Kenwood KDC248U In-Dash Head Unit Car Stereo

by Kenwood

Product Details

• Item Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B004EG0LS2
• Item model number: CD Receiver
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Making it easy to connect, search, select and enjoy music from your iPod® or iPhone®. In addition the Kenwood KDC248U In-Dash Head Unit Car Stereo features a front auxiliary input that easily accepts the headphone output of a portable music player or smart-phone and a remote control. The Kenwood KDC248U In-Dash Head Unit Car Stereo is a great sounding receiver with multiple connectivity options all at a great price.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Kenwood KDC248U is AMAZING!, November 9, 2011

By 

rwilliams - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kenwood KDC248U In-Dash Head Unit Car Stereo (Electronics)

I have had this in-dash unit for just over a year, and it is so good that I decided to write my first review ever on Amazon. I have owned many car stereo systems over the years, including some $500+ units purchased in the 70s and 80s, when $500 was a lot of money. I wanted something that would control my iPod Touch, so I headed to a local electronics shop to see what was available.

I bought a different brand first, but upon getting it home I discovered it did not control the Touch 4th Gen, so back to the store. I ended up getting this unit, though it was a bit cheaper than I had planned on spending (nearly twice what it is now), because there was a limited selection of units that could control the iPod Touch.

The unit installed easily in my 2003 Pontiac Grand Am GT with Monsoon sound system. I had it installed in about an hour, using a $12 installation kit, without breaking anything or having any extra parts left over.

I had to find a place to get a continuous 12 volts, because I couldn't find one in the original wiring harness. I went to a local automotive supply store and found a simple device that plugged into an existing fuse slot and added another fused circuit. I had to pull out an existing fuse to add the device, so I decided to use the circuit that fed the in-dash stereo system with continuous power. I don't remember why I couldn't just have wired it in on the existing harness, but there was a reason.

Now, with everything installed and wired it was time for a test run. I plugged in my iPod and turned on the radio. I found the iPod input easily by going through the menu, and selected it. I picked a song from a favorite artist. I COULD NOT BELIEVE my ears! I had never heard such quality sound before, not even out of my past expensive systems. This thing just blew me away. I cranked it up way beyond what I would consider loud, over 30 on the volume control. The sound held together, remaining crisp and clear.

Over the next few months I began listening to more loud music than I've listened to in years. I fell in love with this system. Then one day when I cranked it up, the sound began to cut out and break up. As soon as I turned it down, the sound became steady again. I was bummed out! This continued for about a month. Every time I turned the volume too load, the sound would break up. I was about to take out the unit and return it when it died completely. I thought maybe a fuse had blown and when I checked it I found that the device I had put in to add a circuit had come unplugged and fallen out. I realized that the vibration of the speaker in the door had caused the device to vibrate loose. I plugged it back in and added a tie-wrap to hold it in place. The system has worked flawlessly since then, no matter how high I turn it.

Since this is one of the cheaper Kenwood models, I wonder what the expensive ones sound like. Maybe they add more features. I'm not sure.

I would recommend this unit to anyone looking for a great in-dash system at a low price. I don't know if I just got a 'sweet' unit, or if they are all this good. I hope that you find this review helpful.

52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Stereo, June 21, 2011

By 

Haas - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kenwood KDC248U In-Dash Head Unit Car Stereo (Electronics)

This is a great stereo; iPod functionality is great, and charges the iPod while plugged in. The AM/FM tuner is absolutely amazing (I now have around 10 more channels that I did not get with the stock stereo), and the bass boost really does a great job. The stereo's manual is well made/descriptive, and explains what every wire's job is on the included harness. I would definitely buy this product again!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Radion, November 10, 2011

By 

Arnold - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kenwood KDC248U In-Dash Head Unit Car Stereo (Electronics)

I received this radio with no problems. I installed and I had no problems at all.
The Cd player & radio works great. I've had know problems at all with it. I had
an Ipod shuffle and it will not work with it. The book that came with it lists
what ipod and iphones that will work with it. I went out and bought an ipod nano
2nd generation and it worked great. Arnold