JVC KW-R500

JVC has the most selections for more "budget-priced" double-din head units. My 2012 Corolla will accommodate a double-din, so I wanted that. Single DIN head units just look too tiny. I've never had JVC car audio equipment before, but had some home audio stuff from them many years ago. While often overlooked for other brands, JVC is quite a respectable brand and should not be overlooked.



I bought this to use exclusively with my iPod nano. I don't listen to CDs anymore, and I don't listen to the radio. Practically everything I would want to listen to is on my iPod. So I can't comment on the CD player or radio tuner.



I won't spend too much time talking about the features of this model. You can easily look that up yourself. I'll just quickly say that it's not difficult to use. Anything that isn't immediately obvious to use can be quickly looked up in the owner's manual (which is pleasantly succinct).



What I will talk about in this review is the sound quality and power output from the built-in amp.



I had this installed with Pioneer TS-A1674 6 1/2's in the door, and Pioneer TS-A6974R 6 x 9's in the rear deck. I had the installer disconnect the stock tweeters. I'm not running an amp to these speakers. They're both pretty efficient (90+ db sensitivity) and this JVC deck puts out 20 watts RMS. That might not sound like much to some people, but turned up, this hurt my ears well before any distortion set in. So as far as the 20 x 4 RMS amp, it's plenty powerful to drive efficient co-axials. In fact, I'd personally have no problem using this deck to power a set of efficient components up front. So to sum up the power portion - it's plenty powerful. I was drawn to this instead of competing decks offering 14 watts RMS.



Now let's talk about sound quality. When first installed, the sound is actually pretty bad. I wasn't too surprised. I figured I would just have to adjust the bass, mid, and treble. (Some head units only have bass and treble - I like how this one has mid as well). So I started tweaking the bass, mid, and treble. Didn't help. At all. I was convinced that I either bought the wrong head unit, but was really suspecting the speakers were cheap crap. That's when I remembered reading about the "Pro" EQ settings. Accessing these Pro options is different than hitting the EQ button to adjust bass. The Pro options let you adjust the frequency of the bass/mid/treble that you're boosting/lowering with the normal EQ button. It also lets you adjust Q. Even if you don't know what Q is (like me) it doesn't matter. You try the few (or so) different settings until you like what you hear. After I adjusted the Pro settings, I had a big smile on my face. It now sounds GREAT. Now I just need subs and an amp and my system will be complete.



Speaking of the Pro EQ settings, it might sound like you either need to know what you're doing, or that it's a huge pain that takes forever. But it's not (I promise). It's actually pretty quick and easy, and it's all by ear.



Should you choose this HU, or another one in the JVC line? I went with this one because it's the cheapest. I don't care about bluetooth, nor do I care about HD radio. Those are really what you're paying for with more expensive models. The power output and sound quality (and Pro EQ options) are the same. If I want good sounding radio, I'll just plug my iPhone into the USB connector and run an app like TuneIn which apparently streams at higher bitrates than HD radio anyway.



Conclusion - I'm very happy I went with this unit. It's powerful, sounds great (and minor tweaking) and didn't break the bank. It does everything I want it to. If I had to come up with something I wish it had, it would be the ability to store more user selectable EQ settings (instead of just one) but it's not a huge deal.

The radio is incredible. For a double din I think it's one of the best at this price range. I installed it in a 2005 RAV4, and works perfectly. The only problem of this radio, is that I can't see clearly the display in the sunlight, which is pretty annoying sometimes.

Great head unit. I have had no problems with it. It looks awesome and all the features are great.

I replaced ome stereo in 08 Hyundai Santa Fe with this unit. I also purchased Axxess ASWC to operate steering wheel controls and everything works and looks great. Very pleased with this purchased . Great price and value.

it was easy to put in works great for what i need it for not a lot of money overall it was awesome clock never stays with right time only problem