Great car MP3 player!
Written: Dec 21 '02 (Updated Nov 10 '04)
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Pros: Features, looks good, MP3
Cons: Slow load times, buttons too small
The Bottom Line: This is a great MP3 player that does the job for a good price. There are lots of options to keep any listener happy.
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| mixer107's Full Review: Pioneer DEH-P7400 Car CD/ MP3 Player |
Features
- MP3
- Format: CD, CD-R, CD-RW
- MOSFET 50W x 4
- XM Satellite Radio Ready
- Controls optional GEX-P900XM or GEX-FM903XM Satellite Radio tuners (External unit)
- Remote
- EEQ Performance Chip
- Two-Way Crossover
- Cellular Mute Capability (CD-CM1 required)
- Organic EL Display
Sound
The sound from this receiver is excellent, even on the stock speakers in my car. The equalizer and different effects that you can adjust allow the user to adjust the sound to almost any setting. FM reception is good and allows for many presets. AM reception is also good, but you cannot put as many AM presets.
Usability
The basic functions DEH-P7400MP are easy to use once the button placement is learned. Unfortunately, it takes a little time to learn all the buttons. Some of the buttons are way too small and hard to read. You pretty much have to memorize the functions of the buttons. The remote that is included with the player does its job, but then you will have to learn a whole new set of buttons.
There are tons of options to customize the sound on this player. There are many preset modes and manual modes to change the sound of the player to your taste. The player requires you to spend a lot of time searching through the menus to set up the sound. Reading the instruction manual helps greatly in using this player.
The detachable faceplate is nice to have to help deter theft of the radio. CDs are also loaded/unloaded by flipping the face down and inserting them behind the face.
Capability
Load times for all car MP3 players seem to be really slow. The DEH-P7400MP is no exception. The average song takes about 4-5 seconds to load. A disk will take up to 10 seconds to load depending on the type of disk and amount of information. CD-RW disks will load slower than CD-R disks. The load time may be annoying if you are searching for a particular song and you don’t know where it is on the disk.
MP3 files on the disk can be sorted into folders, but if the folders go too deep, loading times will be slower. In any particular folder, the songs are listed in alphabetical order.
The random feature of the player is nice, especially when you have many MP3s to play. Since the MP3s are stored and played in alphanumeric order, it gives a little variety when the random mode is used.
Resume on the player is also a good feature. When you switch between radio and MP3 modes, the player resumes where you left off last rather than start over with the beginning of a song. The player also resumes when you turn your car off and back on.
Display
The organic LED display seems to be a big selling point in this player. It is nice to look at first and seems more like a gimmick than a useful feature. There are preset display screens such as a racecar scene and a swimming dolphin scene, but they more for show than functionality. When certain scenes are displayed, nothing else can be displaced such as what radio station you are listening to or the name of the song you are playing.
Conclusion
Overall, this player does the job for me in the car. The sound from the player is excellent and crisp. It allows me to have hundreds of songs in my player without having to change discs. Since I got the player, I have rarely played regular CDs or listened to the radio. While loading times may be a little slow, they do not bother me anymore.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 250
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Epinions.com ID:
mixer107
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Location: Bay Area, California
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 13 members
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