Pioneer FH-P8000BT Double-Din In-Dash CD/MP3/WMA/AAC Receiver with Built-In Bluetooth, iPod Control, and Rear USB Input
by Pioneer Mobile
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List Price: Our Price: $240.98 You Save: $128.02 (35%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $219.00 (click here) Category: Car Audio or Theater See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Pioneer FH-P8000BT Double-Din In-Dash CD/MP3/WMA/AAC Receiver with Built-In Bluetooth, iPod Control, and Rear USB Input
Customer Review: I am pleased
Summary: 4 Stars
Overall I really like this unit. I replaced a stock head unit in my 2004 Subaru Forester. It sounds great, tunes in stations clearly, and most importantly it connects with my Blackberry Curve 8320 via bluetooth. Usually. The hands-free phone connection over bluetooth is flawless and works every time. It connects automatically and works and sounds fine.
However, and this is part that takes some effort, this unit also supports stereo and av control connections via bluetooth but getting this unit to connect as effortlessly is something I have not yet figured out. I have to disconnect using my phone after it fails and then initiate a connection from the head unit (three button presses) first, then, after it connects BT audio I switch to the hands-free phone connection on the unit and initiate a connection there. This method works every time but it requires a minute or so of sitting in the car fiddling with the stereo to get all connected.
I have also used the USB connection successfully but you don't get the AV controls through the unit, you have to skip tracks using the phone. I was able to upload my contacts from the phone (400 numbers anyway as this is the maximum) and can search using the headset but it's easier to use the phone for finding a number.
I have also used the AUX input headphone jack to play, but again, you don't get the controls.
If I remember right, to create a station preset you have to tune to your station, press the list button, rotate to the number you want it be and press and hold the knob for a few seconds.
As in previous posts:
- The knob scratches easily and I am contemplating something I can glue over it but so far it's not that bad.
- It's bright but there is a setting that dims it a little bit and another setting that kills the display all together. I was careful to be sure to connect the dimmer wire correctly but it seems to have no effect.
- Controls take a little getting used to but once you are over that hurdle it's pretty intuitive.
Customer Review: Very pleased
Summary: 5 Stars
This deck has everything I wanted. Installation wasn't too difficult and it comes with a shim to fill any potential gap you may have between the deck and the dashboard panel. It's a nice big double-din which makes it easy to use. I hate trying to find tiny buttons when I'm tryin to drive. The big round knob does take a bit of practice and learning to know how to use all the players functions but it's very easy to use once you have it figured out.
The sound quality is pretty good but I never compared it to any other decks so I'm just saying that subjectively. My favorite part of this deck is that it can use USB mass storage devices (most mp3 players/flash drives) to play MP3's and other formats which is a HUGE bonus. I can't begin to tell you how nice it is to stick ALL your music on a flash drive, plug it in and never have to switch a CD again. One minor flaw however is that it limits the bitrate it will play to 320kbps. Any file with a bitrate over 320kbps won't play. Mind you, that's pretty high but I have alot of music in FLAC (lossless, uncompressed format) and I was a bit bummed that I couldn't use the lossless WMA or iTunes files with this deck, they had to be compressed first =/
The bluetooth hands free works great now, although setting it up was a little tricky due to my LG phone not having thorough instructions. Basically, I had to turn off some bluetooth security option MANUALLY before telling the phone I wanted it to connect to the deck. I would have thought just telling the phone to connect would to the deck would work but apparently the LG engineers don't like to make things easy and it wasn't in the instructions with the phone. I also had some problems getting the phonebook to transfer all at once but I suspect its not the pioneer's fault but my cheap LG phone. I was able to transfer each phone book entry one at a time though. None of this stuff is a con against the Pioneer deck btw, but you might have similar problems with your phone and knowing the solution could save you some time.
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Customer Review: Excellent sound - good value - be ready for suprises though
Summary: 4 Stars
I replaced my Factory stereo on my toyota sequoia with this Pioneer. The sound quality really jumped up so much that I did not have to replace my original speakers or put in a sub woofer. At first it was difficult to understand how the radio stations are stored and retrived. This could have been made simple. I use the CD more than the radio and only one station on the radio and so this does not bother me. Very happy on the stereo CD player front.
