Kenwood KDC-X890

Manufacturer: Kenwood Part number: KDCX890

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

$219.00 at 2 online stores

CNET Editor rating:
3.5 stars Very good
Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 1 review

More product information:: Editors' review; User reviews; Specifications; Manufacturer info

Bottom Line:: The Kenwood KDC X890 is a capable head unit that supports a broad range of audio formats. Voice indexing helps counteract awkward manual file selection, although the system's claims that it measures car performance are dubious.

Where to buy

store customer rating inventory tax & shipping price

store	customer rating	inventory	tax & shipping	price
	Rate this store See store profile	In stock	Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price	$219.00 Shop now as of 10/07/2008 Refurbished
	Not yet rated Rate this store See store profile	In stock	$219.00 Shop now as of 10/07/2008
Free shipping on all car orders over $129 Pioneer AVH-P4000 $499.99 DVD receiver with USB input and 6.1" touchscreen Alpine SPS-17C2 $59.99 6-1/2" 2-way car speakers Aluminum-coated woofers Silk dome tweeters JL Audio 500/1v2 $599.99 Mono subwoofer amplifier 500 watts RMS x 1 Regulated power supply

Rate this store
See store profile

In stock

Enter zip code to get total price:

Price

+Tax

+Shipping

=Total price

$219.00

Shop now

as of 10/07/2008

Refurbished

Not yet rated
Rate this store
See store profile

In stock

$219.00

Shop now

as of 10/07/2008

Free shipping on all car orders over $129

Pioneer AVH-P4000
$499.99
Product 1

DVD receiver
with USB input
and 6.1" touchscreen

Alpine SPS-17C2
$59.99
Product 2

6-1/2" 2-way car speakers
Aluminum-coated woofers
Silk dome tweeters

JL Audio 500/1v2
$599.99
Product 3

Mono subwoofer amplifier
500 watts RMS x 1
Regulated power supply

*Total price for the Kenwood KDC-X890 are estimated and may vary slightly based on exact tax, shipping, manufacturer rebate or any sale/promotion on the merchant site.

show

CNET editors' review

Kenwood KDC-X890

price range: $219.00

Reviewed by: Kevin Massy
Reviewed on: 07/31/2006

The good: The Kenwood KDC X890 plays back all major digital audio formats, including AAC, WMA, and MP3 via CD and a USB connection. Its useful voice-index feature enables drivers to search their albums and playlists without taking their eyes from the road.

The bad: A clunky interface means that searching for files manually can be cumbersome. We're far from convinced of the value of the head unit's horsepower-measuring capabilities.

The bottom line: The Kenwood KDC X890 is a capable head unit that supports a broad range of audio formats. Voice indexing helps counteract awkward manual file selection, although the system's claims that it measures car performance are dubious.

Read full review

The Kenwood KDC X890 is a single-DIN high-performance CD receiver with an impressive number of playback functions as well as some frivolous features for the dedicated boy racer.

A built-in MOSFET amplifier and a peak output of 50 watts per channel give the X890 a wide sound range, and granular EQ controls and sound settings make it easy to personalize your sound. As well as basic options for bass, middle, and treble, the KDC X890 offers detailed frequency adjustments within each level--for example, you can set bass center frequency anywhere between 40Hz and 150Hz. Another feature, called the Bass Management System, boosts the bass output by 6, 12, or 18 decibels. Six preset tone curves with a four-band parametric equalizer display the EQ settings. Additionally, the X890 includes a control for speaker settings that lets you customize the stereo's output to match your individual in-car arrangements.

As a standard AM/FM tuner, the KDC X890 is intuitive to use: radio frequencies are located using autoseek, manual selection, or six presets, and the unit is RDS- and PTY-enabled to give detailed information on station and music tracks as well as program genre. For CD playback, the X890's motorized faceplate folds down to reveal the single disc slot, where you can load CDs containing multiple audio formats, including MP3, WMA, and AAC. A dedicated USB port will also let you play tunes directly from a flash drive--a handy new feature.

To navigate your files, you'll turn to the faceplate's combination of buttons and jog-stick or use the remote control. We found the X890's 64-color fine-dot display bright but a little grainy, with some of the more ambitious graphic sequences reminding us of hand-held LCD games of the 1980's. The X890 makes you choose one of six song information formats, each with a single line of text giving ID3 tag information on a combination of title, artist, album, folder, and filename. Unfortunately, we found the head unit controls too complicated for making a selection while driving (press button 5 for folder or file selection, scroll through folders/files with the jog-stick, press button 1 to confirm selection).

ID3-tag information for folder, album, artist, track, and genre is displayed on the X890's fine dot display.

Thankfully, the X890's ACDrive media (the AC stands for Advanced Codec) function considerably simplifies the process using a text-to-voice technology that announces the name of the files aloud. You'll have to prepare your songs to work with the ACDrive function, however, so Kenwood includes a copy of Phat Noise media manager software with the head unit. Phat Noise lets you store, index, and organize audio files and--most importantly--encode the files with Voice Index information.

