Kenwood Excelon KDC-X494 In-Dash CD/MP3/WMA/iPod Receiver with USB/Aux Input
- AM/FM radio, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3/WMA, USB, iPod, HD/SAT radio-ready, Bluetooth-ready receiver
- 4 x 50 Watts maximum power; three 4V RCA preamp outputs with crossover system
- Full Dot FL display selectable between two-line or large single-line text
- Includes auxiliary input and USB port, direct iPod control; add HD/SAT radio, Bluetooth
- One-year limited warranty
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Removable Faceplate
The faceplate of this model can be removed and taken with you, to help deter theft.
 Select between two lines of regular-size text or one line of large-size text. |
 The grip control knob is similar to that of an iPod, making operation familiar for iPod owners. |
 Illuminated front-panel USB and auxiliary input with sliding cover. |
 Includes remote control. |
Text Display Options
You can select between two lines of regular-size text or one line of large-size text. This helps you make music searching easier and faster, or make reading of the display easier.
CD and WMA/MP3 Playback
Enjoy your favorite CDs and CD-Rs, or burn a disc of WMA or MP3 files and enjoy hours of music on a single disc, along with ID-3 tag display for artist and title info.
Front-Panel USB Port
Plug in a thumb drive or other USB storage device for playback of your favorite MP3/WMA files, with easy folder navigation. The port will also charge portable devices, and offers control of some music phones via the receiver.
Direct iPod Control
The eXcelon series is as iPod-friendly as it gets. Enjoy direct control of your device, along with great features such as:
- Advanced Control Wheel and High-speed Search Bar Key
The grip control knob is similar to that of an iPod, making operation familiar for iPod owners. What?s more, the high-speed search bar key allows users to scroll up or down through music files. In addition the search function works for iPods, USB mass storage and Data CDs.
- My Playlist
My Playlist allows you to create a playlist of up to ten songs from an iPod connected to an eXcelon receiver. The playlist is created by using the unique ID allocated for each song stored on an iPod.
- Search Functions
Simply press the Direct Search key and enter the Search Mode to enable searching just by entering the first three letters of the playlist, artist, album, song, podcast, genre or composer and using the up/down key to get a list of songs. It is also possible to search using Alphabet Search, Skip Search and Related Search functions.
Front Auxiliary Input
Listen to external audio devices like MP3 players using the front auxiliary input. The USB port and Aux input are both illuminated, and kept safe from dust when not in use with a sliding cover.
FM/AM Tuner
When you feel like letting someone else control the programming, switch to the radio. Store your favorite stations as presets for instant access--mixed preset tuning allows both FM and AM stations to be preset on the same preset band.
Serious Room To Grow
The KDC-X494 is ready for you to add Kenwood components for SAT/HD radio, Bluetooth, or a CD changer.
It's also ready for system building. While the built-in 50W x 4 MOSFET amp is plenty powerful, it also features three 4V preamp outputs (front, rear, subwoofer) for adding external amps and speakers. It includes a rear/subwoofer switch with a subwoofer level and adjustable low pass filter, so you can send just what you need for your system.
System E's+ Crossover System
A single IC that allows the user to select from 8 different high-pass filter crossover frequencies plus pass-through, with independent selection for front and rear outputs. This makes it easy to optimize the performance of all amps and speakers in a car audio system without needing an external electronic crossover. System E's+ also incorporates a phase switch and low-pass filter for the non-fading output. The low-pass filter has selectable cutoff frequencies of 50Hz, 80Hz, 120Hz and Through.
Sound Excellence DSP
The Sound Excellence audio enhancement feature brings out all of the music masked by road noise and includes a unique iPod EQ function that improves iPod sound quality by deactivating the EQ setting, allowing you to select from twenty-two EQ curves optimized for iPod playback in any vehicle.
System Q EX Sound Control
Five factory pre-set equalization curves (Rock, Top40, Pops, Jazz and Easy, plus a flat setting) and three speaker matching curves (OEM, 6x9, 5/4 plus a flat setting) that can be combined to give the user extreme flexibility over the sound's tonal character. The preset curves include midrange contouring, giving music more clarity and presence. System Q EX allows the user to modify the preset curves by changing the amplitude of the bass, midrange and treble compensation, and the Q of the bass and midrange compensation. The new curves can then be saved as presets for future recall
What's in the Box
Kenwood KDC-X494, Remote Control, Wiring Harness, Installation Tools and Hardware, Owner's Manual, Warranty Card
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for basic, mid to mid/high end setups => look no further!,
I used to install car stereos for 6 years and this is the best, hands down, bargain for the quality and performance.
