DNX7100 Review
04-03-2007, 07:39 PM
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DNX7100 Review
Alright, I've been promising a review of my Kenwood DNX7100 that I got from Nazar (thanks!)
I'll save everyone an exhaustive description of what it is, but to keep it short it's a double-din, 6.95" touchscreen DVD/Video/iPod/Integrated Nav/XM head unit.
The Good:
* Great sound quality - Though I'm no audiophile, I think it sounds great combined with my Alpine Type-R coax speakers and Alpine Type-R sub.
* DVD Player is cool - DVD player works great, I didn't take any pictures as I didn't see any need. Trust me though, it works.
* Everything Navigation - Love the navigation. My 2005 Pathfinder has the Nissan OEM Nav, and this blows it away in every possible way. It's extremely fast, and incredibly more accurate. I love the interface, and having a touchscreen to program destinations is a huge improvement over the joystick.
* DivX playback support - This is a great feature, and I've already made use of it.
* iPod Control - The high-speed iPod controls are fantastic. iPod video is extremely cool, and searching through my audio playlists (even with 7000+ songs) is extremely fast and easy. Can't say enough good things about it. I wish I could've taken some pictures of the iPod connected, but my wife stole it for her roadtrip today.
* FM Tuner with RDS - I'm sort of a nerd about this, and very few aftermarket headunits (particularly in the DVD/Nav market) support this. Great job to Kenwood for adding this feature for geeks like me.
The not so good (not bad really, just not so good):
* XM Radio with the GXM30 Antenna (for NavTraffic/XM Data support) - So this is my biggest gripe, and honestly I haven't figured out what I'm going to do about it. Physically the antenna is fine, I like how the mount turned out, and reception is good. What I absolutely hate is that the XM Radio control is in the Navigation portion of the head unit. It's very counter-intuitive for me. It's awkward bouncing back-and-forth inside the nav menus all the time. That said, the NavTraffic is great. If I had it to do over again, as much as I like NavTraffic and the data services from XM, I'm not sure if I would go this route again. I think having XM integrated with the rest of the unit (meaning where the iPod Controls, AM/FM Tuner, DVD controls, etc. are) for me is a bigger deal. I've spent the money and the time to set it all up the way I have it though, so it's likely going to stay.
* Lack of customizability with the front LEDs - I knew it didn't support this when I bought it, so I'm not going to complain too loudly, but I wish I could color match the LEDs to the rest of the dash. The AVIC-D3 supports such things.
* Lack of UI Themes - Similar to above. Would've been a nice feature to change the look and feel. Custom backgrounds are good enough I guess.
---
All in all, I love the unit. Kenwood did a great job with it, and I have no regrets in going with this unit. For me, it came down to the DNX7100 and the Pioneer AVIC-Z2. I feel I made the right choice.
---
Here are pics...
GXM30 Antenna:
Picture of the unit from the hatch:
A little closer:
Booting:
XM Playing through the Nav interface:
Navigation (in Night mode - without a route programmed):
Navigation Tools Menu:
Navigation Trip Computer thing:
XM NavTraffic overview of all traffic near me:
XM NavTraffic detail of the first traffic point listed:
Stock data from XM (Go Google!):
GPS Info (I guess that sort of pinpoints where I am, oh well):
Source Selection:
FM Tuner Display with RDS (it just happened to say WJFK at the moment):
iPod Connection in the OEM Nav Cubby:
Better pic of it installed:
Screen open:
I'll save everyone an exhaustive description of what it is, but to keep it short it's a double-din, 6.95" touchscreen DVD/Video/iPod/Integrated Nav/XM head unit.
The Good:
* Great sound quality - Though I'm no audiophile, I think it sounds great combined with my Alpine Type-R coax speakers and Alpine Type-R sub.
* DVD Player is cool - DVD player works great, I didn't take any pictures as I didn't see any need. Trust me though, it works.
* Everything Navigation - Love the navigation. My 2005 Pathfinder has the Nissan OEM Nav, and this blows it away in every possible way. It's extremely fast, and incredibly more accurate. I love the interface, and having a touchscreen to program destinations is a huge improvement over the joystick.
* DivX playback support - This is a great feature, and I've already made use of it.
* iPod Control - The high-speed iPod controls are fantastic. iPod video is extremely cool, and searching through my audio playlists (even with 7000+ songs) is extremely fast and easy. Can't say enough good things about it. I wish I could've taken some pictures of the iPod connected, but my wife stole it for her roadtrip today.
* FM Tuner with RDS - I'm sort of a nerd about this, and very few aftermarket headunits (particularly in the DVD/Nav market) support this. Great job to Kenwood for adding this feature for geeks like me.
