Kenwood DNX6140 6.1-Inch Wide Double-DIN In-Dash Nagivation with Built-in Bluetooth USB/iPod Direct Control/DVD Receiver
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6.1″ Wide Double-DIN Indash Nagivation with USB/iPOD Direct Control / DVD Receiver, built-in Bluetooth
Features
- AM/FM radio, DVD, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, VCD, MP3/WMA/AAC, MPEG1/MPEG2
- 4 x 50 Watts maximum power with two 2V pre-amp outputs
- 6.1-inch TFT LCD touchscreen with 480 x 234 pixel resolution
- Includes built-in Garmin navigation, Bluetooth by Parrot, direct iPod connection, USB music streaming
- One-year limited warranty
- Dimensions (W x H x L): 10 x 8 x 13 inches
- Weight: 8 pounds
Solid performer, but poor service from Kenwood
Overall a nifty product.
Pro:
Great integration via Bluetooth with my iPhone. Awesome phone sound quality, both thru speakers and also for folks on the receiving end of the phone call.
Neutral:
Just an FYI, GPS functionality is not as complete as that on my Nuvi 255W. It still works well, though. Garmin said this is planned.
I had to buy two upgrades for the maps, one for my Nuvi and one for the Kenwood; they would not let me upgrade both sets of maps with one upgrade purchase.
Con:
Kenwood service is perhaps the worst I’ve experienced with a major consumer corporation; we were very unpleasantly surprised.
1) Kenwood cable to connect to the iPhone has a very loose connection and keeps disconnecting (iPhone docks with all other cables fine, so assume the issue is with the Kenwood cable). “Support” from Kenwood site consisted of an inane letter asking me to upgrade iPhone software (which is current). Must be computer generated response to e-mail or an untrained person. No response to further requests for help.
2) HD radio module was awesome while it worked, but quit working 2 months in. Again, no response from Kenwood yet.
Wow, I think this is the worst UI I have ever used.
This thing is more of a proof-of-concept than an actual product ready for public use. They should offer compensation to people to beta test this POS. There are so many bad things about it that I don’t even know where to start. Kenwood really seriously needs to hire a competent UX team to fix this thing. Then, they need to figure out how to get that service pack on all the units they sold.
Pros:
* You get GPS, music, and Bluetooth all in one box.
* You can customize the color of the buttons to match the lights on your dash.
* The Bluetooth is better than most.
Cons:
* The unit is too slow. System boot time is unacceptable. Sometimes hitting a function takes 30-60 seconds for anything to happen.
* You can get yourself down dead-ends in the UI where it is really hard to back out.
* The UI controls are both non-standard and confusing.
* Some sofware buttons do nothing.
* It is impossible to just search for music on the iPhone or a memory stick using their UI. In fact, the music UI seems to have been designed by people who maybe have never actually listened to music before.
* Sometimes when I get calls, the name from the address book is not the one of the actual person calling. e.g., it’ll associate the wrong name with the incoming call.
* I can’t figure out how to mute the GPS voice without going into system settings.
* If the GPS unit loses the satellite signal it sometimes will not reacquire. A reboot will fix that.
* 32 GB USB memory stick doesn’t work on here. It can only read the first 8GB.
* Sometimes the unit does not recognize my iPhone 3GS. It goes into an infinite loop of connecting and reconnecting all while beeping away.
* Even though Bluetooth is better than most units I’ve tried, it’s still pretty hard to figure out. Also, on highways, people on the other end of the call complain that they hear excessive road noise (even with the windows up).
* I can keep going on this list but I think you get the picture.
This thing is so hard to use while the car is moving that I predict it will cause some people to crash. If you don’t want to crash into the car in front of you becuase you are trying to figure out the inexplicable UI then don’t waste your money on this expensive POS. You’d be better off with separates and just living with the clutter in your car. If I could give negative stars I would.
Did Kenwood even bother to usability test this thing?
Nice radio
I just installed mine today and I can see I will really like this radio. I have the Sirius radio and the GPS is on point. Bluetooth works really well too. It does take time to get used to but once u get it u should feel real good having it in ur car. Only thing I don’t like is the start up time which can be like 30 seconds but if that is not the problem then this will do the trick. I also added 4 Kenwood 6×9 exelon speakers to do my system justice and man let me tell you. This is expensive (broke college student)but I need my sound and it was well worth it. Oh yeah, I don’t have an ipod but I will comment later on how it sounds playing the usb songs.
Update: The usb works great! you can see the album skins which is nice. I don’t think it gets better than this for the price too. I will eventually get the back up cam to finish it off but for now this thing works beautifully. DVD is clear and sound is amazing.
Cons: should have came with free traffic updates but that’s just me.
Excellent Unit
I’ve had this unit for about 6 months in my Jeep 4 door Wrangler (has tri hard top on) and it is wonderful. I DID HAVE IT PROFESSIONALLY INSTALLED with zero problems. So all of you that are having problems maybe it’s your installer or you missed something while intalling it yourself. The manual does suck.
Scrap the factory head unit!
