This unit is not loud!!!!! At max volume(35) im dissapointed. anyone have this unit? Do you feel the same about it? i had a sony with a 150 watt mtx amp that pumped. same amp hooked to the kenwood. no way. the volume on the sony went to 64. i feel i need more amp for the same volume as the sony. i want high spl.are the kenwood amps any good?

 

maybe they dont go so loud because you are going deaf

if you are looking for spl... why are you using a 150 amp and a sony sub!?!?

 

i dont have a sony amp . i have a rockford fosgate bd1000.2old school rockford fosgate 2212 subs.th volume for rear and front is not loud. i tried the same amp i used on my sony head unit 150 watt mtx it just aint loud!! maybe because on sony volume wet to 64 on kenwood35. stock delco is louder

 

have you tried turning up the gains on your amp?

the volume number has NOTHING to do with the maximum signal voltage at the RCA outputs. It is relative and manufacturers can make it however they want. I can make a stereo that has a 1-1000 volume scale, it means nothing, it is just a reference scale from low to high.

Maybe your kenwood has 1.5 Volt preouts and the Sony had 4 or 5 volt preouts? did you check this specification before you bought the stereo?

Another thing you can do is get a line driver (basically a small pre-amp) to put inline with the RCA cables to increase the input signal to the amp.

If you are turning your stereo to max volume, you may very well be going deaf. I have only seen 2 systems where the volume can be turned all the way up with no clipping at all. If you have set up such a system, congraulations!

 

Listen this head unit is not loud!!!!5 volt preamp output.The built in power of this unit on full volume is lower than a stock delco at half volume.ask anyone that has this unit and they will agree with me.As for going deaf this unit wouldnt hurt a babies ears

 

I've worked on a couple and don't remember them being bad at all, right in line where they should be. Install problem?

 

I have the x-879 and have had no problems like this what so ever. Install problem or defective unit sounds about right to me.

 

uh most systems wouldnt hurt a baby's ears at low volumes and maybe your previous system made you dead:lala:

 

whatever, this unit is a big dissapointment for the money.volume wise it sucks ,I went to authorised Kenwood dealer. same thing low volume. My old sony preamp only model xrc-910 cranked same amps. only can figure that because the volume on that went to 64 and the volume on the kenwood only goes to 34 that is why i get half the volume. The built in power on the kenwood doesnt play loud.like i said a stock delco puts it to shame

 

As JD already said, the numbers on the display mean NOTHING between the two. There is something going on here. That thing should in no way be as bad as you say. I've worked on them and never had a problem with how loud they where when they are working. Something is wrong with the install, the radio, or the settings.......

 

THat is you and jd opinion. Nothing is wrong with the install or settings. Plays the exact low volume at authorized Kenwood dealer. Not true about volume a volume that goes to 64 will play louder than one that goes only to 35. THat is like saying the gains on a amplifier wont effect the volume.THANK you for your opinion i gave you mine. If i could prove it i would show you this. i have both units and the sony unit is much louder.

 

lol, the volume number on the display has nothing to do with it. volume numbers on decks are not a unit of measure like each mph on your speedo, they are just factory settings

 

so mister Knowitall why is the preamp model sony louder in the same car with the same amp then the Kenwood. Are you a certified installer?same speakers also.If i could prove it i would its not like i can give you a spl slip of both units.but if your in queens Ny shoot me an e-mail I LL bet you. you name an ammount. I know my old sony witch volume goes to 64 will be louder than the kenwood.$100-$500.

 

i'm not saying your old sony unit wasnt louder than your kenwood, what i'm saying is that the actual number displayed on the screen has nothing to do with it.

 

if the same amp same speakers are used in the same car.it can only be the volume range between the two the sony range is higher than the kenwood 64 for sony 35 kenwood= sony louder.i can prove this . if you are near queens ny i d be willing to.

 

So why in the world did you ever buy a HU that's volume only goes up to 35? You just downgraded yourself 29...ummm...what would that be? GUSVU's (Globally Universal Stereo Volume Units) of course!!

