All,

First, I realize that Cavero and DarkFireGT have posts for installing the same stereo in their rides, but I did not want to hijack their threads, so I thought I would start my own. So, my thoughts and ruminations on this head unit.

I wanted a stereo solution that would provide me with (1) Bluetooth for my cellphone, (2) full iPod compatibility, (3) HD Radio, and (4) expandability for satellite radio if I ever go that route. Navigation was not necessary for me as I already own a Garmin, and I was trying to keep from having to donate organs for the project .

The Pioneer FH-P8000BT was almost tailor-made for my application. The headunit itself came with Bluetooth and iPod capability, something that most other stereo units charge extra for. The HD Radio tuner was only $90 extra. (I found a whole-order 10% coupon code for Crutchfield.) The folks at Crutchfield (I worked with Matthew) were exceptionally nice, walking me through each step of the ordering and installation process. Turned out to be a lot of fun, mostly (more on this later).

The Headunit
The headunit itself is a work of art. With the mounting bracket, it almost does look stock. The high-gloss finish does show each fingerprint, but other than that, it's very nicely done. Buttons are well laid out and easy to find, very intuitive. The Multi-Control wheel does 75% of the control work, so controlling while driving is not a hunt for buttons (very nice). CD playback is crystal clear, and the built-in amps produce a much better sound (to my ears) than the Shaker 500. Same for analog radio. RDS is not included (one of my very few quibbles with this unit, no RDS?!?!), but it sounds great on AM/FM.

Bluetooth
I was worried about Bluetooth, since my phone and my wife's were not specifically listed as fully compatible. Shouldn't have worried. Both phones discovered and paired immediately. My biggest worry was phonebook download, but they both immediately downloaded. You can have 400 phone numbers per paired phone, up to 3 phones. Very nice. If you have multiple phone numbers for a single contact, the phone book will group by contact name, letting you choose that person, then cycle through his numbers. Extensive testing both sitting still and zipping down the highway at 60 mph with the windows down gives crystal clear conversations both ways. I like!

iPod Compatibility
I ran the included(!) USB cable to the glove box for now. The iPod is immediately recognized, and the Multi-Control drives it just like the clickwheel. If you can run an iPod, you can figure out the radio in about two minutes. Playback sounds awesome, and the Sound Recover function in the radio seems to do a ood job of replacing lost audio information due to compression. Good job on this functionality.

Like I said, I have the iPod in the glove box, but I plan to put in this cable in place of the power jack in the center storage box for a "cleaner" look:

http://store.mp3car.com/Automotive_M..._p/com-040.htm

HD Radio
I bought the Pioneer GEX-P10HD HD Radio tuner to go along with the headunit. HD Radio does sound nice! You can tell when you lock on to the digital signal and your radio switches to "HD" mode. No hiss, no crackles, just CD-quality (to my ears) sound. Very nice! And I like that a lot of stations here (Norfolk, VA market) have multiple streams per station. Good use of frequency allocation. The tuner was the sore spot in this installation. The first one I got sent died after two hours of use (lemon!). I called Crutchfield, and they immediately sent a new one. I RMA'd the broke one, and the new one has been working great for almost a month. Can't get over the sound difference! HD Radio doesn't have the power of an analog signal, so you do lose lock sometimes, but it does its best, and there's plenty of HD stations here to try to pull in. Worthwhile addition, I think.

Conclusion
Good buy! Does the job, didn't cost too much, not quite the thief-magnet that a double-DIN touchscreen would be. Plenty of features to keep me happy, easy enough to use to keep my wife happy! She loves it, and thinks it may be the most practical upgrade we've done for the car(!). If you don't need navigation, this one should be on your short list!

BW

 

Thanks for the review. I bought mine for the same reasons (except for HD radio, but the capability is nice). I couldn't be more happy with it.

Thank you for the link to the usb jack. I've been contemplating making something like that, because I want to mount my iPhone right between the vents. The iPod I just kept in the glovebox, but I'd like to be able to use my other iPhone features like navigation and the g-tech like program. That's perfect! Now I just gotta find a very short iPod cable.

 

@ DarkFireGT,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812339157

BW

 

Nice review, I love mine too. I've got all the preouts used up. DarkfireGT, good idea with the iphone.

 

Thanks a lot BigWorm! Hadn't thought about a retractable cable. That'll work perfectly! Kickass.

This is the mount I'm getting. With the iPhone adapter. This will be fantastic. But, I'll have to wait until next year. No sense in spending the money now. Car is about to get put away for winter.
http://www.proclipusa.com/?sectionpa...p_leftorright=