The not so good (not bad really, just not so good):
* XM Radio with the GXM30 Antenna (for NavTraffic/XM Data support) - So this is my biggest gripe, and honestly I haven't figured out what I'm going to do about it. Physically the antenna is fine, I like how the mount turned out, and reception is good. What I absolutely hate is that the XM Radio control is in the Navigation portion of the head unit. It's very counter-intuitive for me. It's awkward bouncing back-and-forth inside the nav menus all the time. That said, the NavTraffic is great. If I had it to do over again, as much as I like NavTraffic and the data services from XM, I'm not sure if I would go this route again. I think having XM integrated with the rest of the unit (meaning where the iPod Controls, AM/FM Tuner, DVD controls, etc. are) for me is a bigger deal. I've spent the money and the time to set it all up the way I have it though, so it's likely going to stay.
* Lack of customizability with the front LEDs - I knew it didn't support this when I bought it, so I'm not going to complain too loudly, but I wish I could color match the LEDs to the rest of the dash. The AVIC-D3 supports such things.
* Lack of UI Themes - Similar to above. Would've been a nice feature to change the look and feel. Custom backgrounds are good enough I guess.
---
All in all, I love the unit. Kenwood did a great job with it, and I have no regrets in going with this unit. For me, it came down to the DNX7100 and the Pioneer AVIC-Z2. I feel I made the right choice.
---
Here are pics...
GXM30 Antenna:
Picture of the unit from the hatch:
A little closer:
Booting:
XM Playing through the Nav interface:
Navigation (in Night mode - without a route programmed):
Navigation Tools Menu:
Navigation Trip Computer thing:
XM NavTraffic overview of all traffic near me:
XM NavTraffic detail of the first traffic point listed:
Stock data from XM (Go Google!):
GPS Info (I guess that sort of pinpoints where I am, oh well):
Source Selection:
FM Tuner Display with RDS (it just happened to say WJFK at the moment):
iPod Connection in the OEM Nav Cubby:
Better pic of it installed:
Screen open:
04-03-2007, 07:51 PM
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Originally Posted by THEDUKE
Great write up. Just an idea, you can mount the GXM30 under the plastic piece you have it sitting on and it will work fine. It will see through plastic just fine. What did you wire up to the external switches?
Nothing right now on the external switch, it just likes to show it as active. I suspect I could probably disable it
04-04-2007, 05:33 AM
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Originally Posted by THEDUKE
Great write up. Just an idea, you can mount the GXM30 under the plastic piece you have it sitting on and it will work fine. It will see through plastic just fine. What did you wire up to the external switches?
04-04-2007, 05:47 AM
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I also just bought the 7100. Awsome setup. The only problem I had was the trim peice around the screen doesnt fit well. I had to shave it down. Theres still a gap on the side of it. I will take some pics and post it. How did you get yours to fit perfect.
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04-04-2007, 05:48 AM
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Originally Posted by denic79
I also just bought the 7100. Awsome setup. The only problem I had was the trim peice around the screen doesnt fit well. I had to shave it down. Theres still a gap on the side of it. I will take some pics and post it. How did you get yours to fit perfect.
04-04-2007, 05:49 AM
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Anyone using the video ipod connection, let me know how it works for you. I got the cable, but I still can't see anything on my Farenheit when I put the ipod on the av-out.
04-04-2007, 06:40 AM
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Originally Posted by denic79
I also just bought the 7100. Awsome setup. The only problem I had was the trim peice around the screen doesnt fit well. I had to shave it down. Theres still a gap on the side of it. I will take some pics and post it. How did you get yours to fit perfect.
04-04-2007, 06:40 AM
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Originally Posted by THE TECH
Anyone using the video ipod connection, let me know how it works for you. I got the cable, but I still can't see anything on my Farenheit when I put the ipod on the av-out.
04-04-2007, 07:16 AM
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Originally Posted by RunyonAve
Is there a way to output the video ipod to the farenheit while still keeping the farenheit attachted to the head unit?
04-04-2007, 07:27 AM
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Originally Posted by nova350z
I believe you're supposed to be able to route any of the video (other than the navigation) to the external display.
04-04-2007, 07:43 AM
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Originally Posted by THE TECH
That's what I thought, but not exactly. I'm still trying to get it figured out. DVD definitely works as well as the backup camera. Other than those two, I can't get anything else.
04-04-2007, 08:44 AM
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Originally Posted by MustGoFastR
Do you HAVE to have an external display for these other sources or will it display on the unit's screen just fine?
04-04-2007, 04:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Spike100
Very good review. 
Question: Where is the SD slot on the DNX 7100?
--Spike
Question: Where is the SD slot on the DNX 7100?
--Spike
edit:
Here's a picture...
