Prepare to love driving again with this top of the line deck. The graphics are awesome, especially the Graphics Motion Analyzer!!! You are going to love the coloful display and sound improvement. I would rather have this deck then any Alpine, Pioneer, JVC, etc. The only downside with this is all the features it has, because it can be overwhelming. Take time to learn what this deck can do, and your sound expereince will be better then you can possibly imagine!
Chose this unit to replace my Pioneer 860MP which was stolen. (by an employee at a FORD dealership) This unit is VERY nice. Many aspects better than the pioneer. Good Job Kenwood!
hey guys heres my review... there is so many friggin features i dont even know what to do with... the only thing i am unable to find is a conventional treble and mid +/- option which i am unsure if it exists or not but that doesnt even matter because theres like 20 sumthing pages just on equilization and crossover shit. wow this deck improves soundstaging, imaging, and in combo with my cheap boss equilizer makes my infinity cs6000's sound absurdely amazing! this deck is killer. great for any addition in a car stereo system. improves bass, and phasing and everything you could ever want to do with your system. this deck is amazing for SQ. you can level off any frequency to make your system louder than before without clipping of any sort. i have gone through 3 headunits personaly, mp822 and kenwood excelon something i cant remember the model, but this is by far the nicest sounding hu ive ever come in contact with. i highly suggest it. the graphics are nice, could use a few more graphic images and movie clip things, but with all the features offered, its a beautiful buy. playing hard rock and rap songs i can take this deck up to about 29 or 30 out of 35 before a distorted signal, and playing with the eq i can even take it up alittle farther, still you almost cant even notice any clips! playing songs alittle lighter such as googoo dolls or soundgarden, i can take the deck up to 32 no prob sometimes even 33 on a rarety without any clips or distortion what so ever. that in my personal opinion is rediculous since i have not changed the gains on my amp and still managed to get my speakers to sound louder and cleaner just by installing this HU. im sure there is more i am forgetting but all in all i could not have asked for a better head unit for my personal needs which are mainly SQ but also getting pretty loud. anything else i would need to do is upgrade amp. as far as upgrades in your car before getting better speakers or anything like that i would seriously consider buying this deck first and truely see what this bad boy can do for you before you spend unnessesary money. Also suggest for any audio person, get a cheap equilizer, maybe 20-40$, even cheap eq's will make all the difference in your sound. by sending lower bass more in the back and leveling off in the front, you still get nice rear fill and quality sound, but also let your speakers get louder without breaking up by leveling off those low low notes that cause over excursion. its like a personal gain settings for every frequency being played in your car. but now im getting off topic of rating this peticular product. so anyway, if your looking at this deck for SQ, options up the ass, and all in all a great investment, that do-buy this deck!.. thanks for readin my review and i hope it helps out in your decision.
I bought it few months ago and is the best option for the MP3 fan. The only thing that KENWOOD should improve is the wireless remote control, it would be smaller or steering wheel used
This unit replaced a Pioneer 8600MP like Chris did in his review; I haven't RTFM because I bought my system at Best Buy and they do all the install\tuning, etc. for me. The Pioneer broke and even tho it sounded good (had auto eq software and used a mic), the 828 definitely sounds better. The 828 has what I can only describe as "attack". Using the same amps and speakers\sub (Kenwood 4 channel\Rockford Fosgate Punch and Kenwood tweets, mids and 6x9's\Rockford Fosgate Punch 10" sub), with Bob Marley, Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac (live) MP3's, the presence, sound definition\separation is unbelievable! Everything is crystal clear and the bass is a solid bump bump bump, not a boom boom boom or whoof whoof whoof. Running it on 30 is as far as I go in my little red 98 Honda Civic EX coupe:-)
This is a powerful head unit. There are so many features that it can get confusing. Overall this is a very nice radio! Now all I have to do is get some subs. Buy it, but be prepared to use the manual for the radio.
THIS IS ONE KICK ASS UNIT!!!!!! SPEND THE MONEY AND BUY IT! I TOSSED A PIONEER PREMEIR HU IN THE TRASH FOR THIS UNITHAS IMPROVED THE SQ OF MY SYSTEM 10 FOLD. I AM CURRENTLY RUNNING MASSIVE AMPS SUBS: MASSIVE P 3000.1 AT 1800 WATTS RMS 2 A MASSIVE DMX CK STAGE 2 12" SUB. MASSIVE P 800.4 4 CHANNEL FEEDING 2 SETS OF MASS. CK STAGE 2 6.5 COPONANTSAND 2 SETS OF CK STAGE 2 5.5 COMONANTS WITH MAAUDIOS SYS3OEQ AND 2 CLIFF DESIGHN 5F CAPS. THIS HU HAS WON ME 4 SQ COMPS SINCE I INSTALLED IT. WITH THE PIONEER I ONLY GOT A COUPLE OF 2ND PLACES. THE SOUND IMAGING DYNAMICS OF THIS UNIT IS INCREDIBLE NO MATTER WHAT TYUPE OF SYSTEM YOU ARE RUNNING. FOR THE MONE IT IS WORTH THE INVESTMENT OVER MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE UNITS. THE FEATURES ARE AMAZING FOR THE OVERALL COST. THE ONLEY WAY TO IMPROVE UPON IT IS TO ADD AN EQ TO IMPROVE UPON THE SQ AND TO FINE TUNE YOUR SPEAKERS. THE BASS,MIDS AND HIGHS ARE OF CONCERT QUALITY NOMATTER THE STYLE OF MUSIC. IF YOU ARE AN AUDIOPHILE JUNKIE LIKE MYSELF IT WILL MOT DISSAPOINT. BE SHURE TO READ THE MANUAL.
I Have Been Using Kenwood For Quite A Long Time And This Unit Has So Many Options,To A Novice They Would'nt Like It Because Its Too Advanced For Them.Read The Manuel And You Will Love This Unit Like I Do.Sound Quality Is So Superb And The Graphics Are Nice Also.Be Prepared To Drive Alot Cause It Sound SO Nice You Don't Want To Get Out Your Ride.Price Was Great As Well.Happy Listening To You All.
This is the first time I've broken with Pioneer in about 10 years, and I'm glad I did. This HU has so many more options than you're going to find with others, no matter how much you spend. The PRO's: Able to fine tune both front and rear frequencies independently; speaker specific settings for F and R; internal amplifier can be shut off when RCA pre-outs are used; G-force meter has many options to record acceleration and cornering; three RCA pre-outs plus an AUX input. The CON's: No USB input (which lesser models do have); dust skirt has repeatedly caused CD's to hang up, and need to be manually removed; NO track forward or back on the remote; tracking knob on HU is about 3/8" across, and easy to fat-finger; HD radio track labeling is slow to pick up signal. Even with the detractors, this is still the BEST HU I've ever owned, purely for the detail in which you can dial in your system.
