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(More customer reviews)First a little information about HD-Radio...
HD-Radio is broadcast at 1% of the stations normal power, in other words if the station's analog signal is 100 watts, the HD signal is only 1 watt! So, make sure you've got a top quality antenna, don't bother with a "booster", I've never seen one that works. Also make sure you choose a receiver with higher sensitivity (lowest dBf).
On to the review...
I purchased this radio to replace a JVC KD-HDR1 which also has HD-Radio but not as good sensitivity. It's installed in a '93 Explorer with Kenwood 6X9 door speakers but no external amp or eq. I do not use the cell phone, Bluetooth, satellite radio or iPod features but do use the USB interface with a 64Gig "thumb drive" with over 200 albums and some singles ripped at 250K sample rate and plan to connect the AUX input to the audio from my ham radio in the future (which is one of the reasons I picked this radio).
Sound quality is very good. Even without an external amp I can get enough volume to overcome road noise from my off-road tires and wind noise without distortion. The built in EQ, is only three bands which is somewhat disappointing for a radio of this caliber. I would expect at least 7 bands if not more.
The HD-Radio reception outperforms my old JVC KD-HDR1 hands down. I can receive all the local stations (Denver-Boulder-FortCollins) without any problems, something the JVC couldn't come close to doing. The CD player works fine although I would prefer not having to tip down the faceplate to change CDs. The USB interface works as expected and while some people prefer a front panel connector, I like the attached 1meter cable. I've routed the cable into the glove box and have the "thumb drive" attached at all times. I'm still figuring out the supplied "Kenwood Music Editor" and creating play-lists but that's just getting over the learning curve of a new piece of software.
The menu system could be improved. It just isn't intuitive and getting to some features is a pain in the behind. I also don't like the quick access to bass-boost/balance/fader via the volume control. Once they are set, they are seldom changed so why bother. I wish it had a front panel mute feature (this would be better than the bass-boost/balance/fader in the volume control). Maybe I'm too "old school", but I miss the six preset station buttons that none of the newer radios have. They allowed direct access to my favorite stations without stepping up and down or taking my attention away from the road to find a specific station. I would also like a way to have the data/time in place of the SPA/Clock on the bottom line of the display (who really cares about the real-time audio levels?). The manual is poor at best. It covers 4 radios and contains errors. There is very little explanation of what features and settings do, just how to change them, even then you have to be in certain modes to access them and those limits are in one place in the manual while the so called detailed information on the feature is in another.
Over all, if I had to choose again I would still buy this over any other radio in the price range, or even twice the price.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Kenwood KDC-HD942U USB/AAC/WMA/MP3 CD Receiver with Built-In HD Radio
Car stereo connectivity has come a long way over the years. and the KDC-HD942U is the perfect case in point. At the core of this receiver is legendary Kenwood audio performance, and its list of impressive attributes grows from there. This is the first Kenwood CD-receiver with built in HD Radio and iTunes tagging. In addition, the receiver is both iPod and iPhone ready, Bluetooth ready for hands-free cell phone use, and Satellite Radio ready. Hard to believe all of this comes in one package.
Dial in Your Music Enjoy your favorite CDs or CD-Rs, or burn a data CD with your favorite MP3/WMA/AAC files and enjoy hours of music on one disc, along with ID-3 tag display for artist and title info.
Awesome-Sounding FM and AM Broadcasts The KDC-HD942U features a built in HD Radio tuner. HD Radio delivers crystal clear reception taking conventional FM stations to near CD quality and makes AM stations sound like an FM broadcast. More and more stations are offering HD Radio broadcasting with your favorite local stations offering multicasting you get to enjoy more music from a variety of artists and genres. Features 18 FM and six AM presets for your convenience.
Bookmark that Song You Want to Hear Again When you hear a song that you want to hear again while listening to HD Radio, just use the iTunes tagging function to "bookmark" the song and send data to your connected iPod, which allows you to access and purchase the song on iTunes via your personal computer.
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.
Memorize Frequently Used Functions Favorite Memory is capable of storing up to six frequently used functions from diverse sources and recalling them whenever necessary. This means those short cuts to frequently accessed radio stations, phone numbers, iPod songs, setup functions, menu, etc. can be easily stored.
Finding Songs on iPod Made Easy The head units found in the Regular lineup feature an original Dual Search function for iPod music libraries that uses a combination of Music Search and Skip Search to provide faster access to the songs you're looking for.
USB & AUX Connectors Right Up Front Certain models have either a USB interface or AUX input terminal or even both on the front panel for added convenience, making connection of external devices with USB or AUX support easier.
Bluetooth Ready Add the optional KCA-BT200 to enjoy hands-free operation of the KDC-HD942U, allowing you to keep your hands on the steering wheel allowing you better concentration on your driving. Advanced Bluetooth technology provides wireless connection and operation of Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as mobile phones and even phones that can stream music via A2DP.
HD and Satellite Radio Ready The KDC-HD942U 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.
Ready for System Expansion In addition to the on-board 50W x 4 amplifier, the KDC-HD942U boasts three 4V pre-amp outs for expanding your system.
What's in the Box Kenwood KDC-HD942U, sleeve, trim ring, wiring harness, installation tools, installation manual, operation manual, warranty card.
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