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Kenwood DNX-9960

20K views 24 replies 9 participants last post by  Kriston 
#1 ·
Now that I can post this in the correct section :)

I had the 9960 installed yesterday, so there are still a few things I have to learn about it. If you have questions I will try to get answers in a reasonable time frame.

The installation took about a day, as there was much experimenting to get everything to work.

I guess that first I must mention that my XLR is a 2008 model, so I can't guarantee that other years will behave the same.

OK, what I lost is OnStar. The mute works, but we can't get sound FROM the OnStar (or phone). Sound going out works fine. If anyone has info about this the installer would like to know so we can get it fixed.

The second thing I lost is the radio communication to the HUD. The HUD works fine, but no data from the radio.

The cruise control on this model has a bus connection in the Bose amplifier (not the radio head), so the amp is still in the car, but the CD changer and the radio head are in a box in the closet. There is one feature of the cruise that doesn't seem to work now, but I never used it. That is the red light in the HUD if you turn off cruise without disengaging it first. This may just be me remembering it wrong since I seldom use cruise going to work.

Now the gains:
Bluetooth! Works great with my iPhone. SMS does not work through bluetooth, but I think that is an Apple issue. At least Kenwood says it is.

Garmin nav! FAR FAR better than the factory nav. Even better than the 2010 CTS nav, which is the best that GM has ever made.

iPod control! It controls my iPod Video beautifully. Even the album artwork come through. And iPod videos! It will not directly control my older iPhone 3G with IOS 4.0, but the Video works, so I don't care.

USB music! It has a USB port for a standard thumb drive with music. Even searches folders and groups music into albums.

HD Radio! I have wanted to get HD radio for a while now. The installer had one of last years models at a price I couldn't pass up.

The radio controls on the steering wheel all work except the band select. I have the newer wheel with the ten buttons. The station up/down and the volume up/down do what you would expect. The former voice button acts as a mute or attenuation button.

Overall I am very happy with it. The installation looks good and professional. The sound is much better. I can even HEAR the bass before I feel it now!

I was going to post pictures, but the weather has been rainy here in North Texas since I picked it up. I refuse to let the car fill up with water just to put down the top and take pictures :)

I will try to post the snaps I took with my phone and provide a link in a bit.
 
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#3 ·
Just wanted to add a bit of info.

The RAP (Retained Accessory Power) does work properly.

Check Gages (a mispelling of Gauges, I guess) shows up in the HUD when the fuel level is low.

Bluetooth switches on quickly if you start the car while talking on the phone.

I went out to take more pictures since the rain has stopped. Just as I started the sun came out, so there is a bit of glare, but more pics are up at the website.
 
#5 ·
Is there any other gear but the head unit? Amps, speakers, etc? Any photos of that stuff?
 
#6 ·
It came with a remote. I never saw much point in having a remote in a two seat car, but it has one. I will post pictures of the remote in the next batch.

I had to get an amp, because they had trouble matching to the Bose amp that came with it. I went with the small two channel amp, as there would be no point in getting 5.1 surround unless I plan to watch DVDs, with a price difference of over $600. I may upgrade that later. The amp is mounted behind the passenger seat, or so they told me. I'll look tomorrow and see if I gan get pics of it.

I have the stock speakers, but I am going to get an estimate next Friday, since I have read far too many people who tell me how much better it will sound. I don't like carrying a balance on my card, so it will have to wait until after my Maui trip ;)

The iPod interface is installed in the center console. I will get pics of that to put up as well.

If the bezel was charcoal instead of shiny black it would look like a factory install. They did a very good job.
 
#7 ·
Just spent the day at Mobile Sound Systems again.

I had the mono bass amp removed and a 5.1 Kenwood amp installed. I now have the center channel speaker working for DVDs. OK, I know, big deal. But it now has a good power amp on more channels and it sounds better. We have discussed a second amp for the rest of the speakers at a later date, let me get this paid off first.

And, now for the big news, OnStar is now working again! The problem was that we had no wiring information and did not realize that the OnStar (and phone) audio ran directly to the power amp. Since the power amp is turned on by bus data, not a single wire we have not been able to use it. Hence the external amp behind the passenger seat.

The antenna issue has also been resolved. The module that we used with the new system was not applying power to the antenna module as it should. There is a direct power out pin on the back of the Kenwood that we used instead of the recommended module switch. We had to add a small relay due to the current draw of the added equipment, but that was no big deal. Everything now works!

And I have now officialy spent more on the stereo than I did buying my first five cars combined.
 
