Kenwood Car Audio or playing Flac on USB in your Car

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Patrick H.
phil_er_up on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 – 10:56 am

Forums:

Hi all,

Bought a Kenwood audio head unit for the vehicle. One of the main reasons for the purchase was to play music over USB or 1/8 inch stereo plug instead of burning CD's of live shows. Kenwood car audio advertises it supports Flac on USB in 16/44.1 and other formats. Though I have loaded 3 wav directories and 3 flac (16/44.1) on multiple USB memory sticks and it recognizes the Wav folders though not the Flac folders. Called where I bought it from and Kenwood and did not get much help. Searched the internet and could not find anything useful...

Anybody play flac files in your vehicle over USB have any thoughts on why this is not working?

Especially with the kenwood units might help me...

Thanks.

-p

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Bluelight
Odysseus on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 – 11:19 am

Are the files able to play on that USB memory stick with the flac files you transferred to on another device?

If not, the files could have gotten corrupted in the transfer.

If they do play on another device, the software on your Kenwood may need an upgrade.

 

-------

 

Can anyone one recommend a free FLAC to CD (wave) converter software for PCs?

I haven't done the download/burn your own CD in years & just bought a show from Mule Tracks.

 

Thanks

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________
Heybrochacho on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 – 11:22 am

I do this with an alpine. The only problem I had with USB playback was the file system needs to be FAT 12/16/32

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Sycamore Slough
Disco Stu on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 – 12:17 pm

^^

Traders' Little Helper does FLAC -> WAV and other formats.

My truck just has AM/FM radio,  so FLACS are stored on a cheap Android fone and played VIA $10 FM mini transmitter.  So,  you might try putting the FLAC files on a fone and using a USB cable at least until you get the thumb drive sorted out.

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Patrick H.
phil_er_up on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 – 01:48 pm

^^^^^^

Are the files able to play on that USB memory stick with the flac files you transferred to on another device?

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Yes they play fine on other devices.

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Can anyone one recommend a free FLAC to CD (wave) converter software for PCs?

As stu states:

http://tlh.easytree.org/

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Bluelight
Odysseus on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 – 02:41 pm

Here is the link for the software/firmware updates that are available for Kenwood's USB Car Audio products.

Is you model listed? If so, you should have the most recent software on that thing and download it at the bottom of the page.

 

http://www.kenwood.com/cs/ce/firmware/usb/info_program_en.html

 

Thanks guys for the FLAC converter link.

 

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bweir I like cheese
jklowan on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 – 03:45 pm

I use Exact to convert file formats and have never had a problem, I believe it was freeware

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Sycamore Slough
Disco Stu on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 – 04:29 pm

Oops double post.

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Sycamore Slough
Disco Stu on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 – 04:29 pm

One thing I noticed is that the fone will play FLAC without first expanding, but not SHN.  It is a time-saver not to have to convert to WAV or AIFF.  So if I download a batch of FLAC to a PC,  I drag them over to the android and can play in the truck.  About the same amount of time as it takes to drag said FLAC to a thumb drive.

However I've no car radios with a USB input.  So I use the little FM transmitter, which powers from the 12 Volt lighter socket.  mini-jack plugs in the fone.  Luckily enough the whole assembly also works as hands-free fone.  If someone calls,  the tunes shut off and I hear caller over the truck speakers.

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Bluelight
Odysseus on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 – 04:32 pm

He may need to update his firmware by downloading from the link I posted above. "Now playing FLAC files" is not only thing that is new is this Kenwood USB firmware update bundle.

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Patrick H.
phil_er_up on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 – 07:19 am

turntabler

Heybrochacho on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 – 11:22 am

I do this with an alpine. The only problem I had with USB playback was the file system needs to be FAT 12/16/32

^^^^^^^^

Great idea Turntabler. Looked at 2 of the USB memory sticks and both are Fat32. Had an old alpine head unit and was planning on buying a new Alpine, though their interface to select a file was not very good. Kenwood seemed to put a lot more thought in how someone would use it and ended up with a kenwood.

 

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Here is the link for the software/firmware updates that are available for Kenwood's USB Car Audio products.

Is you model listed? If so, you should have the most recent software on that thing and download it at the bottom of the page.

 

http://www.kenwood.com/cs/ce/firmware/usb/info_program_en.html

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Great Idea. Saw that link already and my model number is not listed there. The one I bought is "New" so thought they probably updated it already with the firmware.

