Kenwood Excelon DNX9140 Navigation System Review
by Nick Mack ~ May 20th, 2009. Filed under: Navigation Systems.
The New Kenwood DNX9140
I am one of the lucky people that has already acquired a Kenwood DNX9140
. If you don’t know what a DNX9140 is, it is the latest and greatest in-dash multimedia and navigation unit from Kenwood. I received it and installed it as soon as I could. It is really impressive. The new interface’s graphics are way more crisp and clean than the previous units from Kenwood. Plus the DNX9140 uses Garmin’s newest navigation software which has better mapping and integrates into the unit flawlessly.
Here are a list of features:
- 6.95″ WVGA Touch Screen with DVD Video Playback
- Made For iPod and works with iPhone
- Garmin navigation that is MSN Direct / TMC Traffic Ready
- Bluetooth Powered by Parrot
- Voice Control
- HD Radio Ready and Satellite Radio Ready
- Built-In 5.1 DSP With Digital Time Alignment & 13-Band Parametric EQ
- 5V, 5.1 RCA Preouts and a 50WX4 Amplifier
- 2 AV inputs and 1 AV Output
- Rear View Camera Ready
- 2-Year Warranty
6.95″ Wide VGA Touch Screen with DVD Video Playback:
Most multimedia and navigation units come with a TFT LCD screen. A 7″ TFT LCD screen usually contains about 500,000 pixels. The new Kenwood DNX9140 has a 6.95″ VGA screen which has 1.2 million pixels. What does this mean? This means that no matter what you are watching the picture will be crisp, clean and perfect. Also, the higher resolution screen allows the unit to have an extremely detailed user interface. To keep costs down, a lot of manufacturers are making units that do not allow DVD video playback. Not Kenwood. The DNX9140 will allow for extremely clear DVD playback that not only looks great but thanks to its 5.1 channel DSP it will sound great also.
Made For iPod and works with iPhone:
The DNX9140 is designed from the ground up to both charge and control your iPod and your iPhone 3G. You will have full control of your iPod so that can access all of your songs quickly and easily. On The DNX9140 not only can you search using playlist, album, atrist, genre, ect., you can use an alphabet search feature that will bring you to the songs starting with a specific letter. All this searching can be done while another song is playing. Once you find the song you want, the album art will be displayed on the DNX 9140’s screen. Plus, the DNX9140 supports 12mbps transfer speeds, so there is no waiting for your head unit to load the songs from your iPod. I almost forgot to add that the DNX 9140 will play your movies flawlessly with you ever having to touch the iPod for control. * You need to purchase a KCA-IP301V 
Garmin navigation that is MSN Direct / TMC Traffic Ready:
The DNX9140 uses Garmin’s newest navigation software. All the functions are controlled using the touchscreen that contains easy to understand, intuitive menus. Also, you can control the navigation functions using the voice command feature of the DNX9140. Not only is it easy to enter your destination into the navigation system, once you are driving, the system will audibly directly you through your car’s speakers. If you make a wrong turn, or have to make a detour, don’t worry, the Garmin navigation will immediately recalculate and finish directing you to your destination. Another great feature about the Garmin navigation is that there is no disk.Maps of Canada, the continental USA, Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico are all preloaded into the system.
You also have the opportunity to add the TMC Traffic or the MSN Direct adapter. The TMC Traffic Adapter will allow the DN9140 to receive real time traffic updates. If you choose to, the navigation system will automatically direct you around traffic jams. The MSN Direct adapter also allows you to receive information about traffic, but it doesn’t stop there. It also will give you information about weather, gas prices, local events, movie times, news headlines, stock quotes, flight status, and Doppler weather maps, all right off the screen of your DNX9140.
Bluetooth Powered by Parrot:
Built into the Kenwood DNX9140 is an extremely advanced bluetooth module designed by Parrot. If you have never heard of Parrot, they are the leading manufacturer of Bluetooth devices. This Parrot module allows control of just about every cellphone in existence. You can make and receive phone calls right off the DNX9140’s screen without ever touching your cell phone. Not only can you make and receive calls, if your phone is capable, it will automatically upload your whole phone book to the 9140. So, when you need to make a call, your phone book is right at your fingertips. This is also good when you receive a call, because if the person is in your phone book, their name will show up on the screen.
