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| jont Member Since: 02 Apr 2011 Location: Aylesbury, Bucks Posts: 242  
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They are the KFC-ST30s ... wasn't that impressed when sitting on the drive playing the radio but went out on a drive today with some rocking' toons and sounded great - very impressive soundstage overall up front rather than just to my toes - having the high frequencies on top of the dash does make a difference ... and I haven't even wired the sub in yet ! 
Sub on back of cubby box waiting to go back in 
 Click image to enlarge Jon |
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11th Oct 2013 3:41pm |
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| Dave H Member Since: 18 Aug 2013 Location: Bexley Posts: 28  
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Thanks for the advice guys, I'll keep a lookout for a pair of K2's and give it a go!
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11th Oct 2013 6:37pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17480 
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Yesterday was not a good day!
Driving home from a weekend away, with the "ICE" on, the Kenwood KDC-6051U I fitted last year went on the blink big time. All the front panel buttons either did random things, or did nothing, and the player (which was playing an Ipod at the time) started playing about three seconds of each track at high speed then skipping to the next track etc. Nothing, except power off, would stop it doing this, power back on and it immediately starts doing the same thing again. After much fiddling about, including a hard reset (unplug the power from the back of the unit) the unit will now power up in its irritating demo mode but nothing other than the power putton does anything at all. You cannot get it out of demo mode since none of the buttons is working. Typically, after checking, I find that it is one month almost to the day out of warranty. 
On the whole I have been happy with the unit up till now. It has occasionally thrown a wobbly in the past but a hard reset has always sorted it out up till now. Not this time. Since it is now an obsolescent unit it is - unless someone here knows a magic cure - destined for the bin and will be repaced with something else. The question is what. My essential requirements for the new unit are that it must be:- - Single DIN - CD/radio (DAB desirable but not essential) - Compatible with the exisiting wiring (so DIN connector with rear USB and RCA connections for the sub) - Not Kenwood (not impressed with the longevity of the failed unit) - Must be a reputable make and robust It doesn't need all the Bluetooth gubbins since I don't want to be phonable when driving and don't connect any streaming BT devices etc. Favourite looking option at the moment is a Pioneer DEH-X8500DAB since it seem to meet all the above and is good value, It is DAB compatible and although not essential, it seems a good thing to have for the day when the FM transmitters are turned off (assuming that the unit lasts that long before it dies). Does anyone here have any experience of this unit, or recommendations for other similar units? To asdd insult to injury, when I arrived home I noticed that the Freeview recorder, which should have been recording, wasn't. Upon investigation I find that i have no TV signal. At all. Nada. It was fine on Saturday, very strong signal, clear picture, great, and everything recorded fine. By Sunday, there is no carrier. The aerial, downlead, booster amp, etc all seem fine undamaged and untouched, there's just no signal. My aerial points directly to Rowridge (VP) transmitter, which is reporting no problems, but I have no carrier signal at all. I have 3 Freeview decoders in total in the house, all connected via seperate downleads to a single splitter/amp in the loft, and the aerial is also in the loft (which isn't ideal but has worked up until Sunday with no problems and a good signal strength and quality). None of the decoders now has a signal, which narrows the problem down somewhat, however the amp seems to be OK, and there are no shorts nor open circuits between the amp and aerial. So it looks like tonight will be spent trying to sort that one out! I now dread touching anything electronic in case that breaks too! |
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14th Oct 2013 1:04pm |
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| barbel jim Member Since: 12 Dec 2012 Location: Northants Posts: 1430 
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Blackwolf, seems a logical choice to include DAB. I have not used the Pioneer you mention, but the specs good. My only negative is the display. it looks a bit funky for me. I am an Alpine man first but Pioneer would be my second choice. A similar alternative (and my choice) would be http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-...-27582.htm . It shares a similar spec sheet, but will light up green with a simple display.
I think you may just be unlucky with your Kenwood. We all have our preferred brands, and I think the difference in build quality between 'named' brands is negligible. I would have no issue with mid range gear from Alpine, Pioneer, Kenwood, JVC, or Sony. I would avoid all Budget names and cheap 'named' stuff. Its generally cheap for a reason. |
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14th Oct 2013 2:43pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20497
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Sorry to hear Blackwolf, what model was it you had? I've had the odd niggle with mine on the rare occasion turning off and back on. All be it very rarely.
Main issue I've had is the removable face plate connection acting up messing the whole thing around? I assume yours is fixed though? There is a possibility there is a short somewhere most like on the speaker wires, and it could be a protected mode. I think it's highly unlikely though. No Guts, No Glory. 🇬🇧ðŸ´ó §ó ¢ó ¥ó ®ó §ó ¿ðŸ´ó §ó ¢ó ·ó ¬ó ³ó ¿ðŸ´ó §ó ¢ó ³ó £ó ´ó ¿ðŸ‡®ðŸ‡ªðŸ‡ºðŸ‡¸â›½ï¸ðŸ›¢ï¸âš™ï¸ðŸ§°ðŸ’ª |
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14th Oct 2013 3:07pm |
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| BigRuss Member Since: 15 May 2010 Location: Norfolk Posts: 2785 
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What about this?
