JVC KW-Z1000W Review
JVC KW-Z1000W JVC KW-Z1000W: Ultimate car entertainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and stunning 10.1″ capacitive touchscreen. Check Latest Price
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Make no mistake about it, the Kenwood DDX5706S digital media receiver was designed from top to bottom to help iPhone users get the most out of their smart phone when they are driving around in their car.
Almost everything about this digital media receiver has been crafted around that concept, something that the engineers at Kenwood have been open, upfront, and honest about. The company as stated on numerous occasions that everything about this hardware was designed with the iPhone in mind. And while there is support for Android devices as well, you’ll definitely get more out of this digital media receiver if you’re running a device with iOS as its operating system.
On top of the iPhone centric approach to design and development, the folks at Kenwood have also implemented a whole host of pretty impressive technological advances into this digital media receiver.
The system allows for legacy media playback while featuring USB and Bluetooth wireless connectivity options, has very impressive amplification and soundstage technology built right in, and is relatively simple and straightforward to install in any Double DIN dashboard openings.
To learn a little bit more about everything that the Kenwood DDX5706S brings to the table let’s dig a little deeper into this quick review.
Inside of the box for this digital media receiver you’ll find a 6.2 inch resistive touchscreen device attached to the actual digital media/DVD receiver module.
The touchscreen is easy use and a dream to navigate thanks to its resistive touchscreen technology, even if it isn’t quite as responsive or as fancy as some of the new capacitive touchscreens you can find on the market today.
A dedicated wiring harness makes the installation of this Double DIN receiver into most modern automobiles pretty straightforward as well. You aren’t going to have to worry about dealing with hardwiring any of your core audio components thanks to the way this harness has been implemented. You’ll also find a number of different pre-out systems that have been wired with this harness, too. This gives you a couple of options for extensibility straightaway.
A dedicated external microphone that gives total voice control and command capabilities over your new Kenwood DDX5706S is included in the box. This is attached to a 10 foot cable (which hooks up via a mono 3.5 mm connection) that gives you plenty of freedom to decide where you want your microphone to be situated inside of your vehicle.
The extra length provides plenty of room for the microphone to be discreetly situated while at the same time located close enough to the driver that you’ll always have high-quality audio and voice command signals picked up.
Two proprietary radio removal tools are included with the Kenwood DDX5706S. These tools are designed to help you pop your OEM radio out of your dashboard while also giving you an easier time of getting the new Kenwood DDX5706S into that vacated spot. A trim ring helps to beautify everything, perfectly matching pretty much any interior and automotive aesthetic without any jarring differences.
Mounting hardware, a quick start guide, and a warranty card for your new hardware is all included in the DDX5706S hardware box as well.
The 6.2 inch resistive touchscreen is easily one of the coolest features of the Kenwood DDX5706S. Not only is the screen highly responsive, particularly for resistive technology, but it also has a very sharp resolution in pretty much any lighting condition.
This means you’re going to be able to easily navigate in the bright sunlight or with nothing but the light of the moon in your vehicle, but it also means that video media is going to playback with a lot of vibrancy and color in daylight or at night time as well.
Having full support for legacy media is a nice bonus as well. A lot of new digital media receivers are starting to move away from offering legacy media support, and many aren’t even shipping with a dedicated DVD or CD player any longer.
The Kenwood DDX5706S pushes back against that trend a little bit.
Not only are you going to get a CD player built right into this receiver (that works well with burned CDs just as well as any other) but it also has full DVD capabilities as well. You’ll be able to playback your favorite movies and TV shows as well as all of your favorite CDs with this system installed.
The USB connection port allows you to plug your phone into this receiver pretty easily, not only giving you the ability to control your phone via the Kenwood DDX5706S but also giving you the opportunity to stream music and movies from that device or those applications as well. You can even charge your phone while using it with this kind of connection.
Bluetooth wireless built into the Kenwood DDX5706S provides you a unique opportunity to connect up to two different mobile devices over the singular Bluetooth connection at the same time. This means you have the ability for hands-free calling, texting, and voice commands on one device while streaming music or movies from the other one. It’s a pretty neat feature that not a lot of digital media receivers include.
As we highlighted above, you get full support for iPhone devices (and iPad devices, for that matter) with the Kenwood DDX5706S. This is something we highlight in depth a little bit later, but the Apple Carplay support here is fantastic. Android devices can be used with the Kenwood DDX5706S as well.
It’s going to be hard to find any digital media receiver out there that offers better support for the Apple Car Play experience than the Kenwood DDX5706S.
As touched on a number of times earlier, the entire receiver has been built from the ground up to support iPhone and iPad devices. You’ll immediately gain access to the total Car Play experience when you plug your phone in or connect via Bluetooth, giving you complete control over your phones capabilities, your media, your messaging, and all of the apps that you love to use on the go.
Those using Android devices aren’t going to have quite as much mobile device support, with no Android Auto support built into the Kenwood DDX5706S. At the same time, they can connect via USB or Bluetooth to stream movies, music, and media from their device and can also use somewhat limited voice command and control options as well.
This is definitely something better suited to those that love their iPhone.
While this Kenwood digital media receiver does support CD and DVD playback it does not currently support Blu-ray disc playback.
This digital media receiver does allow for GPS antennas to be plugged directly into it, offering OEM navigational setups if your vehicle has already come wired for that technology. You can also add accessory GPS antennas to this receiver to take advantage of mapping tools, too.
A lot of people choose to use the navigation options from their phone in conjunction with the Kenwood DDX5706S, though. You can use your favorite apps (including Google Maps) on the Kenwood DDX5706S screen after connecting via USB or Bluetooth.
The DDX5706S does include iDataLink Maestro support that allows for most OEM steering wheel controls to be used in conjunction with this receiver, though sometimes a secondary adapter is necessary to open up full compatibility.
Kenwood has a homerun on their hands with the DDX5706S model.
Perfect for those that want cutting-edge technology combined with legacy support for CDs and DVDs, and really designed for folks that love their iPhone and want to continue to use devices within the Apple ecosystem, this is a top-tier digital media receiver at a fair price.
The fact that you can really extend the capabilities of the Kenwood DDX5706S with accessory and add-on components (from Kenwood as well as other aftermarket manufacturers) easily with the wiring harness set up and extensibility inputs built right in are other reasons to consider picking this receiver over other options.
JVC KW-Z1000W JVC KW-Z1000W: Ultimate car entertainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and stunning 10.1″ capacitive touchscreen. Check Latest Price
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