Why should you replace your factory radio? 

Your favorite music just doesn't sound right on a factory-fit cassette player. The high notes don't sparkle, the bass doesn't kick - everything seems to be stuck in that muddy midrange. And it's nearly impossible to achieve the volume you need to overcome road noise without causing the speakers to distort. With all the time you spend in your car, that just won't do. 

When you treat yourself to a Kenwood car stereo, you'll rediscover everything you love about your favorite tapes. Music makes a difference to driving  - and today's in-dash cassette receivers are better equipped than ever to help you enjoy it. In every price range, you'll find more of the quality, features and power you're looking for. 

How can you find the receiver with the features and specs you want? 

Who would have thought with all the attention given to CDs that cassette receivers would still keep getting better and better? When it comes to features and performance, today's models don't bear too close a resemblance to the cassette players your parents owned. They're not even much like the deck you owned just a few years ago! So how do you know which receiver is right for you? 

First, you'll want to make sure you pick a unit that fits perfectly in your dashboard.  All the head units we supply are 'DIN standard' size (ie a front panel of 52mm x 179mm wide).  The vast majority of vehicles have this size of opening in their dashboards.  For the few cars that have a larger sized opening (eg late model Ford Fiestas) you will need an easily obtainable fascia plate to reduce the opening to the standard DIN size whilst still matching the original dashboard. 

Next, you might like to consider the colour of your existing dashboard illumination.  Is it an unremarkable standard sort of colour, or a distinctive blue like you get in modern VW and Audis? We have a unit to suit all types.  Even if your car is a hard to match shade of red like some BMWs, or you just fancy the colour changing according to the time of day, consider a 'multi-colour display' that gives you 71 shades of colour that will exactly match any colour you can ask of it.

Once you know our units will suit your dashboard, you're ready to have some fun surfing all the features found on the cassette receivers we offer. Browse through our individual products or take a glance at our 'Key Features Glossary'.

Knowing what to look for makes a difference 

Also, don't forget automatic music search. It's really useful if you tend to skip from song to song a lot on cassettes. You can optimize tape playback for the type of tape you're using with tape EQ, sometimes referred to as a "metal" switch. Best of all is 'autometal' which does the switching for you automatically 

If you're a radio fan, look for a tuner with a low FM sensitivity figure. If you like to channel hop, go for lots of presets and features like preset scan, travel presets, and RDS. 

And if you're the kind of person who likes all their flashing lights to match perfectly, it's OK, we understand. Just make sure you find out which models offer fixed illumination and which sport multicolor displays. 

Will higher power give you better sound, or just louder sound? 

Four channels of high power is one of the keys to great sound. Cassette receivers with four channel amplifiers for front and rear speakers give you cleaner sound at all volume levels. This is a must if you want to experience the entire range of detail and dynamics your music has to offer. Remember, more power isn't simply about making the sound louder - it's about giving it more depth and presence. 

How can you protect your investment?

You'll probably notice that most of our cassette players offer a detachable face as a form of anti-theft protection. This is a great feature! It works like this: when you park the car, just remove the faceplate with all the controls and take it with you.

Suppose you want to play CDs as well as cassettes?

The easiest way to play CDs as well as cassettes is to add a boot-mounted CD changer box. Adding a CD changer to most Kenwood cassette radio combined unit is simplicity itself.  Fitting is a straightforward job - refer to our fitting guide 'How to install a CD/MD Changer'. You can choose from a basic six disc changer, to an advanced ten disc unit with D.R.I.V.E. technology.