The Blue tooth is OK. The mic is placed on the driver side door top corner (only place the installer could find a place without the wires showing up). This position does not help for others to speak into the microphone. Also when hearing to a converstaion on the vehicle's speakers, the person on the other end gets a slight echo thus interfering when they speak. In spite of this mini drawback, the use of bluetooth with hands free driving is so much more comfortable than any other way of talking on phone while driving. Sometimes you may not want the other passengers to hear the conversation and it is difficult to remove the BT quickly while driving thus making a private conversation difficult. Great when you are driving alone. The installer paired up motorola razor pretty easily, but when I tried to pair up my second motorala it was quite complicated. You get user manual only in CD, no printed book.
I have a Creative Zen Vision M (pretty recent version) and this is not compatible through the USB port. I was very dissapointed with this. REMEMBER TO ASK THE INSTALLER TO PROVIDE A PORT FOR AUX INPUT SO THAT YOU CAN PLUG IN YOUR OLDER DEVICES THAT DO NOT TAKE USB INPUT. DOES NOT HURT EVEN IF YOU HAVE AN IPOD.
In summary, I recommend this product. Bought it on amazon from a dealer in NY for an excellent deal.
Customer Review: Great Unit, some minor issues
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this unit for my 2004 Subaru Forester. What I was looking for was a head unit that would (1) allow me to pair my iPhone to make calls and (2) allow me to play music through the iPhone or any other iPod.
On these two items, the unit delivers fantastically.
Installation was very easy, and I only had to systematically look for the best place to put the microphone for optimum sound quality.
Only (minor) negatives are the following (why I only gave it 4 stars):
- When the iPhone is plugged into the USB port, and you make a phone call, there is a lot of interference. This only happens when the phone making the call is also connected to the unit through the USB. If another iPhone or iPod is connected to the unit, the noise is completely gone. Basically, I remedy this by unplugging the iPhone prior to taking a call.
- Menu navigation is a bit cumbersome at first, but quickly makes sense.
- Old iPods (I also have an iPod mini) will not work with this unit.
Pros:
- Easy connectivity through bluetooth (no other problem).
- Connectivity through the USB allows for full control of the iPod using the head unit: Just plug your iPod in (I have it wired into the armrest), and forget about it.
- Good music sound quality.
Overall, this provided me with everything I needed. A quick note: when I contacted the Pioneer folks about whether my iPhone would work with this unit, they said I'd need a different cable to connect through the head unit. They don't know their own products: You can use the CD-IU50 or the USB cable that came with your iPhone/iPod with no problem. This technically frees us the serial port for a CD changer, but you probably will never need one of these again.
Customer Review: Exceptional
Summary: 3 Stars
I've had this unit for about 4 months now, and I'm pleased with it. I have an Iphone 3g and the bluetooth connects just fine. Works very well. Every now and then when I connect the phone to the usb while on a call, it will launch the ipod. That happens rarely though. Some of the function keys that should be on the face of the unit are not there and that's a tad annoying. Like sound retriever has a dedicated button, that could have been maybe used for "pause". I would have liked to be able to change the display colors or even to dim it, because it is extremely BRIGHT blue. I love that it made my factory speakers sound so much better. People really don't believe that I didn't upgrade the speakers with the radio, that's just how good it sounds. Calls come in clear, and the Ipod works great. I bought the unit to be handsfree and for the ipod function. If I'm on a call before I get in the car, it connects once I start the car. Overall I'd say they could have made the functionality of this unit a little better, but I'm not too displeased with it. I also don't like the fact that you can only answer/hang up a call with the remote unless you want to do it with your phone. If you own an Iphone you understand why this is annoying, and both parties HAVE to end the call. I'm not sure if I just haven't figured out how to do it with out the remote yet, but in 4 months I haven't found anything too much more new. It arrived in a few days after ordering it, and was packaged well enough to secure the unit. Like I said, other than some functional issues, I really like the unit. I hope this helps, and I know I jumped around a bit but I was writing and recalling likes/dislikes at the same time. I'm sure there's more, but I wanted to wait until I'd used the unit for awhile before I reviewed it.