Now for the specs of the Bluetooth:
- Noise Cancellation Microphone
- Register up to 5 Bluetooth phones
- Auto phonebook download
- Holds up to 1000 numbers per registered phone
- A2DP wireless music streaming capable
- Voice recognition dialing
- Incoming and outgoing text messaging - if phone is capable
- Firmware upgradable to work with future phones
HD Radio Ready and Satellite Radio Ready:
Moving on to the entertainment part of the DNX9140. This unit is compatible with XM, Sirius, and HD Radio. This means you will always be able to find the music you like. Well, maybe. One issue with this unit is that as of right now, Kenwood does not make an accessories hub. Because of this, you can only have one of the above mentioned devices connected to the DNX 9140. You will have to decide which one means the most to you and choose that one.
Built-In 5.1 DSP With Digital Time Alignment & 13-Band Parametric EQ:
If you enjoy watching DVDs in your vehicle, the DNX9140 has you covered. This unit has a 5.1 channel DSP with Time Alignment so you you can get the full audio effect of any movie you choose. If you need a little bit more fine tuning, the DNX9140 has a 13 band EQ so you can adjust yor music just right. To make the audio sound even better, the DNX9140 has 5V, 5.1 RCA Preouts and a 50WX4 Amplifier. This means that if you would like to add external amplifiers, the 5V RCA preouts will supply more than enough voltage fo crisp, clean music. If You would not like to add external amplifiers, you can just hook up the internal 50WX4 amplifier.
Issues that i found with the DNX 9140:
I went over the good parts, now I gotta be fair and go over the few issues I found. I already went over the issue that you can only have one external device connected (XM, Sirius, HD Radio). Another issue is that the unit takes a long time to load when you first turn the car on. By long, I mean less than 30 seconds. But when you are sitting there waiting to enter a destination, it seems way longer. Another issue I found is that Bluetooth takes priority, meaning that if you are following the navigation and you phone rings, the bluetooth screen overrides the nav screen an you no longer get guidance.
In my opinion, the strong points completely out weigh the few issues I found with the DNX9140. Out of all the navigation units I have used, and I have used just about every single one, this is the best one so far. If you are in the market for a great multimedia and navigation the Kenwood DNX9140 is for you. There is no other unit out there that has as many features as the 9140. I own one, I love it and I recommend it to everyone that wants a Nav system.
To make it easy on you, I made a list of things you need. They link directly to Amazon.
For the DNX9140:
Kenwood DNX9140
To add Sirius to the DNX9140 you need two things:
CA-SR20V Sirius Connection Cable
SCC1 SIRIUS Connect Universal Tuner
To add XM to the DNX9140 you need two things:
Kenwood KCA-XM100V XM Interface Adapter
CNP2000 XM Mini Tuner Cartridge
To add HD Radio to the DNX9140 you need:
Kenwood KTC-HR300 HD Radio Tuner Box with Itunes Tagging
The iPod cable you need:
Kenwood KCA-IP301V iPod Video Direct Cable
If you would like the Kenwood back up camera:
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:08 am
[...] The wait is over, I finally got my hands on one. Check out my Kenwood DNX9140 Review. [...]
July 10th, 2009 at 12:48 am
I simply have a question, the manual says it has 2 inputs for a/v and one output, can you have two dvd headrests set up with a front visor dvd player and have them all hook up to the head unit and play dvds off there own players plus the head unit? Or do you need a splitter to hook them all up? Will it just not work at all or can they all play there own dvds plus the headunit dvd? If i need anytjing like a splitter let me know, i am lookong for a way to make this work in a 2008 toyota rav4
thanks
July 10th, 2009 at 9:11 am
you can use one of the inputs to view an external dvd player. the video out can go to any screen. the only thing is that you may need a video amplifier. a lot of times when you connect more than 2 lcd monitors the signal output of the dvd player is not strong enough, if that is the case you will need a video amplifier.
July 13th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
how do we update or even add maps to the navigation unit. In some units they have an SD card reader for this. But this unit does not have one.
July 13th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
This unit does have an SD card slot to update the dnx 9140. it is behind the radio face. Also, the SD card slot can be used to play music.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:27 am
This unit does have an SD card reader. You must push the eject button for 2 seconds to get to it.
I have had the unit for a couple of weeks now and I have a couple of complaints about the USB interface.
I think they need to use the same interface that they use for the ipod so you can find things faster. Having the A-Z search functin would make things much better if you have a large amount of files. They also need to incrase the number of folders you can have on a single usb drive. It seems so be limited to about 250 which is not enough for me.
