Kenwood excelon dnx997xr

Looking to upgrade my head unit and this one looks very promising. Has anyone installed this unit or seen it in person?

 

I have the 996xr. Which I am assuming is the prior model.

 

I got 9905s previous previous model?

 

How do you like it? Any dislikes?

 

Sound quality is way better than stock and eq is awesome.

Apple Carplay is amazing. Works great with Gaia GPS for exploring.

The optional dash cam is really cool.

No real complaints yet.

 

Flytrap, what dash installation kit did you use when installing your Kenwood? I like how it trims outs to the dash versus others I have seen?

 

I do not know. I had this installed by a stereo shop. I do most of the upgrades myself, but I just didn't feel comfortable doing this one.

 

I just put one on my Tacoma, gonna put one in my tundra soon. I’ve been very happy with it thus far

 

It’s probably this one
https://www.scosche.com/car-audio/installation/dash-kits/2014-up-toyota-tundra-double-din-dash-kit

 

Thanks!

 

I used the scosche on mine when I installed my 906s. Its worth the cost, the Metra ones work too but have thinner more brittle plastics on the mounting surfaces.

 

Looks like the Metra, had one installed yesterday.

 

I have this one, bought it from Amazon though.

 

Thanks for the input. Now trying to decide between this unit and the

$1,500 pioneer dmh-wt8600nex 10.1" capacitive HD screen, floating display – wireless & wired apple carplay & android auto, amazon alexa built-in, bluetooth, FLAC, backup camera, HD radio

pioneer dmh-wt8600nex now that it is available.

 

In my 2014 non-JBL Tundra I've had 5 different HUs.

1. Stock Entune, tried for over a year to get a decent sound out of it and gave up.

2. Kenwood Excelon DDX9903S
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_113DDX9903/Kenwood-Excelon-DDX9903S.html

Loved the HU, but I hated that it had a warning that required touching the screen on every startup.
I know that sounds trivial, but it bugged me to no end so I decided to replace it.
Also wireless carplay came out so I bought;

3. Pioneer AVH-W4400NEX
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_1304400NEX/Pioneer-AVH-W4400NEX.html

It worked ok, seemed to lag when touching the screen.
Started crapping out on me after 18 months.
I actually gave it away on the forum.
This thread describes the issues I had with it

https://www.tundras.com/threads/fs-...g-please-read-entire-post.64740/#post-1688510

4. Pioneer AVH-W4500NEX
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130AVW4500/Pioneer-AVH-W4500NEX.html

Figured I'd give Pioneer one more try.
Main reason, the 4500NEX was pretty much the same HU as the 4400NEX so I could use the same harness and just swap the HUs.
Had it my truck for a total of 15 minutes and sent it back to Crutchfield.
Had the same screen lag as the 4400.
Plus at that moment, they had the next HU on sale for $449.

5. Kenwood Excelon DMX906S
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_113DMX906S/Kenwood-Excelon-DMX906S.html

It doesn't have a CD player, but I don't use one anyway.

Pros of the Kenwood;
I like the layout, the menu, and quick the response of the Kenwood touch screen.
The Pioneer has some lag in the screen. only fractions of a second, but it seemed like forever.
Kenwood also has a 5 volt preamp output, Pioneer has 4 volt.

Pros of the Pioneer;
HDMI input, I put one in the dash to mirror my iPhone, but found I never used it, Kenwood has no HDMI input.
SD card slot that made downloading screen images to the HU easier, could have kept music on it but didn't, Kenwood has no SD slot.
Pioneer allowed to change startup and background screens.
There is supposed to be a way to change the Kenwood startup with a secret menu and specific parameters of the pic file, I just haven't had time to mess with it.

The features of both HUs are pretty much the same; 13 band EQ, TA, crossovers, wireless Carplay, 2 USB inputs, HD Radio, XM tuner input, etc.
Kenwood has a 2 year warranty.
Pioneer 1 year, mine started acting up after 18 months.

