I had a Kenwood deck for three years and it sounded passable but not competition winning by any means. I just got an Alpine CDA-9815 and the iPod adapter and I have to say it is words better. Tons more adjustability, way way more features (all useful) a really good parametric EQ, a three way crossover, plays MP3s and WMAs, has a faster seek time then the Kenwood, and so on...

I'm not gonna lie, Kenwood has gone steep downhill lately going with the other bargain basement deck manufacturers in making decks that look cool instead of sound good. Sony has sucked for years, those decks are awful, the preouts distort well below their rated voltage, they don't last, and they look and feel cheap. I would recommend an older Alpine over the new ones even, the 2002-2004 models are the best (back when the silver and blue ones were better then the green ones).

1995 Eagle Talon ESi