Users choose between stylish flat face or variable illumination
LAS VEGAS – January 5, 2017 (MEDIAWIRE) – JVC Mobile Entertainment replaced its popular KD-R975BTS with the KD-R985BTS, and introduced the new KD-R988BTS to create a single-DIN flagship duo that provides two style options. Buyers can select complete variable illumination to match vehicle lighting, or take one-button simplicity in a new flat-face design. Besides this distinction, both models provide a similar user experience, including two new features that make listening to music a social event among passengers in the vehicle.
“The KD-R985BTS and KD-R988BTS offer two distinctly different looks, both of which enhance the style of any vehicle,” said Hazim Jainoor, marketing manager for the JVC Mobile Entertainment brand. “We set out to make them visually appealing and fun to interact with, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that they produce high-quality audio and provide seamless smartphone integration.”
The KD-R988BTS features JVC’s new flat-face design with an ergonomic main feature button. The elongated, dual-press button can be set to almost any color to offset the blue and white of the radio display, and controls source selection, volume and sound adjustment as well as answering and ending phone calls over a Bluetooth®-connected smartphone.
The KD-R985BTS by contrast has three zones in which illumination can be set individually. Its refreshed design includes illuminated preset buttons and USB port. Both units share a new 2-line display that shows source and status information in an easy-to-read format.
The new units are the first to feature JVC Streaming DJ, which lets up to five smartphones be simultaneously connected over Bluetooth to play music through the receiver. Passengers can easily switch songs by pressing play on their phone to push their media to the receiver. JVC Streaming DJ works with songs stored on the phone as well as the phone’s streaming media apps. Also, with the JVC Remote smartphone app available from the App Store or Google Play, passengers can operate the receiver, view sources and make audio adjustments from a compatible smartphone connected via Bluetooth.
Smartphones and storage media can connect through the front USB port which also charges select devices. Both models feature built-in control of content played from a connected iPhone® or Android™-based smartphone. A connected iPhone (wired or Bluetooth) enables Siri Eyes Free support to let users get information and perform functions using only voice commands. In addition, both units let users control popular streaming services Pandora Radio® and iHeartRadio directly from the receiver interface, and are SiriusXM® ready with connection of the SiriusXM Connect SXV300 satellite radio tuner (subscription required; sold separately).
The KD-R988BTS and KD-R985BTS will connect up to two smartphones simultaneously via Bluetooth to make hands-free phone calls and play stored or streaming content. They can accommodate several audio file formats—most significant of which is FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec)—and their Sound Adjustment suite works with the entire system to enhance sound quality and optimize the listening stage.
Both units include a 13-band equalizer with eight presets and three parametric equalization settings for most music types. Built in amplification (50 watts x 4) plus a direct connection for a high-efficiency subwoofer make each receiver an easy upgrade for most standard audio systems, and high- and low-pass filters allow connection of external amplifiers to the two sets of four-volt, pre-amplified outputs.
The KD-R988BTS ad KS-R985BTS are available now with suggested retail pricing of $140 and $130, respectively. For more information, visit mobile.jvc.com.
