kenwood mask Vs. sony black pannel

polo2k · Post by **polo2k** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 9:35 pm

ok then later this year i will prolly be in the market for a new head unit as the panasinic is getting a little dated
i have just about settled my fancies n eiter a sony black pannel or a kenwood mask
the pros and cons of the sony
+looks like its not there when its off kinda
- im not that keen on the button setout and the like
+im running mainly sony equipment so i think it may compliment the system
- sonys can be known to sound a little 'hollow'
the kenwood
+ultra cool mask action
+closer to oem illumination
-price (any experiance)
+kenwood sound very full and rich

im loowing for around 45wx4 and i want/need an aux input
ive looked into the pioneers but the prices are even higher for the kind of spec im looking at
i want either MD or CD but im not that bothered about mp3 as i have the dvd player that does mp3 (hence the aux input)

so does anyoune have any experiance with either of theese units or any more to add, im looking for things like fitment, price, sound quality nd charicteristics and any other things you like/dislike

Speedlaw · Post by **Speedlaw** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 10:33 pm

Well...

I had a Kenwood 909 once. A full two days. Then my car got broken into, and that was the end of the dash (was really stuck in there, apparently) and the radio.

The bright side, was that the sonic quality was better than anything I've ever heard in my life, and I mean way, way better. The downside is that even with the mask system + code, they nicked it. Immediately.

Mask is cool, but detach is better IMO. Can these two be combined?

I've had a Sony 8xx series unit after that, sonically good, but worse nonetheless. Flipdown front and detachable obviously. I ended up getting something better (well, SQ-wise) and I chose the Clarion 8675 or something. 8 series again anyway. In both cases these are the units just below the top of the range model.

Clarion has very good SQ, but still slightly less than Kenwood's 909 (can't judge others, really) but it looks a bit dated already. Kinda bulky/coarse looking...

Right now, I'd go for Nakamichi. Looks OE, sounds worldclass.

That'll be 0.02â‚¬ please.

Post by **Josh_PoloGTi** » Sat Apr 12, 2003 12:45 am

Nakamichi = Probably the Best Sound in the World

des_pd_ tdi · Post by **des_pd_ tdi** » Mon Apr 14, 2003 8:53 am

Best of both worlds, my mate has a Kenwood mask but you can also remove the panel, not sure what model it is but it was pricey.