Customer Reviews
I dunno about everyone else but I like it great for tech junkies 
2008-05-10
I have a 99 Mitsubishi galant. I purchased this radio and So far I'm enjoying it. The price was not expensive and you get alot of features. Now if you're not a tech junkie you just want to be able to slide in a cd and forget about it. This model isn't for you. but if your the guy who has I pods and junk drives full of music along with the bluetooth and like when you can combine all these toys into one and controll them with a remote.then my friend you've come to the right place. I like the fact that it plays mp3 CD's so I can burn 150 songs on 1 cd and play it in the car. it also has a usb port for ipods and flash drives. So far the only problem I have with it is the detachable face. it's difficult to reattatch it and might break it if you're not watching what you're doing. but there's a picture engraved in the radio indicating the proper way. I had some problems programing the clock but after reading the instructions (duhh!!) I had no problems and learned how to properly use the multi function knob too. which some in other reviews were having problems with it's similar to the IPod button. The remote is more user friendly but gets some velcro so you can stick it on your dash somewhere. like all remotes it will have the habit of getting away from you. I haven't taken advantage of the bluetooth technology or the preout and subwoofer but I'm looking forward to it. I've seen lower end radios go for $100 or more with less features so this is an excellent price for what your getting. a good start
Looks Are Deceiving 2008-05-06
This is my first experience with an iPod/Satellite-ready dashboard receiver, so I haven't much to compare this unit with in my review. It sure isn't much to look at, but in a way that's one of the things I like best about it. Since the Multi-Function knob does most of the work, that and the display is all you can really see, which I think would make it kind of boring to potential thieves. Using that knob to navigate all the menus and sub-menus does take a bit of getting used to (for some functions the included remote device is easier), but once I got the basics down, I found myself with a nicely streamlined though versatile device.
One key feature: I can burn my own CDs of MP3s from my home collection and have them just play right away without formatting or organizing first. It can find files in folders and subfolders, and display names of everything (folders and files alike) if you're looking for a specific song. It will shuffle the files if you don't want to deal with that, and you can have music for hours that way on long trips, the main reason I replaced my previous deck. Of course, now that I have an iPod, I've done away with music CDs altogether; The Multi Function knob works similarly to the function wheel on the iPod (which surrenders its controllability over to the Pioneer when connected via USB), so I just hook it up, stow it away and effectively enjoy access to my entire music collection while driving. You can program six radio stations in, more than I'd use because I'll probably end up subscribing to Sirius soon. Note: you do need an extra satellite tuner to do this, something I didn't know when I had the Pioneer installed, because I'm still a little ignorant about this stuff.
Overall I'm pretty happy with this upgrade, a good entry level unit for the mobile music novice. And yes, you can detach the front panel, but as mentioned above, it probably won't even be necessary. This is one instance where unimpressive is a plus. Now I actually enjoy driving more than before, because it's the only chance I have these days to just listen to music....too bad about the gas prices.
Fantastic value 2008-04-24
This is my review i did for Crutchfield since i purchased it there, but i also do so much shopping here, it made sense to share my review on this product:
Fantastic value
Written By patrick, Upstate NY on Saturday, March 29, 2008
I purchased this unit a few weeks ago after some extensive research to
find something under $200 that not only fit my car with no/minor
modifications, but also had a USB input (rear), at least one auxiliary input,
support for aac, at least two 4v preouts, and a remote. This fit the bill
nicely.
Thanks to the included harness (not included from Amazon) I had this installed in about 15 minutes (not
including soldering or crimping). I've done quite a few installs in the past
so this was a piece of cake for me, but beginners will have no trouble
installing this unit with the included accessories and easy directions.
I use this unit with my 4GB flash drive and will be using it with my 30GB
wifi unit which will be here next week. If Pioneer made a unit just like
this without the cd drive, I would have bought it instead. Absolutely no
need for CD's in the car (all of my CD's are ripped upon purchase to FLAC
then converted as I see fit).
Sound quality is subjective of course, especially when you're listening to
compressed files, but being an audio enthusiast, I can tell you that this unit
plays my VBR mp3's as well as my Nero aac's as well as any other digital
audio player I've used and sounds as well as expected without onboard
amps and component speakers. This is definitely a good base for upgrades
in the future.
I'm a big fan of the wireless remote since I'm able to browse files/tracks
with almost no glancing at the unit itself.
Pros:
*Good sounding unit and ready for future upgrades
*Scans and plays my flash drives quickly with almost no wait between
tracks
*Display very readable in almost any lighting situation.
*Works well with ID3 tags.
Cons:
*The multicontrol knob would be cumbersome to use if i needed to use it,
but it works. It moves in all directions, but isn't flimsy. Learn to use the
included wireless remote.
