Kenwood Excelon KDC-X493 CD receiver

2 Comments

1. SMDEE says:

   October 3, 2009 at 8:50 am

   Let me clearly explain that I am not using an external amplifier with this unit. Consequently, I have no experience with the pre-outs and bass control. The audio qualities are not my top interests for this
   
   purchase. Features, ease of use, and the display are my main tagets. That said…

   I am building a portable radio using a car head unit to provide input sources and amplification along with a pair of Polk db651 speakers . My requirements were to be able to listen to AM/FM (HD radio and Bluetooth at some future time), CDs, MP3s on CD, AUX input (MP3/portable DVD player), USB thumb drive, wireless remote, and the ability to control iPODs via the head unit. Another critical feature for me was a display that was visible in sunlight (at the beach) and could be read from a distance.

   I demo’d two Pioneer Premier units (P610BT and P510B), an Alpine unit (CDA-105), two JVC units (KD-HDR50 and KD-R600), and this one. I liked the Pioneer units a lot for features. The 510 had two USB ports, which I
   
   really liked. It was a bit more expensive and had a crummy display, however. The 610 had a better display but only one USB port. They had a common deal killer for me, though. The user interface, specifically the
   
   search feature for USB drives, was atrocious. Too much work to search for music on thumb drives. I expected much more from such an accomplished car audio company. One more jab, the fit and finish was not on par with the other units I considered. The Alpine was simply too much money for similar features. Besides, while I really liked the display, I hated the face design and colors. I can see how folks might like that radio, though. Nice unit. The JVCs were actually pretty nice with one common exception. The models I looked at had blue lettering on the displays. It was very hard to read them from a distance. The R600 did not support HD radio so I scratched it. Had I not gone with the Kenwood, I would have bought the JVC HDR50. In the end, I decided on the Kenwood. It has all the features for which I was looking, was priced far better than I anticipated it would be, and included a two year warranty.

   I received it yesterday via UPS. While I am not a fan of the scrolling red dots on the bottom of the display, I like the appearance otherwise. I really like the included wireless remote. It is a little thicker than
   
   most car radio remotes but that makes it easier for me to hold and use. It has all of the key functions on it. I know some people don’t like the faceplate interface of this radio, and I understand, but the remote
   
   provides just about anything I need. The controls on the face will take you some time with which to become comfortable. Nothing terrible but a few things were not intuitive.

   I hooked the unit up to a 12V power supply and some small Klipsch loudspeakers. The connections were clearly marked on the leads. The radio came up alive quickly. It reads and plays thumb drives in a snap. I like that the artist name and song title scroll accross the display in large, easy-to-read letters. I had no problem reading them from ten feet away. It was difficult for me to determine anything about sound quality
   
   with the speakers that were connected but it seemed perfectly adequate. CDs and MP3 CDs loaded and played quickly, much faster than and older Alpine head unit I had on hand. The tuner had no problems out performing
   
   my home audio receiver, which I expected. Stations locked very quickly and solidly. The AUX input worked fine, albeit at reduced volumes. My source may have more to do with that than the radio, though. I have not
   
   had a chance to hook up an iPOD yet.

   I only played with the radio for a few hours but I am impressed with what I saw. It hosts a bunch of features for the cost, is very quick, and owns the best display of all the units I tested. The two year warranty
   
   doesn’t hurt, either.
   
2. Jonathan Huckabay says:

   October 3, 2009 at 10:36 am

   I used to install car stereos for 6 years and this is the best, hands down, bargain for the quality and performance.

   Pre-amp outputs are front, rear and sub rated at 4 volts each. This is -perfect-

   Has an Auxillary 35mm(1/8 inch) plug for any audio playing device you could think of; it has a USB port on the front and beyond the Crabapple iPod you can use a USB flashdrive. I opt for the flash drive with 8 gigabytes rather than anything else.

   CD Play is perfect and skip free and capable of “forcing” the player to read those aweful CDs that are scratched beyond belief.

   I have read and heard numerous complaints of the complexity of the owner’s manual but I shall report that it pales in complexity to any home stereo reciever manual. You basically use ONE KNOB which lets you keep your eyes on the road as you turn up or turn down the volumne, change the song, change the USB music folder, change the equalizer, change the high/low/subwoofer pass filters and MORE with ONE KNOB! Remote control also included in case you just want to lay back and not move your arm nor lean forward with an abcrunch to adjust anything.

   For the money, for the features and for the quality you need to buy this and get your friends to buy one themselves.