I'd go with the Kenwood of your choice.

 

I recently replaced my HU, went from a Pioneer AVH-W4400NEX that was malfunctioning (after only 18 months) to a Kenwood Excelon DMX906S.

I already had the gloss black dash kit in the truck (not sure who made it).
I always read reviews on how the silver dash kits didn't match the OEM color.
But after reading some Amazon reviews, some stated it matched perfectly, I tried the Scosche TA2116B.
With free returns, I figured I might as well try it.

SCOSCHE TA2116B Double DIN Dash Kit with Pocket Compatible with 2014-21 Toyota Tundra Black

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TYBBO5Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm posting some pics in case anyone is on the fence about trying the silver.
It doesn't match.
I texted these pics to my wife, son, and daughter (kids are grown) and it was unanimous the the gloss black looked better.
As close as the silver may have been, I would have noticed the difference every time I got in the truck..

 

Thanks for sharing. Really like the idea of the new larger screen and Alexa, but also like the built in navigation and DVD of the Kenwood.

 

Anyone have recommendation on best price retailer for kenwood?

 

It is really hard to beat Crutchfield.
Even if you get installed and don't like it, you can return it within 60 days.
They only charge $10 to return it.


They have your dmh-wt8600nex available for preorder for $1200
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130DMT8600/Pioneer-DMH-WT8600NEX.html

Both the Pioneers I had were slow to respond when touching the screen.

I can't see having a HU with navigation with Waze and other apps available.
But I understand if someone wants it.

 

I recently bought the ddx8706s off sonic electronics for a really good deal. Don’t have the CS of Crutchfield but the deal was too good to pass up. Might be worth checking out. Doesn’t have hd radio but I like that I can tilt the screen having a disk player

 

Following this thread...interested in upgrading audio down the road

 

Well,
Funnily enough I just upgraded to a Kenwood DDX9907XR.

Wireless car play is flawless, android auto is just as quick and smooth. Waze is smooth, google maps is clean and crisp.
So far it’s really tightened up the sound in my Platinum with stock JBL and sub.

Adjustable screen is awesome and best of all,
I can see the damn screen with my polarized or transition prescription glasses !

Happy to comply with any pics of menu, features etc.

 

I have the same stupid misalignment there on your last photo, but o will

 

That's funny.
My OCD focused on the difference in color and not so much the misalignment.
But if I'd left it in more than 5 minutes (about all it took to realize I didn't like the color) I might have noticed the alignment was off..

 

Would love to see a few different screens! Maybe Navigation screen and a few others.

 

I went with the gloss black as well. Like you, I felt the faux brushed aluminum did not match up for crap AND, all of the installs that I saw, the fitment looked terrible as well. The black is not perfect either as fingerprints and smudges stick out like a spotlight. When all is said and done, I sorta felt like I went with the lesser of two evils. That being said, I do NOT regret swapping out my H/U to the Kenwood whatsoever. The upgrade in sound quality and extra features far outweighed any reservations I had about the installation trim.

 

Have you gotten the Apple screen mirroring to work? It’s driving me crazy but I think the Apple car play is interfering with the broadcasting you have to do from iPhone

 

It has always been my understanding on Kenwoods the screen mirroring only works with Android.
So no, I've never got the iPhone to mirror on a Kenwood.

Some Pioneer HUs do iPhone mirroring thru an HDMI connection.
I had that setup with my last Pioneer HU, but found I never did use it.

 

I haven’t got the IPhone mirroring to work yet.
I plan on playing around with the system this weekend.
Will also screen shot some more pics of apps etc.
So far still very happy with unit.

 

I got it to work (sorta) but had to keep carplay from turning itself back on and make sure Wifi is off so it doesn't connect to the head unit (and start wireless car play all by itself)

Its not the end of the word to not be able to watch Netflix etc on the head unit, just thought it would be pretty cool.

On a side note for others on the chain, is their any downside to pairing bluetooth as well as wireless carplay vs just wireless car play alone?