Home > Consumer Reviews > Kenwood KDC-MP438U USB/AAC/WMA/MP3 CD Receiver with Front USB/AUX Inputs

The Kenwood KDC-MP438U is one of the best players/receivers I've ever owned. My enjoyment comes from access - pretty much anything you can throw at it, it can play. CD-R with MP3 songs on it? It can play them. Music from your iPod? Use the iPod connection cable (sold separately) to connect your iPod directly to the receiver and it is no problem! Music from another MP3 player? Plug it in through the auxiliary jack and you're instantly listening to it from your car speakers. Flash drive or hard drive? Just plug it in to the USB port and the tunes begin.

It is this last feature that I've found the most useful. Go out and buy a cheap 4+ gig flash drive, then copy your NON-digital rights protected music (in other words, normal MP3s) onto it. Now plug it directly into the receiver's USB port and you can play hundreds (if not thousands) of songs on your car stereo without ever having to change a CD. I've gotten this trick to work with the larger portable laptop hard drives, though a USB-to-USB cable is needed. With a setup like this, you may find the CD-player aspect of this receiver to be obsolete. :)

A lot of the previously-mentioned features are not specific to the Kenwood KDC-MP438U. Why go with this model, then? Besides the fact that it has both connection types (USB and an auxiliary jack), I recommended it because I've never had this model "glitch out" on me. The USB drives I've put into it have all been played quickly and perfectly, and I've never had a problem with my iPod.

Drawbacks: I don't have any significant complaints about this model. The display is very simplistic, and those used to brilliant light shows and sound level displays will be disappointed (there are a few blue accent lights around the knobs, but that's it). Another minor complaint: there's a cover that can be closed over the two access ports to keep out dust, but it can't be closed over the individual ports separately (so, if you're running the flash drive from the USB, dust is still getting into the auxiliary jack). That's it.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars. This is an excellent player/receiver well worth the price.

For a very modest price, this unit has an amazing amount of functionality built in. It plays CDs, USB drives, iPod, and various other devices. The ability to play mp3s from CD means that I can now put a full week of music in the car with one disk. That's really good.

However, the unit is very complex to use, which is inconvenient for a car stereo (driving and reading manual at the same time??). There are about five buttons and a five-way navigation knob which interact with each other, making basic functions (such as adjusting frequency response) difficult to manage. This complexity is aggravated by the fact that the manual is very convoluted and unclear; it isn't just an issue of language translation, the layout itself is simply baffling; they appear to have solved the language problem by eliminating text as much as possible, and depending on pictures for communication.

Also, there's a bug in the firmware, I believe. The manual suggests that you can put files in separate directories, and the unit will play all files in first directory, then automatically switch to next directory, then the next, until done. However, that's not what we've found with the two units that we purchased. If you insert a USB drive with multiple directories into the stereo, it will play all the songs in one directory, then start over at the beginning of that same path. You can *manually* switch it to the next directory, but that isn't the way it should really work. For now, I just put all files in one basic directory, and that works fine.

Supposedly I can also connect my cell phone to it, and it will act as a Bluetooth interface for hands-free phone operation. However, I found it impossible to make any sense of this from the manual, so I have no idea how that would work.

Overall, though, for the basic task of playing mp3 files from CD and USB, it works very well. Sound has been great, better than my old unit. And for $113, that's hard to beat!

I purchased this unit after the original tape deck in my 14 year old Honda finally died. Boy, I had no idea what I was missing! Overall sound quality jumped way up, and all the new features of this receiver makes for an enjoyable listening experience in my car. I do wish it would shuffle ALL mp3 tracks on a CD or thumb drive instead of what's in a folder. The front access USB port was a huge selling point for me and it's great to download something quickly and then just use the USB slot. Highly recommended unit.

Ok, those blue LEDs need their own setting to shut them off or dim them down. Maybe Best Buy hosed the installation, but they won't dim even with the auto dim setting turned on. The one knob control is a bit odd and you have to switch sources (standby, tuner, CD, AUX, etc) to get various menus. The knob also has a rubber wheel around it for grip. Mine now spins so you have to squeeze the knob when you turn it so the rubber doesn't spin. My XM Radio device plugs into the front of the radio where you can also plug an iPod or whatever in. Even with the output set to high on my XM the volume of the radio has to be cranked up very high. If you switch to a CD without turning it down first it will blast you out. The USB portion works pretty slick.

In my book this would be a great system IF you could power down the LEDs, which are around the volume knob and the audio/USB ports.

Having owned panasonic receivers for many years (on grounds of reliability and overall good value), i've thought it was time to move on and choose another brand to power the 6-speaker system in my car. For instance i think of Sony or Pioneer, but then i was browsing the web and stepped on this and after reviewing all its features, thought that maybe could venture a try with it, despite its cheap price and simplist look (which gives you the impression that sound quality can go somehow that same way, too). I haven't heard too much about Kenwood before; however, i know it has been selected as the standard audio system brand for vehicles such as the Lamborghini murcielago, therefore its sound quality couldn't be as poor as the price suggested, even in basic units like this one. Besides, its features were amazingly good for its prize, considering what rival brands give you for the same money.

Fortunately for me, i was 100% right. Once installed, the sound in my car has undergone a huge improvement, specially in lows and midtones. The Kenwood delivers more power, more sound definition and a much better bass response (notably avoiding distortion, even at high volume stages) than all the previous panasonics i had. Also, it allows you plenty of setting options (including choosing the filters' frequency, setting the speakers' size and a lot more)and includes a "supreme" enhancement feature which make your MP3 collection sound almost like original Cd's.

I can't speak about its reliability, since i've owned it for less than a month ; but so far i'm very happy with the clear, bright sound it produces, and overall very satisfied with my purchase.

Just one more thing, the display will keep you awake at night through the highway even if you're seized by the heaviest sleepy mood. It is so bright that your eyes will need a little time to adapt to it, when driving in the dark.