Kenwood KDC-448U Review

The KDC-448U is alittle different than previous receivers. A couple of new features show up. While the radio still has all the same features as other radios, preset, seperate bass/mid/treble, fader, and balance. Just getting to them can be fustrating at first, but after everything is setup, operating the radio is easy.

Average retail is about $140.

Features:

--New Feature is now 3 Line LCD Display--

Cd/MP3/WMA Player

Remote Control - is always a plus

(3) RCA 2.5volt Preouts

--New Feature is the Variable Illumination--

Front AUX/USB

1 year Warranty

Other Features:

This receiver looks pretty sleek at first glance. But as you look closer, several buttons are missing. Then you start to wonder, if the radio even has a "radio". But after a quick press of the SRC button, you find the Tuner right where it should be. The volume knob now adds a couple of extra features. It can now jog back and forth, instead of turning and pushing in, you can rock it back and forth, to track forward/back, and FM/AM tune back/forth. There is a Preset button that when pressed enters you into a menu where you can select a preset 1-6 and either select it to change to that station or set the station into memory. Pretty cool once you get the hang of it.

The normal placement of the FRONT Aux and USB, gives easy access, for your cellphones of most brands. Some brand phones can be charged using the USB. Other phones it will charge and play music

The colored illumination display is alittle different than the red/blue combination, now you have a multitude of colors, ranging from red to blue to green, yellow and so on. You can just let the color cycle through each color, which is default when you first turn it on. According to the manual  you can set the radio to 3 different colors at once. The display, keys, and the USB/AUX. Which would be great if you had a favorite sports team or college, ie: LSU Tigers Purple and Gold. Hows that for personalization?

The cd section is the same, playing MP3s and WMAs but now you can play AAC music files. The 3 line display helps display a selectable array of information, like track title artist title, album and such.

The control knob(volume Knob) now controls nearly everything the radio does. Between the volume, to track/channel changing, it does it all. Being that the control knob goes in every direction, it is possible to accidentally select or change something, especially if you are driving, which we dont recommend.

Another neat feature of the KDC-448U, is the ability to search your iPod/iPhone music files, with the Music Search. After you iPod is plugged in, click the key with the magnifying glass symbol. You can select artist, playlist, song, etc, and you can also search in Alphabetical mode too, making it easier to find the one song in your 7000 song collection.

You can also add Sirius Satellite radio using the SC-C1 and KCA-SR50, HD Tuners using the KTC-HR300, and now you can add bluetooth using the KCA-BT300. When anything new is plugged in, the KDC-448U adds that function to the SRC list.

Installation:

Installation isnt a hard process. Once the radio is wired up and running, cancel out of the Demo mode. Then after you have all your bass/mid/treble and other settings set up, then you are good to go.

Conclusion:

The KDC-448U has a lot of upgradibility options. While there are less buttons, that doesnt mean it doesnt do any less. If you are more of a technological person, who likes to learn that new software of program, or if you are someone who likes the sleekness, where less is more. Then this radio would be for you.