Kenwood been in the game a long time. Their older kac 4 channel amps were solid. I still have one from the late 90's that's still going strong to this day.
@@KyrieEleisonMaranatha i have a kenwood kac m3004 i believe it is. Running db drive platinums at 2ohm and ive run the bag off that amp daily for years now. It gets hot but works awesome still
I've always liked Kenwood. I had a good head unit hooked up to two amps . One four channel, one mono class D. The Kenwood had great control of both amps. This little amp is very convenient and marketable.
Just a few minutes in, and that's a really nicely designed amp. I like the little remote headunit, noce and compact. Edit: DAYUMN! And the power output is great!
Lol just when i thought ive seen it all im in love with my constant running fan on my bully3k because i live in new england and the condensation created from freezing to playing temps (like a coke can out the fridge) blows amps Marine grade never thought of that but im sure it doesnt come cheap... kudos to you once again! Salute
The power on this looks awesome. Going to pick it up for a friend's track car build. Limited space on the dash and using the radio location for gauges, this will be perfect having a small controller that can just be mounted up anywhere on the dash and the amp hidden away.
I just installed one of these weeks ago on a boat and can second some of your comments. First thing I noticed was how quickly warm it got when just running 6” coaxes on low volume, had me worried about efficiency when running on a boat where power draw is a big deal but glad to see your test showed good efficiency. The preset EQ is pretty much worthless as you mentioned, can hardly hear a difference between them. Other than that seems to be a decent upgrade from the old marine cd player it replaced and I assume is what they targeted it towards
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, You know what I'm saying. Once was a story about a man named Jed, A poor Mountaineer barely kept his family fed. Then one day he was shooting at some food, and up through the ground came a bubbling crude. Oil that, is Texas Tea.
Deleted the radio in my Miata but still wanted high quality audio. The amp is small enough to fit in the dash behind the delete plate, and sounds great driving two 6×8 jbl stadium series speakers.
nice little amp! Im mostly impressed with the amount of work and time you put into this video! you covered every point and detail! thanks for your effort Big D!
Really efficient amplifier. Out of all the brands, or I should say "big" brands of car audio out there, Kenwood and Pioneer are the two that standout to me. I've always thought the in-dash Kenwood head units always sounded the best, and have the best radio reception. And now they are putting out some good and efficient amplifiers, meaning less heat.
Powerful little amp! So this is designed atv boats motorcycle. Any reason not to use it in a regular auto application? I am thinking of getting the non BT model M5014, and putting that in my truck to drive the door speakers. Do you have a test of that M5014?
I was always a bit of a Kenwood fanatic since the late 80s. My home stereo features 2 Basic M2a amps that I've never felt a need to replace. Kenwood - going back 30 to 40 years - always had insanely good engineers, but cheapskate bean counters in control of manufacturing. Way back in the day, Kenwood was mostly known for their home stereo, but they also had some impressive feature rich head units at the time. Then they dropped their home audio stuff and concentrated on car audio. That didn't seem to work out too well for them.
I agree with this regarding their head units. I sold them and that's all I ever had in my cars, despite also having the options of Pioneer, Sony, Alpine, JVC, and Clarion at cost.
What level on the knob did this unit start to clip at? Same question for the RCA pre out. I have this amp and installed it, and i hear distortuoun from the pre outs freding my sub amp with the volume at the 5th light out of the 7. I was just wondering if that's cliping or not. Sweet video, you are why i bought this amp.
thank you again, this is the future of amps I am missing a part where you can talk about the Bluetooth range of the amp. on some devices the range is small.
Tell me this wiz. With a car that you don't want to take out the head unit could you theoretically just hook this up to your interior speakers, hook a mono sub amp and bypass your head unit all together?
That was one of your all time best reviews! thanks for all the info you packed into it. It really helped me as far as choosing this model over others. TBH my application is set up for a round control unit, but as awesome as this amp is ...!
