Kenwood KVT-829DVD

Single-DIN source unit with 7 inch touchscreen 16:9 monitor with DVD player and radio. Will decode digital audio file formats AAC, WMA & MP3 and has a USB (1.1/2.0) interface. Plays DVD-Audio discs. Certified for DivX video use and able to run iPods, including video ones. It has a dedicated reversing camera input as well as Audio-Visual inputs and outputs for having an extra source or feeding extra screens. You can add a TV tuner and the remote control is included in the price. It can deal with dual zone output. There is no 5.1 output for a surround sound decoder to use.
– 4 x 50w (MOSFET Power IC)
– 192kHz/24 BIT Digital to Analogue converter
– 7.0 inch touch panel control with full graphic user interface (336,960 pixels)
– 2x USB interfaces, so you can have iPod & another mass-storage device connected
– iPod USB Direct Connection with optional cable (KCA-iP200 or KCA-iP300V (iPod-Video))
– iPod Full Control/ iPod Video/ iPod Album Art
– 2 RCA A/V In
– 1 RCA A/V Out
– 1 RCA Video Input for Rear View Camera (reverse sensing)
– Front/rear/sub RCA out @ 5V
– Dedicated Red/Green/Blue navigation input
– System E’s+ (Built-in HPF/LPF crossovers)
– Will control the (’02’06) Kenwood PowerSlide amplifers
– DVD-Audio; DVD Video, ±R/RW, VCD, CD- DA, R/RW; will play DivX (certified) ; MPEG 1/2 video files (.mpg) & JPEG file (.jpg); AAC; WMA; MP3
– Bluetooth handsfree with optional KCA-BT100 unit
– RC-DV330 remote control supplied
– Small display can be in red, green or blue illumination
– Choice of thee ‘skins’ or background looks in graphics
– Signal to Noise Ratio and Dynamic range both 100dB
Review by Adam Rayner
This is one of those schoolboy fantasy products. Sixth formers about to get hold of their first car would kill for one. In the bracket of the top toys, this one is a beast. It can do just about everything, including a special rear camera input that switches automatically upon selection of reverse. You could flip this image and have it used for a surveillance use if you wish as the picture has to be turned inside out for you to make sense of it as one does with a mirror. Sound quality is simply stonking and I found out (tweak warning) that the capacitors inside the unit were much fatter than normal, as they used a hideway box for lots of extra electronics, so leaving space in the head unit. It rocks with great detail retrieval and bass power. You get the dash mounted unit, plus a hideway box and a fat slew of wire loomery to plug it all in with that would terrify all but the most expert self-fitter. Fat umbilicus wires (about a 1cm diameter) hook stuff up, like your video iPod which it can boss entirely, or else a navigation device or a TV tuner. Extra hook up umbilici are an extra item, although the test unit came with one, plus the product manager’s iPod. Ta! (As a result I’m finally going to crack and go get one. A video one) Like the other two units we checked out alongside this one, a Pioneer AVH-P5900DVD and an Alpine IVA-D105R, the unit can be a hub for much stuff. Your world can be like a mobile lifestyles electronics advert.
The power of the internal amp was rated as the ‘normal’ 4 x 50w but was noticeably more potent than the others. After all, if you want to underpin power in your wiring system, you add huge capacitors and good home amps have enormous ones sticking out of their bases, too. There is a wrinkle of makee-learnee needed to operate this device in that you can choose audio and visuals separately, so you may get a bit confused in the first hour of use. I got the iPod showing Weapon of Choice with Christopher Walken dancing and flying around a posh hotel lobby and atrium. I spanked the dB Drag test CD of a few years back through some ancient but horrendously loud, clear, crisp and loud 6×9 speakers by Vieta (no longer on sale in the UK – I’ll change these soon for the upcoming rebirth of the speaker these were copying the JBL brand ones) in plywood boxes made specially for me by the Fusion people. The results made me wonder why you’d want an amplifier. However, the KVT-829DVD has some retro compatibility and will happily boss those all singing, moving-panel PowerSlide amplifiers of yester-season. You can have the newest head unit and still use those amps they are good and clean ones, too.
The Human Machine Interface (how easy it is to mess about with) was generally excellent and the touch screen has a get-you-back-to-wherever-you-were button for the lost or hard of thinking (hello!) so that you don’t get lost deep in the menu system, which is pretty simple, really. You get a choice of three sets of look, or ‘Skins’, which I liked and the overall look of the front of the main unit is just lovely with Piano black and reflective surfaces like mirrored shades.
Classy high end product with some real power both in processing and internal watts. Deeply desirable and easily worth the money asked, despite there being so much cheaper competition.
Sound Quality 8.0
Appearance/Display 9.0
Ease Of Use/HMI 9.0
Features 9.0
Value For Money 8.0
Overall rating 8.6