15 replies to this topic

[FL0SSIN]

hey guys, currently im running a avh6850, i will be getting a new car very soon '04 nissan maximaand it has a pesky intergrated stereo system, im quite fond of my current head unit but it wont fit without some major dicking around, and i want to leave the car as intact as possible.... my system is in my sig and i was thinking of changing to a pioneer p80-rs, any one with some expierience with these? pro's/con's?? and what else is out there with the same features and in the same price bracket? i know the p80 and what iv got now are very different units, but you can probably tell from the gear im using sq is of more importance,
thx fellas (and ladies if there's one lurking around here ),
tom

ps. i have a 9835 sitting in my room, would that be a better choice over the pioneer?

[~thematt~]

Tom,

The P80 was nice and great for the price a few years ago, but its now been overshadowed by the quality of the Alpine units just released. Have a look at a few of those.

[Matt VIP]

depends on whether you like the look of them as well, I chose the P80 cause it matched my car interior much better than other HU's, and the tuning features on it are pretty shmick. I'm very happy with mine, but I cant comment on the Alpine range.

[TRD1JeeZy]

why didnt ya say something when i come in today? ya couldve swapped my bro for his P80...
having used both the P80 and my 9835 they are very similar feature wise, so my vote would be the 9835 since you already have one...

[rahul]

what i find annoying with the 8650 which is a bit similar with the p80 is that the pioneers lack sub pass through.

In my case it woulnt have been an issue if there was 24db cut off but the pioneers only have 6,12, 18 db cut off. using the 12 db isnt enough and the 18 db has the sub out of phase.

so i'm using the amp's LP 63Hz at 24 db. even if i use LP of 200 htz at 6 db cut at the deck (cos there is no pass through!) to minimise the interference of the signal going to the amp, i find it still colours the sound of the sub,

sorry to get off topic some what.. just my thoughts on the pioneer units.

[Matt VIP]

(the P80 has up to 36db slope available for the low pass iirc....as well as pass through on those channels I think)

[rahul]

that's only in network mode... same as the 8650. in std mode the sub slopes are -6, -12 and -18 db

[Hens]

Its been a while since i heard one, but I remembering finding the sound warm.... overly warm.... from a tuning point of view it has quite alot of functionality, but I dislike its sound charactistics.

Also I agree with Matt, the new alpines offer tuning facilities that are at least on par, and the alpine equivilants have a cleaner clearer sound which I personally prefer.

[rahul]

Hens, i agree with you. i moved from alpine 9833 to pioneer 8650. while i found the alpine sound a bit clinical, the 8650 at times found too warm. oh well!

i'm tempted to jump on the 9887 bandwagon. for one thing it seems to have better DAC's compared to the 9833/35 series HU's

S3X1T1M3, in terms of sq i think both the alpine and pionner top end units are using burr brown dac's now. i guess it could come down to things like functionality and integration into your dash. the alpine unit is black and the pionner unit is polished aluminium. i personally prefer an nicely integrated dash

[Crusader]

rahul, on Oct 4 2007, 08:37 AM, said:

Hens, i agree with you. i moved from alpine 9833 to pioneer 8650. while i found the alpine sound a bit clinical, the 8650 at times found too warm. oh well!

This is funny, from my experience I found Alpine too warm, Clarion too clinical and Pioneer spot-on
I guess things have changed over the past two years

When is the HX-D3 coming out?

[FL0SSIN]

wow, thx for all the reply's guys, and the info... for those who know where i work, we do alot of p80's p90's, p9's etc... and personally, i cany reall fault the sound of them... ive only ever owned pioneer head units, and the 9835 when installed had chronic engine noise :/ (probably wasn't the h/u, but put me off none the less)
il have to check out the new alpine range, and hope the menu's arn't as ghey as they used to be

[Hens]

well, that pioneer p80 that i heard was back to back with the top of the line kenwood, i havent heard it back to back with an alpine, but i remember thinking that it was very warm compared to the kenwood, though that did sound a little "thin" compartively.

i heard both the 9861E and the 9865E around the same time frame and remember then being much less warm then the p80 and not as thin as the kenwood, i suppose i should also add that the speaker and amp was different, with less varity of speaker (though i heard both running dyns.)

for the record i ended up with a p90 combo after not being able to get the 9865E, i havent heard the p90 running dyns so i cant really comment in comparison to the other units. that said i am reasonably happy with the sonic character of my current set up, not to warm not to thin, whilst not sounding "flat" and its very detailed. it has a host of tuning features that i barely scratch the surface of (running passive up front) and a frustrating menu system which causes me to lose my settings every second day.

i suggest finding the most similar setups that you can find (im fairly certain that nobody will be able to demo both on the same board) and seeing which one you prefer the sound of. im also fairly certain that the alpine menus are pretty much identical as the old bass engine pros. id be keen to listen to the new 9887 and thats probably where i'd start for a comparison to a p80.

[zion187reigneth]

Some one post the feature/specs(link), then we can decide for ourselves?.................cors

[~thematt~]

You cant compare a P90 to the P80. Different leagues, and both can change their signatures with a few adjustments.

I too found the P80 too warm, but I'm clever enough (now ) to be able to handle my P90 ( again!) and haven't had the same sonic issues. I have direct comparison with same gear on the 9861 and the 7998R against the P90, and it is clearer, more full-bodied and livelier. It also carries emotion more strongly. I found both Alpines to be a bit thin.

[sliksilvia]

I have moved from an Alpine 9835 to the Pioneer P80RS and more then happy with my choice.

i have had a quick look at alpines new decks and i would still prefer an old alpine 9835 over the current decks build quality and menu styles has taken a few steps backwards.

Also like the fact the pioneer has an alloy face.


go the Pioneer dude! at least iv done the hard work for you. or pick-up a second hand 9835 if you want to go the alpine track

Edited by sliksilvia, 07 October 2007 - 03:17 PM.