I was wondering where the line _inputs_ were. Having only BT seems odd (Kicker's version has aux and USB). Also it doesn't seem to have a mic for handsfree phone. Several years ago, Inifinity and JBL had (larger and non waterproof) amps that had both.
put a lil kenwood 1814 on my front and rears. actually having trouble with it over-powering my front woofers/ mids. which i have to admit....i didnt expect. and i set the crossovers conservative at 100 hz. its beatin the snot out of my 6.5s at about 80 hz full tilt. im impressed with these lil things
Just a wild question, have you heard of Blurred Vision Audio? I keep seeing them pop up, was interested in your input. They got a crazy 8-3/4” sub I wanna se get it’s work in
Tester pioneer for me /Pioneer TS-WX1210A - Sealed 12" 1,300-Watt Active Subwoofer with Built-in Amp/ note used to have a 15 I wonder what happened to got ghost after the flood
*do you think this amp will handle 2ohm bridged fine? I seen in your test it did dynamic fine. Im thinking of buying this amp for a 3channel setup, but was hoping to NOT have to buy a dual 2ohm version of my current sub lol. Not sure if i really want to run just one coil on my dvc 4ohm lol*
I am trying to completely eliminate a head unit in my dash. I bought a cheap Pyle BT amp a few months ago and it’s already failed. Will this hold up to being put in a box behind my reg cab seat with little air flow? Looks like it gets pretty hot. I’m not trying to bass out my system just play tunes and podcasts while I drive through factory speakers.
Can you PLEASE do a test of the Rockford Fosgate P300-12/10 series all in one powered enclosure!! PLEASE! We need to know!!! There is NO video of these on a dyno, on TH-cam or anywhere else!!!
I’ve thought about getting a waterproof amp for the house and I wouldn’t have to worry about the little ones spilling water on it and it catching fire or it fry the plug
I like these head unit delete options. I think there's a market for a full blown processor that works directly from a phone/tablet; even better integrated into an amp. Analog RCA's should have stopped being a standard a decade ago, and this would be one way to get around them. It's surprising that it's not typical in this day and age.
Analog RCA's should have gone by the wayside 15-20 years ago with full digital Tolink (finer optics) being the norm today. I know of only 3 companies, all very high end and expensive that have toslink connections for their amplifiers.. I mean if you have a DSP but must hook it up to your amp via RCA inputs, are you not defeating the purpose? Totally agree with your comment. Fiber Optics came out in the late nieties, and there is no better connection out there for best sound quality.
It better be able to be submerged at least a meter if you’re installing it in a SxS. I’m surprised it didn’t go into protect on the 2ohm bridged test! I think RF made something like this 10-15 years ago. Not nearly as powerful, but still cool.
@Williston Audio Labs, hey any chance you still have this unit and would want to sell me the remote? Mine was mounted on my handlebars and got smashed by a rock and Kenwood's store and customer service are refusing to sell me just the remote, so mine is now just a paperweight =(
I’m going to be guessing here, But I would say Big D is the ONLY person to complain about the direction’s being folded up😂 I honestly don’t ever think I’ve bothered to read the directions 😂
I actually was able to build systems before the internet. Before smart phones. Before Big D. I used what's known as common sense. In the beginning looking and listening to others work. Then trial and error. Yes he does good work and helps out the newbies.
Why no USB codec playback Kenwood?? This is the exact major stupid problem with pretty much every DAC, DSP and DSP amp. It also sounds terrible, huge roll off in the high end
So RCA = Kenwood? RCA Victor was the Recording Company of America. RCA Records is the corporate successor of the Victor Talking Machine Company JVC is the Japan Victor Corporation.
@@mdnky I appreciate this too. My jvc tests over the years have always been weak, lackluster or straight up disappointing. Going back to late 90s, I've never found something jvc and been wow'd. I've had a few kenwood devices that were good and one (excelon HU) that was great. I suppose with all of the vehicle infotainment systems being so highly integrated with the car itself, we are lucky to have any type of aftermarket audio going on anymore. Hopefully they do well combining as one
Keeps playing as the boat sinks… just like the old days on the Titanic.