 

Listen man, you’ve got more then one person telling you that the number are meaningless. You asked the last guy if he was a certified installed, I was MECP. Don’t do installs any more, I work for a large third party repair shop and I AM A manufacture-certified technician for Kenwood And Sony (and Pioneer, JVC, Aiwa, Alpine, Panasonic... ). Now listen, the numbers on the display have nothing to do with this. What matters here is the pre-amp output voltage. The number represents a scale from low volume (high attenuation) to what the manufacture says is the max volume (no attenuation and a lot of distortion). You see, the gain of the amp in your HU is fix, what you’re changing is how much the signal gets attenuated (see definition 3: http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionar...tion&x=12&y=10 ) inside the EVTC (Electronic Volume and Tone Control) IC BEFORE it get sent down the line to the amp IC. With a fix gain in the amp IC and less signal going to the amp IC there’s less volume. No attenuation it’s loud. The pre-amp outputs are taken out in-between the EVTC IC and the amp IC. Some EVTC ICs are low voltage out (0-1V out), some are high output versions (2-5V out), and some units use a low voltage version AND a line driver IC. The line driver IC is just a 4-to-6 channel voltage amp with a high impedance output. This IS what matters, the output voltage here. The higher the output voltage to the amp, the “louder” the output from the amp (this is all assuming no distortion) and you get a better signal to noise ratio . Back to the numbers, They’re just what the manufacture wanted to be form low volume to high volume. 32, 64, 80, what ever. For the most part you can assume the a deck that has a higher number here would have more “steps” from low to high volume (high to low attenuation) but THAT’S IT. And this isn’t even true, take Aiwa. Some of there decks go to 80, but from 0 40 you can’t hear. So it’s more like being 40 to 80 with 0 40 being useless.
You have to compare the pre-amp output voltage between the decks, and even that is hit and miss with how some of these things get rated. I could look it up for both decks but it would take time and it sounds more like you just want to bash the deck and don’t want to listen to people trying to explain how thing really work. You got ONE example of “but the louder deck goes higher” and assume the numbers mean something they don’t, and refuse to listen to people that obviously know more about this then you. Look up some of the old post by some of the people trying to help you out, and your not listening to. Read them and see if you think we know of what we speak. So that’s how that works.

Now you also said that the output from the internal amp was low to. This is what makes me thing that could be something wrong in the deck. If there was a ground problem IN the deck between the amp IC/pre-amp out and the EVTC IC you would get VARY low volume from the pre-amp outputs and the speaker level outputs. And a simple install mistake could have caused this bad ground. If there was a bad ground at the HU or the amp with the RCAs plugged in that could cause just this type of damage.

AND one more option that no one has mentioned yet. I’m not familiar with the XRC-910. You said it was a pre-amp model? May be it was just a “louder” (higher pre-amp voltage) unit. We all gripe about Sony, but one or two of there models aren’t that bad. Even a blind squirrel can find a nut. And the ES stuff wasn’t half-bad. But as a rule of thumb they stink.

 

This reminds me of the movie Spinel Tap. "But this amp goes up to eleven, that means it's one louder."
And to whether or not you have proof, If your GF gets knocked up before you knock boots with her, is that proof of immaculate conception? Or may you don't know the whole story.

 

I can and i am willing to prove it to anyone that lives near me in Queens ny .Instsall problem yeah right same amp cable power ground wires speakers . come on put your money up ill prove it to anyone. ill take your money then you post on this website you were wrong.

 

I can and i am willing to prove it to anyone that lives near me in Queens ny .Instsall problem yeah right same amp cable power ground wires speakers . come on put your money up ill prove it to anyone. ill take your money then you post on this website you were wrong.

 

well we were talking about install probs with the H/U

 

Settle down and let’s discuss this calmly. We’re not saying that the new radio isn’t louder then the last radio. It’s the logic behind why you think the one is louder then the other. It has nothing to do with the number on the display.
And if you are positive that the stock radio was louder, then there IS something wrong. If it’s not the install it could be the radio. But one thing is certain, if the stock deck was louder, there IS a problem.

