple Maps thing, and while it's not bad per se, it still leaves a lot to be desired.

As for the head unit itself, the primary interface (meaning the HOME PAGE ONLY) might have been cleaned up a bit from the older units, but when you get to the radio, Sirius, or other aspects, it's still PAINFULLY boggled and crowded with information. Almost unusable really. For example, you're looking at the GPS, but to change to a different music source, you've got to hit 1... 2.. 3... nope, 4... wait... damn... 6 different buttons to drop out of either the NAV or CarPlay, go to the home menu, swipe around to find the source, select the source, then select what you want to listen to.

This is EXACTLY what I hated about the earlier units. Well, that, and the primary interface was much worse than the new one.

There's also the irritating need to get into and out of CarPlay to do anything that you might want to do if you're interested in using your music on the phone. Not sure yet whether or not it can even connect to my iPad which is where I normally carry all of my music and playlists.

Again, this has been a gruelingly long and aggravating day caused by a mixture of Nissan changing bleep up on the 16 without telling ANYONE and Crutchfield -- and everyone else -- mistakenly assuming that they made no changes

For the record, unannounced changes like the NICUSB2 adapter which no longer works for the 16, and the Metra steering wheel controls which no longer work with the '16.

Luckily, after waiting around 3 hours for "an answer from research", they determined that they were able to change out the Frontier-specific steering wheel controls with a same-brand Nissan 370z adapter to get working. I'm eternally grateful for that, but again, 3 more hours of sitting on incredibly uncomfortable chairs with nothing to do except read on the iPad...

I goofily realized about 6pm that I had completely forgotten to eat all day. My sustenance to that point existing only in 2 protein drinks and a Lipton sweet tea.. Blood sugar low, and I was cranky as hell.

Still after all is said and done (and unless something is physically wrong with the unit itself -- the reboots), props to the people at Crutchfield and thanks for putting up with me. After what they went through to get it working, I'm absolutely sure I couldn't have. I'd have dead stopped at the steering wheel controls, packed it up, and cursed the Earth for my own whims in wanting it in the first place.

Wayne

 

[segwayne]

If you don't mind, as soon as you get it installed, post up how long it takes this unit to boot up from off to the last source. Kenwood was claiming these new units would have much better boot times than their old ones, but Crutchfield is saying that it takes 17 seconds to boot. I'm considering this unit and another one and want to get my order placed Tuesday or Wednesday. The boot time is the only thing making me sway away from the Kenwood.

My completely unscientific BS answer seems to be "about 10 seconds". A little longer (about 1/3, again strictly "one-one thousand" counting) than the stock unit, but really, not a game changer (for me).

The camera comes on immediately in reverse, but the guidelines (which I like less than the Nissan OEM unit) come on after fully booted.

Give me a NyQuil and a good nap. A few more days of getting my hands on with it, and I'm sure I'll put the ice pick back in the tool box.

Wayne

Also, if you are getting SiriusXM module as well, see if you can set alerts by favorite artists/songs. That's another feature I am interested in. The Crutchfield details section says its there, but the owner's manual doesn't mention it. I posed the question to Crutchfield, and they responded that the feature was on previous models but not on this new one, and that they would update the description on their site to reflect this. It would be nice to hear first-hand if it exists or not.

Not sure how such a feature would work at all, but give me a while to get used to it... Not sure which manual you're referring to. Apparently my 893 only came with a "Quick Start guide" and I haven't found the actual manual online yet, or are you talking the Sirius XM 300 module manual?

Wayne

 

[DubGA]

Not sure how such a feature would work at all, but give me a while to get used to it... Not sure which manual you're referring to. Apparently my 893 only came with a "Quick Start guide" and I haven't found the actual manual online yet, or are you talking the Sirius XM 300 module manual?

Wayne

Crutchfield has the manual available for download. Go to the Kenwood unit page, then click the Details tab below the pictures. There will be a link near the top that says "Download Kenwood Excelon DNX893S Manual" just underneath the words "Whats In The Box".

Sorry you are having such frustration. Eat dinner and get some sleep and attack it fresh in the morning. ::wink::

Oh, and thanks for taking the time to post up first impressions after such a trying day.

 

[DubGA]

...Not sure how such a feature would work at all, but give me a while to get used to it... Wayne

The manual for the DNN992 shows that there are two buttons on the Sirius XM menu, one looks like a musical note and one looks like the silhouette of a person. When a song is playing, hold down the silhouette button for two seconds to add the song to your favorites, or hold down the musical note for two seconds to add the artist to your favorites. When something is in your favorites list, if a favorite song or a song by a favorite artist begins playing on another channel, you get a popup message asking if you want to listen to it.

If you don't see these two buttons, it probably means the unit does not have this feature.

But I already decided on the Pioneer AVIC-8100NEX today. Should be here Thursday. ::grin::

 

[shift_RUSH]

So, do these new-fangled touchscreen(??) HUs come w/ a remote?
I ask cuz a KW eXelon installed in my '00 XE in early '11 came w/ one...and once learned, I basically never had to even look at my HU to control it.

Good Luck with your KW, Wayne!

 

[segwayne]

If you don't see these two buttons, it probably means the unit does not have this feature.

DNN992 and DNX893s are pretty much two completely different beasts. I'll check today

But I already decided on the Pioneer AVIC-8100NEX today. Should be here Thursday. ::grin::

I sincerely hope that my initial impressions, frustrations, and general exhaustion didn't lead you away from the Kenwood. Like I said, once I got home and got to play with it -- even exhausted -- I started to figure stuff out.

For me, the initial impression of the Kenwood was like working with a Mac for years and being extremely comfortable with it (the OEM unit), only to have someone drop a Linux box on my desk. There is a distinct period of "WTF?" before you catch on..

Wayne

 

[MNCarl]

Wow thanks for the honest feedback, maybe more feed back to to come? Hopefully positive.
I have been on the fence about replacing my stock head unit since day one.

I just dont understand how Kenwood , Pioneer , JVC ect... cannot make a decent intuitive UI head unit with out several little glitches.

Same with the imported Joying , Avin Avanet-2 android units , there always seems to be some glitches, not so good FM radio reception, low power output, ect.

I would just call it a day and mount a Samsung android tablet to my dash, but then I cant use it in the extreme heat or cold or leave it in the truck (theft).