Kenwood KDC-BT742U WMA/MP3 CD Receiver with Built-in Bluetooth and Satellite/HD Radio/iPhone Ready

Price:$270.00
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Bought this receiver at Frys after getting recommended by the sales floor associate. After banging my head for an hour trying to figure out how to use this thing while reading through a poorly written manual, I finally managed to get the phone connected and figure out how to shuffle through music. --- A HUGE Drawback ----Unfortunately we found out this device only supports within folder shuffle for usb connected devices (not including ipod). The next logical thing is to then put all your music in one folder. Unfortunately the device won't recognize more than 255 files within one folder. This is a real pain. Especially when you consider a mp3 CD could hold close to 255 mp3s. My whole point for getting this was to get away with having to burn mp3 cds all the time.Pros- nice to have caller id and phonebook support- internal mic worked pretty goodCons- Music presets were not that different. Previous Scion stock radio had much better variety of audio equalizer presets. - Navigation through menus is not intuitive and difficult using the knob
(In case anyone read this review before I updated it, the major changes are that I've spoken to Kenwood about the bluetooth issues, and I've realized the interface isn't as difficult as it seemed at first - if Amazon would let me, I would upgrade my rating to 3 stars).First the bad news. When I talk to people with my iPhone 3G via the bluetooth capability, they can barely understand me. My voice sounds heavily digitized at best, "like a robot." During any given conversation, about half of what I say sounds like digital noise and is unintelligible. [edit:]After talking to Kenwood tech support, they acknowledged that several of their older units had exactly this problem, and it was fixed with a firmware update. They were not aware of an issue with this unit, and have now escalated a problem report to get it fixed. The current theory is that they have only tested the unit with iPhone firmware 2.1, and my iPhone has the latest firmware 2.2, and there may be an interoperability issue with it.[:edit]I did try my iPhone with a Pioneer DEH-BT7000, and it sounds fine through that unit, not digitized or robotic at all.[edit:]I have completely rewritten my account of the unit's interface. Originally I said it was horrible, and if you google this unit, you'll find similar complaints. With more time, I've realized that there is a decent logical consistency to this interface that makes most features fairly easy to remember. The problem is the manual does not explain it. Every button on the unit has a dual purpose; one by pressing it quickly, and one by holding it down for 1 sec. Every button is labeled on the face plate with both it's primary and secondary purpose. All of the "secondary" purposes are indicated by a small solid white square. Some of the labels are a little too terse to realize what they mean before reading the manual, but once you realize what the label means, you won't forget. For example, to turn FM station find on and off, you hold down the "AUTO" button for 1 sec. However AUTO is the secondary function for a button who's primary function is to activate/deactivate the bluetooth hands-free feature. The secondary label happens to be on a silver highlight while the button and primary label are in a black area, so they don't appear to have anything to do with each other, and the AUTO label appears to have nothing to do with anything.Another good example is information scrolling on the display. The default is to constantly scroll the artist and song name across the display. However, you can set it to not scroll, if you find that distracting. But then how do you read the rest of it if you want to? The 7-way knob has a legend next to it. UP and Down switch between FM and AM in radio mode. However, up has a secondary label of SCRL. That means "to scroll the display, press this for 1 sec". I would never have guessed, but now that I know, I'll never forget. So, I don't hate the interface any more. I would just say the manual does not explain this pattern, and it took a while for me to recognize it on my own. [:edit]Another complaint is that it is difficult to press the knob without also tilting it, which often causes you to change what you're trying to select before you select it.On the plus side, it sounds fantastic, and it has a ton of really cool features. I was particularly impressed by the ability to fine-tune the delay of audio generated by the different speakers to compensate for differences in speaker placement in different cars. This enables you to fine-tune the "audio center" of your car to coincide with the true physical center of the cabin - although I can't currently claim to be able to tell the difference after doing so.Another silly plus is that this unit is gorgeous. I hate to admit it, but I love looking at it. The display is substantially clearer & more readable than the previous unit (the BT838u) and than the Pioneer BT700/70000 units. I really hope Kenwood can get me past this bluetooth audio problem [edit] b/c I really want this unit to end up working for me. I like the features, display readability, non-flip-down face-plate, and front-mounted USB and AUX ports.Other minor notes: the voice recognition function is a little weak, and tedious to program, but it works fine. [edit:]I was mistaken; the display auto-dims when you turn your headlights on[:edit]. The unit has a "play/pause" button [edit:which sounds obvious, but many mp3-focused units these days no longer have this throwback to the days of removable media; they expect you to turn the unit off when you don't want it to play.[:edit]
WMA/MP3 CD Receiver with built-in BT, and SAT/HD radio/BT/iPhone ready.
