Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This head unit is a great option for someone who wants an in-dash iPod (particularly iPhone) solution, but doesn't want to buy a more expensive navigation unit. The simple looks won me over initially, and if you've ever shopped for head units, you know that most on the market look absolutely ridiculous, and are apparently intended to be as obnoxious and blinky as possible. Although one major knock on the appearance of the FH-800BT is that the blue illumination is extremely bright, even after you enable dimming. Bright blue LED's are the bane of modern electronics. Its saving grace, however, is that you can actually shut off the display completely while it is operating, which is brilliant for long-distance late-night drives.
If you have ever used a Pioneer head unit, you will be immediately familiar with most of the settings. EQ, subwoofer, cross-fade, etc. are all there. Some Pioneer units have an adjustable parametric EQ, however this unit has a more straight-forward 7-band EQ. Otherwise, it's typical Pioneer, down to the trademark beep.
The sound quality is excellent all-around. Radio, CD, iPod, and Bluetooth A2DP all sound fantastic. There was a touch of hiss on Bluetooth audio at high volumes, but I think this is unavoidable. The "Audio Retriever" function supposedly mathematically restores audio lost from MP3 compression. It definitely makes a noticeable difference in the high frequencies without much detectable distortion added, but I think it's more a matter of personal preference.
iPhone connectivity is superb. I was able to pair the unit to my iPhone 3GS without a hitch, download the phone book, and make and receive calls without any problems at all. The included microphone is a little on the large side if you are trying to hide your install discreetly. However it works very well, and I had no trouble being heard on the other end at highway speeds, even though my car is not particularly quiet. Goodbye bluetooth headset! One minor note is my iPhone occasionally declares that the cable is not intended to be used with an iPhone and asks to be put into airplane mode. I disregard this message, and all features appear to work flawlessly.
A few things are completely unforgivable on this unit:
For example, "Telephone" REALLY does not need to be accessible via cycling through the "Source" button when there is a dedicated Telephone button right next to it.
The feel of the center knob is a bit flimsy, and center-clicking generally requires two-fingers to avoid pushing the knob left/right/up/down unless you push it dead center.
I wish they just added a few more dedicated buttons instead of burying features in the center-knob. There is a lot of empty space on the face of the unit, which would be great to have things like radio preset buttons (or phone quick-dial buttons). And since there are no dedicated radio preset buttons, why do they bother having 3 sets of FM presets? Couldn't they just put 18 presets in one place instead of forcing me to cycle through? And why does Audio Retriever need a dedicated button? That's a set-and-forget feature.
The iPod control, while generally very good, has a few nags. The unit allows you to alternate between "Song Shuffle", "Album Shuffle", and "Off" (buried in the center-knob functions), however when you tap the dedicated Shuffle button it seems to always jump back to "Song Shuffle". Hitting the button again does not turn shuffle off (as expected), but instead just re-shuffles your entire iPod and starts playing again. This is really a shame because I prefer to listen to my iPod on Album Shuffle mode, but the unit insists on jumping back to Song Shuffle. So instead, I leave Shuffle off. It's easy enough to browse for the albums I want anyways.
All in all, this is a very good head unit that is marred by a few flaws. If you can put up with the usability issues, then I highly recommend it. Otherwise, if you don't mind spending the money, I would look into a more fully-featured unit with navigation.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Pioneer Premier FH-P800BT - Radio / CD / MP3 player / USB flash player - Double-DIN - in-dash - 50 Watts x 4
In-dash AM/FM, CD, MP3, WMA player with Remote Built-in Bluetooth technology supports hands-free calling with a compatible Bluetooth phone iPod interface cable included for iPod controls, charging and playback For the best fit, Pioneer ADT-VA133 required and sold separately Bluet dot-matrix display Wireless remote control included Blue button lighting Power Output: Peak: 50 watts x 4 channels RMS: 22 watts x 4 channels CD Text Display MP3 ID3 Tag Display (Title/Artist/Album)