Having installed the Phat Noise software and given the files on our flash drive the Voice Index treatment, we found it much easier to select music. With ACDrive-enabled files, the X890 display adds an option called S.mode, which lets you use the jog-stick to scroll through media files according to artist, album, genre, playlist, or folder. In each mode, the system calls out the name of the album, artist, playlist, or folder. As the system relies on text-to-voice software to articulate the names of song titles and artists, the pronunciation is a little Stephen Hawking-esque, but in most cases clearly comprehensible. S.mode also lets you search for tracks, artists, and folders by first letter.

If the voice index is the KDC X890's most useful advanced technology, then the most entertaining (and perhaps least practical) feature has to be the G-Analyzer function, a built-in motion detector to measure the gravitational forces acting on the head unit, which it then translates into graphics and text data. According to Kenwood, G-Analyzer (the G stands for Graphic Motion) can measure and analyze a car's horsepower. It appears that after a driver has entered the class and weight of a particular car, the X890 will calculate horsepower by measuring lateral acceleration for 15 seconds, giving the result in the form of a graph with the highest reading (that is, the point of maximum acceleration) saved for future reference. But we're somewhat skeptical: in the real world, horsepower is measured using a device called a dynamometer, which takes measurements at an engine's flywheel. These are then evaluated against a number of variables, including the exhaust system, pumps, alternator, starter, and emission controls.

A built-in motion sensor is the basis of the G-Analyzer feature, which measures lateral acceleration to give a readout of a car's horsepower.

In an admittedly unscientific test, we calibrated the G-Analyzer to the weight and dimensions of a fully laden minivan and shook the head unit around for 15 seconds to get a readout of 320 horsepower: a little on the high side.

A G-Analyzer Stop Watch function is also available, presumably for speed demons to measure their 0 to 60 times while playing their favorite beats at full volume. The X890's instruction manual--which appears to have been translated from Japanese using a computer program rather than a person--warns users not to use "G-Analyzer horsepower analysis or stop watch on public roads." While it is an entertaining concept, we'd also advise drivers not to rely solely on its readouts for reliable information on their cars' performance figures.

The X890 sports a number of additional features, including controls for a Kenwood iPod adapter; satellite radio (separate subscription, tuner, and antenna required); and HD radio. There is also a connection for a CD changer, RCA cables for auxiliary inputs, and three sets of 5-volt preamp outputs.

A removable faceplate make the X890 less vulnerable to theft, and the unit comes with a two-year limited warranty from Kenwood.

See pricing

show

User reviews

Write Review

Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 1 review
My rating: 0 stars

Showing opinion 1 to 1 out of 1

Sort by:
6 stars

HP measurement?

by needyspeedy on August 3, 2006

Pros: usb port for external memory

Cons: looks ugly, how about flash card reader

Summary: Why on earth would a Cnet reviewer load up the specs for a minivan, shake the head unit, come up with 320 horsepower, call the results dubious and think that ...

Read more

Summary: Why on earth would a Cnet reviewer load up the specs for a minivan, shake the head unit, come up with 320 horsepower, call the results dubious and think that he/she has made some sort of valid evaluation of the units ability? Such idiocy should not be allowed on a website reputed to offer expert opinions.

Show less

1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

Showing opinion 1 to 1 out of 1

See pricing

show

Specifications

Manufacturer: Kenwood
Part number: KDCX890
Description: Marketing description is not available.

General
Product Type Radio / CD / MP3 player
Recommended Use Car
Form Factor Full-DIN - In-dash unit
Width 7.2 in
Depth 6.1 in
Height 2.1 in
Weight 3.3 lbs
Faceplate Type Detachable
Audio System
Sound output mode Stereo
Amplifier max output power / channel qty 50 Watts x 4
Amplifier continuous power / channel qty 22 Watts x 4
Audio system built-in display Fluorescent
Audio system CD changer control Yes
Clock Yes (digital)
Additional features USB direct input, Sirius satellite radio ready, HD radio ready
Radio
Type Radio tuner - AM/FM
Tuning display Fluorescent display
Radio response bandwidth 30 - 15000 Hz
Radio signal-to-noise ratio 70 dB
Additional radio features Preset buttons

CD System
CD system type CD / MP3 player
Media load type Slot-load
Digital audio standards supported WMA, MP3, AAC
CD system response bandwidth 10 - 20000 Hz
Signal-to-noise ratio 110 dB
CD system total harmonic distortion 0.008%
CD system dynamic range 93 dB
CD-R compatible Yes
CD-RW compatible Yes
Connections
Connector Type 1 x Front channel output ( RCA phono x 2 ), 1 x Subwoofer output ( RCA phono x 2 ), 1 x Audio line-in ( RCA phono x 2 ), 1 x Rear channel output ( RCA phono x 2 ), 1 x USB
Remote Control
Remote control type Remote control
Remote control technology Infrared

See pricing

show

Manufacturer info

Share
- Digg
- Del.icio.us
- Reddit
- Facebook
Print

Shopper.com strives to provide the best price, review, user opinion, and product information on the Kenwood KDC-X890. Shopper.com updates pricing for all products multiple times each day. If you find a price, link, product specification, review, user opinion, or any other error for the Kenwood KDC-X890, please notify us through our support form.