After a time-consuming install (mainly because I am a perfectionist and I take my time), this unit is great. Installed with an Ipod adapter, PAC-SWIJAC, and a backup camera. The Garmin navigation and Parrot bluetooth work fantastic and the backup camera is a sweet addition to my pickup. 6ave electronics have great prices and quick shipping. Such a departure from my factory stereo. A local stereo shop wanted this much just to install a backup camera and I got it all for the same price (of course, I had to install it myself). You won’t be disappointed with this system.
In dash navigation/radio/MP3 Player
We love this product so far. It is a little sensitive in that it won’t play the Ipod on the Ipod setting but on the “video” setting. Took us a while to figure that one out! The bluetooth is AWESOME. As, of course, the Garmin product. All in all everybody who sees this is envious!
Great radio,DVD,Bluetooth and navigation system& rear camera ready
Wow! that’s a the word I can describe the kenwood 6140. It has everything you will need for your car…. Just have it installed by a PRO! I suggest getting a camera with it! To maximize the product…. Radio is perfect! Tells you song title, radio station, bluetooth is working perfect! Crystal clear! Navigation is the best! It has top of the line navigation by garmin tells you even street names…buy it! It’s worth it.
Overly Complicated
Hard to figure out a rating. I basically really like the unit; it looks and sounds great, Garmin NAV is unbeatable. That all gets 5-stars. But Kenwood seems to have spent all of their time and effort on the details and left out the basics. I think it’s great that you can change the panel color by adjusting the red/green/blue levels, but to adjust the volume on the NAV system requires digging through several menus. I’ve sent 3 different messages to customer service to get explanations on things which should be pretty obvious but aren’t. User-friendliness rating of 1-star, instruction manual would get 0-stars.
I installed the unit myself in a 2004 Mitsubishi Eclipse. Best Buy wanted $300 more for the unit and about $250 for installation. Very simple process but I’d definitely suggest buying a car-specific wiring harness kit (I got one from Crutchfield). I ended up only having to cut two car wires to get almost everything working (I don’t have the rear camera): one splice for an optional steering wheel interface and one to the parking brake switch under the console. If we decide to sell the car, we can throw the old radio in, reconnect those two wires and be good-as-new in about 20 minutes. The antennas for the NAV and XM ran unbelievably easily behind the steering wheel, through a removable fuse panel and up through a seam to mount on the dashboard at the base of the windshield. No issues with getting signals at all.
The sales info from Kenwood indicates that the unit is XM-ready, Sirius-ready, and HD-ready. What they don’t tell you is that it’s only ready for one of those three as they all use the same port. Don’t expect to access XM and HD.
Kenwood DNX6140 is a winner in every way!
The Kenwood DNX6140 head unit is amazingly useful and easy to use. I looked a long time before ordering my first DNX6140 from Crutchfield, which I installed in our ‘05 Toyota Sienna. I was so impressed that I ordered a second unit (the DNX5140) from Amazon (at a better price) and installed it in my Toyota MR2. I liked the two of them so well that we installed another DNX6140 (also purchased from Amazon) in our VW Passat. The only problem now will be having to buy three map updates each year or two, since Garmin doesn’t yet offer a multiple unit map upgrade.
Pluses include the proven Garmin navigation system, which I was already familiar with, and which influenced my decision to buy the Garmin over some other non-Garmin units. The audio system is excellent, with all the inputs, outputs, and adjustments you could possibly need. It sounds GREAT! I also installed Kenwoods CCD-2000 backup cameras on all three cars, and find their backup camera display on the head unit an excellent safety feature. Also, the backup screen comes up very quickly after starting your vehicle, which was not the case with a previous backup system I had installed. FM and AM performance is top notch. Tone settings are individually memorized for each function (DVD, FM, iPod, etc.) Oh, the iPod interface is excellent, this is actually my favorite feature. The DNX6140/5140 controls your iPod remotely so you can keep it safely stored out of sight. It includes all iPod functions, and displays album artwork on its screen.
Finally, the Parrot Bluetooth interface is excellent. It mutes audio and routes your call through your cars front speakers (adjustable,) and its steering wheel column mounted noise canceling microphone sends out good voice quality to your caller. It can be set to auto answer after a ring or two, and you can program in auto-dial numbers.
Note: The Kenwood DNX5140 is virtually identical to the 6140, except that it doesn’t include the Parrot Bluetooth hands-free option, at a lower price. I put a DNX5140, with Kenwoods KCA-BT200 Bluetooth adapter in my Toyota MR2, and it turned my DNX5140 into a DNX6140 but for a lower price than the the 6140.
The Kenwood DNX6140/DNX5140 are both EXCELLENT units!
Would I buy this again? Probably not
Okay unit. I recently hooked it up in my 2010 fj cruiser with no problems. It installed very easily. I am going to make a quick list of the problems I have come across on this unit:
Auto dimming does not dim enough…very bright at night.
virtual buttons (stereo, USB, cd, etc) are too small to easily utilize while driving.
USB input works…when it feels like it. (it will go from playing music to reading “no device”) at random. I have to unplug the drive and plug it back in to be found.
