6.95″ Wide Double-DIN Indash Nagivation with USB/iPOD Direct Control / DVD Receiver, built-in Bluetooth, USB input

3 Responses to “Kenwood DNX7140 6.95-Inch Wide Double-DIN In-Dash Nagivation with Built-in Bluetooth USB/iPod Direct Control/DVD Receiver”

1. Clyde W. Bright says:

   February 28, 2010 at 12:00 am

   I JUST PURCHASED THE DNX7140 AND HAD IT INSTALLED IN A CHEVROLET 2500HD SILVERADO. THE SILVERADO HAD THE BOSE SOUND SYSTEM WITH ALL STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS, XM RADIO, AND ON-STAR. SINCE I WANTED ALL OF THESE ITEMS TO WORK AFTER THE INSTALLATION, I HAD THE GEEK SQUAD AT BEST BUY INSTALL THE UNIT. AFTER THE INSTALLATION, ALL PREVIOUS FUNCTIONS WORK VERY WELL.

   THE NAVAGATION UNIT IS TREMENDOUS. I HAVE PREVIOUSLY HAD VARIOUS GARMIN PORTABLE NAV UNITS SO I WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE NAVIGATION PART OF THE DNX7140. THE NAVIGATION IS QUICK AND ACCURATE AND THE DISPLAY IS “SECOND TO NONE”.

   THE SOUND QUALITY IS FANTASTIC. THE CD’S SOUND GREAT. THE PICTURE AND SOUND QUALITY OF THE DVD ARE LIKE THE 5.1 SURROUND SOUND OF MY BOSE UNIT AT HOME. I HAVE A DROID CELL PHONE INTO WHICH I HAVE DOWNLOADED NUMEROUS MP3 SONGS. AFTER CONNECTING THE BLUETOOTH ON MY PHONE TO THE UNIT, I CAN LISTEN TO ALL THE MP3 SONGS ON THE DROID THROUGH THE SOUND SYSTEM. THERE IS NO LOSS OF SOUND QUALITY PLAYING THROUGH THE SYSTEM. IT ONLY TOOK ABOUT A MINUTE TO SYNCH THE BLUETOOTH WITH THE PHONE AND THE KENWOOD.

   BASICALLY, THE UNIT IS QUITE EASY TO PROGRAM TO YOUR INDIVIDUAL PREFERENCES. ALTHOUGH THE SPECIFIC CONTROLS ON THE UNIT ARE RELATIVELY SMALL, I DO NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH VOLUME OR FUNCTION CONTROL SINCE ALL THE STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS ARE FUNCTIONAL. WITHOUT THE STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS, THE BUTTONS ON THE UNIT ARE A LITTLE SMALL.

   NEGATIVES: 1) THE UNIT WORKS GREAT; HOWEVER, KENWOOD HAS NOT LOADED THE MOST RECENT FIRMWARE INTO THE UNIT. FOR THE UNIT TO WORK ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, YOU MUST GO TO THE KENWOOD SITE AND DOWNLOAD AN UPDATE FOR THE FIRMWARE. YOU THEN BURN A CD WITH THIS INFORMATION AND UPGRADE THE FIRMWARE IN THE UNIT. ADDITIONALLY, THE GARMIN SOFTWARE THAT IS LOADED IN THE UNIT MUST ALSO BE UPDATED TO A MORE RECENT RELEASE. HERE AGAIN, YOU MUST DOWNLOAD THE SOFTWARE, BURN IT TO A CD AND INSTALL IT IN THE UNIT. YOU CAN FIND THE FIRMWARE UPDATE AND THE GARMIN UPDATE AT THE KENWOOD WEBSITE AT [...] 2) THE UNIT COMES WITH A REMOTE CONTROL; HOWEVER, I HAVE NOT FOUND THE REMOTE TO BE VERY HELPFUL.

   I ONLY HAVE ONE REGRET – I WISH I HAD PURCHASED THE UNIT SOONER.
2. Vegas Ridgeline says:

   February 2, 2010 at 12:00 am

   I Received My DNX-7140 a week ago. I had no trouble installing it. It is extremely packed with value and even sounds good without an external amplifier.

   Kenwood DNX7140 6.95-Inch Wide Double-DIN In-Dash Nagivation with Built-in Bluetooth USB/iPod Direct Control/DVD Receiver

   Pros: Garmin Navigation, DVD, IPOD Connectivity(however you need the Kenwood adapter $30 to have full functionality), Back up camera (separately about $200), Excellent Sound

   CONS: My Bluetooth Microphone didn’t work at first. The System needed a firmware upgrade for the bluetooth and after resetting the factory settings it worked perfectly.

   Bottom Line: It really is an impressive unit, Picture quality is good with DVD’s and IPOD Videos. Touch Screen is responsive and GPS is Amazing!!!

   The GPS is super accurate, shows the speed limit, your speed, arrival time, sets the clock automatically,and even changes time zones the second you cross the border!!

   It is amazing, even changes speed limits exactly at the sign.

   Overall I Recommend this product it is pretty awesome
3. Carlton says:

   December 7, 2009 at 12:00 am

   The Kenwood DNX7140 is the second most satisfying consumer electronics product I have purchased recently. (The first is the LG BD 390 Network Blu-Ray Player). Both are, feature laden products, that–unlike many such complex gadgets–get more things right than wrong.

   The Kenwood manages to pack an extraordinary number of features into a relatively compact package, enabling vehicle owners to eliminate a whole host of separate, discreet components. It has GPS, a bluetooth receiver for handling cell phone calls, AM/FM radio, DVD, player, iPod/USB music and video inputs and is HD/satellite radio-ready.

   The Kenwood’s sound is very good and, for me, the interface was fairly logical and user friendly and did not require a huge learning curve.

   There are a few nitpicks:

   * The cooling fan in the unit can be heard at low sound levels when the engine is off but was not audible to me while driving.

   * The USB input is at the end of a cable that cannot be conveniently mounted on the dash without the use of some sort of custom adaptor. This means most people will hide it in the glove compartment, adding to clutter.

   * The radio display is the least intuitive part of the GUI and makes it somewhat difficult to switch from station to station without the remote control or taking your eyes off the road for long periods of time. Kenwood could solve this problem by having a row of soft buttons at the bottom of the display when a particular station is displayed rather than requiring a user to press the “list” button first to list all of the stations. That way the Kenwood could emulate station presets on current push button head units.

   * Similarly, the hard buttons on the radio for volume and input selection are way too small. At least for volume control and mute, I’d recommend and addon kit so that you can control those critical functions from the steering wheel with bigger buttons.

   * The smallish remote control is really terrible not really useful for navigating the unit.

   There is a Youtube video here [...] that demonstrates the Kenwood but really doesn’t give a good feel for the interface.