Kenwood - CD - Built-In HD Radio - Apple® iPod®-Ready - In-Dash Receiver

The factory CD/radio was a pretty good unit, but when I started having issues with the CD player if it was either a bit too hot or too cold, I was concerned about the cost of replacement. I've enjoyed Kenwood's quality in the past, so I was ok with buying an inexpensive Kenwood unit. It certainly paid off! The sound is much better and it was a great choice! It even has a remote control. I haven't used it, but it's there if I ever want to. I'm glad I didn't let the low price fool me!

This deck does just about everything that a single DIN deck can do. It connects and controls iTunes and Pandora great. The menus can be a little confusing at first compared to a Sony or Alpine deck, but give them a chance and you will forget that they were hard to navigate in no time. The installation was easy to. I installed myself and had no problems with connecting the power amp and hands free to the deck. All in all for less than $150 bucks not a bad deck.

I bought this to replace a stereo on a pontoon whose face had gone missing. It installed quickly and easily enough, with the wiring harness even matching all of the existing wiring colors. The only items I would "knock" it for are that when the HD Radio signal fades out it cuts back to analog which has a delay so you hear the last second or two again. The other part is the manual doesn't tell you how to get the clock to display on the readout, I wound up pushing a button labeled display to get it to show up. The clock however does automatically sync to the HD Radio stations time stamp. One other plus is that when we cut the power to it, it still remembers the presets unlike our old stereo. All in all a good receiver.

Over all this is a very good stereo unit. I had an older Kenwood that had the faceplate that moved and it quit on me, according to my online researching this was common. This unit plugged into the harness that was there for the older model with no problems (it was a discontinued model but the connector was the same). It's pretty easy to set up and use as long as you're at least semi-tech savvy. I like that it changes colors because I can never make up my mind on the color display I want and when I do I eventually change my mind. Bear with me on the images I took them with my phone when it was dark, I looked at them on my computer before I uploaded them they are good pictures.

Pros: - Sound quality - 3 sets of pre-outs - Conventional button layout - Manages to keep stupid gadgetry to a minimum - Radio reception is strong (HD and conventional) Cons: - Tiny chicklet sized button (common for aftermarket car stereos) - Display is last-gen looking and not great in the sun - Remote control input is delayed by about 1 second Since I had to replace the factory stereo in a 96 Civic to gain better sound, pre-outs, better control over sound shaping and playback of media types I went this Kenwood after research. This seemed to be the best bang for the buck. All aftermarket car stereos look dumb to me. They all give the appearance of gimmick-ridden bad ideas that strive to be over-the-top. I'm not a fan of the tiny buttons that most aftermarket stereos seem to have and in some case it's hard to even tell what's a button and what's just some molded plastic. Between these HMI characteristics and a crazy lighting scheme the stereo breaks up the harmony of the dash. This is true with almost any car stereo though. I'm not directing these comments directly at the Kenwood, they're all like this. With that said, this Kenwood seems to be somewhat conservative when it comes to how outlandish some of the designs can get from other car stereo makers. From my stuck-in-the-90's style preference, this Kenwood came closest to meeting my desires in that department. The more important functional qualities were also met with this stereo. I didn't need the CD player, I was hoping to find a Kenwood model that had the bluetooth, 3 sets of pre-outs and the host of other functions that it has but without the CD player. I considered some of the models above this one. I liked the ugraded display on some of them, but Kenwood does away with preset buttons and it takes navigating a menu to operate presets. No way. In all I'm satisfied with this purchase. BestBuy price matched Fry's at $99 + I had a $40 gift card bringing it down to $60. I pretty much could not afford to NOT buy it at that price. Wondering what do I like? The Parrot Asteroid. Too bad it's very expensive and buggy. Perhaps in a few years they'll work out those bugs. Thanks for reading.

I do like the product a lot. I understand it operates much the same as most panel mount radios however with out the remote it would be tough. Part of the trouble may have to do with my birth date"1953" It looks good, sounds good. Love the aux. and USB inputs. Good documentation made it easy to install.

Do a lot of camping. Old system kept fading in and out down the road. Would not hold a station. This not only holds the station and gives it to you in HD but the sound throughout the Motorhome is great. Price is also a big factor and this did not break the bank

Fits great, looks great, many options, aux/usb, & has been a fantastic buy if I've ever made one! Only downside is no wifi/bluetooth. Not a biggie honestly. Definitely worth the price.