I've always liked Kenwood, and never had an issue with and unit until now. I've got he Kenwood DNX-5140 in the car and I'm about to throw it out the window. It came with the car, and is a slow glitchy piece of junk. I have installed the latest update, Ver 3.1, and it still sucks.

Issues:

-USB playback is slow. You search for a song and it takes forever for the folders to load.
-When you play a song from USB, you cant do a damn thing until it loads the effing album art, and stops playback for a couple seconds to load the album art. If you try to skip the song or turn the volume up it slows it down even more and sometimes locks it up.
-Volume is crap. I have to play it at 32 out of 35 to have it at a comfortable yet still somewhat loud level.
-Radio station info doesnt always come up.

Anyone else use this unit? Or does anyone else use a newer version of it? I've been thinking of the DNX-6160 but I dont want the same bull**** issues I have now.

UPDATE:
I tested the newest DNX-6960 and DNX-9960 and both had issues. My buddy is a Kenwood Authorized Dealer so I went and tested things out on the display rack.

- You cant skip tracks until the album art for the current track loads. In fact, you cant do anything except volume control until the album art loads. The song no longer stops playing while it loads the album art though.
- The 9960 is slow with the iPod. If you have a lot of music on an iPod, it will take you forever to search through it all.

I didn't check the radio station stuff because they dont have anttenas hooked up. My current problem isnt stations with no info, its that the unit stops displaying info for stations that is used to show info for.

I showed these things to my buddy and he is talking with Kenwood and addressing the issues, but who knows if they will even look into it.

Next years models come out in a couple months, hopefully things will be better.

 

I havent had any USB issues with my 8120 or 9140

how many files and folders are on the USB flash drive? How big is the flash drive?

the volume issue is dependent on amps/speakers/efficiency of your set up

My usual everyday volume is 23 out of 35, when I want it loud I usually do 28 out of 35

radio station info, depends on the station

 

It's a 4gig stick, and it doesnt matter if I have 1 file or 100 files. All my music is from iTunes.

As far as volume, I have the Bose system. It has the wire adapters for he Bose system, but not sure if it needs anything else to work properly.

 

My 9140 is laggy only when loading the album artwork, but this is acceptable for me as i only put songs i like on my drive.

As far as the radio goes, it either works or it doesnt, if some stations work, then the others arent broadcasting it, end of story.

Your volume problem is a known problem and you have to get a different wiring harness with a box in the middle, you have to get this for proper volume control similar to stock (im betting you go the schoche cheapo one)

http://pac-audio.com/productDetails....&CategoryID=26

 

Yeah mine is laggy loading the album art as well, but I can't do anything until the album art loads. I cant adjust volume, I cant skip the song, cant do anything. Thats what irritates me and makes me not even want to use the damn thing anymore.

Does yours actually stop the song for a couple seconds while it loads the album art?

 

dam i was considering on going double din for my car and saw the Kenwood DNX9960 and was interested in buying it. so should i stick with pioneer or is it just certain kenwoods are slow and glitchy?

 

I never had a problem with USB/ipod/cd/nav/sd card slot (for maps)
with any DNX unit

 

No.

 

yep, it's gonna go out the window at 60mph

 

They fixed the album art f00king up things with patch on the newer Kenwoods, but some of the older ones they just left with that inexcusable flaw.

Unless you're after the Garmin or want the really customizable EQ on the higher-end Kenwoods, I'd stick with the current generation of Pioneer units. 3200BT, 4200DVD, X920BT and Z120BT are all awesome.

 

Updated the original post with some information.

 

Wow, Kenwood didn't mention this in the manual to the 9960 - iPod searching - you can use the full album name, artist and such when searching by voice: