I'm deciding between an Alpine double din and a Kenwood double din.

One guy told me Alpine was great, but has gone downhill and Kenwood is now one of the top if not on top.

The Alpine model is IVA-W200 and the Kenwood is DDX6019.

I need input b/c I have not dealt with car audio since my last car (over 2 years ago)

Thanks for the help.

 

They both work fine. There are major differences in user interface.

What is important to you?

 

used Alpine before and building a system now all Alpine and always heard from many people that it is far more superior to many other brands (not talking about high end stuff). really don't like kenwood, once installed a deck for a buddy of mine what a piece of crap it was in terms of everything - looks, features, sound.

 

Not sure what you mean by interface. If you mean what will I be using it with, just iPod.

I really want the Blackbird for the Navi, but I read that there's a delay (one guy said he'd be driving and pass a certain street, but on the screen it wouldn't say he passed it for a bit after, causing you to miss turns etc.). I was about to buy it, but thought I'd wait or forget it altogether after reading that.

Anyone know anything about the Blackbird?

 

I too have never been a fan of Kenwood, and I think I am leaning towards Alpine. I think the guy who told me Kenwood is top notch is a little off. I don't think it can be better than Alpine...at best maybe comparable

 

Alpine will always build better HU.

I been with Alpine since 1993 till now I have the Alpine DVA-7996 and I used to have there V12 amps before it got stolen now I'm sporting Memphis Audio

 

alpine headunit is better looking in my opinion. I think decks that are used for "real" performance are alpine and eclipse

 

well i went with the Alpine IVA-W200. going to install it with the iPod cable and rear camera on Tuesday.

I decided to go without the Navi, b/c the Blackbird reviews were terrible.

thanks for the input guys. i'll put up some pics once installed

 

the first gen blackbird is garbage, wait til the kinks are fixed

 

i just played with a new blackbird for the first time the other day. not a bad unit despite any of it's kinks. i will most likely go for the second gen myself. i just bought a garmin and am a little disappointed at the lack of traffic updates (i went with the c320), although i paid 50% of the price of a blackbird so i can't complain. the blackbird was superior though in time to acquire a lock in my opinion. it's calculation time was actually faster than my garmin (despite the opposite being said in reviews i read).

that being said, kenwood has a very distinct sound to it's decks. i would do an in-depth listening test before making a judgement. to me the kenwood was too geared towards the high end of the eq and had an odd sound to it, but that's just my opinion. i am a devoted alpine user, although i do not care for the designs on the 2006 models. i like the 2005 models better as far as their looks are concerned.

SSTS