Customer Ratings & Reviews

Just installed this today in ‘06 NC MX5 Miata; better than stock, so far so good. My 2006 NC Non-Bose came with nice new Rockford Fosgate speakers in the doors, but the OEM head unit just couldn’t drive them enough. Some music / podcasts were barely audible even with the volume knob all the way up. Dramatic difference in volume, especially with Bluetooth music. Much better bass response even with EQ settings untweaked. I picked this one because it was relatively cheap, but offered HD Radio which sets it apart. It’s the next best thing to having satellite radio because it also gives extra channels (similar to HDTV), but for free over-the-air. It’s a digital media receiver so no CD, which I’m ok with. It also saves on weight (“adds lightness”) and space (does not extend as far behind the face plate). I also did the Metra ASWC-1 steering wheel control adapter, and surprisingly had no issues. Only a few of the wires are required, and the vehicle-specific guide helped tremendously. It says to connect to wires on the backside of the vehicle dash harness, but I elected instead to connect to the corresponding wires coming out of the Metra 70-7903 harness adapter. White/green wire from the ASWC-1 connects to the brown wire coming from the dash harness adapter. This is called 1N. Color may be different on the dash connector; what’s important is the position. The black/grey wire goes to ground; I basically crimped all of the ground wires together and that seems to work ok. The Kenwood harness has a light blue & yellow wire for steering wheel control; this connects to the brown wire coming from the 3.5mm plug on the ASWC-1. It auto-detected and programmed itself, and all left-side buttons work. The MUTE button doesn’t mute completely, only attenuates the volume. The MODE button switches between sources. It seems a bit muddled in FM until the HD radio signal kicks in. But I’ll likely forget about these once in motion. :-) I used the Metra dash kit; finish is ok and everything fit in ok. It kind of sticks out proud at the top edge but it’s even side-to side, and flush on the left & right sides. This deck came with a DIN mounting cage, but I decided to go with the ISO DIN brackets that attach to the sides and the clip into the faceplate. Much more secure and better fit. Matching trim ring included to keep the matte finish. Slight gap under the bottom edge of the deck but I don’t notice in the vehicle.

Upgraded my '04 stereo; now I have Bluetooth and auxiliary.

I was looking to replace the radio in a 1996 Honda Accord. I just wanted Bluetooth and be able to use my phone for music and listen audiobooks. I was basically looking for a no frills unit. I had read previous reviews and this unit fit the bill perfectly. I had read from previous reviews the display is hard to read in daylight but this was not a concern to me. Excellent value for the money. Hands free calling is a bonus I didn’t know this unit had.

I could type forever on how good the product is. The sound is exceptional. It picks up radio stations my older receiver would not. It is only a media Receiver, (no CD/DVD/Cassette drive) and is the main reason I purchased it. I swapped all of my audio over to Thumb Drives long ago. The ONLY negatives I can give are about the Display. (1) It can get hard to see in any bright lights. (2) It doesn't have a way to have it set to Automatic Dimming with headlights like many other brands. (3) It is relatively small, and doesn't display information effectively. With this not having a CD drive, or such, the included display could easily be much larger. I feel the design flaws on this are easily countered and overlooked with a little extra setup, and overall only warrant a 1 star reduction. I believe Kenwood has made an Amazing Product here, though there is room for improvement. Larger 4 row screen that has no glare, and this could have been perfection.

Awesome stereo, very good crisp sound, easy install and love the no CD option, Bluetooth rules lol

Read lots of reviews before getting this radio. Needed bluetooth for my son’s car so he would be less tempted to pick up his phone while driving. Top sellers for me were bluetooth, price and, mostly that it was in stock at my local Best Buy. Easy to install and set up. Overall I am very satisfied with this purchase

Deck works great... Opted for the model with HD radio and no CD as it was going into a boat... Very pleased with it. Bluetooth works exceptional and the HD radio is clear. Radio has a good sound and has just about all the options you could want in an aftermarket deck.

Love it, great sound and easy to install, i did it my self

This stereo is really nice. My calls are clear using the Bluetooth feature. My music is clear sounding. I am enjoying my stereo.

This radio is great love everything about it the lights are fantastic they change colors the display is clear with nice lettering on it. It pushes great power to my amplifier and speakers. The front pops off so I can bring it inside and thief’s don’t notice I’ve got a radio in my car. The features like Bluetooth work excellent and pair with no issues.

My phone connects the receiver very fast compared to my previous receiver and current factory systems. I don't miss CDs. I haven't used one in years. Phone calls sound good and I don't get complaints about how I sound from people on the other end of the line. The Android app looks super lame but it works well. It's a lot easier to set my equalizer and other settings with the app. Switching between two phones is easy. Front USB port is handy for passenger phones. The wire for the rear USB port is easily reachable too. I had doubts about the placement of the exteral mic but it works so well that it doesn't seem to matter. It's cool to be able to set the color of the LED lights but it was annoying and kind if distracting when it was alternating through colors by default. It sounds great with the rest of my system and provides plenty of power and sound tuning options.

The install was excellent, and the radio works like it is suppose to, but I have found the instruction manual difficult to understand. It show the instruction for 3 different radios and thus it may be talking about a feature that isn't even with my radio. It is confusing. My phone has connected to the item, but no sounds comes out of my phone, it does answer the phone and I can talk on it, but that is all so far. I have sat down several times to figure it all out, but I still haven't. The display is very colorful, but it is difficult to see when it is a bright day. The sound and radio features work well, and so when I can get it to work it sounds great. Some of the buttons have sharp spikes on their ends to let you feel where you are without looking down, but if you are sitting there programing the AM/FM/HD/SiriusXM, these little spikes start hurting the end of my figures. So would I buy this unit again? Probably not. Would I have Best Buys install it, yes, I would.

I really liked this it was easy to install myself and was very easy to setup also like the app to control's the settings as subwoofer on or off fade front to back loudness bass + or - all from my phone

Easy install, great sound. Bluetooth is great! Great quality for the price.

Looked at the open box section in best buy, saw this radio and decided to take a chance. Bought it at least $60.00 less than original price. So far had it for 2 months and works perfectly.

I have an older car that I wanted to put a Bluetooth stereo in in order to have hands-free dialing. Also, wanted a USB port to play music from a flash drive. Works very well for what I needed plus it has a lot of other functionality - satellite radio capability, for example. Sounds great, too.

Very nice radio from Kenwood. The HD radio for FM makes audio much clearer than standard FM. Simple to navigate between sources and easy to read while driving.

It's has a few more features than my previous kdc x500. The dta setting is cool. Just wish I knew how to work it better.

Needed Bluetooth in vehicle. Easy install. Good sound.

The stereo was a great addition but the channel selection button are so small that you actually have to take your eyes off of the road to select a different station. However, the Bluetooth worked and is the best feature. I can listen to my music on Pandora and iTunes and other podcasts seamlessly.