Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community - FT86CLUB - View Single Post - Kenwood DDX917WS head unit -- any installed?

willimusk · 07-13-2017, 01:46 PM

I bought this unit through Carbon Car Systems in Australia. I believe I was the first person in the States to get one from them. I installed it yesterday, along with the one-piece Canadian dash; it took all of an an hour, and I was being overly cautious.

Carbon bundles with a proprietary wiring harness for the 2017 BRZ that makes it all plug and play. Steering functions and camera work perfectly. The sound is a big upgrade over the stock unit, and having Carplay is a big plus.

Wireless air mirroring is available for both Apple and Android, though it is only one way on the iPhone, meaning it displays but you cannot control any functions from the HU screen. Android is two way. I won't find this feature very useful because it seriously degrades the excellent sound available via wired Carplay. But if I want to use Google Maps or Waze or other non-CarPlay apps, it will be handy.

I have to say, this HU is excellent, IMO, and I'm a hardcore home audio guy. It offers a lot of options to fine-tune the sound, including a number of preset EQ curves and effects. And it looks fantastic in the one-piece dash.

I also purchased the OEM Audio + Reference 450Q, but I plan to spend time with this Kenwood for a while before I install it. At the kind suggestion of Daniel at O+, I actually had Carbon ship directly to O+ so they could install the HU in their test BRZ and tune their DSP to it. The settings have been added to their database, so others can get theirs tuned easily now.

07-13-2017, 01:46 PM	#12
willimusk Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Drives: 2017 BRZ PP CWP Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 100 Thanks: 40 Thanked 56 Times in 38 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I bought this unit through Carbon Car Systems in Australia. I believe I was the first person in the States to get one from them. I installed it yesterday, along with the one-piece Canadian dash; it took all of an an hour, and I was being overly cautious. Carbon bundles with a proprietary wiring harness for the 2017 BRZ that makes it all plug and play. Steering functions and camera work perfectly. The sound is a big upgrade over the stock unit, and having Carplay is a big plus. Wireless air mirroring is available for both Apple and Android, though it is only one way on the iPhone, meaning it displays but you cannot control any functions from the HU screen. Android is two way. I won't find this feature very useful because it seriously degrades the excellent sound available via wired Carplay. But if I want to use Google Maps or Waze or other non-CarPlay apps, it will be handy. I have to say, this HU is excellent, IMO, and I'm a hardcore home audio guy. It offers a lot of options to fine-tune the sound, including a number of preset EQ curves and effects. And it looks fantastic in the one-piece dash. I also purchased the OEM Audio + Reference 450Q, but I plan to spend time with this Kenwood for a while before I install it. At the kind suggestion of Daniel at O+, I actually had Carbon ship directly to O+ so they could install the HU in their test BRZ and tune their DSP to it. The settings have been added to their database, so others can get theirs tuned easily now.