stunning looks, try finding another $500 reciever that can do what the 815 can

multi-function buttons are all over the place and can be tricky

hmm...let me think. 4 to 5 hundred bucks gets you 3 sets of 4.5 volt preouts , a built-in crossover network , screensavers, a spectrum analyzer,an RDS tuner, and to top it off is one of the most beautiful looking head units on the market?..yeah,i guess i'll take one

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Clarion 9375, Premier P88...got em both whupped on features..my p88 was easier to use though

tons of features, spectrum analizer, built in x-overs, dolphin screen saver, good power, 4v pre outs. lots more

haven't had any problems, but i wonder how long the mask's motor will last.

i work at circuit city, so i could have got any kenwood, alpine or anything else at the store at cost, and this is the head unit I (and 3 others) went with. The features are better for the dollar than anything else we had, including pioneer, alpine, and sony. the high volt pre outs really help in a competition car, and the display is simply awsome.

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alpine, sony

3 sets of 4.5 volt preouts
Great Display
Built in X-Overs and EQ
D+ Mask
Powerful internal amp
Everything you could want in a head unit

Nothing wrong, maybe too many features.

The best sounding and looking head unit I have ever heard or seen. Granted I haven't heard the likes of Nak or Eclipse, but I don't see how they can have much on this unit SQ wise, and this one looks way better and has way more options. I had to turn my amp gain from almost all the way up to just under half way up, and turn off all bass boost, and this is just from going from a KDC-8009, with 4 volt outputs. Everything in my car sounds louder and cleaner. The built in cross over is great. It may have too many options, but I got hooked up with it for around $300, so it was well worth it. I would reccommend it highly to anyone even if you have to spend over $400 to get it. The display is great too, love the dolphins.

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Older and lower model Kenwood, Alpine, Pioneer. This one kills all of them by a large margin.

3 sets of preamp outputs
full screen display (3 different set ups)
kec+ equalizers
highpass crossovers for front and rear, lowpass for sub
very nice looking units with revolving face and option to take it off

Would have like if it had mp3 playback
buttons are a bit small
display is a bit to bright at night (has dimmer)

After I moved up from my 7007 to the x815 it was a huge difference. I have to amp hooked up to my x815 and the sound is so much better it is amazing. The option to shut on and off your sub with the press of a button is great. The display is very colorful and the swimming dolpins are unbelieveable. This is one of the best headunits out there for the money. Has all the tweaking of your speakers you could want and the option to take the face off is great also. I would recommend this head unit to anyone especially if you have some amps and want to tweak your whole system.

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kdc-7007 makes my 7007 look like a toaster, makes all of my speakers louder and crisper expecially my sub.

Excellent radio! Great displays and great features. With the built in crossovers, even my stock speakers sound awesome. I love how you can control the sub output and also how u can contol the front and rear speakers. This unit has great reception quality. I would recommend this to anyone. I think Kenwood makes the best radios for the money. Made my interior look soo much better.

NOTHING AT ALL

I paid $325, cost price for it. I would recommend this radio to anyone. I'm sure you will be satisfied w/it. :-)

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None

-superb cd playback
-excellent radio reception
-3 sets of gold plated 4.5 volt preouts
-very stylish look especially the digital display
-rotateable and detacheable faceplate
-great toy to play with at the lights or on the road if you drive well

the list can go on...

-digital display can be distracting and dangerous in traffic
-buttons might be a little small for some people
-remote does not allow fast forward
-features I found lacking: no dsp, no full featured equalizer, no mp3 play back, no cdrw playback

can't really call them weaknesses, but I had to mention something

I am using it as a stand-alone piece and plan to expand my system to a full featured system once I have figured out what to get and have enough money. The reason I went with this unit is because it offerd excellent expandability: 3 sets of gold plated preouts at 4.5 volts, auxilary input with the purchase of an adapter. And most important of all it will deliver crisp and clear sound and realize its full potential in a full system. Why else would so many people use them in competition. I have also asked around and the general response I got was: The high end kenwood units sound quality is compareable to the best of the best like the high end eclipse, premier, and alpine models, yet it usually cost less. Got mine for 350 shipped and you can get it installed for 450 at any local store. Now it's just powering factory speakers and already offeres a great improvement over the factory unit. My speakers suddenly play louder without distorting and sound much cleaner. Not to mention, the interior look of my car has also been greatly enhanced with the addition of this unit. Other unit I considered was the sony m750, but decided not to go with it because its faceplate cannot be detached and its sound quality will not match the kenwood unit. This is based on the unit's stats and advise people gave me.

In terms of value it deservers all 5 stars and in overall I would have personally given it a 4.5 to 4.8 because of the weaknesses I mentioned, but for most people these might not be a problem so I also gave it a perfect overall rating.

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factory accord and civic unit

Tons of features!!!

Structural integrity

The 815 started out to be the coolest HU that I had ever purchased , but 3 months of constant pounding from the 4 12in excelon subs hooed up to 2 401m amps ook its toll! The HU know skips like a SOB and has had the lens replaced 2 times! The eclipse 55040 thats in my car now.....has held up so far, but it has only been 6 mths. I would have to say that it is better though!!!!!!

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Eclipse 5504 Eclipse 55040

The abilty to name stations , the built in cross overs ! and we can't forget being able to controll your Excelon amps powersliding doors .

The price !

I bought the unit from tweeter installed it my self effortlessly the sound when joined my jl 6x9's and 3 12inch subs also from jl my car becomes a mobile digtal studio . I recently purchased the weather band and heads up display nits for my x815 there some great toys .

Ilove this excelon unit so much Im willing to shell out the 2400 dollars for the new kenwood kvt910-dvd this is just another way for me to make kenwood richer and my girlfriends deafer ! ! !

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Unfortunallty all i ever use Is kenwood so I have nothing to compare it againist it .

This head unit is pack with features. If you are not using a preamp the built in x-overs are outstanding. At 45x4 if you are not using amps this is good power. The display is very impressive and with the remote control and mask it is very convenient.

Not much, it has skipped on me once.

This head unit is a very good unit for the audiphile or for the person looking to upgrade a factory unit. My old sony did not play burned CD's this Kenwood does. The features are outstanding, they add the ability to really enhance any system from the factory or the eleborate system. I have the unit as source with Sony XE-744 EQ to RF power 400@4 and Punch 800@2.
With Diamond 5 1/4 components and Kenwood 6x9s and RF DVC 15's. The unit is a great source. I only wish there was a EQ with multiple inputs so I can use the built in x-over in the deck.

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Sony XRC-780 ES CD player.

All the options
Great display
Clarity

Small buttons.
Takes awhile messing with the settings to get it perfect
Can't see display in direct sunlight.

Had the Bose system in my car before redoing my entire system.
I have had none of the problems that I've read about in the other reviews.
The built-in crossover is great. I don't know of many other decks with the control this one has.
A great deck.

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Bose system