Customer Ratings & Reviews

The user interface leaves much room for improvement, but the wireless CarPlay works great. Connect to the WiFi of the deck one time and you never have to connect it again.

This radio/digital media receiver is exceeding my expectations. Power, presentation and adaptable displays make this setup a solid choice if dvd playback is not a necessity. While there is no cd/dvd player, every option I use and can now use is more then ample. Highly recommended!

This radio is amazing I've always been a Kenwood or Pioneer fan when it comes to car audio for their stereo systems. These two brands offer a lot more features for lesser price than some of the Alpine systems. Wireless Android Auto/Apple car play is the best thing I have ever used in a car. To sit down and have my phone Wifi direct to the radio and mirror over my playlist google maps and contacts is the best feeling ever. I keep my phone on a wireless charger that's magnetic which makes everything so seamless. When I turn the vehicle on my phone will automatically connect to the Wifi of the system. When I leave the car I get automatically connected back to the Wifi network I was previously on. This also allows me to Wifi direct to the radio and use cellular data at the same time. With a maestro datalink I'm able to see car specifics like tire pressure, radar, engine load and more. This system supports the N-520 dash camera which I use along with the CMOS 320 rear camera I am able to toggle the screen to view either camera at anytime. This radio also does widgets so I can custom the screen anyway I want with different applications on the stereo. For example I can keep my tire pressure on the home page right next to audio settings or change them anyway I want. It's been a very pleasurable experience I like this unit a lot.

I bought this for my 2012 Sienna minivan. Wish I had bought it years before because it made my old OEM speakers sound so much better! Love the wireless Android Auto feature, having the navigation from my phone on a much bigger screen than what I had before, and was surprised that my backup camera video was even a lot easier to see on this unit. The user guide is not so great, and it's not as easy or intuitive as I would like to figure out all the different settings for the stereo, so I'm still working on that. I do play a lot more music in the car than I did before, since I can stream Spotify or Pandora so easily now.

Have had Kenwood 9706 Receiver about 10 days. Giving 5 stars with a couple of suggestions. Ask or tell the installer to make sure they do a firmware update then check to be sure the receiver has been updated. My second day with the receiver I was unhappy, Apple CarPlay and audio were not working wirelessly. Worked fine using the wire connection but I got this unit because of wireless. I called the installer and was told wireless CarPlay was iffy, sometimes it worked and sometimes it did not. Did not mention the firmware update. Looked online and saw that updates were recommended. Did it myself, not hard, took about 30 minutes. Voila, now the receiver is doing everything great. * Much better sound through my factory speakers * Wireless Car Play is great, never take my phone out of my pocket * Adjust volume by changing volume when specific app is being used. For me it was 'Maps' apps were way to faint, changed the volume while the maps was talking and the receiver 'remembered' the volume for the maps.. Great function. * Do a YouTube search for Kenwood tips, you will learn lots of adjustments, there are MANY audio adjustments you can make to customize the speakers. * Best Buy by far had the best prices...but do a search for all the products (Receiver, brackets, wiring) you will buy and find the best price. Best Buy will match as long as competitor has product in stock. * I got a BB credit line and got a %10 credit for first time purchase. I am sure I can find $60-70 product to buy for "free". * My local BB had a 5-6 week wait to get it installed. I looked at all the stores within 70 miles and found one who had an opening two days later. Went there and, except for the firmware problem, they did a great job. * Ask if they can put the wiring someplace beside the glove box, mine was put in the glovebox but I would have preferred the center console compartment. Not sure they would have done it but I should have asked. * Finally, overall, For sure I would buy it again and for sure would have Best Buy install it.

I installed this radio myself. It was fairly easy. One of the big reasons I purchased this was for the front and rear camera and Android Auto. I love that it's wireless. The sound quality on it is very good. I love the Kenwood dash cam that works with this model too. Has a live camera view at all times just by pushing the cam button on the stereo. It allows you to view it on your stereo and take snap shops if needed. The backup camera works flawlessly. Only setting I would like to see for the backup camera to have would be a delayed end time of a few seconds. it goes off as soon as you shift out of reverse. Other than that Awesome stereo with a lot of power and bass without a sub.

