Pandora has overtaken the Kenwood’s 2011 lineup with 9 new radios offering control over Pandora on your iPhone.
The lower end of the in-dash navi line starts with the DNX5180 for $1,150—about the same starting price as last year’s lineup.
Also new this year under the Excelon line is an OEM replacement speaker system. It’s a 7-inch speaker with universal adapter so it can fit holes from 6.5 to 6 by 9 inches. It gives you “a much better woofer and much better tweeter,” than factory speakers, says Kenwood. The KFC-X183C at $180 SRP fits in Chevrolet, GM, Toyota, Dodge, Chrysler and other vehicles. You get a 2-way speaker system with a 1-inch soft dome tweeter and diamond-array pattern woofer cone. It should be available in February.
Under Excelon are CD players from $190 to $380, all with optional steering wheel control and some with Bluetooth with external mics. The top of the line KDC-X995 has built-in HD Radio and Bluetooth by Parrot, plus built in Pandora link. It ships in March. At the low end, Excelon receivers start at $30 below last year’s entry price of $220.
There are 7 new standard Kenwood CD receivers. The standout piece is the KDC-HD548U ($200 SRP), which is a replacement for the successful KDC-HD545U (the top selling CD receiver with HD Radio as per NPD, April through October 2010, said Kenwood). It gets a dedicated HD Radio iTunes tagging button on the face right next to the volume knob. It should be available in February.
Two new CD-less decks can work with a Zune as well as an iPod or iPhone. You get a 3-inch color TFT on the face and iPod video playback plus Pandora control. Both models support a backup camera. The KIV-BT901 has built-in Bluetooth with external microphone at $500 and the KIV-701 is identical but lacks Bluetooth at $450. Shipping is in April.
Source: Kenwood