Here's a perfect way to replace your stock stereo with a Bluetooth-enabled, digital-media-friendly solution. Enjoy your favorite CDs, a one-wire iPod connection, streaming of MP3/AAC/WMA files from USB thumb drives, a front auxiliary input, and Kenwood audio perfection in a 50W x 4 stylish tuner. Replace your stock stereo with a Bluetooth-enabled, digital-media-friendly solution. Click to enlarge. Dial in Your Music The KDC-BT742U will play your favorite CDs or burned CD-Rs, as well as MP3/WMA/AAC files from data CDs or USB devices. Load your flash drive with your favorite tunes and hit the road. iPod 1-wire Connection If you own an iPod, simply connect it to a Kenwood CD receiver via the USB cable that comes with the iPod. Better yet, use the optional KCA-iP100 1-wire iPod Interface Cable for crystal clear digital audio playback. You'll supply power to your iPod as well as charge it while you enjoy your music. FM/AM Tuner When you feel like letting someone else control the programming, switch to the radio. Features 18 FM and six AM presets for your convenience. Add satellite radio or HD radio with Kenwood peripherals. Includes IR remote. Click to enlarge. Built-In Bluetooth--Powered by Parrot The built-in Bluetooth hands-free system enables easy, safe cellular phone communications from the car. Features include (not all features work on all phones): Supports Hands-Free Profile Supports SMS Supports Voice Dialing Supports Automatic Phonebook Download Powered By Parrot Built-In Microphone with Noise Cancellation HD and Satellite Radio Ready The KDC-BT742U allows you to enjoy SIRIUS (requires CA-SR20V cable + Sirius Tuner) or XM (requires KCA-XM100V + XM Mini Tuner) radio in your vehicle. Enjoy a multitude of channels featuring music, news, talk shows, sports, and traffic information with CD quality sound. You also can add an HD Radio tuner. When you connect an HD radio tuner, features of the unit are disabled and changed to HD Radio tuner features. Superb Audio All the Time When listening to music in a moving vehicle, sound quality can be degraded due to road and engine noise. Kenwood's exclusive Sound Excellence audio enhancement feature brings out all of the music masked by this noise, and also includes a unique iPod EQ function that improves the sound of any iPod by deactivating the EQ setting of the iPod and allowing you to select an EQ curve optimized for iPod playback in any vehicle at any speed. Supreme When a music file is compressed, some frequencies signals are lost, particularly if it is encoded using a low bit rate. The Supreme technology is a Kenwood-original audio compensation technology that compensates for this loss and reproduces music in a more natural form, thereby making it possible to play music recorded using low bit rates (64k to 96k) in an audio-quality equivalent to music recorded using a higher bit rate (equivalent to 128k). Enjoy a natural, rich sound, even with lower compression ratios. Front USB and AUX connectors for quick and easy access. Front USB/AUX Connection The KDC-BT742U features a USB and AUX connector up front that makes connecting a USB mass-storage device easier than ever. For the auxiliary input, input sensitivity correction adjusts volume or input level depending on the characteristics of the input source. Ready for System Expansion In addition to the on-board 50W x 4 amplifier, the DPX503 boasts three 2.5V pre-amp outs for expanding your system. What's in the Box Kenwood KDC-BT742U, sleeve, trim ring, wiring harness, installation tools, installation manual, operation manual, warranty card.





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