Home > Consumer Reviews > JVC Car KDPDR40 50 Watts x 4 CD/MP3/WMA Receiver

While not certified to work with an iPhone, this stereo appears to be completely compatible. The iPhone charges. It can be controlled with the stereo or (by changing modes) with the phone itself. The supplied iPod connector cable seems to be well insulated, as there have been no instances of GSM interference.
Cons: Even with the dimmer turned on, this is brighter than it needs to be. It does not retain the Shuffle-by-album setting after restarting the car.

For the money, there is no other stereo that offers front AND rear connections.

There really isn't much to say about this receiver. It just works. The AM/FM reception is quite good, the CD functionality is very good and includes playing MP3 or WMA files on a CD-ROM, the controls are big and well-lit, and the sound quality is excellent.

Most of the same could be said about any other receiver on the market. However, JVC went the extra mile and included native iPod support. Unlike Sony, Kenwood, and Pioneer (and other brands, too), JVC controls the iPod directly rather than trying to "mount" the iPod as a USB drive and read the files from its storage. This means the JVC is compatible with Windows AND Mac formatted iPods. The others aren't compatible with Mac formatted iPods.

Plugging your iPod into the system displays the JVC logo on-screen (nice touch), plays the audio through your system, and charges your iPod. This receiver mentions on its box and manual that you can control your iPod while it's attached to the head unit. Apparently this does not work for the newest iPods (such as my iPod Classic). The iPod is still fully controllable through the front panel of the receiver and displays song information on its display, so this is not a big deal. Previous generation iPods shouldn't have this limitation.

Overall, this is a great value and an excellent receiver. The iPod compatibility is just icing on an already sweet cake.

I purchased the JVC KDPDR40 receiver because I had owned 3-4 other JVC car receivers previously, and have up until now thought very highly of their products. Firstly, the buttons on the front don't make much sense, or clearly state what their purpose is. For example, the power button is hidden around the volume knob, not positioned in a prominent location. The disc eject button is located on the upper left, every other car receiver seems to have adopted the top right position, and I'm not clear why it is on the left. The custom EQ feature is very difficult and not intuitive to use. The biggest issue I have is the iPod interface. There is no really good way to select songs or albums or artists. You are forced to click back and forth through a series of menus to access these features and shuffle isn't supported through the receiver. Also, it does not work with a 3G iPhone, but it did work with 3rd gen iPod nanos. I got a great deal on this receiver, so I am fine with it, but I would probably consider another receiver with a better integration and a more robust iPod feature support.

This is a great simple to use car/truck stereo. I like the duel control for the ipod. It plays "home made" cd's very well. I compared it to the Sony and the JVC was a winner hands down. The ipod cable is run to my glove box - so no one knows I am listening to my ipod in my truck. It even charges your ipod while you are driving down the road. The remote is very small and easy to use. It comes with a case for the face plate, the remote, battery for the remote and the owners manual. I am very happy with the way it operates and sounds.

This product is okay except the button to change folders and songs is too small if you want to use MP3 CDs. I don't know how many times I meant to hit the song skip button and hit folder skip instead. When skipping on a regular CD, the folder skip button does nothing.