Home > Consumer Reviews > Kenwood KDC-MP735U - Radio / CD / MP3 player - Full-DIN - in-dash - 50 Watts x 4
Kenwood KDC-MP735U - Radio / CD / MP3 player - Full-DIN - in-dash - 50 Watts x 4
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(4.5 out of 5)
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In all seriousness...
(3 out of 5) by M.D.C. on Feb 29, 2008 (San Diego, CA)OK.
I know some people are thinking that I absolutely don't recommend this deck. This is far from the truth; I actually do recommend it, but only for certain consumers and only in limited instances. First, a caveat emptor: I did not get this from Amazon, I got it from a local auto shop, who installed it for $300 with the iPod cable, which I ended up not needing, but whatever...it's there if I change my mind.
Anyway, so I don't waste your time with useless information I'll break it down in simple terms.
** What the Deck Does Right **
Well, the sound clarity is very good, for one. Also good is the impressive resume of supported extras, such as SIRIUS, HD Radio, USB, etc. I (briefly) owned an iPod Touch and found the direct control to be a neat feature, though limiting (see the con section for more details). It's also a somewhat attractive deck I suppose. And remote control is always good.
** What the Deck Does Wrong **
I said the sound was clear, which it is, but if you're making CDs or MP3 CDs from your collection, I sure hope everything is encoded at 320, because anything lower and you'll have to ramp the volume. It's really irritating, because these same files sounded just fine on an old Blaupunkt I had when I was a kid (I'm exaggerating on the "same files" part. Same encoding, different music) at lower volumes. Pressed CDs shouldn't be an issue, but isn't the whole appeal of this thing to be able to play MP3s and whatnot?
I like the iPod control but (here it comes...) there are too many negatives with it. First, and I acknowledge mine may be hooked up wrong, the sound is monaural. Very irritating; daresay it makes it pointless to use. Second, at least with the iPod Touch, if you connect the iPod to the cable, you immediately lose the ability to do anything on the Touch. If you want to switch songs you have to do it from the deck, but (and I acknowledge that I may just be stupid about it...in any case, the instructions aren't clear) the deck doesn't allow you to isolate a specific artist. Or a specific folder. Or a specific genre. Or anything an "organized" music listener would care about.
Lastly, if you use said iPod cable, your USB control is shot, since it uses the USB to connect. I really dislike this. There should just be a USB port on the front of the thing to allow you to plug up a USB drive or other device.
Speaking of which, having the USB cable in the back is a terrible idea in the first place. It means you have to make extra accommodations to even make use of the thing. Sure you could loop it through the glove box but you shouldn't have to do all that. Like I said, nice neat port in the front. Computers come with four, sometimes six USB ports, why can't this come with the cable in the back and a port in the front? I just don't understand.
Now, after all that, again, I do recommend it, but not if you really care about true quality of your audio system. If you want to get the best, be prepared to drop at least $400. If you do decide to go for this, you'll want to invest in an amplifier, as the built-in one is not the greatest for true quality in your sound. Finally, I recommend a professional install this if you don't know what you're doing.
I know some people are thinking that I absolutely don't recommend this deck. This is far from the truth; I actually do recommend it, but only for certain consumers and only in limited instances. First, a caveat emptor: I did not get this from Amazon, I got it from a local auto shop, who installed it for $300 with the iPod cable, which I ended up not needing, but whatever...it's there if I change my mind.
Anyway, so I don't waste your time with useless information I'll break it down in simple terms.
** What the Deck Does Right **
Well, the sound clarity is very good, for one. Also good is the impressive resume of supported extras, such as SIRIUS, HD Radio, USB, etc. I (briefly) owned an iPod Touch and found the direct control to be a neat feature, though limiting (see the con section for more details). It's also a somewhat attractive deck I suppose. And remote control is always good.
** What the Deck Does Wrong **
I said the sound was clear, which it is, but if you're making CDs or MP3 CDs from your collection, I sure hope everything is encoded at 320, because anything lower and you'll have to ramp the volume. It's really irritating, because these same files sounded just fine on an old Blaupunkt I had when I was a kid (I'm exaggerating on the "same files" part. Same encoding, different music) at lower volumes. Pressed CDs shouldn't be an issue, but isn't the whole appeal of this thing to be able to play MP3s and whatnot?
I like the iPod control but (here it comes...) there are too many negatives with it. First, and I acknowledge mine may be hooked up wrong, the sound is monaural. Very irritating; daresay it makes it pointless to use. Second, at least with the iPod Touch, if you connect the iPod to the cable, you immediately lose the ability to do anything on the Touch. If you want to switch songs you have to do it from the deck, but (and I acknowledge that I may just be stupid about it...in any case, the instructions aren't clear) the deck doesn't allow you to isolate a specific artist. Or a specific folder. Or a specific genre. Or anything an "organized" music listener would care about.
Lastly, if you use said iPod cable, your USB control is shot, since it uses the USB to connect. I really dislike this. There should just be a USB port on the front of the thing to allow you to plug up a USB drive or other device.
Speaking of which, having the USB cable in the back is a terrible idea in the first place. It means you have to make extra accommodations to even make use of the thing. Sure you could loop it through the glove box but you shouldn't have to do all that. Like I said, nice neat port in the front. Computers come with four, sometimes six USB ports, why can't this come with the cable in the back and a port in the front? I just don't understand.
Now, after all that, again, I do recommend it, but not if you really care about true quality of your audio system. If you want to get the best, be prepared to drop at least $400. If you do decide to go for this, you'll want to invest in an amplifier, as the built-in one is not the greatest for true quality in your sound. Finally, I recommend a professional install this if you don't know what you're doing.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Awesome
(5 out of 5) by A. Lewis on Dec 25, 2007 (KY)I bought this CD player for my fiance for Christmas! We hooked it up today in his car and it is really cool. You can load songs onto your USB and they play right off of it and display track names, song titles, etc. The font is also very clear and displays 3 lines of information. This is perfect for people who have Sirius. We can now see the name of the song, artist, and channel we are listening to. I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a good CD player!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Kenwood is by far the best!
(5 out of 5) by Rafael Alvarez on Dec 24, 2007 (Sanford N.C.)i got this head unit from ebay a month ago. OMG i will own nothing but kenwood for as long as i live. the sound quality will blow you away. this particular until is the same as there xcelon series, but you don't get the few extra tuning capabilities or 5 volt pre outs. this unit has 2.5 volt pre outs and have lots of tuning capability, you can set the unit for the size speakers you have, you can set high pass filters on all 4 speakers, and low pass on the sub. the usb is awsome if you have a flash drive. no more cds to fumble with. all controls are easy to get used to. but you do need the manual to get familiar with it. the display is changable, the presets are tuned just about right from the factory, but you can change them too. you can also have a set of presets for CD, USB, tuner, man i can't belive it. this unit is awsome, but if you could spend a few extra dollars get the xcelon version i think its the X790, check the numbers. but you get extra sound shaping capabilities and 5 volt pre outs. all in all this is a rock solid unit. i am very impressed. i will buy another if i wear this one out.