Kenwood DNX7160 Review

Kenwood DNX 7160 Review
After a lot of searching I found a unit that did everythin I wanted in my H2. This is a sweet unit with Garmin Nav, Bluetooth, IPod integration, DVD, and much more. It was a sunny day in AZ, sorry for the glare.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Kenwood;
• DNX;DNX7160;7160;Demo
• electronics
• automobile

[Montauk198]

I was thinking about getting this item, was wondering how the dvd goes in and if the face was fixed or removeable.

[TheAZBuckeye]

@Montauk198 There is an eject button on the bottom right hand corner of the unit face. When you press the button, you can eject and load your DVD's. If you hold the button for 3 - 5 seconds, it folds completely down to also access an SD card slot. I have loaded a few custom vehicles on the navigation system from the SD card.

[rckymar10]

do i need to buy a special cable for the ipod to work? can i just use the stock usb cable that the ipod comes with? is there album art and does it slow down? i heard in previous models the album art slows down the stereo for almost 15 seconds.

i hear the 7160 has navteq realtime capabilities, is this free? i read the 9960 has free lifetime subscription but nothing was mentioned about the 7160.

[rckymar10]

i also hear there are no 3D-landmarks and thats what you get if you spend the extra money for the 9960. overall is the unit very responsive? your input would be greatly appreciated.

i am upgrading my eclipse 726e and am considering the 7160 or the 9960.

[TheAZBuckeye]

@rckymar10 The 7160 will show 3D landmarks for me. It does depend ont eh location and the map updates. The primary difference that I saw was the 9960 include voice control for Navigation, and unit functionality. I just decided that I didn't want to pay the cost difference to be lazy! :) Very cool, but not worth the additional dollars for me.

[TheAZBuckeye]

@rckymar10 I would recommend the special cable for your iPod. While it can work with just USB, the cable provides the intrgration from the unit instead of just the unit. (including album art). The way that I've noticed that the unit works is that it will not display anything until it has loaded it into memory. It might be a little slower initially, but works great after the first conenction. BUY the CABLE!

[TheAZBuckeye]

@rckymar10 The 7160 did include the traffic indications as part of the Garmin integration. There was no subscription that I signed up for. Here is a great site to look at all of your options for configuring the 7160. The link won't post so go to

sonicelectronix

[iJerKwithSWAG]

How did you sync your phone book with it. I have the same kenwood and an iPhone I just can't get my phone book on there.

[jmacdoon]

The UI is so slow it is barely useable.  I would strongly recommend against this unit, despite it's other virtues...

[Aqrab1]

pfffff its really slow :(

any update to make it faster ?

and what about the startup screen that show kenwood logo ? can you change it to custom wallpaper ?

and can you put a background wallpaper in a menu screen ?

and whats in the SD CARD thats comes with the unit ? map ? so if i remove the SD CARD there is no navigation ?

and can i put a deffrent map for my countery because if i buy it from the net it will come with US map

[rckymar10]

thank you for affirming my purchase. all the things there were important to me you validated. and i will take your advice and buy the cable.  my shipment is due to come in tomorrow and i will try to post a review/followup