Kenwood eXcelon KDC-PS809

Price Paid:  $450.00 from Sound City

Year / Model Reviewed:
 98/Kenwood kdc-ps809

Summary:
This is a Great Headunit YOu can''t Beat it Worth the money

Strengths:
easy to use, looks great. when your listening to the radio some station have what song is playing and the unit reads it out. EQ display is really nice

Weaknesses:
text scrolling doesn''t work You can''t find many text encoded cd''s so it scrolls the song and artist

Summary:
The unit is a very good buy. The sound is absolutely spectacular, and it has ample power to drive most speakers. For the money, it really can't be beat.
I'm a little disappointed with the display. It seems a bit muddled, and is almost impossible to see when the sun is shining in through the rear window.
All in all, I highly recommend it to anyone who can afford it. Blows similar models by Sony and Pioneer out of the water.

Strengths:
None

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
None

Year / Model Reviewed:
 1998

Summary:
I paid nearly 500 dollars for this head unit from Crutchfield catalog. Worth every penny. Not only was installation in my Corolla a breeze, but the looks and the sound are incredible. I would expect more from a 500 receiver, but this one meets my needs. We'll see what happens when I add my amps and subs. So far I am pleasantly suprised. Highs sound incredible. With a good EQ, I'm sure the mid's can work out. :)

Strengths:
MASK, Sound Quality, Looks, Ease of use

Weaknesses:
PRICE

Similar Products Used:
Many Clarion/Alpine/Panasonic/Blau head units.

Summary:
This Head Unit is really not as I expected. The System E's stuff is one of the weakest Crossover systems I have used, honestly, it seems to fade out to not work at high SPL levels. The Pre-Outs are nice along with the Equalizer, but for the price, it should be adjustable. The only thing you are really paying for in this unit the MASK feature (the revolving face). Besides that, the sound quality in general is no better than a 100$ cd-receiver. I would recommend a good high-end Alpine for your money. Might not be as cool to your friends, but sound will be better to your ears. I give it 3 stars, since I got a ton of comments from people on the MASK feature. (they obviously don't care much about how it sounds, only how it looks)

Summary:
this head looks very nice. it has a lot of graphic and combine with the piano black finish; its very pretty.
the built in high pass filter for the 4 main channels is very useful.

cd text is another great feature. for example, if you have a text encoded cd, you could view the text(artist/song tittle) that encoded in the cd. very neat.

the self hiding front panel hides itself when you turn off the ignition, and it rotates back out when you turn the ignition back on. its is very cool.

too bad the sound isnt as good. it sounds very forward(high mid is louder than lower mid). it doesnt have the warm of many clarion and alpine head. also, the bass is weak compare to many other highend decks particularly sony.

the graphic equalizer is only for show because it isnt adjustable, so you still have to adjust using your treble/bass buttons. its not very flexible.

overal i'm a pretty happy owner of this unit. however, for 500 bucks i expected better sound.

thai