Kenwood Head Units

[NoRegrets 10+ year member]

I see a lot of praise recently for the Kenwood Head Units especially for the X693 and the x993.

I'm looking at the X493 because of the front "aux in" and the front usb. But the X493 does not do AAC files where as the X693 does.

How important do you think this is? Should it be a deal breaker?

Also, are there any other things that are different between the X493 and X693?

Thanks for your help.

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[bigaudiofanati2 10+ year member]

I have not hear anything about the single dins but I am starting to swear by the kenwood double dins as they have a lot to offer.

 

[flipside1212 10+ year member]

ive always used pioneers and alpine, i picked up a kenwood single din, some **** with a usb and im very pleased with it. sounds good

 

[cf2004 10+ year member]

i have a kenwood x592 and it aint to bad. sounds good.

 

[fat_kyle]

i have the x493 and i love it...solid hu

 

[randyrsx 10+ year member]

Have the x993 and have NoRegrets (see what I did there)

 

[the_franchise 10+ year member]

I don't think it's a deal breaker... the x493 is very solid for the money... I would be more concerned with it being able to play wma files cause that's what the majority of my mp3s are in... Great headunit...

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

Unless you use iTunes and rip your music to AACs, you shouldn't have to ever worry about it. I keep all my music in the MP3 format with iTunes. It's been so long since I've set iTunes up, I cannot remember if AAC or MP3 is the default format. Anyways, if you do use AAC, you can highlight all your songs, right click, then click on "create MP3 version." Depending on how many songs you have, this can take a while but it will convert all your AAC files to MP3. This also deletes any file protection you may get when purchasing a song from the iTunes store.

 

[nineball 10+ year member]

the default for itunes is m4a but you can change that to almost any format you like.

to the OP, unless all your files are in AAC it is a moot point.

i have a 993 and love it, except for the glass glare.

 

[PIITB Wut Wut 10+ year member]

I see a lot of praise recently for the Kenwood Head Units especially for the X693 and the x993.
I'm looking at the X493 because of the front "aux in" and the front usb. But the X493 does not do AAC files where as the X693 does.

How important do you think this is? Should it be a deal breaker?

Also, are there any other things that are different between the X493 and X693?

Thanks for your help.

all their x lines of headunits are great... each one has littel upgrades but for the most part they are all the same...

as you go up in the line they add file support, screen better resolution and such, but as i said all are great.

 

[NoRegrets 10+ year member]

Thank you to all who have replied to my questions. As of right now, not being able to read AAC files will not affect me. My concern though is that the future may trend towards the AAC as some have inplied the sound quality is better with that format.

I like the fact that it has 24bit dac, front aux in and usb, 2 year warranty, and a great reputation. Maybe I should just go ahead and get this one now and then if and when AAC becomes more important to me, get something new at that time.

I appreciate the helpful responses by all.

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

You could just go with the 693. It's probably the best HU for the money right now.

 

[NoRegrets 10+ year member]

You could just go with the 693. It's probably the best HU for the money right now.

I agree that the 693 is a great head unit, but it doesn't have the front aux in or front usb that I need.

I noticed in your tag line that you have a Pioneer. Do you have a feeling which would be better......

Pioneer 6100BT has front aux in and front usb, plays AAC, but no 24bit dac.

or

Excelin 493 has front aux in and front usb, has 24bit dac, but does not support AAC.

Your opinion would be greatly appreciated.

 

[nineball 10+ year member]

based on your needs it's a no-brainer

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

I agree that the 693 is a great head unit, but it doesn't have the front aux in or front usb that I need.
I noticed in your tag line that you have a Pioneer. Do you have a feeling which would be better......

Pioneer 6100BT has front aux in and front usb, plays AAC, but no 24bit dac.

or

Excelin 493 has front aux in and front usb, has 24bit dac, but does not support AAC.

Your opinion would be greatly appreciated.

The 693 does have a usb that's on a 24 inch or so dongle from the back. As far as a front aux, there isn't one even on the back, as far as I know. If you're going to be playing MP3s, a 24 bit DAC pretty much means nothing. It's going to do you a world of good with uncompressed music (CDs) but not much with compressed music. The Excelon 493 doesn't seem too bad though either. The Pioneer does offer built in bluetooth and the Excelon doesn't. That's one up on the Pioneer.