Getting a Kenwood DDX9017 installed next week in the ole pocket rocket E46 M3. Certainly looks OK from spec. Anyone tried one yet ?
baders
OK I now have this unit installed. Right up front I have to inform that I am a "semi" car SQ nut case. I just like good sound in my ride when I'm not listening to the S54 straight 6 symphony 
A little bit of history. When I bought my 2002 E46 M3, it came with the Harmon Kardon top end system OEM. The head unit was missing quite a few pixels and I knew something was wrong with some of the HK speakers. There was no bass to speak of even though the OEM bass amp and 6x9s were OK.
Decided on an upgrade which involved pulling out the whole 00s era system (head unit, bluetooth cell phone, analogue TV tuner, BM53 radio and HK amp). Also pulled out the 6x9s and bass amp.
I went with a Chinese Android head unit which received OK reviews. Mistake number one. I installed Morel Tempo Ultra 6.5" components in custom made baffles bolted to metal in doors (coupe). I manned up and cut decent holes into the door cavities to assist bass response. Lined the doors with NVX sound insulation. Installed Morel Maximo coaxials in rear parcel deck. In removing the HK spekers, I found about half of them blown. These Morel speakers are driven by a Precision Power A1000.4.
Installed a Rockford Fosgate P3SD4-12" in sealed sub box in trunk. The sub is now driven by a Precision Power i650.1 after having problems with an i450.1 and getting no warranty or support from either Sonic Electronix or Epsilon
Also installed a MiniDSP C-DSP 6x8.
The Chinese HU was OK at first, but far too noisy. Nothing I could do would fix this. I tried re-doing all grounds to a single point, installing a ground loop isolator, splicing in a noise suppressor into the supply setting up a relay for switching on all pieces. All to no avail. I think I could hear every single piece of electrical equipment on the car. This unit seemed to develop no bass component much at all. The sound was anemic and far from what I knew those Morels and Rockford could do.The HU also became very slow and unresponsive.
OK, enough mucking around. Installed the Kenwood DDX9017DABS. What a difference !! I was still getting very slight noise which I discovered was the C-DSP 6x8. When I removed that SQ became crystal clear and no noise. I don't know why this would be but I know the C-DSP only outputs 2v, may have something to do with it. The Kenwood was installed and whilst it is a minimalist look for the E46, I'm very happy with the install and look;
Edit; I should also mention that the heater box behind the unit needed some modifications to fit double DIN, but the installer had done many E46s before and this was not an issue.
![Image]()
Initial set up of the Kenwood was dead easy. The menus in general take a bit of getting used to but no problem with practice. You can select custom colours for the keys. Bluetooth pairing was simple and fast. Bluetooth mobile SQ is clear and ample volume both ends of a call. DABS is a bonus for me, I've never used it. Great for when trying to listen to AM stations next to the electric rail lines. The 9017 does not have native Nav. I went this way as it is easy to either mirror your Samsung or iPhone or use Android Auto (in my case). AA was a breeze to set up. Also set up steering wheel mic button to activate and search nav destinations and other commands........neat !! Steering wheel controls all work out of the box. The unit can also handle Spotify or Pandora though I don't use those. The reversing camera works great out of the box.
Now to the good part, SQ. On firing this unit up, with no tuning, it was immediately apparent that SQ had lifted by several orders of magnitude. Those Morels were finally getting the signal and power they deserved. The Kenwood must be running some decent DAC and even radio is upscaled to 192kHz/32 bit. There is a 13 band EQ that also has TA. Position can be set manually and there is the standard balance and fader. Crossovers and gains can be adjusted for front/rear/sub. Individual source volumes can be adjusted and it also features zone control for different sources into different zones if required.
Now I know this is not as flexible as a full DSP set up, but for me, it is way good enough. Thus, I have ditched the C-DSP 6x8 and just running the Kenwood. Overall, I'm super impressed ! I'm hearing instruments and tones and voices that I never knew existed.
Pros;
SQ is fantastically good quality with ample adjustments in Audio menu.
Good selection of features that just work, first time every time, no hesitation.
Android Auto works well.
Cons:
Cost. It aint cheap.