Pre-amp outputs are front, rear and sub rated at 4 volts each. This is -perfect-
Has an Auxillary 35mm(1/8 inch) plug for any audio playing device you could think of; it has a USB port on the front and beyond the Crabapple iPod you can use a USB flashdrive. I opt for the flash drive with 8 gigabytes rather than anything else.
CD Play is perfect and skip free and capable of “forcing” the player to read those aweful CDs that are scratched beyond belief.
I have read and heard numerous complaints of the complexity of the owner’s manual but I shall report that it pales in complexity to any home stereo reciever manual. You basically use ONE KNOB which lets you keep your eyes on the road as you turn up or turn down the volumne, change the song, change the USB music folder, change the equalizer, change the high/low/subwoofer pass filters and MORE with ONE KNOB! Remote control also included in case you just want to lay back and not move your arm nor lean forward with an abcrunch to adjust anything.
For the money, for the features and for the quality you need to buy this and get your friends to buy one themselves.
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|For the price, this is a feature-packed head unit,
Let me clearly explain that I am not using an external amplifier with this unit. Consequently, I have no experience with the pre-outs and bass control. The audio qualities are not my top interests for this
purchase. Features, ease of use, and the display are my main tagets. That said…
I am building a portable radio using a car head unit to provide input sources and amplification along with a pair of Polk db651 speakers . My requirements were to be able to listen to AM/FM (HD radio and Bluetooth at some future time), CDs, MP3s on CD, AUX input (MP3/portable DVD player), USB thumb drive, wireless remote, and the ability to control iPODs via the head unit. Another critical feature for me was a display that was visible in sunlight (at the beach) and could be read from a distance.
I demo’d two Pioneer Premier units (P610BT and P510B), an Alpine unit (CDA-105), two JVC units (KD-HDR50 and KD-R600), and this one. I liked the Pioneer units a lot for features. The 510 had two USB ports, which I
really liked. It was a bit more expensive and had a crummy display, however. The 610 had a better display but only one USB port. They had a common deal killer for me, though. The user interface, specifically the
search feature for USB drives, was atrocious. Too much work to search for music on thumb drives. I expected much more from such an accomplished car audio company. One more jab, the fit and finish was not on par with the other units I considered. The Alpine was simply too much money for similar features. Besides, while I really liked the display, I hated the face design and colors. I can see how folks might like that radio, though. Nice unit. The JVCs were actually pretty nice with one common exception. The models I looked at had blue lettering on the displays. It was very hard to read them from a distance. The R600 did not support HD radio so I scratched it. Had I not gone with the Kenwood, I would have bought the JVC HDR50. In the end, I decided on the Kenwood. It has all the features for which I was looking, was priced far better than I anticipated it would be, and included a two year warranty.
I received it yesterday via UPS. While I am not a fan of the scrolling red dots on the bottom of the display, I like the appearance otherwise. I really like the included wireless remote. It is a little thicker than
most car radio remotes but that makes it easier for me to hold and use. It has all of the key functions on it. I know some people don’t like the faceplate interface of this radio, and I understand, but the remote
provides just about anything I need. The controls on the face will take you some time with which to become comfortable. Nothing terrible but a few things were not intuitive.
I hooked the unit up to a 12V power supply and some small Klipsch loudspeakers. The connections were clearly marked on the leads. The radio came up alive quickly. It reads and plays thumb drives in a snap. I like that the artist name and song title scroll accross the display in large, easy-to-read letters. I had no problem reading them from ten feet away. It was difficult for me to determine anything about sound quality
with the speakers that were connected but it seemed perfectly adequate. CDs and MP3 CDs loaded and played quickly, much faster than and older Alpine head unit I had on hand. The tuner had no problems out performing
my home audio receiver, which I expected. Stations locked very quickly and solidly. The AUX input worked fine, albeit at reduced volumes. My source may have more to do with that than the radio, though. I have not
had a chance to hook up an iPOD yet.
I only played with the radio for a few hours but I am impressed with what I saw. It hosts a bunch of features for the cost, is very quick, and owns the best display of all the units I tested. The two year warranty
doesn’t hurt, either.
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