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/alp-cde136...t-dab.html Russell 2011MY 110 XS USW Black |
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14th Oct 2013 3:42pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17480
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Steve, it was the KDC-6051U .
Kenwood has just rocket up in my estimation though, since I emailed the customer relations department on Monday to tell my sorry tale and ask if there was anything I could try to reset the unit (really just to have a polite moan since the unit isn't that old - I bought the unit in Sept 2012 so it is one year and one month old, so indisputably out of warranty!). Yesteday evening I had an reply from Kenwood offering to look at it under warranty despite there being no obligation to do so, so well done Kenwood! What a refreshing attitude! 
In the meantime however, after a day of driving with no music and consequently being forced to listen to all the knocks, squeaks, bangs, rattles, and other worrying noises I usually drown out I could stand it no longer so fitted the Pioneer DEH-X8500DAB. First impressions are very good. It has some features that score over the Kenwood, and some where the KW scores, but overall I am pleased. The front panel aesthetics and display appear to have been designed by a frustrated Ninja (which is not quite my cup-of-tea) but the controls are easier to operate than the KW, especially in a vehicle which bounces a fair bit. The unit has a more robust feel to it as well. Next challenge will be to find and fit a fit a DAB aerial, which isn't straighforward without obstructing my full-length Patriot rack. All the usuall offerings seem either to be glass mount (which I don't really want for various reason, not least the fact that they don't work very well) or are roof mount using the roof as a ground plane. What I really need is one with an artifical ground plane , but I don't seem to be able to find one. Does anyone know of a DAB aerial with an artifical ground plane? EDIT: I don't actually see why a CB antenna cut down to 315mm mounted on an artifial ground plane wouldn't work. Might try that first. |
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16th Oct 2013 8:36am |
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| jont Member Since: 02 Apr 2011 Location: Aylesbury, Bucks Posts: 242
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Anything in here ? http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/DAB_car_aerials.html
Thinking I will need to replace my inside glass mount one as reception is quite poor - combination FM/DAB seems the main option ... let us know what you go for and how you get on ... Jon |
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16th Oct 2013 8:51am |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20497
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Good to hear, can you not get an Antenna with FM and DAB that will mount on the rack it's self? That would be the easiest option IMO.
If you need to earth it just take a wire down with the antenna wire and earth in a suitable location. Or perhaps something could be done by replacing the standard aerial in that position, I personally I don't have DAB or use radio at all as I'm not a big fan if I'm honest. No Guts, No Glory. 🇬🇧ðŸ´ó §ó ¢ó ¥ó ®ó §ó ¿ðŸ´ó §ó ¢ó ·ó ¬ó ³ó ¿ðŸ´ó §ó ¢ó ³ó £ó ´ó ¿ðŸ‡®ðŸ‡ªðŸ‡ºðŸ‡¸â›½ï¸ðŸ›¢ï¸âš™ï¸ðŸ§°ðŸ’ª |
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16th Oct 2013 9:02am |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17480
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That is as good a selection of DAB aerials as I have seen on any vendor's website but all the body mount or mag mount ones still rely on the roof for the ground plane. This means for optimum reception the aerial needs to be mounted as centrally as possible on the roof, which is not great with a rack.
To solve this problem with a CB aerial I bought an AGP from 4x4cb.com (see here for more info) and (with my limited knowledge of antenna theory) I don't see why a plain whip of the appropriate length, which I think is 315mm for DAB on the 226MHz band, mounted on one of these, shoudln't work. We have antenna boffins here at work so I'll see if they have any suggestions. |
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16th Oct 2013 9:07am |
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| SteveG Member Since: 29 Nov 2011 Location: Norfolk Posts: 661 
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Glad to hear that kenwood proactively did the right thing. Just so you are aware, there is an EU directive that provides a 2 year guarantee for all consumers goods sold. So as in you case, the unit stops with no visible damage/misuse the manufacturer would be obliged to repair or replace. You have to report it within two months of finding the fault and within 2 years of purchase. Also in the UK there is a 6 year sale of goods act the enables you to get a partial refund or full repair upto six years, again if there is no obvious misuse. |
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16th Oct 2013 10:28am |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17480
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Didn't know that, useful to know!
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16th Oct 2013 11:52am |
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| barbel jim Member Since: 12 Dec 2012 Location: Northants Posts: 1430
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Blackwolf - please let us know how you get on with the aerial. I think I understand the principles but it is one thing that is holding back the inevitable switch to DAB. Some forum users seem to get on dandy with the stick on jobs others have used the FM aerial converters its all a bit confusing and has the potential to get expensive when some of those aerials are touching £100
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16th Oct 2013 12:17pm |
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| mees Member Since: 04 Mar 2011 Location: sdijk Posts: 38  
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I want to upgrade the stereo with the following components:
Alpine CDE173BT Focal 100KRS front Focal PC100 rear Will this already be a major improvement, or do I also need to fit an active subwoofer, such as the Focal Ibus 2.0? The power feed for the Focal subwoofer is it coming from the ISO connection? Or do I need to use a separate positive wire directly from the battery? |
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24th Oct 2013 11:30am |
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