Kenwood KDC-452U

Inexpensive stereo for your car

I would def. recommend this head unit for 1) low price 2) ipod controls and it also charges it, so you won't end up with a pile of wires all over your center console or whatever 3) it has relatively larger screen from previous models

CONS: Although you can change the text color on the screen, most of the time it is unreadable when you drive in sunny weather however looks cool during night time. Someone said that before but yes, if you have music turned up too much - it will take some time to turn the volume down if you use the knob. I also don't like the front USB port as I really hate seeing my white iPod cord sticking out all the time.

Other notes: I am very satisfied with this product, just make sure you pair it with some nice speakers (MB quart components in my case front and rear)

Great entry-level head unit!

I bought this for my girlfriends car 6 months back. It's a great headunit, no complaints here. It does glitch sometimes though when it comes to the iPod control, the name display freezes but it's usually resolved quick enough. Compared to my Kenwood eXcelon x994, the iPod controls are actually quicker. My only gripe is that the USB is on the front of the unit. Overall I'd recommend it, it's a great price for a good unit.

Nice- looking but something missing

I purchased this car stereo because I like how it looks. Not so many buttons in front. Installation was easy. From the manual, I thought Bluetooth is available but it's not. Also, FM radio doesn't work properly, can't seek all the stations, made sure the antenna adaptor is tight, but still the same. I did a quick re-install of the old radio and the FM is good but not this unit. Also, I found out that you cannot jump folders when playing the USB. You have to do it from the front control knob.
This should have been a great unit except for these miscues.

great unit

Bought this unit for my first build and it was an incredibly easy install. Sonic sent me everything I needed. The unit functions great as well. Lots of tuning options.

Very nice and not so expensive car stereo

I recently got this model because of how it looks and not so much of buttons on the front. Initially, I thought it would be hard to install and have it up and running because I don't have the wiring informations to adapt it to my car. But with a few basic knowledge I made it to work except for the FM radio where it cannot seek any channel.I found out that the Scosche antenna adaptor that came with it has a big center wire that won't fit with the car's female antenna receptacle. I manage to open up the connector and replaced the middle wire with a thinner conductor taken from a telephone wire. Now the FM radio is superb.
I would really like it more if there is a built-in Bluetooth. Also, wish that the remote has more function button like display. I would like to recommend it of course to anyone wanting to change their car radio.

Satisfying stereo

Pros: Shifting colors are quite nifty. USB and RJ-45 inputs are handy for using your own collection of music. I'm no audiophile, but it sounds good.

Cons: USB file system browser is a little confusing, and limits to 256 files per folder. Did not come with clear instructions for the UI.

Good Price, Spazzes out sometimes though

I would recommend this product for the price. It gets overheated fast if played loud with the high and low pass filters built-in. I have to keep my Air Conditioner on sometimes just to keep my mids and highs from not fading out. The display will also turn off randomly but does not interrupt whatever is playing. I have to detach the face or push the face in for it to turn back on and light up. I guess I may have gotten a defective unit but it's not bad enough to bother returning it and all that jazz....

Good Deck for the money!

Ive had this deck in my truck for about a month now and it was easy to install with Sonic's free wire harness's and works great!
Pros: Looks great! you can choose what ever color you want the lights to be to fight your vehicle or have them variable. USB and aux work good, sound is good.
Cons: If you dont have the remote in your hand, it takes a long time to turn down the volume if you want it down quickly with the knob.
When you change songs with the knob quickly, it freezes while the music is playing and it keeps playing but the deck turns off for a second and then turns back on, while still playing the music but you cant pause it, turn it up or down, or anything until it turns back on and dont know why it does that.

Good

Thing sounds good. Has TONS of options for the display. I like that if the sun hits it straight on, the color of the text goes away but it all turns a visible shade of gey so you can still read it. Sometime though, the sun hits it at just the right angle so that the glare makes it impossible to read anything. It's built very sturdy and came with a few extras in box like remote, and pouch thing for the face. Sounds nice, has some decent EQ control. I like that you can control the Subwoofer in dB. Does take a few seconds to start up, but what does a few seconds matter?

Great Deck

I order this deck 6 months ago and it's running strong sounds good and works well with subwoofers.