Menus could be a little bit better defined (minor point though).
If you have the cash, like high SQ, are time poor and don't have time for fiddling about, I recommend this Kenwood DDX 9017DABS to you.
A little bit of history. When I bought my 2002 E46 M3, it came with the Harmon Kardon top end system OEM. The head unit was missing quite a few pixels and I knew something was wrong with some of the HK speakers. There was no bass to speak of even though the OEM bass amp and 6x9s were OK.
Decided on an upgrade which involved pulling out the whole 00s era system (head unit, bluetooth cell phone, analogue TV tuner, BM53 radio and HK amp). Also pulled out the 6x9s and bass amp.
I went with a Chinese Android head unit which received OK reviews. Mistake number one. I installed Morel Tempo Ultra 6.5" components in custom made baffles bolted to metal in doors (coupe). I manned up and cut decent holes into the door cavities to assist bass response. Lined the doors with NVX sound insulation. Installed Morel Maximo coaxials in rear parcel deck. In removing the HK spekers, I found about half of them blown. These Morel speakers are driven by a Precision Power A1000.4.
Installed a Rockford Fosgate P3SD4-12" in sealed sub box in trunk. The sub is now driven by a Precision Power i650.1 after having problems with an i450.1 and getting no warranty or support from either Sonic Electronix or Epsilon
Also installed a MiniDSP C-DSP 6x8.
The Chinese HU was OK at first, but far too noisy. Nothing I could do would fix this. I tried re-doing all grounds to a single point, installing a ground loop isolator, splicing in a noise suppressor into the supply setting up a relay for switching on all pieces. All to no avail. I think I could hear every single piece of electrical equipment on the car. This unit seemed to develop no bass component much at all. The sound was anemic and far from what I knew those Morels and Rockford could do.The HU also became very slow and unresponsive.
OK, enough mucking around. Installed the Kenwood DDX9017DABS. What a difference !! I was still getting very slight noise which I discovered was the C-DSP 6x8. When I removed that SQ became crystal clear and no noise. I don't know why this would be but I know the C-DSP only outputs 2v, may have something to do with it. The Kenwood was installed and whilst it is a minimalist look for the E46, I'm very happy with the install and look;
Edit; I should also mention that the heater box behind the unit needed some modifications to fit double DIN, but the installer had done many E46s before and this was not an issue.
Initial set up of the Kenwood was dead easy. The menus in general take a bit of getting used to but no problem with practice. You can select custom colours for the keys. Bluetooth pairing was simple and fast. Bluetooth mobile SQ is clear and ample volume both ends of a call. DABS is a bonus for me, I've never used it. Great for when trying to listen to AM stations next to the electric rail lines. The 9017 does not have native Nav. I went this way as it is easy to either mirror your Samsung or iPhone or use Android Auto (in my case). AA was a breeze to set up. Also set up steering wheel mic button to activate and search nav destinations and other commands........neat !! Steering wheel controls all work out of the box. The unit can also handle Spotify or Pandora though I don't use those. The reversing camera works great out of the box.
Now to the good part, SQ. On firing this unit up, with no tuning, it was immediately apparent that SQ had lifted by several orders of magnitude. Those Morels were finally getting the signal and power they deserved. The Kenwood must be running some decent DAC and even radio is upscaled to 192kHz/32 bit. There is a 13 band EQ that also has TA. Position can be set manually and there is the standard balance and fader. Crossovers and gains can be adjusted for front/rear/sub. Individual source volumes can be adjusted and it also features zone control for different sources into different zones if required.
Now I know this is not as flexible as a full DSP set up, but for me, it is way good enough. Thus, I have ditched the C-DSP 6x8 and just running the Kenwood. Overall, I'm super impressed ! I'm hearing instruments and tones and voices that I never knew existed.
Pros;
SQ is fantastically good quality with ample adjustments in Audio menu.
Good selection of features that just work, first time every time, no hesitation.
Android Auto works well.
Cons:
Cost. It aint cheap.
Menus could be a little bit better defined (minor point though).
If you have the cash, like high SQ, are time poor and don't have time for fiddling about, I recommend this Kenwood DDX 9017DABS to you.
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
