logiclee

Hi All,

Used to be into ICE (£3500 install)about 10 years ago but more into Home Cinema now.
I'm looking to by a new CD Tuner and I'm looking at the Kenwood 3080 or 4080. The only difference seems to be the 4080 has MASK.

Anyone know what MASK does?

Cheers
Lee

ptholt

Mask is great.

when the ignition is turned off the face of the head unit rotates and sits pointing to the rear of the car (or you can set it to go all the way round straight away leaving a blank panel with no markings, just smooth plastic)

With it in the pointing to the rear you can remove the facia if you are leaving the car for a long time, or after the time limit has expired the set it will flip right round as described above.

if the unit is disconnected from power it will not get out of demo mode until a key fob supplied by kenwood broadcasts a signal to unlock the unit. this has to be broadcast twice before the unit is useable.

Loosing the key fob means you have to apply to kenwood for a new one as they are coded.

They are really nifty units, the facia also has a tiltable face so you can alter the angle of view.

One word of warning, the fitting of my mask needed the edge of the dash facia to be filed down in order for it to fit properly and securely, tho mine is the md tuner with cd changer control.

I can't recommend this unit enough, tho it does have some very small buttons.

john banks

logiclee - if you used to be into ICE and now appreciate good quality audio, I expect you will be looking a little higher up Kenwood's range if you select Kenwood. 3080 is rather "basic", 4080 has only one set of preouts as I remember and TDF - theft deterrent faceplate - not mask. Entry level mask I believe is my 5080R which is a manual system - but I always remove the front panel unless only leaving the car for a minute or two when a quick rotation is handy. 7080R is the lowest model that has automatic mask and mask key as described above, 8080 adds extra control of preouts - inbuilt filters etc. 5080 has two pairs preouts - 9080 adds third set - for sub - and higher spec DAC I think. 7080R can be had for under £200 and may be a good bet - 9080R approx £300. Displays are also nicer on higher models.

SQ of 5080 I believe is as good as up to 8080 - just less adjustable for amp etc. 4080 has a lower spec headunit power amp. If you're an audiophile though - go for the 9080 - Chiark I think has the MD equivalent and seems to like it very much - and obviously knows what he is talking about.

Edited to say no mask rotation problems on MY00 - fitted myself in 10 mins - I think there was a different centre console design on some of the earlier MY which caused problems - what MY is yours ptholt?

[This message has been edited by john banks (edited 03 January 2001).]

mattski

Lee,

Not sure what car you have but I had a 4080 for a few days... it didn't fit in my 94 WRX. This is because the facia is a little odd on the Kenwoods due to the Mask thing.

I opted for a Pioneer DEH-P7100R with little dolphins swimming around

Other than the gimick it is really a very nice head unit and sounds fabulous, would recommend it to anyone.

Doc

Friend of mine had a kenwood mask in his MGF. Some ******* did £1200 of damage to hood and dash getting it out!

I also went for the pioneer DEH-P7100R and I am very pleased with it. (The ladies seem to like the dolphins! )

mattski

heh, good variation on the ' do you wanna see my puppies ' thang

ptholt

Mines a my 2000 as well, its something like a 9790r (i think) the one with minidisc anyway.

quality unit, great features, three pre outs.
and no probs with mask, plus can detach it.

did have facia problems tho, but there are ways around that too.

AndrewC

Kenwood 7080R - Mmm Niiice!

I'm no ICE freak but I am well impressed with the difference in sound from swapping the original Head unit and Front speakers.

7080 dropped into my MY98 in about 5 minutes flat! The only problem I have is that power to the unit seems to be cut whilst the starter moter is running causing:

1. Facia initially starts revolving when the key is turned,
2. Starts to close again whilst the starter motor runs,
3. Coninues opening once the engine fires and the key is released

My car usually fires instantly so the facia merely stalls rather than closing again, but still, it looks a bit odd.

Andrew...

logiclee

Thanks for the replies.

I have a very decent Home Cinema setup and a seperate HiFi room at home so as you can see I like my sounds.

Unfortunatly the car is loud (exhaust/induction kit etc) so I'm only going to change the head unit and maybe the front speakers.

Concerned now about the dash as I have a MY96 Series McRae so I may have the same problem as Mattski.

I live near to