Pioneer 9800BT Review
Aug 8, 2006 | 06:21 AM
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From: Birmingham, AL
Pioneer 9800BT Review
I recently installed a new Pioneer deck, the 9800BT. I chose it because the comparable Alpine deck would require add on modules to add Bluetooth capability which was my main concern when shopping for an HU. With any Bluetooth capable phone, you can have handsfree capability. Voice tags are supported, but it may or may not have voice dialing - I haven't figured it out yet. However, my phone is an older Motorola V330, so newer phones may have that capability.
The normal features apply, like high voltage preouts, SAT radio ready (I chose Sirius), and so on and so forth and can be found on Pioneer's site. I like the hands free phone, but I am less impressed with the user friendliness of the deck. The display, while pretty, is barely visible during the day because of glare. Although backgrounds are nice but I chose the standard, almost plain background because it is one of the few that gives you onscreen information about what you are listening too. The rotary commander is hard to modulate in an Evo because it takes a delicate touch, but I would think that even in a luxury car it you could mis-key it every now and again. Too many functions reside on it and the other buttons are too small. Simple acts like restarting a track or changing radio presets can be challenging on a less then glass smooth road. Pressing it straight in,vs pressing and tilting it up, down, left or right correspond to different functions. Some of the functions like attenuate (near mute) are only on the remote and MY KINGDOM FOR A PAUSE BUTTON. Alpine does it better, but I think their quality has gone down, as my old Alpine deck in my Galant was starting to crap out only after a couple of months.
Sound quality is excellent, CDs sound great. It makes the highs and mids of the SSL system sound a lot better. But of course, the bass is weak and limited. Sirius is a bit muddled, but the service is so awesome I overlook it.
Overall I like the deck. The stock bezel matches the titanium trim perfectly, it even impressed my installer. I hate the way most decks look so garish and out of place, but this one looks fine, despite the baseball field style scoreboard display. The handsfree phone is a lifesaver, but I am a bit spoiled by the system that comes in the Mitsubishi Raider which has voice prompts. Sometimes in the morning the connect process can be tedious, as it has to be done manually each time I start the car, whereas the Raider would sync with my phone automatically. Perhaps it is something I haven't figured out yet, or maybe a newer phone would help, but I am still figuring things out.
They make a Premier version that lists for $20 more that is virtually the same except it doesn't have a display output, but does have an auto EQ and mic that determines the flat frequency response for your car with listening postion optimization and a 2 year warranty as opposed to 1 year.
The normal features apply, like high voltage preouts, SAT radio ready (I chose Sirius), and so on and so forth and can be found on Pioneer's site. I like the hands free phone, but I am less impressed with the user friendliness of the deck. The display, while pretty, is barely visible during the day because of glare. Although backgrounds are nice but I chose the standard, almost plain background because it is one of the few that gives you onscreen information about what you are listening too. The rotary commander is hard to modulate in an Evo because it takes a delicate touch, but I would think that even in a luxury car it you could mis-key it every now and again. Too many functions reside on it and the other buttons are too small. Simple acts like restarting a track or changing radio presets can be challenging on a less then glass smooth road. Pressing it straight in,vs pressing and tilting it up, down, left or right correspond to different functions. Some of the functions like attenuate (near mute) are only on the remote and MY KINGDOM FOR A PAUSE BUTTON. Alpine does it better, but I think their quality has gone down, as my old Alpine deck in my Galant was starting to crap out only after a couple of months.
Sound quality is excellent, CDs sound great. It makes the highs and mids of the SSL system sound a lot better. But of course, the bass is weak and limited. Sirius is a bit muddled, but the service is so awesome I overlook it.
Overall I like the deck. The stock bezel matches the titanium trim perfectly, it even impressed my installer. I hate the way most decks look so garish and out of place, but this one looks fine, despite the baseball field style scoreboard display. The handsfree phone is a lifesaver, but I am a bit spoiled by the system that comes in the Mitsubishi Raider which has voice prompts. Sometimes in the morning the connect process can be tedious, as it has to be done manually each time I start the car, whereas the Raider would sync with my phone automatically. Perhaps it is something I haven't figured out yet, or maybe a newer phone would help, but I am still figuring things out.
They make a Premier version that lists for $20 more that is virtually the same except it doesn't have a display output, but does have an auto EQ and mic that determines the flat frequency response for your car with listening postion optimization and a 2 year warranty as opposed to 1 year.
Last edited by GPTourer; Aug 8, 2006 at 06:35 AM.