😲
Still too soon! 😂
Bwahahaha
Now thats how i like to party
No you didn't. 🤣🤣🤣
Kenwood doesn’t always have the biggest and baddest, but they definitely have been consistent with quality throughout the years!
Totally Agree!!!
That new water cooled feature
Kenwood been in the game a long time. Their older kac 4 channel amps were solid. I still have one from the late 90's that's still going strong to this day.
@@KyrieEleisonMaranatha i have a kenwood kac m3004 i believe it is. Running db drive platinums at 2ohm and ive run the bag off that amp daily for years now. It gets hot but works awesome still
I've always liked Kenwood. I had a good head unit hooked up to two amps . One four channel, one mono class D. The Kenwood had great control of both amps. This little amp is very convenient and marketable.
Just a few minutes in, and that's a really nicely designed amp. I like the little remote headunit, noce and compact.
Edit: DAYUMN! And the power output is great!
I concur sir!
One Kenwood amp in my day.
A 931 was used to drive my 2× 12s talking in the late 80s..
1987- 1990 ish. Kicked ass.
Lol just when i thought ive seen it all im in love with my constant running fan on my bully3k because i live in new england and the condensation created from freezing to playing temps
(like a coke can out the fridge)
blows amps
Marine grade never thought of that but im sure it doesnt come cheap... kudos to you once again! Salute
The power on this looks awesome. Going to pick it up for a friend's track car build. Limited space on the dash and using the radio location for gauges, this will be perfect having a small controller that can just be mounted up anywhere on the dash and the amp hidden away.
Nice little unit. Quality Engineering too. Great efficiency at 4Ohms. Bluetooth seems super stable.
*SHOP*
Kenwood KAC-M5024BT 4ch Amp: howl.me/cjCLI0bY6UD
AMAZON LINK: amzn.to/41TqQh1
Kenwood KAC-M5001 Subwoofer Amp: howl.me/cjDhGslH9BY
AMAZON LINK: amzn.to/44h8S9J
JVC KS-DR2104DBT 4ch Amp: howl.me/cjDhzwB4ouo
AMAZON LINK: amzn.to/3ABF0qW
Wet Sounds WS-MC1 4ch Amp/BT Control: howl.me/cjDhFgHhczQ
Elac Debut 2.0 6.5" Bookshelf Speakers: amzn.to/3N6a1uJ
Sundown SA6.5 Subwoofer: lddy.no/1g2y1
Down4Sound Amplifiers: www.Shop4Bass.com
12-Position 25A 600V Terminal Block: amzn.to/3VhEo3B
*SEE PREVIOUS VIDEOS*
Kenwood KAC-M3004 4ch Amp: th-cam.com/video/99tiyWuuAGM/w-d-xo.html
Kenwood KAC-M3001 Mono Amp: th-cam.com/video/mTvyPNj2_JI/w-d-xo.html
Car Audio Amplifiers Tested and Reviewed: is.gd/WALcaramps
*VIDEO INDEX*
0:00 Intro
1:31 Unboxing the Amp
2:52 Features and Specs
5:55 Bluetooth Connectivity
6:45 Multiple BT Devices
7:06 Low Voltage Shutoff
7:23 Line Out THD and Voltage
7:44 Amp Dyno Tests
11:00 Sound Demos
12:21 Sound Modes
13:02 Getting Hot in Here
13:29 Waterproof?
14:21 What's Inside?
