Pioneer Premier head units

[evident]

looking to treat myself to a nice pioneer premier head unit for my birthday (or make my gf get me one lol)

head units have come a long way in a couple of years. now there are USB inputs where you can just stick in a usb drive and it will play music right off it. my dream come true. combine that with bluetooth, and xm radio and some nice speakers i'll be set with my car for a long time!!!


i've always loved pioneer head units. i'm looking at their premier line right now, in particular the DEH-980BT or the DEH-710BT.

the 980 has burr brown 24 bit dacs, but no USB input, whereas the 710 has cheaper DACs but a usb input and can be had for a reasonable price. I have Focal Access speakers, which are the cheapest set of high end speakers, so i think i'll be able to tell somewhat of a difference between the 980 and 710 sound quality.

anyone have a premier head unit in their car?

 

[Kroze]

I used to love them until they switch to the "Single-knob" line where a single knob control everything (volume, selection, etc..) I just feel like i'm going to snap the P.O.S. off.

Their older models are much better.

 

[scorp00]

I had a premier 740 that I gave to the parents after 5 years so I could get the 880. Amazing cd players and I absolutely love mine. I can tell a huge difference in sound quality, but I also put in a bi-amp dedicated amp, boston acoustics components, and sound deadening at the same time. The 24 bit dacs sound amazing. A special cd changer control cable can be used to connect directly to and control/charge ipods and other mp3 players.

 

[MrMatt]

Originally posted by: evident
looking to treat myself to a nice pioneer premier head unit for my birthday (or make my gf get me one lol)

head units have come a long way in a couple of years. now there are USB inputs where you can just stick in a usb drive and it will play music right off it. my dream come true. combine that with bluetooth, and xm radio and some nice speakers i'll be set with my car for a long time!!!


i've always loved pioneer head units. i'm looking at their premier line right now, in particular the DEH-980BT or the DEH-710BT.

the 980 has burr brown 24 bit dacs, but no USB input, whereas the 710 has cheaper DACs but a usb input and can be had for a reasonable price. I have Focal Access speakers, which are the cheapest set of high end speakers, so i think i'll be able to tell somewhat of a difference between the 980 and 710 sound quality.

anyone have a premier head unit in their car?

I LOVE Pioneer head units. I won't use anything but them. I currently have a Pioneer DEH-P9300. Absolutely love the thing. 8 years old and still going strong.

also will you be running your speakers through the head unit? I'd get a small amp to run them through; you'll get a cleaner signal than with either of those head units.

I'd go with the 980BT. Sound quality trumps all.

 

[zoiks]

I used to use Pioneer exclusively since I was aware of the sound quality and construction. Til I discovered Alipine that is. After that I just stuck with Alpine head units.

 

[sjwaste]

I have an F700BT in both of our cars now. It has its quirks, but for a $400 unit with GPS and iPod integration, its awesome. This is one of those units you want to install yourself, since it will be costly to pay someone, though.

 

[evident]

To me alpine is meh. i used a few and they are ok but for some reason i really like the pioneer designs and interface alot more.

Originally posted by: MrMatt


also will you be running your speakers through the head unit? I'd get a small amp to run them through; you'll get a cleaner signal than with either of those head units.

I'd go with the 980BT. Sound quality trumps all.

directly through the head unit for now. i'm going to be upgrading my system in pieces. i already have my rears, i just need to install my front components. if i'm satisfied, then i'm satisfied. if not then i will have to get an amp, probably the alpine pdx series or something small.

The 980BT would be a no brainer if i was able to play music straight from a usb memory stick, which i believe that it can't do. please correct me if i'm wrong though! is there any way for it to be able to do this? an update, cable adapter, etc...


the 980BT has been around for about 2 years though, hopefully it's time for a refresh with said feature!


edit: just saw that it is possible
http://4x4icon.com/crossfire/p...-ub100_usb_adapter.htm

but that cd-ub100 adapter costs ~~~$100 from pioneer :Q not to mention going to have to mount that box somewhere too... i am going to have to get another XM radio thing already on top of the usb thing, may have to cut a corner and get the 710 instead..... or i can wait and see if they come out with a new top of the line 980BT replacement!

 

[Synomenon]

Is the 980BT the Premiere version of the FH-P8000BT? Interesting that the 980BT doesn't have a USB port, but the P8000BT does. I really like my FH-P8000BT.

Edit:
Ah, mixed up the model #s.

 

[evident]

i think the 980BT is the premier version of the 9800BT. http://www.pioneerelectronics....rs/Pioneer/DEH-P9800BT