KW-R950BTS

The KW-R950BTS is a double-DIN CD receiver for anyone who wants the larger chassis without a touchscreen. It fills a factory double-DIN opening with physical buttons and a 2-line VA LCD, which is quicker to operate by feel than a glass panel while you are moving.

It plays CDs plus MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, and FLAC files from the front USB port, and streams over Bluetooth 4.2. JVC Streaming DJ keeps five devices paired, two phones stay connected full time, and HFP 1.7 wideband speech handles calls with better noise reduction. Amazon Alexa compatibility adds voice requests for music and news, and the unit is SiriusXM Ready with the separate tuner.

Three pairs of 4.0V preamp outputs cover front, rear, and subwoofer. That higher voltage keeps the noise floor down on long RCA runs to amplifiers, which is the main reason to pick this over an entry-level CD receiver. Onboard power is 50W x 4 maximum and 22W x 4 full bandwidth at less than 1% THD.

Sound tools include a 13-band graphic EQ, 11 presets, bass boost, loudness control, filters, K2 processing, time alignment, virtual surround, Sound Response, Sound Lift, and Volume Link EQ for road noise. Two-zone variable-color illumination covers 32,768 colors per zone with Music Sync animation. The face panel detaches, factory steering wheel controls carry over with a third-party adapter (sold separately), and the RM-RK52 remote is optional. The chassis measures 7 x 3-15/16 x 6-1/8 inches and weighs 3.1 lb.