[lookin4Alighter]

Ok, so Ive been looking at various HUs and at first, when I was trying to put a set-up together on paper, I originally wanted to go with an Alpine (IVA-W205 touch-screen) having read good things about Alpine's history.

Well, now I have come across many posts claiming that, for the money, Pioneer HUs are a better buy and many of the newer Alpines fall apart in no time.

I want a HU with SQ intentions, and I know many people on this forum frown upon the idea of "touch-screen HUs trying to be SQ", I guess I wanted a nice display or something like that.

Ive looked at some Premier Pioneer HUs and being cheaper than my initial HU choice, makes my wallet grin a little more.
Pioneer Premier DEH-P980BT is my new HU choice
Pioneer USA - Premier CD Receivers

The specs claim it has a 16-Band Graphic EQ
does anyone know if this is an actual controllable EQ or just appealing specs writing because the specs also say that there are 5 Equalizer Presets and 2 User Equalizer Settings
the specs also say it has Hi-Volt (5V) Preouts, which are the highest I have seen and I have also heard that higher Preouts allow for better, cleaner signal transfer.
Is this true? Are there benefits to higher Preouts?

This HU also has "built-in" Bluetooth which is essential to me since my vehicle is a manual transmission,
I assume and have read on other forums that "built-in" means that there is nothing to add on, unlike with Alpine, where you have to purchase another expansion pack or something.

Other appealing specs that I like are the 24-bit Burr-Brown D/A converter for CDs, Rotary Commander, and ipod connection although I would have to purchase another cable, no biggie

Anyone have any experience using/listening to the aforementioned HU?

Is there anyone who thinks I should stick to my original choice or is my new pick a turn in the right direction?

Are there any other HUs worth comparing or mentioning?

Thanks

 

[evident]

Hi, I'm looking for a head unit for my car as well and i am torn between this and the upcoming Pioneer DEH-P710BT.
the new 710 unit will have integrated USB support, meaning you can put all your music on a flash drive and stick it in the usb slot. This is very important to me as i dont want to carry around a bunch of CD's in my car anymore. I believe you need to get an USB adapter (~$100) for the 980 and the functionality is limited on it.
the only crappy thing is that the 710 doesn't have the burr brown DAC. but it's going to be cheaper. It is scheduled to come out "Spring 2009" so it should be coming out very soon. I don't know why they didnt make a newer head unit that has the best DAC in it though

I'm going to be powering my Focal Access 690CA1 rear 6X9's and Focal Access 165A1 component fronts directly from the head unit till i scrounge enough $ to buy an amp, if i even need one.

i've personally seen the 980 at the place where i got my tints. it's a very nice headunit but i didn't get to play around w/ the bluetooth. the interface is like any other pioneer head unit, which is a good thing.

 

[evident]

i've also been looking at the eclipse cd7200 mk ii Eclipse CD7200 mk II CD receiver at Crutchfield.com . it does everything i need, but the screen is hella small!!

 

[google123]

The 980BT is similar to my 7800MP except for the added bluetooth. Yes, in order to get USB u have to use the CD-UB100 usb adapter, which i purchased when Crutchfield was selling at an unbelieveabley cheap 30 bucks. Yea, I paid 30 bucks for a piece of junk. the adapter sucks with these units. it doesnt display more than 8 characters on the top right corner of the display and refuses to read music on my phones memory card. it sucks. dont do it. im telling you. i am going to replace my 7800mp with a kenwood unit soon because kenwoods have some of the best usb interfaces. if usb is even somewhat important to you, stay away from the pioneer. otherwise a great unit. 16 band eq is for reals and the sounds is very very good. just sucks about the whole usb thing.

 

[evident]

The 980BT is similar to my 7800MP except for the added bluetooth. Yes, in order to get USB u have to use the CD-UB100 usb adapter, which i purchased when Crutchfield was selling at an unbelieveabley cheap 30 bucks. Yea, I paid 30 bucks for a piece of junk. the adapter sucks with these units. it doesnt display more than 8 characters on the top right corner of the display and refuses to read music on my phones memory card. it sucks. dont do it. im telling you. i am going to replace my 7800mp with a kenwood unit soon because kenwoods have some of the best usb interfaces. if usb is even somewhat important to you, stay away from the pioneer. otherwise a great unit. 16 band eq is for reals and the sounds is very very good. just sucks about the whole usb thing.

aye. picked up a kenwood kdc-x993. going in my car next week. played with it at the store and the usb interface is pretty good. folders are all numbered though, but all your track info gets displayed fine.