I remember what a big deal it was when car CD players first became available. When CD changers came along a few years later, everyone thought that was the ultimate in long-range listening. But this was, of course, well before the digital-music genie was let out of the bottle, in the disc-dominated pre-MP3 days. That I had a 100-disc changer installed in the trunk of my '96 Impala SS in order to give me enough music for a cross-country drive seems so dated now, but it was less than a decade ago.
Today it would make about as much sense to use that changer for a long-distance cruise as it would to use a manual typewriter to write this article. The fact that I can carry hundreds of tunes with me in the vehicle on an iPod negates having to hassle with a bunch of CDs. And with head units like JVC's KD-G820 CD receiver now sporting USB ports, having lots of tunes on hand is as easy as moving files from your computer to a USB drive and then hooking the drive into the head unit's faceplate. More on this in a bit. First let's take a quick tour of the KD-G820.
Seeing Colors
The first thing that struck me about this head unit was what JVC calls its Variable-Color 3-D Graphics Display. This sharp, holographic-like display makes it a snap to see what's going on even in bright sunlight and it really pops at night. You also have the ability to select among enough display colors to match any sort of dash lighting or mood, (I like aqua myself) or have it kaleidoscope through all 12 hues. You can even choose a lighting scheme for each source attached. And with the Image Converter software included on an enclosed CD-ROM, you can plaster your own images on the KD-G820's display.
Because the display takes up much of the faceplate, the button and control layout is minimalist but highly functional. A large volume knob - that doubles as an on/off button if pushed and mute button when you hit the center - dominates the left side. Nestled against the knob's left flank is the SRC (source-selection) button, and hanging off the top of it like a set of ears are the tuner BAND button at left and the DISP (display) button at right, while at the bottom is the button that releases the removable faceplate.
Arrayed along the bottom of the faceplate, left to right, are the SEL (select) and MODE buttons that work in tandem to access the KD-G820's plentiful features, while buttons numbered 1 through 6 let you access radio-station presets, discs in a CD changer and MP3/WMA files on a disc or USB drive and other features. Next to the numbered buttons are the up/down and fast-forward/reverse controls that not only switch radio stations/tracks/files/folders/etc., but also control even more features. Over on the right side is an EQ (equalizer) button and up/down buttons that allow you to select still more functions. Just to the left of these, on part of the front panel that doesn't detach, is the CD-eject button and USB port. The KD-G820 also comes with a neat little remote that duplicates the main functions on the faceplate.
Usb Driving
According to the JVC website, you can store up to 1GB of data on a USB drive in MP3 or WMA format. I loaded a 128MB drive with a couple of dozen MP3s from R.E.M.'s Around the Sun and The White Stripes' Elephant, and hit the road. I was surprised at how quickly the KD-G820 recognized the USB drive - about as fast as my laptop - and started playing the tunes. It even displayed artist and track info without any special tagging on my part.
Navigating through files was another matter, though. As usual, I did a quick once-over of the owner's manual to acquaint myself with the unit before I hit the road, but the controls weren't intuitive enough (which is my own test of good human-machine interface) and I had to later refer to the manual to figure out how to skip between folders. And that's my main gripe with this unit: It's so feature-laden that accessing everything requires a lot of time with the manual. But once you get everything down, the unit's features really pay off, even if you do have to pull off the road to access many of them due to the KD-G820's complex control configuration.
Because the MP3 files were ripped at a fairly high bit rate (128k) the sound was good, though not as good as CD sound on the KD-G820. FM reception was above average as I drove through V-shaped Columbia Gorge in Oregon, which wreaks havoc on most tuners. The KD-G820 is also sat-radio ready, but I unfortunately didn't get to check out that source since the first-generation XM tuner already installed in my Impala isn't compatible with the KD-G820. An iPod can be hooked up using JVC's KS-PD100 interface, and there's a dedicated iPod source mode. With it you can select among iPod functions such as Playlists, Artists, Albums, Songs, Genres and Composers. The unit also has an auxiliary input for other media players and its own space (LINE IN) in the SRC lineup when connected to the unit.
Never Better
The JVC KD-G820 has nine preset EQ modes (including FLAT) and you can also adjust the sound on your own with a 3-band parametric equalizer that has good flexibility for a head unit in this price range. There's also a subwoofer output with cutoff frequencies of 80, 120 and 160Hz, and the level can also be adjusted.
It blows me away that such features are now routine on a $250 head unit, whereas they were once major selling points on higher-priced heads back in the day. And just the fact that you can get access to a half dozen or so sources on a head unit at this price point - not to mention tons of bells and whistles - shows that there's never been a better time to buy an aftermarket radio.
JVC KD-G820
MSRP: $250www.mobile.jvc.com
Key Points
USB port
Variable-Color 3D Graphics Display
PICT (Personalized Image Capture Technology)
iPod compatible (additional interface required)
Satellite radio ready (XM and Sirius, additional tuner, antenna and subscription required)
Subwoofer output with frequency and level control
3-band parametric EQ
20 watts x 4 (RMS) Mosfet power amp
MP3/WMA, CD/CD-R/CD-RW compatible
Small remote control
Access to files on USB wasn't intuitive
Complex feature-access configuration