15:22 Pros and Cons
16:17 Final Thoughts
16:47 Extra Tests
*VIDEO AND AUDIO GEAR*
Camera - iPhone 13pro 1TB - amzn.to/3nCjGvc
RODE Wireless Go II Microphones: amzn.to/3Q6NVHl
Shure MV7 Microphone: amzn.to/3A4OICK
Zoom H4n Audio Recorder: amzn.to/3BXjVsS
960 LED Panel: amzn.to/2Sxoq3S
*TEST BENCH EQUIPMENT*
SMD / D'Amore Engineering Amp Dyno: goo.gl/sJTcf7
XS Power D1400 Batteries - amzn.to/2BPFCKW
XS Power PSC60 Charger - amzn.to/2CHGcfs
Fluke 1000A AC/DC Clamp Meter: amzn.to/2Rw5WDA
Handheld Dyno: amzn.to/2u2EgKV
My Favorite Screwdriver Kit: amzn.to/2x0VzcE
_DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase from one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases_
I just installed one of these weeks ago on a boat and can second some of your comments. First thing I noticed was how quickly warm it got when just running 6” coaxes on low volume, had me worried about efficiency when running on a boat where power draw is a big deal but glad to see your test showed good efficiency. The preset EQ is pretty much worthless as you mentioned, can hardly hear a difference between them. Other than that seems to be a decent upgrade from the old marine cd player it replaced and I assume is what they targeted it towards
Thanks for the real world feedback!
Low voltage tests are nice to see. My car's 12V system only does about 12.8V normally as it's a hybrid car with no alternator
I have this Bluetooth Amplifier in a classic car, and i love it.
Put out a lot of power and great sounds 👌🏽
How do you like the amp? Does it sound good or is it hard to really drive the speakers and retain quality sound?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, You know what I'm saying. Once was a story about a man named Jed, A poor Mountaineer barely kept his family fed. Then one day he was shooting at some food, and up through the ground came a bubbling crude.
Oil that, is Texas Tea.
Perfect for my boat installs.
Deleted the radio in my Miata but still wanted high quality audio. The amp is small enough to fit in the dash behind the delete plate, and sounds great driving two 6×8 jbl stadium series speakers.
nice little amp! Im mostly impressed with the amount of work and time you put into this video! you covered every point and detail! thanks for your effort Big D!
This would have been amazing in my old convertible Impala with the missing back window and rusty wheel wells…
The boardroom clip killed me. When the lady smiles and the "ha, got heem" audio played....😂😂😂😂 I get the joke Big D. Excellent!!😂😂😂
Really efficient amplifier. Out of all the brands, or I should say "big" brands of car audio out there, Kenwood and Pioneer are the two that standout to me. I've always thought the in-dash Kenwood head units always sounded the best, and have the best radio reception. And now they are putting out some good and efficient amplifiers, meaning less heat.
Hey, at least it isn't KENWOOTT. Man it makes POWER!
Powerful little amp! So this is designed atv boats motorcycle. Any reason not to use it in a regular auto application? I am thinking of getting the non BT model M5014, and putting that in my truck to drive the door speakers. Do you have a test of that M5014?
I’m currently rocking the jvc version of it and yes in the back of my can am it is waterproof
I was always a bit of a Kenwood fanatic since the late 80s. My home stereo features 2 Basic M2a amps that I've never felt a need to replace.
Kenwood - going back 30 to 40 years - always had insanely good engineers, but cheapskate bean counters in control of manufacturing. Way back in the day, Kenwood was mostly known for their home stereo, but they also had some impressive feature rich head units at the time. Then they dropped their home audio stuff and concentrated on car audio. That didn't seem to work out too well for them.
They make some of the best head units and very good amps
I agree with this regarding their head units. I sold them and that's all I ever had in my cars, despite also having the options of Pioneer, Sony, Alpine, JVC, and Clarion at cost.
That’s a sweet little water proof amp. Def would be good idea for my golf cart. Also like that box for the 6.5 you have who makes it ?
What level on the knob did this unit start to clip at? Same question for the RCA pre out. I have this amp and installed it, and i hear distortuoun from the pre outs freding my sub amp with the volume at the 5th light out of the 7. I was just wondering if that's cliping or not. Sweet video, you are why i bought this amp.
Good to see Kenwood put out a gem, been ages since they released anything of value
Your presentation style is among the best on the tube dude 😎
I saw your Scion Xb models in the background and had to give a thumbs up!
Nice, you should do more marine grade amplifiers like sound digital
thank you again, this is the future of amps I am missing a part where you can talk about the Bluetooth range of the amp. on some devices the range is small.
That's Why I use KENWOOD?
They Rock.....
Tell me this wiz. With a car that you don't want to take out the head unit could you theoretically just hook this up to your interior speakers, hook a mono sub amp and bypass your head unit all together?
