I too run a Kenwood marine media player(means no cd player in it)and it works great.I've been doing mobile audio for 25+ years;countless installs,former world champion..The only head units I'll use are Kenwood,Pioneer prs 80,or Eclipse units;I swear by any of these.When upgrading please make sure that the deck you buy isn't a "dead head"..this means a head unit without a built in amplifier.If you do run one of these you will have run an external amplifier to get any sound.Many of these units don't play nice with factory amplifiers.