Customer Ratings & Reviews

Good value

Overall this is a quality head unit for those who do not want or need the fancy touch screens. It has enough pre-outs to allow for some versatile setups and a good selection of features to keep most people happy.

The only real downsides I have discovered are the over-simplified equalizer (which is to be expected) and the difficulty viewing the screen during the daytime with a majority of the color options available.

By shadowmonk on July 11, 2015 Verified purchase

Love the bluetooth

I did a lot of research before I bought a radio for my car, this was the best bang for the buck I could find. I love the large volume knob, it's just the right size to always be within reach. I especially love the Bluetooth, and the microphone works great, though it does need to be set up in the settings or the other person won't hardly hear or understand. Overall, great radio, goes REALLY loud, and almost no distortion from it

By Jake on July 26, 2015 Verified purchase

Kenwood DPX501BT

I love all Kenwood products and this radio is the absolute best!

Good for the money

The menus can be a little confusing and adjusting the phone settings you have to be on a phone call which is strange. The screen is also not very bright which is annoying during the day time. Other than those minor things it has been solid and sounds god. My wife loves hands free and BT music.

By David on November 3, 2015 Verified purchase

Stereo

Good product ! I have replaced both my car stereos with this model....the Bluetooth is amazing and the sound is good without having to spend too much....recommended

Epic

I've been out of the car audio scene for a while & decided to do a budget build in my '03 xCab Tacoma. I'm doing it in stages. I paired this head unit with some NVX 5.25 separates (which take a bit of patience to install in this truck - especially with no speaker adapters) and Quart Onyx 5x7 coax. That said, the Quarts are right next to me and not in the truck yet...so I'll need to update this once I get 'em in. A sub is coming next. And at the moment it's needed badly.

Anyhoo, this is a review of the head unit. I'm having a hard time finding anything I don't like about it. I needed expanded functionality, and I got that many times over. I bought 2 stubby 32 gig USB sticks to have plenty of music for driving. The unit has no problem playing or surfing the folders. Bluetooth functionality with my HTC EVO 3D is comprehensive even though I'd read these 2 might not work well together. I can even access my phonebook from the head unit & make calls through voice commands. Sub out is nice. Menu feature set is rich. Power seems to be a true 22W RMS - purely seat of pants feel. I don't think I'm going to bother with an amp when I add a sub. The head unit provides plenty of power for an xcab - especially when not asking it to provide for more than modest midbass.

The remote is well-designed, but the lag (~1 sec) to the head unit will limit its use. Maybe a future firmware fix will help?

I haven't used the mic yet, but it's going into place tomorrow.

For the money, this is simply an epic deal. There's a learning curve to the unit, and it's probably better experienced when parked, but when mastered it's a delight to use. I'll update a bit later as again I have some additions yet to install. But as of right now, expense considered, I'd give this one a solid 7 out of 5!

By Beaver on October 31, 2015 Verified purchase

Excellent Deck

I replaced the factory radio from a Mustang with the Shaker 500, with this unit man what a difference. The sound is 100 times better. I had to do a lot of research on how to install this deck in my Mustang since the Shaker has two amps and teo factory subwoofers. You will need a 1.5K resistor from radio shack 5 for $3.00. you have to connect it to the ant remote otherwise every time your deck turns on it makes a popping noise. this resistor took care of that. Everything works perfect and it look great. The sound is amazing compared to the OEM.. I always buy Kenwood. I highly recommend this unit if you are looking for a great double din deck. I paid $10.00 more then, now it is $10.00 less. If yuo have a 2006 Mustang GT with the Shaker 500 you dont need the antenna adaptor.

By Larry on November 21, 2015 Verified purchase

Good deck

Great price, I love the bluetooth and input / output jacks. Its been a monthe and I have no complaints.

I've had it almost a year now

My old Lexus stereo died. They wanted almost $600 for a factory replacement that did not have bluetooth, or could read mp3 encoded disks. Not doing it. Found this unit and like it because it had a large volume knob, easy to reach buttons and a relatively simple interface.
Had it almost a year and I have no complaints. It can get loud. I think for the price it was a very good unit. It easily fit in my double din space where the old stereo came from and only cost about 1/4 of what Lexus wanted.
I like the dark face when it is off, because it doesn't seem to attract a lot of unwanted attention. Oh you have to speak loud for someone to hear you on the microphone.

Great Value

Excellent product for the price. Easy to install with the witre harness adapter. Could not get the remote volume and station control to work on the steering wheel of a 2006 focus X5 though. But none the less great product. Would purchase again

Kenwood DPX501BT

awesome stereo . great help from store techs. quick ship. good price for kenwood. Thanks guys!

Good Bang for the Buck

I found this Kenwood to have very good sound with my stock speakers. It has all the features you could ask for in a car stereo and looks great too.
The display is tough to read in the sunlight, and switching sound sources is a little tedious since you have to cycle through them.
The wireless mic needs to have the sensitivity turned up so you can be heard on a phone call. I also found that if you use the auto time sync, the clock is an hour fast, so I just set it manually.
Overall, you can't beat the features you get for the price; I would buy another without hesitation.

Great value

Great stereo for the price. Easy installation great fit with installation kit.

great stereo

Very pleased with this stereo and works awsome with Bluetooth as far as switching over to phone. Love the hands free phone comes through loud and clear and people say sounds clear when I talk. Would definitely recommend this product.

Quality

High quality products at the best prices you can find.

Good unit

Replaced the factory GM unit to n my Trailblazer. Wanted USB and Bluetooth for my IPhone and music. The display can be hard to read during the day. The only color that that works for me is the aqua blue. I am in my sixties so the programming is a little tedious for someone who grew up with a slide rule. Not very intuitive. Rasio works well and will pull,in stations the factory would not. I have had it almost a year and am replacing the factory speakers with component units and a Kenwood amp.

By Dale on August 1, 2016 Verified purchase

this one needs work

stereo is hard to see in day light,alot of alternator noise,radio doesn,t pick up stations clearly,what i like is radio face lay out,cd player great sound,also usb,bluetooth hard to use

By jimmy on June 21, 2016 Verified purchase