Aux input on the front of the unit does not work…it just doesn’t work (anyone know if I am doing something wrong? Plug in cable, input to music device and try to play it)
Bluetooth is quite terrible. (using Palm Pre) incoming voice sounds great, but I get complaints that my voice sounds “robotic and tinny”. I have tried moving the mic to different locations with no effect. I have tried a samsung instinct with the same result. Also, being able to dial from the stereos phonebook comes and goes at random…sometimes it works, sometimes it’s grayed out on the screen.
The sound on this unit is great and so is the Garmin Navigation.
It’s just feels like this unit is “buggy” and could use some firmware upgrades (mine is current)
Overall it is a good stereo with plenty of options, but could use some finishing. I felt like I was using a piece of equipment in it’s beta testing stage.
Blue Tooth compatibilty may be a serious problem
I just had the DNX6140 installed in my Porsche Boxster. The Radio/DVD section sounds great,love the Nav unit, XM has no problems, great back up camera. Wil pick up a 32gb USB drive for mp3 files.
However, the BlueTooth section is a disgrace. The BT locks up my LG Incite (8 mos old) and requires it to be reset. My wife’s phone a HTC3125 (StarTrek)(2 yrs old)gets dropped and the BT won’t reconnect. Spoke w/ Kenwood they supposedly have heard of no problems (my installer was at a loss), they suggested down grading to an earlier firmware. To do this I had to take a BT equipped laptop (installer didn’t have one) to the car to install the firmware. This did not solve the problem. The installer swapped out the unit today thinking we had a bad BT unit. Guess what, the new one is no better.
Called Kenwood, no answer except to change phones. Nice option conssidering what a new phone will cost!!!!!
Not sure what I will do now!
Good Product, Good Features, Not so good manual and user interface
Just installed Kenwood DNX6140 in the car along with a flip down monitor for back seat DVD viewing. My prime usage is during road trips and weekend driving, kids get to watch DVD in back while we listen to iPod/itouch in front and NAV displays the direction. The handsfree phone was a plus. So this unit does all that, has tons of features but the manual and user interface is a bit confusing. The NAV is garmin – simple to use and there is a analog NAV button to switch to it any time you want. Handsfree is parrot which is also pretty easy to use. The thing works beautifully with iphone (both for phone and music) and
also with my itouch (displays playlist etc). If you are using it along with flip down LCD screen in the back, you need to select “dual zone” which is under audio menu when you have the source select screen.
Kenwood would do well to actually publish a higher level “normal use cases” book so people can use the common features they want to use. Otherwise, the product seems to have all the features that are needed – has the looks etc.
I love my 6140
This unit is so much fun….I have everything hooked up (XM, IPOD, Navigator, Bluetooth, etc.) except for the rear camera. The controls are easy and I’m glad there’s a volume knob. I just wish they had an adaptor for my 09 Vibe to hook up the steering wheel controls. Make sure to hook up the Navigator antenna on the outside of the car or you could have problems getting the satellite signal.
Very good performance – easy to use
I had this unit profesionally installed in my Porsche Cayman and the custom installation is a very good fit. The navigation system is very easy to use – if you’ve had a garmin (that is what it is based on), you pretty much do not need to read the manual – it is very intuitive and accurate. I’ve driven about 2000 miles with it and I like the large bright display – it is easy to change directions and detour on the fly. It does not have voice commands, but the touch screen is easy to use.
I have also used the bluetooth with my Razr phone and have not encountered the problems stated in the earlier review. The microphone is placed near the rearview mirror and only the front speakers come on when I’m talking on the phone – the unit shuts off any music that you might have playing. I use the touchscreen to dial a number and it works well – the folks at the receiving end have no problem hearing me.
There is also an ipod adapter that is in the glove compartment – once hooked up all controls are on the touchscreen – it is easy to use and works well. If one puts in a DVD / CD that takes precedence over the ipod unless you instruct the unit otherwise. I leave the unit to power up when starting the car and it automatically shuts off when the engine is off. I haven’t used the XM stations as I do not subscribe to that service but the FM stations pull in fine using the standard antenna that came with the car.
All in all this is a very good unit and I am very happy with it.
Misses the mark!
I recently purchased the DNX6140 and am very disappointed in it. The bluetooth is very problematic, dropping the connection after almost every call and the sound quality on the receiving end is horrendous, sounding like you are in a tin can! The audio in the vehicle is not much better, if you have it loud enough to hear, the caller gets a bad echo. These problems are not isolated to one phone, any phone we have tried has the same issues. Kenwood customer support is non-existent, saying I should check for a firmware upgrade, the 6140 ships with the latest upgrade which they should know, so I don’t expect much help there.
The next major issue is the lack of XM navtraffic. To receive traffic info you have to install an FM RDS receiver and the only unit Kenwood shows to work uses a wire antenna that suction cups to your windshield. After spending $1000.00 for the radio I expect a more appealing solution, there are other units that attach inline with the vehicles existing FM antenna, why not offer this option instead. And the tuner costs over $200.00!
The XM protion of the unit locks up, you try to change channels, the info on the screen changes, but the channel never actually changes.
As stated before, Kenwood customer support is non-existent, I am going to give them one more chance to make things right, if not the unit is going back and I am getting a different brand!