That was one of your all time best reviews! thanks for all the info you packed into it. It really helped me as far as choosing this model over others. TBH my application is set up for a round control unit, but as awesome as this amp is ...!
This is awesome! I want more marine test please!
Hey there very informative test👍do you think this amp would power a pair of 7x10’s ?
Can water cool your amp. Out on the boat and its getting hot. Just splash some water on it.
Is it really able to put out that much power and not blow that 40a fuse??
How about no RCAs for daisy chaining or using a duplicate amp for dedicated subs?
I was wondering where the line _inputs_ were. Having only BT seems odd (Kicker's version has aux and USB). Also it doesn't seem to have a mic for handsfree phone. Several years ago, Inifinity and JBL had (larger and non waterproof) amps that had both.
Keep the marine amp reviews coming! Great review, thanks!
What is the power output in 3 channel mode @ 4ohms? 50wx2 and 100x1?
put a lil kenwood 1814 on my front and rears. actually having trouble with it over-powering my front woofers/ mids. which i have to admit....i didnt expect. and i set the crossovers conservative at 100 hz. its beatin the snot out of my 6.5s at about 80 hz full tilt. im impressed with these lil things
I wish he'd dyno test the KAC 1023 kenwood's greatest car amp of all time.
I ran a 923, 723 and 524 in my old-school Monte Carlo
Really impressive numbers, good job to kenwood on this one
Just a wild question, have you heard of Blurred Vision Audio? I keep seeing them pop up, was interested in your input. They got a crazy 8-3/4” sub I wanna se get it’s work in
does the yellow wire go to battery?
Tester pioneer for me /Pioneer TS-WX1210A - Sealed 12" 1,300-Watt Active Subwoofer with Built-in Amp/ note used to have a 15 I wonder what happened to got ghost after the flood
*do you think this amp will handle 2ohm bridged fine? I seen in your test it did dynamic fine. Im thinking of buying this amp for a 3channel setup, but was hoping to NOT have to buy a dual 2ohm version of my current sub lol. Not sure if i really want to run just one coil on my dvc 4ohm lol*
Great review! Appreciate when you review interesting solutions like this amp as well as top selling amps, not just the big stuff (also fun).
I try to mix it up some, thanks for watching and commenting!
This is neat. It would save you money and space by not needing a head unit if all you do is bluetooth. This would be awesome for classic cars too.
Yes, the only issue may be the 8ft cable between the amp and the remote (if you mount the amp in the back and remote up front)
The output wires look about 16 gauge. Do the wires get hot?
I am trying to completely eliminate a head unit in my dash. I bought a cheap Pyle BT amp a few months ago and it’s already failed. Will this hold up to being put in a box behind my reg cab seat with little air flow? Looks like it gets pretty hot. I’m not trying to bass out my system just play tunes and podcasts while I drive through factory speakers.
Kenwood stands for quality.
721 WAS MY AMP BACK IN THE DAY
I'm going to mount mine on the bottom of the hull for water cooling.
How do you like the amp? Does it sound good or is it hard to really drive the speakers and retain quality sound?
can you still run imput and a remote to this and just use it as an amp?
Looks like something of good quality there all around.
Thanks bromeo. I've been hunting for a upgrade for my bikes. And you explained alot about it.
Can you PLEASE do a test of the Rockford Fosgate P300-12/10 series all in one powered enclosure!! PLEASE! We need to know!!! There is NO video of these on a dyno, on TH-cam or anywhere else!!!
I’ve thought about getting a waterproof amp for the house and I wouldn’t have to worry about the little ones spilling water on it and it catching fire or it fry the plug
Does the RCA out level adjust with main volume level? My assumption would be yes but haven’t been able to confirm that with any literature.
I believe so
I like these head unit delete options. I think there's a market for a full blown processor that works directly from a phone/tablet; even better integrated into an amp. Analog RCA's should have stopped being a standard a decade ago, and this would be one way to get around them. It's surprising that it's not typical in this day and age.
