Kenwood Kiv-Bt900 AM/FM/USB Receiver with Bluetooth(R)

by Kenwood

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 10.1 x 4.8 inches ; 1.3 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B003M3D7N4
• Item model number: KIV-BT900
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,288 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

The Kenwood Kiv-Bt900 AM/FM/USB Receiver comes with 3 inch full Color LCD Display, Built-In Parrot(R) Bluetooth(R) For Hands-Free Cellular Phone Operation, and Video Output for Back Seat Monitor.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very flexible, feature-rich head unit, November 19, 2010

By 

Aaron - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kenwood Kiv-Bt900 AM/FM/USB Receiver with Bluetooth(R) (Electronics)

It seems to me that some less that perfect early firmware has given this otherwise phenomenal HU a somewhat bad rap. Kenwood probably should have done more QA before release, but show me a software vendor that doesn't have the same problem. I've been running this guy for a week now and couldn't be happier, so I feel the need to do my part to increase its review standings! I had a lengthy list of mandatory criteria, and this was the _only_ HU on the market that satisfied all of them. Specifically:

- Rear mounted iPod an aux cables for clean installation. Contrary to what other reviewers have said, I think this is a huge win (especially vs. the Pioneer decks). Who wants a mess of spaghetti in front of their stereo? It took an extra hour to disassemble the center console and route the cables properly, but it was the "right way" to do it.

- Variable color display/buttons. This one really narrowed the field, and I'm surprised how many decks can't do this. I was replacing the factory stereo in a BMW, and for those who haven't been in one at night, _every_ lighted gauge, button, display, etc. is all the very same orangish-red color. A bright blue stereo would have looked hideous (*cough* Alpine).

- Integrated BT. As others have stated, this HU can't do streaming audio via BT, which is probably the only real con I'd cite. That said, my primary desire for BT was hands free, and it works great. Just in case Kenwood is reading though, I do think it would be super cool if they could pull the profile photos for my contacts and display them the same way they do album art from the iPod....

- Seamless iPod integration, including video. Check. Works great on both of my current and previous gen nanos. As another reviewer stated, you have to wait for the album art to skip to the next song, but there are several display modes available, some of which don't load the artwork and aren't affected if that's really a big deal to someone.

- Flexible, intuitive interface. The configuration options are very robust, and I found myself on several occasions thinking "geez, I wish I could do X", only to discover shortly thereafter that I could do X, Y and Z.

- Firmware updateable. With a deck this complex, this is mandatory in my opinion. No one is going to get it right on version 1.0, even with extensive in-house QA. I'm a software engineer by trade, and know from first hand experience how adept consumers at coaxing bugs out into the light. I used mine a few days before updating it and had some of the problems others have cited (mic drops, random source shifts, etc.), but absolutely no problems since updating it. It has the capability for a reason, so update the unit first thing!

- Good aesthetics and build quality. This is certainly subjective, but I'm appalled by how ugly some aftermarket decks are and how flimsy some of their control mechanisms are! Simple, clean lines and sturdy please.

- Good sound quality. I didn't do extensive comparison testing, but have been happy with previous Kenwood's I've owned this unit certainly outperforms the stock HU.

That's it! Love it!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long story short..., October 2, 2010

By 

Emvaz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kenwood Kiv-Bt900 AM/FM/USB Receiver with Bluetooth(R) (Electronics)

I own an '03 Nissan Altima and prior to the purchase I had about $3000 worth of SQ audio equipment and installation costs (2 "12 Memphis M3s, a Memphis Belle 600 watt (a modest underestimation) 5 channel amp, and memphis components and coaxials, with a 2 channel Kenwood head unit). My head unit was outdated and could no longer operate properly with my new iPod touch 2g, so I needed a replacement. Turns out this was the only totally compatible headunit that Kenwood made at the time of purchase (which I discovered after trying a slightly cheaper model). While interfacing flawlessly with the iPod, it also offers convenient bluetooth connectivity with my phone.

So I had achieved my initial goal of fixing the compatibility issue, but I discovered an unexpected bonus in the form of a drastic audio quality improvement. On a scale of 1-10 beforehand, I was a 9 in satisfaction with audio quality. Afterwards I noticed that the treble was more defined, the soundstage richer and more developed, the mids were clearer, and most importantly the bass improved tremendously in extension, but especially is punch and accuracy. I learned this was because of a lowered ohm resistance featured on the head unit, which means that your amp works less to put out better sound. On the same scale as before I would probably rate my level of satisfaction at a 15...hope that says enough.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a Car Stereo to control my Zune Player, March 13, 2011

By 

Jose Mendoza (Miami USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kenwood Kiv-Bt900 AM/FM/USB Receiver with Bluetooth(R) (Electronics)

Recentlly I Change my jvc 7400 for this unit looking for a direct control for my zune player, my wife uses an Ipod but I am a zune's fan, this unit handle all the zune functions great the only missed thing is the shuffle or random option in the zunes' play modes, for The Ipod the shuffle function is all ready in the play modes.
At the beginning it take's long time for read my 120GB Zune player,even after I receive a call by the bluetooth, The solution for this issue was upgrade the firmware at [...] after it everything improves a lot.
The sound is not The best attribute for this device but with a good calibration can be improve a lot, The Display interface is nice and easy to read, the bluetooth its easy to pair and configure and shows all the things of your phone including contacts, in and out calls.
battery statement and signal,
I recommended it for the Zune's Lovers and for everyone to wants a very powerful control for the ipod, the control is exactly than the original interface!!!