Kenwood USA Corporation
PO Box 22745
Long Beach, CA 90801-5745
Attention: Customer Relations

To whom it may concern

I recently purchased and installed a DDX616 on the recommendations of several sales people and also based on reviews found online. I have since had the opportunity to call your customer service line 3 different times for 3 different reasons.

Initially, I noticed what I thought was a radio sensitivity problem. The FM radio wouldn't tune to all available stations. When I called your support line to discuss this I was told that I needed to replace my antenna with an amplified version. The support "technician" left me feeling that there were no other possibilities and that was that. I later discovered this radio has a function called TI, “Traffic Information”. When this function is on, the radio skips a lot of active radio stations. I guess it focuses on the Traffic Information broadcasts. I don't know if this is normal, but if it is the fact that your tier 1 support tech missed it as a possible solution doesn't make your support line look very educated or supportive. I gotta tell you it left me wondering.

The second time I called was to query about Bluetooth functions. The receiver seems to intermittently drop my cell phone connection although it does detect and pair with the phone. I have a T-Mobile G1 which is the same phone as the HTC Dream and is quite a common cell phone. The receiver consistently drops the Bluetooth connection from the phone when I complete a call then subsequently reconnects after a short period of time. I have also noticed that the display only shows the device name for about 3 seconds when I open the phone screen, although the last issue isn't much of a problem.

I called your Tier 1 support line to described my concerns. The support tech put me on hold to look up some data on DDX616 monitor. When he returned he told me that my phone wasn't on the supported product list for that receiver and that I probably should buy another phone. You've got to be kidding me. BUY another phone is a valid solution for my issue? When I said "So you're telling me I'm screwed here" his response was "Well you didn't hear it from me but... yeah".

Nice...no...really nice.

At this point I asked to talk with someone else. He seemed grateful for the relief.  The next person I spoke with did seem to be a little more knowledgeable and was able to give me some troubleshooting recommendations. He at least made an attempt. But he pleaded that there was no consistency in Bluetooth protocols and that cell-phone manufactures won't 'get on board' to standardize the system. I still do have the same problems but the handsfree is mostly functional.....mostly.  I wondered openly if the IPhone had the same problems?

Today I called your service number for the third and likely...hopefully the last time. My question was regarding the fact that NAV icon is always on, on the top menu, and is always an option on the source display, even though I do not have a Navigation unit connected to the monitor. I wanted to find out if there was a way to disable this to only show ACTIVE devices. Devices that are actually connected to the system.

Your tier 1 support was 3 for 3 on this. Unable to help and unrepentant for the lack of functionality. When I recommended that these issues should be addressed in your next firmware update his response was "Yeah you should go on the web site and say that.." (I got a better idea. How about I make a YouTube video about it? Eh?)

I have several criticisms of your product and your product support but I will focus on the product. A product that lists for $799.00 should at least be reasonably functional don't you think?

1: Expand the owner manual to describe that the TI function reduces radio station reception. If that is indeed the way it is supposed to work. If it is not then I want a unit that works correctly. If the TI function is only supposed to be active with NAV then why is it on at all?

2: Plaster all over the box and sales literature and advertising that this unit has limited bluetooth functionality and that only a couple cell phones work completely so be cautious because the connection might not work at all. If you intend to purchase the product choose accordingly. Or at the very least release a firmware upgrade that adds more phones to the support list.

3: Supply a way to disable non-functioning icons. It's really silly to have a switch on the device that activates nothing. I suspect that it was left there as a reminder that I can someday spring for that additional $700 bucks to upgrade to a fully functional multimedia receiver with NAV. (This is unlikely since I have an acute sense of direction and rarely get lost).  This applies to the XM and Sirus icons too.

4: I have since purchased the HD Radio adapter with IPOD Tagging module (Ipod taging?? I don't know why. Seemed cool at the time) and I have noticed that the genre search function is not available with this device connected. Although it is for the standard analog FM receiver. It doesn't make much sense to me to have it available on base Analog FM but not on the upgraded HD receiver. I would like to have that back.

I have a generally favorable view of the unit and it does seem to operate well regardless of these issues. The Voice Dial works seems to work well and I am happy with the HD Radio reception, IPOD interface and video quality for the back up camera. I understand that there is a learning curve to all new devices and the best answer is to read the owner’s manual. But that should apply to your tier 1 support people too. Don't you think?

Since this device does support firmware upgrades I believe that most of these issues can be resolve with programming.

Thanks

JimmerSD