# New Pioneer DEH-80PRS 1st impressions review



## jnads87 (Jan 5, 2012)

Alright so here goes for my first product review.

My car is a 2011 VW Golf. stock speakers but aftermarket HU. I bought the car slightly used and it came with the Alpine CDE-124SXM. I really didn't care for this unit at all and needed something that will let me really fine tune the audio. 

1st impressions...Wow! This thing rocks!
From first inspection, I don't understand why people are hating on the look and feel of this unit. Yes you can tell pieces are made out of plastic but nothing about it feels flimsy. Buttons are fast and responsive. I really do like the overall look of it. I dont think its ugly by any means. My only complain I would say is the plastic border is a little too shiny but its not really that big of a deal for me. 

Functionality wise, It isn't the easiest unit to navigate but after 10 min of messing around with it, its already becoming second nature. Navigating my ipod from the unit is extremely easy. At first, I was upset because I like to control my ipod via my ipod, but for some reason the audio would skip or stutter in ipod control mode. Switching to unit control fixed the problem. Slightly annoying but fine now since control from the head unit is so great. 

The display itself could be brighter. Night time it looks great and theres no visibility problems at all, but during the day its almost hard to see. ALMOST. I set a custom illumination color for the display for maximum visibility. The color options are endless. You can really customize the color to be anything you want. 

Now for what the unit is all about. The sound....
Simply amazing. I set up the auto eq/ta, cranked up some tunes, and sat there with a huge smile on my face. The Alpine unit was a joke compared to this. The low end was full, mids were very present, and highs very smooth. Everything was balanced but powerful. The sound stage was vastly improved as well. Its not perfect but I haven't really adjusted any of the auto eq/ta settings. I have the unit running in standard mode and I'm blown away. My next purchases will be new speakers and a sub. I plan to run everything active and cant wait to see the added adjustments I can do in network mode. 
This unit really brought out the mid bass from the stock speakers. On certain songs, it almost sounds like a have a small sub in the back. I'm actually feeling the thump from a kick drum. It's really night and day from the Alpine. 

I really couldn't be happier with the purchase. I still have many features and functions to go over such as bluetooth and tuner functionality, but again this was just an initial first impressions review. 

Looks - Some parts a little too shiny and plastic looking, but overall I really like the look and feel of the unit. 
8/10 

Functionality/navigation - At first, really isn't that bad. Could be a little easier but once you actually mess around with it, it's pretty easy and I'm already familiar with a lot of the menus and how to navigate. Ipod control couldn't be better. 
8.5/10

Sound - This is where the unit really shines. Even running in just standard mode, there are lots of settings you can change and customize to your likings. 16 band eq, high and low pass filters for your front and rears, time alignment for the front and rear. Auto eq worked like a charm and really set the eq almost perfect for my likings. Really very little adjustments. I couldn't be happier.
10/10

Let me know if you have any questions!


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