Over the last few months, my old Sony 10 disc CD-changer has been giving me problems. The magazine tray sometimes would get stuck in the changer and I couldn't get it out, without plugging and unplugging the interface cable that links the head unit and the changer. And after I power the unit off and then back on, the discs in the magazine sometimes wouldn't get recognized, and I'd have to perform a reset on it, which erased all the preset radio-station settings. The head unit was still perfectly fine, but I had enough of the flaky CD changer.
After pricing out a new replacement changer (which, surprising to me, Sony still makes changers compatible with my old head unit), I noticed that for just slightly more money, I could buy a new head unit that could play MP3 files.
This would be very cool, since I've been burning more and more discs with MP3 files for use with my Riovolt SP250 portable MP3 player. Having an MP3 player in the car to play the same discs I use on my portable would be great.
When I surveyed what was available, I realized that stores that used to carry the older 2001 model year head units were now carrying the 2002 counterparts. So the older Kenwood 8017 that had received favorable comments on the Miata list and forum was no longer easily obtainable, and instead, Kenwood now offered the KDC-MPV619 as their entry level MP3 playing head unit.
Price was the most important feature I was after, but I also wanted a decent MP3 player, especially one which has received favorable reviews in the past. Lots of people had good things to say about the older 8017. But from this Kenwood's press release, the new MPV619 was supposed be even better than the 8017: an upgraded CD transport mechanism, including faster eject/load times, improved vibration performance, lighter transport, and a quieter mechanism. So the Kenwood it was.
Rather than documenting a radio install again, I'll just give my overall impressions of this unit.
See Kenwood's description of the KDC-MPV619 head unit
here.
See Crutchfield's listing
here.
See SoundDomain.com's listing
here.
A nice price. Kenwood lists this between $300-$350. At the time of my purchase, Crutchfield was selling it at $299. SoundDomain.com was selling it at $259. But through SoundDomain.com's guaranteed price matching system, I was able to get it for $217. All I had to do was supply them a URL of another online retail store selling it for a cheaper price. I used google to find some unknown (to me) store with a very low price, and sent SoundDomain their price, thinking that they'd never match it. A few days later, I got email back saying that the store I submitted wasn't an authorized Kenwood Internet retailer, and they didn't offer factory warranty. Despite this, SoundDomain still offered to match their price. Very nice and kudos to their store. I'll be going back in the future if I ever have the need.
Besides playing regular audio on CDs, CD-R and CD-RW, it can play MP3 files written on CD-R and CD-RW discs. Yummy. The convenience of being able to play a single CD of MP3 files containing the same amount of music as an external 10 disc CD-changer, without having to sacrifice the trunk space for a CD-changer. So now, I have slightly more space in my trunk since I took out the changer.
Capable of displaying an MP3 files ID3 tag information, but it only supports V1.x tags.
Relatively straightforward folder/track navigation in playing MP3 files.
Random play
No noticeable audio gaps in playback between sequential MP3 tracks.
Preamp outputs - I have an amp in the trunk which drives the front door speakers, and this was a necessity. Plus the pre-amp levels can be attenuated via a menu choice - a nice touch.
If you're playing MP3 tracks and power the unit off then back on or switch to Tuner then back, the player resumes where it was last playing. Although, frankly, this is a feature I'd expect of any player.
So far, playback of MP3 discs hasn't skipped. Even on some rough roads on my stiffer suspension (Ground Control coilovers with 350/250 springs, KYB AGX shocks set to 4 all around).
The important buttons (volume, track, menu) are on the left side of the unit, easier to access for the driver.
I'm not a chrome type of person, so for me, the silver faceplate and trim ring contrasted too much with the flat black interior. I'd much rather have a head-unit that's plain black, like the older Kenwood 8017. But given the price I paid, I can live with the color.
A very poorly designed sunburst pattern LCD display on the right third of the faceplate. You can use this to show the current time or track play time, but the sunburst display is a very poorly designed way of showing this type of information. Why not have a small numerical display instead? The annoying part is that there's multiple radial line segments in this display. When time is shown (either clock or play time), instead of showing it using a single radial line for the hours/minutes hand (or minutes/seconds hand for play time), what's shown is the inverse of this, ie. the "hands" of the clock are represented as the lack of a radial segments. Very strange and confusing.
Buttons could be bigger. They had all that room on the face plate. I didn't understand why Kenwood didn't use more of it to allow for bigger volume, and preset buttons that could be easier to press?
I wish it had a "time-remaining-in-track" display. I have this on my Riovolt SP250 portable MP3 player, and I much rather view this than the time into a track.
I wish it had a faster/smoother scrolling display for ID3 tag information.
If you've removed the faceplate and you're reattaching it to the head unit, it's not as smooth and quick as my older Sony faceplate. Maybe I'll get better at locking it in.
Color Shock front display. Lets you choose one of 67 different colors for the LCD background on the faceplate. Gimmicky, and the color is not really noticeable when in direct sunlight (can you say top down driving?) But it's nice being able to match it to the color of my car. You can set the color to a fixed value, or change every 6 hours, or associate a color to an input source, or just keep changing continuously (can you say distracting?)
The remote. The unit comes shipped with one, but I haven't really found a good use for it in a 2 seat convertible.
Overall, it's a very capable MP3 head unit at a good price, and would have been absolutely perfect for me if it had come in black.