Analog RCA's should have gone by the wayside 15-20 years ago with full digital Tolink (finer optics) being the norm today. I know of only 3 companies, all very high end and expensive that have toslink connections for their amplifiers.. I mean if you have a DSP but must hook it up to your amp via RCA inputs, are you not defeating the purpose? Totally agree with your comment. Fiber Optics came out in the late nieties, and there is no better connection out there for best sound quality.
@@johannjohann6523 especially where engines and their electrical interference are concerned.
BIG D where da original thumbnail go i loved it
More marine grade amps please.
Just WoW for the price 🤩
I wonder if its made by ICE for Kenwood.
Kenwood could make a awesome head unit if they put this amplifier inside of a double din head unit
Cool test man that thing rocked
Thanks for watching and commenting!
I wish they would make those screws for the front plate locked so they just stay attached to the plate.
This would be perfect on our golf cart
It better be able to be submerged at least a meter if you’re installing it in a SxS. I’m surprised it didn’t go into protect on the 2ohm bridged test!
I think RF made something like this 10-15 years ago. Not nearly as powerful, but still cool.
it's rated 1 meter (3ft) for 30min submerged
Impressive little amp
One on the way for my golf cart
How do you like the amp? Does it sound good or is it hard to really drive the speakers and retain quality sound?
@@scarr3ll I honestly havnt hooked it up yet, golf carts still under construction, I could hook it up to my test bench and check it out tho
@Williston Audio Labs, hey any chance you still have this unit and would want to sell me the remote? Mine was mounted on my handlebars and got smashed by a rock and Kenwood's store and customer service are refusing to sell me just the remote, so mine is now just a paperweight =(
What's a newspaper?
Ay where them new down 4 sound jp3s / jp13s at big d
I’m going to be guessing here, But I would say Big D is the ONLY person to complain about the direction’s being folded up😂
I honestly don’t ever think I’ve bothered to read the directions 😂
Ha! Alpine does the same, PDF manual FTW!
@@wal 😂
Are they linkable so two can work at once?
I do not think so. No mention of it in the specs
He brings out the Panasonic distortion meter! I bet it was dusty
cool videos dude keep them up!
Only thing missing,OMG you killed Kenny......
Haha, if it starts getting hot just toss it overboard for a minute and you're good. 😄
14:00 Sweet! You can water cool these amps! ;)
That thing is bad ass!!!!
Where can I find that song TuneIn?
Big D getting the amp for real wet like it is a submarine amp
So what Bluetooth marine amp is compact and better than this guy for the money?
Niceeee damn that’s solid
What a cool little amp. That would be perfect for a sxs or ATV. Nice power too!
I actually was able to build systems before the internet. Before smart phones. Before Big D. I used what's known as common sense. In the beginning looking and listening to others work. Then trial and error. Yes he does good work and helps out the newbies.
Why no USB codec playback Kenwood?? This is the exact major stupid problem with pretty much every DAC, DSP and DSP amp. It also sounds terrible, huge roll off in the high end
Dang, Kenwood using Rubycon, better than D4S amps.
Underpromise and overdeliver. I am sold.
Thanks.
So RCA = Kenwood? RCA Victor was the Recording Company of America.
RCA Records is the corporate successor of the Victor Talking Machine Company
JVC is the Japan Victor Corporation.
Jvc bought Kenwood
@@fabelgamer7410 thanks. I was hoping it was the other way around
@@mdnky I appreciate this too. My jvc tests over the years have always been weak, lackluster or straight up disappointing. Going back to late 90s, I've never found something jvc and been wow'd. I've had a few kenwood devices that were good and one (excelon HU) that was great. I suppose with all of the vehicle infotainment systems being so highly integrated with the car itself, we are lucky to have any type of aftermarket audio going on anymore. Hopefully they do well combining as one
Not the Kenwood of old.
Unfortunately nothing is as good as it was. Only Big Dee. !
Comedy, car/boat audio, and a big dummy. Couldn’t ask for more 😊
You having a finger nail growing contest?
Congrats, you found a good video to eat