Pioneer DEH-P8600MP Car CD / MP3 Player
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Similar in In Dash Receivers
- MP3 / WMA Playback: MP3 Playback
- Additional Features: Animated Display
- Anti-Theft Protection: Detachable Face Panel
- Player Type: CD
- Controlled Devices: CD Changer
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Pioneer's Best Single Din Head Unit
Pros
Powerful preout voltage (4V) Very advanced EQ Very configurable crossovers (HPF and LPF)
Cons
None
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
The best single din unit Pioneer has ever made. Period.
I've been into car audio for years and have owned more than 10 high end head units. This unit is the best single din Pioneer unit that has ever been made... by far.
Pioneer is known for poor sound quality on pre-out lines because of a low pre-out voltage. The DEQ-9200 EQ from Pioneer, which was a $500 equalizer, only had 0.5V preouts, and most of their decks have >2V preouts. The DEH-P8600MP packs a solid set of three 4V preouts that, by my measurement, are actually UNDER rated.
Sound output from this deck is amazing. Plain and simple.
The inernal amplifier is as powerful as any other deck in its class - the standard 50'ish Wx4 max output rating, but where this unit really shines is the clean power it makes on it's preamp output lines. 4V is plenty with power this clean.
The controls on the unit are easy to master. A quick browse through the manual will have you mastering the controls in about 15 minutes. There is a lot to configure on this unit, but everything that you can configure is laid out in a very self-explanatory manner. The standard Pioneer "Audio," "Function," and "Entertainment" menus are there, and all sub-functions of the unit are contained in those three menus.
Another myth about Pioneer units that the 8600 dispels is that Pioneers generally have a weak equalizer. High/Mid/Low is generally all you get, and for anyone serious about tweaking their systems this isn't enough. The 8600 has a massive EQ, the entire scope of which has 100% customizable bands. All of the crossovers on this unit are very customizable, and in addition to the standard frequency cut-off, they actually let you control the slope at which the frequency is rounded off on either end of the crossover. Very cool stuff.
The unit plays MP3s and WMA files, both of which load extremely fast... faster than CD tracks did on my old DEH-P7400. The built-in browser has a 3 line display that you can quickly use in conjunction with the 7 way rotary knob on the 8600 (knob goes up/down and left/right, in addition to clicking in AND rotating both directions). You'll use this knob to control virtually all of the functions of this deck with ease.
Build quality is standard of any Pioneer. I had this deck in my car for a year before upgrading to an AVIC-D1 and had 0 problems with it. I'm so confident in Pioneer's workmanship after having used their decks for so long that I no longer purchase extended warranties on them. I haven't had to use one at all so far.
Aesthetically the face of the deck is nice. It's not too flashy like some of the cheaper decks out there... it's a brushed dark steel look - not the cheap plastic chrome look or brushed bright silver look that the "steal me"-screaming line of cheaper decks are rocking.
The best part of this deck is that it's last year's model, so you can pick it up for literally half of what it retailed for a year ago. I've checked out all of the new x7xx series of Pioneer decks for 2005 and none of them come close to this in style or function, even the new 9000 series.
This deck is definitely worth the money and definitely something that anyone considering the purchase of a new high end deck should own. In fact, I love this deck so much that I'm thinking about using it in conjunction with my AVIC-D1 just for it's EQ capabilities (which far overshadow that of the $1599 D1).
There's not much else to say - this is an excellent deck, and I encourage anyone who wants a highly configurable piece of hi-fi audio equipment for (now) not a lot of cash to pick it up. You won't be sorry.
Pioneer is known for poor sound quality on pre-out lines because of a low pre-out voltage. The DEQ-9200 EQ from Pioneer, which was a $500 equalizer, only had 0.5V preouts, and most of their decks have >2V preouts. The DEH-P8600MP packs a solid set of three 4V preouts that, by my measurement, are actually UNDER rated.
Sound output from this deck is amazing. Plain and simple.
The inernal amplifier is as powerful as any other deck in its class - the standard 50'ish Wx4 max output rating, but where this unit really shines is the clean power it makes on it's preamp output lines. 4V is plenty with power this clean.
The controls on the unit are easy to master. A quick browse through the manual will have you mastering the controls in about 15 minutes. There is a lot to configure on this unit, but everything that you can configure is laid out in a very self-explanatory manner. The standard Pioneer "Audio," "Function," and "Entertainment" menus are there, and all sub-functions of the unit are contained in those three menus.
Another myth about Pioneer units that the 8600 dispels is that Pioneers generally have a weak equalizer. High/Mid/Low is generally all you get, and for anyone serious about tweaking their systems this isn't enough. The 8600 has a massive EQ, the entire scope of which has 100% customizable bands. All of the crossovers on this unit are very customizable, and in addition to the standard frequency cut-off, they actually let you control the slope at which the frequency is rounded off on either end of the crossover. Very cool stuff.
The unit plays MP3s and WMA files, both of which load extremely fast... faster than CD tracks did on my old DEH-P7400. The built-in browser has a 3 line display that you can quickly use in conjunction with the 7 way rotary knob on the 8600 (knob goes up/down and left/right, in addition to clicking in AND rotating both directions). You'll use this knob to control virtually all of the functions of this deck with ease.
Build quality is standard of any Pioneer. I had this deck in my car for a year before upgrading to an AVIC-D1 and had 0 problems with it. I'm so confident in Pioneer's workmanship after having used their decks for so long that I no longer purchase extended warranties on them. I haven't had to use one at all so far.
Aesthetically the face of the deck is nice. It's not too flashy like some of the cheaper decks out there... it's a brushed dark steel look - not the cheap plastic chrome look or brushed bright silver look that the "steal me"-screaming line of cheaper decks are rocking.
The best part of this deck is that it's last year's model, so you can pick it up for literally half of what it retailed for a year ago. I've checked out all of the new x7xx series of Pioneer decks for 2005 and none of them come close to this in style or function, even the new 9000 series.
This deck is definitely worth the money and definitely something that anyone considering the purchase of a new high end deck should own. In fact, I love this deck so much that I'm thinking about using it in conjunction with my AVIC-D1 just for it's EQ capabilities (which far overshadow that of the $1599 D1).
There's not much else to say - this is an excellent deck, and I encourage anyone who wants a highly configurable piece of hi-fi audio equipment for (now) not a lot of cash to pick it up. You won't be sorry.