 

I went to two authorized Kenwood dealers. Both had the same radio both played the same volume= nothing wrong. all of you think im wrong. The truth is i wish i could prove what im saying to everyone. If you came to me you would say he is rite.the sony is louder,same amp same cables.

 

did the two dealers have sony stuff also? did you listen to the headunits in the same car as yours with the same speakers and same amp??

 

I'm more intrigued by the "stock delco is louder" statement. And like I said before, if the Sony had a higher pre-amp voltage it would be louder. That's just how it works. The big question is which sounds better?
And it still has NOTHING to do with the numbers. They're just what they are.

 

I listened to The sonyxr-c900 and the kenwood kdc-x979 in my car.The sony is way louder. preamp for sony 4volt kenwood 5volt.I can see a few of you think you know it all.you may think this is true . but if you heard it you would shake yor head and agree. then you would have to admit you were wrong.everything was the same amps ground wiring, rca cables.numbers do mean something.

 

Maybe next time buying.....look at the features of each deck. learn what it all means dont look at the faceplate and say ohhh pretty colors

 

First of all the kenwood i bought because of sirius.xm doesnt offer prepaid. the kenwood is a good unit,but volume wise it is dissapointing. my 7 year old sony xr-c900 puts it to shame volume wise

 

everyone that is against you on this thread is 110% right ...the numbers on the stupid head unit dont mean crap ...and kenwood ...sucks? ...the end get yourself something real like a real sony headunit or how about a high end pioneer ...instead of crap kenwoods ...the end .... go back and take it all out and check your wiring if your wiring checks out right ...if you even know how to test it MRKNOWITALL! .... then its probably a bad amp but it doesnt sound like that ...maybe its your settings ...have you tried to reset your amp...i know it might sound like a stupid question but have you honestly because if you havent ...you dont know wtf ur doing and you should have someone that does take a look and then maybe youll sit down and stfu about being MRKNOWITALL


these guys are right ...give them some respect when it comes to audio ...

heres a guide in straight forward 3 word english !


check the headunit itself
check the adapter/harness
check the wiring ...and that means all of it not just the **** you can see ...something could be broke and you could be getting alot of interference from it

then check the amp ....if and after all the time your going to waste everything checks out fine ...reset the amp ...turn off all the settings unplug it ...pull the fuses ...wait about 5 mins and rehook it back up and then see what it does .... if you still cant get it to work right


email me or something and ill come up on a weekday or something ...i live in nj so if its something stupid simple and easy i might punch you in the face for the drive ....

dont be stupid and shut your mouth and open your ears and youll learn something from this :lala: :hail:

 

oh and btw i have the new pioneer headunit that allows you to hook up like usb and everything to it ....and im going to end up packing about 100,000 watts into my 86 iroc z camaro this spring sooooooooo sit down and stfu ! and listen to at least me haha


oh and btw i have the same problems right now so i know wtf im talking about


heres a description of mine ....

you start the car ...the volume is where it should be ...once you start driving it gets lower ...and every once in a while it gets really loud ...its called a bad cable ...my stupid *** is to lazy to check it and i just deal with it because im redoign the entire sound system this spring so whats the point of pulling it all apart once to pull it apart again? .....

take my advice and try it out at least

PS if you dont know what the hell your doing ...come drive down to south jersey ....mount laurel ....and come into the best buy behind the morrestown mall off of rt 38 .... and come over to the tech bench aka "geek squad" and ask for steve ....ill help you out ...thats if your bored one day and get so mad and need the help fixing it

 

without my mtx amp its not loud. i feel the built in power isnt loud. if it makes any differance i will drive down there bring both head units and prove 1 and for all i know what im talking about. then at least 1 person will agree with my conclusion. ill let you know when im comming.probly sometime between chrismas and new years.sys

 

i dont live far from my job ...my job is more of a easier route to get to ...so if you really want some help and to get it figured hte hell out ...come on down and ill see what i can do