*It would be nice to have a display option of Artist - Title using the ID3
tags, but you only have the options of Filename (I don't name my files
Artist - Title and I don't care to see what extension the file is), Folder, Artist,
Track, Comments. Not a deal breaker, but since the information is there,
I'm sure Pioneer could fix that.
Too Complicated 
2008-04-15
I bought this today because I thought it would be better than the DEH 2000 model since it's more expensive, and the clock is more visible.
Boy was I wrong. This is much too complicated. By some miracle I was able to set the clock.
I gave up trying to set the radio.
The FF and RR controls are as bad as on the DEH 2000. They don't lower the volume.
The multi-control knob does too many different things. At one point I had the radio blasting a station I had not selected while I tried to figure out how to turn the volume control knob back into a volume control knob.
The instruction manual was not much help at all.
And one of the buttons beeps when you press it. What kind of musical appliance has a button that beeps!
Addendum - 4/18/08 :
It turned out several controls on this unit made that obnoxious beeping sound. After a few days I had to get that beeping CD player out of my car!
Now I'm back to using the DEH 2000 model which at least doesn't beep.
It's just temporary until I can find a better CD player for my car.
Getting the usb to work 
2008-03-07
I went to Best Buy to check out the new Pioneer P4000UB car stereo, I brought a flash drive with mp3s on it to test out the usb port. The usb port is in the back of the unit and the salesman had no way to let me try it out. I figured it would work fine so I bought it anyway. It comes with an extension for the usb port that basically hangs loose or where ever you can find to put it. The first time I tried it I got an Error 23 on the display, so I was slightly unhappy. The unit is really too new to have much feedback on the internet so I was stuck figuring it out by myself. After a day of research I finally figured out the problem. My flash drives were formatted as NTFS and needed to be refomatted as FAT32 or FAT16. It was really a simple fix that after reading more was in the manual but not in the troubleshooting area. I'm very happy with the unit now.
Just what I was looking for 2008-07-12
I have greatly enjoyed this product. The CD player is great and I love the direct control iPod feature, the only disadvantage is that you can't use the iPod controls to change the music. You don't have to buy the additional cord, you can use the one that you use to connect to your computer. The dial is easy to use, I was afraid it would be too sensitive, but it's not. It produces great sound! I don't have a subwoofer in my car, but if I wanted to, the bass output can shake my car just with what the stereo creates. I love it!
Confusing controls 
2008-07-04
Sounds great - better than than my prior factory radio. And it's great to have all your music on a basic thumb drive with no DRM hassles. But the horrible user interface detracts. Changing settings is totally confusing. The button legends are too small and the sequence of clicks you need to go thru to do anything more complex than skipping the current song are illogical and poorly planned. The buttons also don't register or double register at times, making the mode even more confusing.
Skip this one. 2008-05-14
I bought this one specially b/c I wanted something that can read ThumbDrives. However, I am highly disappointed because of the Menu/rotary control. If nothing else, at least Radio Station Presets Buttons should be on Faceplate and the Remote. You have to go thru presets in sequential order - Up/Down, since presets buttons are missing.
This unit isn't a plug and play solution, like it should be for being a Car Stereo. Be prepared to spend hours going thru manual to figure out simple stuff. Even after that, you need to take you eyes off the road a whole lot of time for doing simple stuff every-time. If I hadn't brought it with me overseas, I would have returned it first day.
I can't think of any reason to recommend this to anyone. I have been trying to use it for little over a month now.
Only plus point I can give is that Pioneer included cables for IPOD and USB Drive connections.
sounds good. 2008-05-14
I have an 05 mustang coupe with the shaker 500 stereo system. the new stereo is much more powerful than the stock one. For the record, Zunes do not work with with ipod direct control stereos. They wont even charge it. its only ipods and mass storage devices like a thumb drive that do. Anyone who swears they will are WRONG! I learned this the hard way.
All in all, its a very good stereo for the money but i cant seem to get the dimmer to work with the rest of my dash. Its very bright and annoying at night.
Got it to work with external USB hard drive! 2008-05-11
And now my entire music collection fits in my glove box.
I've done the homework: now you can all reap the benefits. I purchased a Seagate FreeAgent Go 160GB usb external hard drive, reformatted it to fat32 with the program SwissKnife v3 (check out download dot com), bought a usb power hub for my cigarette lighter, and voila! 160GB's of jams to go!
If you check the manual, the receiver only reads fat16 or fat32 file systems. The FreeAgent Go ships with NTFS installed, hence the need to reformat. The receiver alone isn't powerful enough to power the hard drive, hence the cigarette lighter adapter.
Man, I love this deck! It's stylish, has an excellent feature set, and I'll never need to buy or burn cd's ever again. Don't be intimidated by the complexity of the unit: you really just have to spend a few minutes with it.