If Kenwood ever looks at these old reviews, I hope they look at this and learn from a real world user. Hardware OK. SOFTWARE INTERFACE SUCKS. I just updated the firmware today - 12-3-2020 following the directions. The update was successful and easy... However the update did not fix any of my issues with the software; The software is cumbersome and non-intuitive. For instance, in order to turn off or mute the AM/FM radio once started you have to starts another radio service such as Spotify. FURTHER MORE THERE IS NO MUTE BUTTON! The “ATT” button is the attenuation button (why they did not make it “ATTN” instead I do not know) only partially drops the volume. The ATT button has no why to set the amount of volume decrease.. Holding it longer or double pressing it does not mute the sound! Go Figure. There is a similar problem exiting the phone mode. Once in phone it is very hard to get back say maps view. If you are in maps view, and you want to turn on the AM radio you have to push 4 or more buttons (both hard buttons and soft buttons). The list goes on. The software requires constant eyes off the road to use! There is NO WAY to CUSTOMIZE THE HOME SCREEN TO SHOW JUST THE APPS or FUNCTIONS YOU WANT. From the Home screen You have to push a app choice screen that lists lots of choices. Then you can pick radio or Spotify or whatever they’ve put on there. You are stuck with all those choices- NONE OF THEM I USE EXCEPT THE RADIO… The Home Screen has space given up to fancy mini frequency meter, a star picture, etc, The home screen offers me many choices and junk artwork—almost none of them are functions or useful info while driving. The only items on the home screen I ever use is the clock and the App Choice soft button. I think you should be able to put several soft buttons of your choice on the home screen! THERE IS NO REAL CUSTOMIZATON ALLOWED. The hardware works but still has issues. The buttons are all the same appearance and feel. There are not tactile indicators of which one is which! Why not some colors and shapes and gaps between the buttons. There is no separation between the buttons. YOU HAVE TO TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE ROAD TO BE SURE TO HIT THE CORRECT BUTTON AND NOT TWO AT ONCE. The Android Auto works fairly well! Thanks Google. Even on the wireless /bluetooth connection, songs from Amazon Music play without a hiccup or annoying pauses. I rented two brand new cars recently and they both did NOT play my music successfully from wireless connections with my Samsung Note 8, Neither kept up with the music streaming rate that worked on the older Kenwood! I have not tried Apple’s Car Play. The backup camera functions pretty well. The guide lines work well and are fully adjustable – I had to mount my camera off center on the rear of my Rav4 and the Kenwood handled the off center-ness very well. The sound quality is very good. My stock RAV4 speakers immediately sounded clearer and cleaner. I did not spring for a separate amp and do not need one for the stock speakers.

Started out with the Kenwood DMX7706 and wasn't happy with the refinement of the interface. Switching between functions seemed to confuse the receiver sometimes and there would be little glitches. For example every so often the album art wouldn't pop up while using Spotify or voice commands wouldn't work. Wasn't sure if it was Android Auto, Kenwood or both that was having the issue. Returned the DMX7706 and "upgraded" to this receiver for the wireless Android Auto because the problems mainly occured while connected through the USB. Holy crap what a waste of the extra $120. This receiver is even worse, both wireless and connected through the USB. Using Spotify there's a HUGE lag while selecting the next track, the lag is so bad that it's literally pathetic and inexcusable. With both Kenwood receivers there are different screens you can scroll through depending on what information you want showing. The DMX7706 would scroll smoothly between screens, this receiver is annoyingly unresponsive unless you swipe it perfectly. The wireless Android Auto feature is complete crap too, despite my phone being 2 inches from the receiver the connection will just drop for no explainable reason. Definitely not what you want while trying to use maps causing you to miss a turn. Oh not to mention theres also a slight lag between your actual location and the screen. Some of the blame can be placed on Android Auto but the majority of blame can be placed on Kenwood. Which is obviously why basically every review lists primarily Pioneer as there top choice for Android Auto/Apple Car Play receivers. I don't particularly like the look of Pioneer which is why I went with Kenwood, but at this point I'm willing to sacrifice looks for function. Oh and don't even get me started on the lack of directions in the owners manual. It explains the basics and that's it, no in depth info at all. Such a disappointing joke. This receiver has the price tag of a nice tablet and comes no where close to functioning as well.

Decent head unit. Wished it had a physical knob for the volume up/down (it has 2 separate buttons which is ok). 2 main issues for this head unit. 1) Head unit will randomly restart itself after about 45mins of run time. 2) GPS addon was not purchased so not installed. Head unit locked out a few features due to this GPS lock though I was able to resolve this issue with a firmware update.

Having the wireless Car Play was key for me and why I decided on this model. Having recently gotten an older vehicle, this worked quite well with the stock speakers. The screen graphics are a bit dated but not a big deal.

I’ve always wanted a car stereo that had CarPlay. I live 100% in the Apple environment, like an adult, but all the stereos with CarPlay were always too expensive. Till I saw this beauty sitting in the cage with an Open Box sticker on it. I saved some serious cash on it. It works perfect, looks great, sounds excellent, and fills the void in my soul that only a major retail purchase can fill.

This is by far the best radio I have owned... the streaming is nice the mirroring is even better... this is the best way to go. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS

Great review. 2nd car I’ve put this into. Steered my friend into doing this same one previously.

I love this radio still trying to figure out how to use the mirroring function. Other than that the radio is solid

It is amazing! Just had it installed and I am beyond happy with the quality of this stereo! I would recommend this unit for anyone!!

Love that it has wireless android auto, Great little radio for my convertible when my wife and I want to go driving get lost and just hit go home on the maps.

Love this guy. Made my stereo sound even better. Would buy again

Great radio love the wireless functions. Best double din for the price!

Great unit no flaws great buy at bestbuy will recommend it

Nice upgrade from stock unit, would definitely buy again.