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Kenwood & Back Up Camera in the Coupe!

8K views 24 replies 11 participants last post by  Northern Sol 
#1 ·
After much thought I decided to pull the trigger on the latest from Kenwood the DNX693S and a back up camera for the "Ace of Spades".
I bought them through and had the install done by Audio Heaven. A company just north of Toronto. They set me up with my Kenwood DNX892, back up camera and window tint on the "Mean Machine" last year.

To my amateur eye Kenwood has done quite a redesign on the new units. Seems a little more user friendly. I am no tech wiz but for me I am very happy with this unit. In no time at all I have figured out what I need for my needs......
1) Garmin Nav - Love it!
2) Satalite Radio - all good with favorite stations on preset.
3) Blue Tooth Phone Set Up - I am reachable and able to reach out! The Blue Tooth was part of what kept me on the fence for a while as my Coupe being a 2009 came with factory Bluetooth. I finally succumbed to the allure of the built in screen and all the extras.
4) Back Up Camera - As my pal Coastel GXP said to me..." Should of come from the factory with one". Having a back up camera was a major motivation for me. It is such a relief to have one in the Coupe.
5) Apple CarPlay - Wow!!!! My 2009 is so 2017!!!!!

I am thrilled with my set up and glad I did it. Factory head unit is boxed and stored should the next owner ( when I am long gone or not sure where I went:willy:) wish to return her to stock.
 

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#5 ·
very nice...

ripping everything apart is what is stopping me from pulling the trigger on something like this...
 
#8 ·
After seeing your awesome Sol I think you would be very happy it you do this.:thumbs:
 
#12 ·
Interesting. I have shelved the idea of going to an after market deck as I would want all the factory functionality (except Onstar, which I have never used and don't care about) and a reasonable appearance.

Looks like this unit does all that.

Looked at Crutchfield and it says not compatible with Solstice as depth requires 1/8" more than stock, but presumably your installers solved that.

I am intrigued!
 
#13 ·
Hi Bill,
They had no issues with the install. As I mentioned they did the previous install on my "mean machine" so they are familiar with the Solstice. I bought this unit from the installer ( Audio Heaven) on their recommendation. The unit has just been released by Kenwood so maybe Crutchfield has not gotten their info right.
Cheers,
NS
PS I have ONStar as well. I don't use it either.
 
#14 ·
Did you get the unit from the US? It doesn't show as available from Crutchfield.ca

If I decide to do anything, I'll get in touch to get details on the parts list for rear camera etc. (I have a back up alert I could lose and a rear laser detector mounted there so would have to ditch one - the back up alert would become superfluous, so likely that one).
 
#15 ·
No. Audio Heaven is a distributer for Kenwood Canada and they install as well. They are one of the best outfits in Toronto area. I would recommend you find a similar outfit in Vancouver.
 
#18 ·
Love my Kenwood 6990DNX with the Bluetooth, I phone interface, USB interface, Sirius and backup camera. Only two things I can complain about:

Can't see the screen in sunlight.
Keep blowing the backup light fuse. Maybe a short in the backup cam wiring, or maybe just pulls more than the designated 10 amps. Yesterday I put a 15 amp fuse in. We will see how that goes.
 
#25 ·
I have my Apple CarPlay figured out. It is pretty cool. Sending and receiving text's on the head unit screen is really neat. You never take your hands off the wheel ...you just talk to Siri. The only text's I get are from the wife usually. She is pretty happy lately. I got an iWatch which taps my wrist when I get a call or text. So much for " I didn't hear the phone ring" defence. Now the same applies to text's when I am driving. What have I done.....:banghead::willy::banghead::willy:
 
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