Pioneer DEH-P460MP Car CD / MP3 Player
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Similar in In Dash Receivers
- MP3 / WMA Playback: MP3 Playback
- Anti-Theft Protection: Detachable Face Panel
- Player Type: CD
- Controlled Devices: CD Changer TV Tuner XM Ready iPod / iPhone
- iPod/iPhone Compatible: Yes
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Best value for a nice looking MP3/WMA CD Stereo
Pros
Great bang for the buck, anti-skip, EQ, large+easy to use buttons
Cons
No nighttime illumination dimmer, no sub preouts/x-over
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Great bang for the buck for a budget MP3 player that looks nice and performs great. It needs an illumination dimmer though.
History: I wanted to replace my old Premier DEH-P58 with something that played MP3's since I wanted to be able to put 150 songs on a cd. Multi-disc CD changers are old news with new MP3/WMA technology. I also wanted something with an aux input, for future expandability, in case I get a portable MP3 player. My car is a 1995 Ford Probe GT.
Research: I was debating between the Pioneers DEH-P4600, DEH-P5500 and Premiers DEH-P460 and DEH-P550. I decided to go with a Premier unit for the extra warranty at not much of a price difference. (The Premier I got through ebay store baystereo was actually cheaper than the Pioneer of the same style). I went with the 460 vs the 550 because of cost mainly. But, read on.
Pros:
MP3 capability is awesome. Right now I'm using a CD-RW burned with a program called MP3BR Imager. The ID tag support is great.
The folder structure is easy to navigate, but the songs are not played in alphabetical order. With MP3BR Imager, I can write the songs to the cd in the order I want to keep each album in its own folder.
This unit hasn't skipped once in the past month I've had it. Normally, my stiff suspension would have caused my old stereo to skip at least once a week.
I really like the 3 band custom EQ that allows you to shift the frequency bands up or down along different frequencies and change the frequency width for each of the 3 bands. The sound MOSFET 50w max x 4 amplifier can be better utilized and the sound is slightly better than my old 40w max x 4 unit. The variable FIE and variable loudness also help to make the audio very customizable to your taste. Compared to my old Premier stereo, I can get crisper high frequencies out of my same old 2-way Pioneer speakers. But other than that, the sound quality is only slightly better.
The display is easy to read even on bright days (see more on that below).
The popup volume control is easy to use, and the Source/Tag/Function/Audio and adjustment buttons are all larger than previous models, making it easier to use while concentrating on driving. This unit also has separate clock and pause buttons. The card style remote is slightly larger than the old ones, and the raised buttons are easy to navigate while not looking.
I haven't used the tuner section much since I have so much MP3 audio at my fingertips. But, the unit does have 4 different levels of local station sensitivity, so that makes it easier when doing a scan of the FM band. The BSM feature is the same as the old style.
Cons:
The display illumination doesn't dim and will blind you on dark roadways at night! I'm planning on making some kind of cellophane dimmer to put over the display for long trips at night. Because of this, I would have spent the extra $40 to get the DEH-P550 for its dimming illumination. The blue matches my car's dash lights; however, the green button illumination doesn't match any of it.
No case is included, but I'm just using my old case.
There isn't a sub pre-out like my old unit, so it's not the best for upgrading.
To use the aux input, you have to buy a $30-40 IP-BUS adapter to plug in.
12-4-04 Edit:
My car stereo was recently stolen (I got lazy and didn't detach the face). So, even though the unit only costs $140, it looks like the much more expensive Pioneer units and can attract thieves. Please always remember to detach your face on this unit and store it in the glove box or someplace.
After using it for 7 months and re-reading my review, I agree with everything I've said. But I will add a few things as a final review.
The thing I didn't talk much about is that this is one of the mid-range Pioneer/Premier units that does include a pause button. The P560MP doesn't have one! One weakness, which might be a limitation of mp3 music, is that the unit won't let you hear the music when an mp3 song is scanned/reviewed. And now after looking at subwoofer setups, I miss the old subwoofer RCA outputs my old unit had that included a built in crossover.
For the bright illumination, I used a piece of cellophane over the display, but it never stayed in place, so it ended up being a hassle. I would intentionally drive with my arms in a different position at nighttime just to block the bright display.
Research: I was debating between the Pioneers DEH-P4600, DEH-P5500 and Premiers DEH-P460 and DEH-P550. I decided to go with a Premier unit for the extra warranty at not much of a price difference. (The Premier I got through ebay store baystereo was actually cheaper than the Pioneer of the same style). I went with the 460 vs the 550 because of cost mainly. But, read on.
Pros:
MP3 capability is awesome. Right now I'm using a CD-RW burned with a program called MP3BR Imager. The ID tag support is great.
The folder structure is easy to navigate, but the songs are not played in alphabetical order. With MP3BR Imager, I can write the songs to the cd in the order I want to keep each album in its own folder.
This unit hasn't skipped once in the past month I've had it. Normally, my stiff suspension would have caused my old stereo to skip at least once a week.
I really like the 3 band custom EQ that allows you to shift the frequency bands up or down along different frequencies and change the frequency width for each of the 3 bands. The sound MOSFET 50w max x 4 amplifier can be better utilized and the sound is slightly better than my old 40w max x 4 unit. The variable FIE and variable loudness also help to make the audio very customizable to your taste. Compared to my old Premier stereo, I can get crisper high frequencies out of my same old 2-way Pioneer speakers. But other than that, the sound quality is only slightly better.
The display is easy to read even on bright days (see more on that below).
The popup volume control is easy to use, and the Source/Tag/Function/Audio and adjustment buttons are all larger than previous models, making it easier to use while concentrating on driving. This unit also has separate clock and pause buttons. The card style remote is slightly larger than the old ones, and the raised buttons are easy to navigate while not looking.
I haven't used the tuner section much since I have so much MP3 audio at my fingertips. But, the unit does have 4 different levels of local station sensitivity, so that makes it easier when doing a scan of the FM band. The BSM feature is the same as the old style.
Cons:
The display illumination doesn't dim and will blind you on dark roadways at night! I'm planning on making some kind of cellophane dimmer to put over the display for long trips at night. Because of this, I would have spent the extra $40 to get the DEH-P550 for its dimming illumination. The blue matches my car's dash lights; however, the green button illumination doesn't match any of it.
No case is included, but I'm just using my old case.
There isn't a sub pre-out like my old unit, so it's not the best for upgrading.
To use the aux input, you have to buy a $30-40 IP-BUS adapter to plug in.
12-4-04 Edit:
My car stereo was recently stolen (I got lazy and didn't detach the face). So, even though the unit only costs $140, it looks like the much more expensive Pioneer units and can attract thieves. Please always remember to detach your face on this unit and store it in the glove box or someplace.
After using it for 7 months and re-reading my review, I agree with everything I've said. But I will add a few things as a final review.
The thing I didn't talk much about is that this is one of the mid-range Pioneer/Premier units that does include a pause button. The P560MP doesn't have one! One weakness, which might be a limitation of mp3 music, is that the unit won't let you hear the music when an mp3 song is scanned/reviewed. And now after looking at subwoofer setups, I miss the old subwoofer RCA outputs my old unit had that included a built in crossover.
For the bright illumination, I used a piece of cellophane over the display, but it never stayed in place, so it ended up being a hassle. I would intentionally drive with my arms in a different position at nighttime just to block the bright display.
