I'm new to this forum so bear with me on this one... I explain the problem I was having and a solution near the bottom.
I've just found a solution to what was a large problem with owning a Kenwood VW Approved Sat Nav unit (dnx521, dnx520 etc). These models are great as they offer Garmin SAT Navs and Pre-Outs for 3rd party speakers etc. However the only problem ive ever encountered is with the modern iPhones and there compatibility with the Kenwood units due to there weird connection. The connection is a 30 Pin (Old Style Apple Connector), this is a problem for iphone 5 and above users as they have a different connection port. Many people may say why not use a lighting adapter ? This Is not the case anymore as with the new Apple IOS versions coming more power is needing to be dragged in by the Kenwood unit and the cable simply cannot handle it and constantly shows either "disconnected" on the Kenwood Unit or "Accessory not supported" on the iPhone. The KCA-IP202 Cable is the cable that communicates with the kenwood unit. It has a 30 pin apple connector on one end and a USB Cable and 3.5mm Aux (headphone jack) on the other end(s). For those who don't know, the USB Part of the IP202 Cable used to communicate with the kenwood (seen below) transmits Data ONLY from the iPhone e.g Song Name, Album etc, the usb connection also allows the kenwood unit to control the song on the iphone. The USB connection does NOT transmit audio for a strange and terribly costly and annoying reason. The cable divides data and audio- audio is sent through the 3.5mm aux cable and data through usb. This was possible back in the days when 30 pin apple connections were analogue, now however the lightning port is digital meaning that audio and data cant be split because the kenwood unit only supports audio through analogue connections e.g aux . People did get around this with the 30 pin to lighting adapter, however the compatibility for this is now disappearing due to more power being needed through the cable from the iPhones power hungry operating system. The only way we were going to get our iPhones to function was by just using an aux cable, however users will then not be able to control the music from there kenwood due to no usb connection to the kenwood unit.
The annoying cable^
With the new mobile phone law in the UK being caught changing the music from your phone would result in nothing but regret of buying a kenwood- lol.
More and more people are saying goodbye to there old DNX521DAB and DNX520VBT due to this problem because the updated version (DNX525DAB) includes a lighting port for iphone 5 and above users. However this can be a costly upgrade and there is simply no point if you're using Spotify or any other music player because Kenwood units only support the control music function with Apples own music app (Apple Music). My problem lay right there, I thought to myself... I may just buy the new one and sell the old one on ebay, however I knew it wouldn't completely solve my issue due to being a Spotify user. The only other option I could see would be to buy the ultimate Kenwood unit (£1000+) the most modern unit Kenwood sell which is also VW approved. This modern unit looks exactly the same as the DNX521 (my Kenwood) however includes Apple Car Play which means you are able to control Spotify through a fantastic user interface. However it probably would cost you £600-700 to upgrade from the DNX521 by the time you sell it. I have thought long and hard about a potential solution, I came to the conclusion that there isn't a way unless I was to install either an Apple TV or another similar product that had spotify integration.
It was a £70 upgrade all in with the parts. I decided to retro fit a Amazon Fire TV Stick into my Kenwood DNX521 unit by using the "Video IN" on the rear of the kenwood...This is used for reversing camera video, however I don't use reversing cameras.
Amazon Fire is a fantastic interface controlled by a remote and is spotify enabled. I connected my amazon fire all together inside the dashboard and glovebox and hardly takes up any room. Its a very easy install and doesn't require any power more than 5V (USB power) so no inverters were not needed (unlike the apple TV running on 240v). It now means I can control spotify from the Amazon Remote and using the Kenwood unit as a screen to show me all of my playlists, songs, albums, artists etc, as well as being able to Browse on spotify.
Its a very easy upgrade and took me no more than 30 mins (40 minutes after I had cable managed inside the glove box).
If you're interested in doing such a thing to your Kenwood DNX, I will leave some photos and a guide on how to do it.
I hope this may help you, I'd be intrested in seeing any other solutions that you may have thought of.