Other than that it is a preey sold unit. Most of the issues sould be able to be ironed out with future firmware updates
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:48 am
i also think that the usb interface needs a little work. they have come a long way over previous units. They are taking care of the software problems. Monday they released 2 software updates, one for the unit that takes care of the slow load time and other bugs. And one for the nave that take care of the slow menu change and other bugs. They do have a great unit and they are on top of fixing the minor issues.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
“Monday they released 2 software updates”
I’m very interested in purchasing this radio but am not very tech savvy; would someone please clarify something for me? When you say the company released a software update, how is the unit updated? Is this something where the unit would have to be removed, do you hook up a cable or ????
Thank you in advance.
July 26th, 2009 at 8:40 am
the units do not have to be removed. they have 2 ways of updating: using the SD card slot and the DVD Drive. usually the dvd drive is the most common because CD are cheap. all you need to do is download the firmware update off of kenwood’s website and burn it to disc. then you inser the disc into the head unit, follow the instructions (which are really easy), and the head unit will do the rest.
August 15th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I’m having my unit installed as I type this.
You say “they” released updates. Who is “they,” Garmin or Kenwood? Anyone have a link to to this downloadable update?
August 15th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
kenwood released updates of both the navigation and the multimedia section. as far as i know it has not been put on the consumer side of kenwood’s website. its for kenwood dealers only. it is simple to do, but if you are not experienced in updating the unit there are ways to ruin the unit. all authorized dealers were supplied with the updates. hopefully you are having your unit installed by an authorized dealer. if not call kenwood’s tech support from their website and they should supply you with the link
August 15th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Thanks Nick
I am using an authorized dealer. I’ll have to ask him when I go in to pick it up. I went with the satellite, the steering wheel controls, as well as a front and rear camera. Needless to say, I am frothing at the mouth in anticipation.
You said that it plays music from the card slot. I was hoping to use an 8 gig card in there. Will it play all media from this card, music and video? Does it access this card any faster than the usb?
Thanks
August 17th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
thats good. hopefully the installer did the update. i have never actually tried to play video off the sd card slot. all i can say is give it a try. i did not see a speed difference between the usb and the sd card. the sd slot is something that i dont use that often and i tried it before i updated my unit…….maybe after the update, one may be faster than the other.
August 19th, 2009 at 8:35 am
Hey Nick,
thanks for all the helpful info. Does the SMS text feature work with the iphone? I bought the alpine w505 and I am seriously disappointed with it. I had to get a special adapter to hook up my iphone and now, when I want to call a restaurant using the GPS, i have to pick up my phone and dial the number off the screen. I’m thinking about swapping it out for this kenwood model.
September 21st, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Do you know if kenwood will address the directory and file limitations of the USB port?
Thanks
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:51 am
The usb is not that limited. I have been using a 4 gig jump drive that is just about full and i have no issues with the unit. the limitations are a fat32 file system. 255 folders with 255 files…………that is 65,025 files. the average size of a mp3 is 3 mb. if i did my math correct that is 190 gigs of music.
i dont think it is that limited.
September 25th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Have you tried it with a USB powered portable hard drive? I was looking at them today. 320gigs for $70.
September 25th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
no, i have not tried it with the portable hard drives. i am told that it will work as long as the hard drive is fat32
November 22nd, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Hi, I am thinking of geting one and I am most intrested to play music. I presently have a pioneer D3 and I hate it. I make dvd mp3 which holds a lot of music. will this unit play them also? I understand the player is a killer system and that is what I am after.
Keep up the good work
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:21 pm
the 9140 can play mp3s off a dvd.
December 20th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Nick, I’ve just had the DNX-9140 professionally installed & I’m stumped on how to get the i-pod videos to play the next video (shuffle mode). There doesn’t seem to be any means to forward to the next video unless it’s in the same category.
The rest of the unit is fantastic… the picture quality and sound is amazing.
December 21st, 2009 at 11:16 pm
I am just wondering, I am looking for the best of the best. Why not right. This Kenwood seems close, if not the one. The only thing that I have a question about is this:
Can you be using navigation as well as playing music through your speakers? That woiuld really suck if you couldn’t…. THanks for any feedback.
January 17th, 2010 at 9:45 am
I’m stationed in Germany and want to purchase the DNX 9140. Can I upload European Maps to the system for use while I’m here for 2 years?