Kenwood KDC-BT838U CD/MP3/WMA/USB Receiver w/Bluetooth

 (11 customer reviews)

This head unit is well worth the price. I am anti-iPod guy and this unit having an USB connection made it very easy to "digitally" connect a hard drive. I now have a 200 gig hard drive (~$150) in my vehicles, never with out a type of music. This unit allows you to navigate the hard drive from the units screen. With the provided software, you can make playlist or just add music to the hard drive. It also has bluetooth, so you can also stream music that way. The unit also come with hands free, there is a mic with a cord on it long enough to put anywhere. If your state is (or has) mandated hands free devices and you are not one to want to look like a cyborg, this unit will comply with the law. It mutes the music, diplays the caller, push a knob and your connected. Once hooked up, everything is automatic, just get into your car, start it and it connects. It will download your phonebook to the unit so you can dial from the unit. Here is another good thing, ever leave home...Read more

I've had this unit for about 6 months. It is a nightmare. By attempting to eliminate all buttons with combinations of sequential knob pushes in varying directions, the idiots who designed this thing have made even the simplest action, from setting the clock to creating a radio pre-set close to impossible. The manual looks like a schematic for the space shuttle, and the initial setup took me close to two hours talking to the guy at Kenwood.

It was clear from that conversation that even he didn't know how to use this thing, and he also indicated that a lot of his day is spent trying to walk frustrated owners through tasks that in any other radio would be simple.

I just spent an hour trying to intuit how to change the clock setting. When you hit the menu button you are presented a long list of esoteric and unintelligible options. Setting the clock just doesn't happen to be one of them.

It also does a terrible job accessing music on my IPOD. It...Read more

Had Best Buy install the unit ~ 1.5 years ago for hands free phone access which works fairly well 4/5 in that dept. Problem I have is the BT Audio which continually skips. Changed Ipod phones and doesn't matter. Even upgraded the firmware and still have the problem. If anyone has any ideas how to fix this .. would be much appreciated. thx, psg