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When I searched the web no one mentions having a problem with USB and it reading flacs with the kenwood units. Weird. Might go back to store I bought it from and see if they have anymore ideas. Or play my USB stick in the store and see if it works with all kenwood units they have on display. Hmmmm....

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Bluelight
Odysseus on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 – 08:26 am

>>The one I bought is "New" so thought they probably updated it already with the firmware

No, the semiconductors (the microprocessor in this case) have two year date code restrictions only, and can be as old as two years from the date of final assembly.

Where as the software/firmware engineers are sipping tea & coffee, doing updates as periodically as that company can afford them to do.

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I rang a silent bell
China-Rider on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 – 11:36 am

What model number did you get?

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Patrick H.
phil_er_up on Thursday, August 10, 2017 – 07:27 am

Took Bluelight Odysseus advice and at home checked my Kenwood system setting as follows:

App version=V0.0.130

System version=V0.0110

DVD version = 00001

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Went to the store the first time in the morning with a USB with 3 directories of wav and flac files.

1) Put USB drive in SAME Kenwood head UNIT I BOUGHT and it recognizes the USB with the flac files on it. Just like the first time I was in the store.

Check App version = V0.0.114

2) Go to next Kenwood head unit and the USB flac file would not play.

Check App version = V0.0.130

3) Go to next Kenwood head unit and the USB flac file would play.

Different type of unit does not have same numbers for App version as above.

4) Go to next Kenwood head unit and the USB flac file would play.

Different type of unit does not have same numbers for App version as above.

The store tells me to upload the latest firmware update. Go home download file, decompress, put on USB memory stick. Read procedure how to do it, Guess what the firmware I DL is App version = V0.0.130. I try to UPDATE the APP version on my kenwood and it say "failed update".

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Call store and they say they will swap it out with another Kenwood same unit. I ask what App version does it have on it and they say you can not tell till you plug it in, it does not list it on outside of box.

Wait another 45 minutes for them to swap out decks.

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Now I have a brand new Kenwood head unit and go to my vehicle after install and try USB with flac it works.

Check App version = V0.0.127.

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The best I can tell is there latest firmware update for App version (V0.0.130) broke the USB to play flac files.

So Bluelight Odysseus was right to check the firmware though you had to go backwards in versions to get it to work.

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Then when I got home all my presets were gone, so I went out to vehicle with manual to reset all

my presets and the radio does not work. Call store bring it back and they replug in antena. Another 45 minutes...

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I worked on this for over 5 hours yesterday and had to go to that store 3 times to get it to work....arg...

 

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________
Heybrochacho on Thursday, August 10, 2017 – 08:50 am

Glad to hear. Now, does it play gap less , or insert a pause?

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Lord Kalvert
Lloyd_Klondike on Thursday, August 10, 2017 – 09:21 am

GEEK alert

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Patrick H.
phil_er_up on Thursday, August 10, 2017 – 11:09 am

TT ask is there a pause between songs

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I believe there is a pause. Though just got the flac portion to work so haven't really tested it though I thought I heard a gap when I was listening to it briefly yesterday.

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What is really cool about this is the improvement in technology from when I bought the last alpine in early 2000's.

You can hook up a phone, backup cameras, ipods, USB, 1/8 stereo input, etc.You can control the audio from your phone, connect up to 2 phones.

Had 13 band EQ - great for live shows

Has Time delay for speakers usually only found in audio editing software.

Has easy to navigate screens for crossovers for each speakers.Now you can let all you bass go to the sub woofer and not the main speakers.

Has 3 pre-outs with 5 volts. (my amps need at least 4 volts and many head units do not even put out 4 volts for the pre-outs) Full power is supplied to your amps.

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My old apline sounded 2D and I really never liked the sound of it, the new kenwood sounds 3D and has so much more power going to the amps due to the correct volts are being supplied. With the old alpine many of the shows I recorded did not sounds that good unless I tweaked the bass/treble. Now sometimes I can not believe how real it sounds with the kenwood and my amps getting the right volts and power output. The sound has so much punch now in each speaker and it is so loud. You can hear different nuances of a singer voice. The sound is now audiophile grade. YEA BABY!!!

My wife and I can go thumping down the street...LOL!!!

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Sycamore Slough
Disco Stu on Thursday, August 10, 2017 – 01:11 pm

Having gone through all that time and effort, you really ought to print out the salient parts of this thread and mail it to various division heads at Kenwood.  At least then they will be aware that some stuff doesn't work correctly 'out of the box'.