|
::Mobile Electronics>Kenwood
technology preview
Chances are if you are an auto enthusiasts,
you'll eventually become an audio
enthusiasts as well. When you have a sweet ride, why not some sweet
sounds from the stereo too?
While the stock stereo systems in most Nissan
and Infiniti cars tend to be "adequate" to "very
good" - you can't beat a well
tuned custom system.
Kenwood's newest models roll the latest technologies including GPS
navigation, satellite radio, and portable music storage system under
their umbrella. We sampled a system that was installed in a 2000 Q45
by Street Concepts.
|
|
The heart of the system is Kenwood's KVT-M700 receiver with a
gorgeous 7.0" active matrix color LCD display with touch screen
capability. The full motorized unit is housed in a sharp looking
silver case and can control up to two CD/DVD changers. The unit also
features RDS (radio data system), bass management, and Kenwood's
sophisticated Q-EX equalization system for complete sound control.
The unit is easily controllable via well placed buttons on the
faceplate. We were able to figure out everything within 15 minutes.
|
|
As for new technology, many of Kenwood's head units will support the
new Sirius satellite radio system (competing against XM Radio). The
Sirius service in limited availability areas will offer up to 100
channels of commercial free audio programs in full digital quality.
You'll need to install Kenwood's KTC-SR901 tuner inside your car and
satellite antenna on the top of
your roof.
The KVT-M700 also supports Kenwood's new innovative portable music
storage system called Music Keg. A Music Keg dock connects to the
USB port of a PC system where you can download MP3 and other audio
file formats to the cartridge.
|
|
Each cartridge is capable of storing up to
2,500 songs (10gb of storage). Then you take the cartridge and
dock it into the base unit mounted in your trunk. Voila, now you
have access to thousands of songs including text titles and playlists.
The sound is then piped to two Kenwood amplifiers. The main
amp is Kenwood's KAC-849 multi channel amp which supports 4, 3, or 2
channels ranging from 50 x 4 or 150 x 2. The secondary amp is KAC-829 2-Channel Power Amplifier
sporting 100 watts
of power per channel.
Street Concepts replaced the front door 6.5" and tweeters with
Kenwood's
If having all these features at your disposal is going to get you
distracted and possibly lost, you can take advantage of Kenwood's
DVD based KNA-DV2100 GPS navigation to point you back on the right
road. The system
features easy to understand voice prompts to get you there and back.
We were impressed by it's ability to quickly lookup addresses and
scroll smoothly around the map on the LCD panel.
With the limited time we had exploring the system, we're
excited that Kenwood has managed to cram a lot of technologies
including A/V features, GPS navigation, and countless hours of
commercial free music (from either Sirius or the Music Keg system)
in such an easy to use package. We also were impressed with
Kenwood's audio performance delivered by it's powerful amplifier and
speaker system.
-Noel Saw and Robert Mamos
|