#10 ·
Would you mind sharing what modules and such they used to get onstar and the other integration working?
 
#11 ·
Sure, no problem. The OnStar has two lines coming out of the module. One is used to mute the radio, and the other is a low level audio output. These lines go directly into the Bose power amp. The power amp is turned on by the bus, not a discreet wire, so we had to make it work another way.

To get OnStar working we had to change out one of the amps. I had a single mono amp for subwoofer that we changed out for a 5 channel amp. We are talking about adding a two/four channel for the left and right forward speakers, but it will have to wait. The center channel and the OnStar use two channels with a bridged output so that they both share the center speaker. When I make a call it will mute the radio and bring in the OnStar audio. This was a more expensive option than just a simple amp to the center channel, but I wanted to add the 5.1 for the DVD player anyway.

It was actually quite simple, but it took most of the day to research what all needed to be done.

I will list a detailed parts list later when I find out what all of the parts are (some are obvious, but some numbers I'll have to look up).

This is a 2008 model. From looking at the diagrams the older models with OnStar should work pretty much the same.
 
#12 · (Edited)
The install has the following parts.

DNX-9960 -- The actual radio
PAC OS2-GM32 -- OnStar interface for older GM (2000-2005) may have been removed.
Metra AD-GM1 -- Wiring harness kit
KCA-IP301V -- Ipod interface
KTC-HR200 -- HD radio tuner (last years model, no iTunes tagging)
Metra 70-2003 -- Wiring harness kit
AXXESS ASWC -- Steering wheel kit
KAC-6104D -- Subwoofer amp (has been replaced with 5 chan amp)
(I now have it sitting on a table getting ready to sell).
XR-5S -- The amp that replaced the above
PAC TR-7 -- Relay to turn on amp
Various mounting parts.

And a bunch of labor charges.

There is a lot of work involved in this. If you have never done this before, pay someone! If you are in the DFW area I would not hesitate to recommend Mobile Sound Systems. If you are too far away, you're on your own. :)
 
#13 ·
Just had a new antenna installed. We never got the factory antenna working as well as I wanted. For some strange reason Kenwood was averse to us opening the HD tuner and adding a tap on the IF section to feed back to the antenna.

I had them install a Metra 44 UA120 amplified antenna. It is small (about 1 x 3 inch) and mounts to the windshield.

I just got back from a mini-vacation and it worked great. I was getting WRR in digital up to Denton (about 60 miles from Dallas), and analog for another 20-30 miles. Not bad for a lower power FM station.

I was able to get other stations a greater distance, but the GF was in the car and we listen to what she likes when possible.
 
#14 ·
Outstanding work Kriston! You have built what Cadillac should have done in the 1st place. When I bought my White 08 in April 08, the first thing I noticed is that the Nav System appeared to be nearly identical to the one in our former 2000 DTS. Little or no improvement in 7 years. It was FAR inferior to my wife's 07 Lexus 350. Poorly lit screen. Nearly unreadable with polarized lens on (which also knocks out the HUD)

One of these days I would like to tackle the project.

Thanks,
Jester:jester
 
#17 ·
Can you give anymore details on the connections from the OnStar to the amp for mute and line level audio? Connector and pin numbers or wire color?

I am trying to interface my Parrot CK3100 into the amp. I don't care about OnStar.

I would sure like to find the electrical schematics for the audio system.

Thanks
 
#18 ·
I will look for my documents. It has been about a year, so I don't remember the color or pin right now.

I bought a service manual onling for a pretty good price (under $15 of I recall), but it required Windows to run. I use Linux and tend to spit on windows, so it was a pain to install. I printed out the diagrams for the amp and it was pretty obvious when I found the correct year.

I gave a copy of it all to the tech at Mobile Sound Systems in Arlington, Tx if you are in the DFW area. He should have it documented since they are hoping to get more XLR work there.

I have a business trip next week, but I'll see what I can find when I get back.
 
#23 ·
Phrede,

Sorry about not getting back sooner, but I have been on much travel over the past few weeks. We are producing a new small computer and we are right at the ramp up, so I have to go to assemblers and work out logistics of such a large production.

Did you find a manual yet? I will not be home long enough to extract the manuals for a few more days (weeks?), so if you have not found one please let me know and I'll see if it is possible to copy the one I have.
 
#25 ·
Wow, it's been a long time since I have been able to get in here!

I apologize for the long delay.

The dash kit he used was a standard that he had he did not tell me which one it was, but the radio that comes in the XLR is the same one that was used for a while in the Corvette.

It was just two pieces less than an inch wide on each side.
 
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