Pioneer Premier DEH-230

Price Paid:  $269.00 from Audio Video Unlimite

Summary:
Great sounding deck, does wonders with ordinary speakers and does superb justice to great speakers. Frontal image enhancement (takes out hi midrange and hi end from the back speakers, three levels of adjustment) is great for putting the sound up front while still letting the big rear speakers do all the grunt work with the base! No sub output or sub gain control, but I like a separate gain control for the amp better (easier to use... and suprise people with! Mine is mounted under the seat so people can't tell I'm adjusting anything) Great customizable EQ, with midrange control! Control of the midrange is so crucial IMHO. Easy to use, clear and logical controls. In regards to the last review, the clock does come up after a looooooong time (about 1.5 min after adjusting EQ).‡

Strengths:
The 200 Watts of MOSFET power give crisp, resonant, warm and powerful output which, with the three way EQ, can be perfectly matched to your preferances. Very easy to use. Almost never skips (even off road!), it has only skipped twice, but at the time I was more worried about the suspention blowing out.

Weaknesses:
Um....it doesn't vacuum my car when I'm away.ó

Similar Products Used:
Audiovox RAMPAGE, 120 Watt deck. Doesn't hold a candle to the Pioneer!.

Price Paid:  $220.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 Pioneer Premier DEH-230

Summary:
Decent CD player for the $. Although I would not recommend this if you have a different amp to power a subwoofer, you can not turn up the volume of the sub seperate from the inside speakers.

Strengths:
Sound is clear and I have never had a CD skip.

Weaknesses:
The letters and the numbers are missing bars in the lights. The preamp outputs went out on me also.

Similar Products Used:
Alpine

Price Paid:  $179.00 from Car Toys

Year / Model Reviewed:
 1998 Toyota Corolla LE

Summary:
I bought this deck just over a year ago, and it hasnt failed me yet. Ive had no problems of any sorts and the sound is very clear. The best part of this deck is all the tweaks you can do to get the perfect sound. The 3 Band EQ is effective, and the Front Image Enhancer works great. When I was making the purchase a year ago, I was deciding on either this deck, or comparable price CD players by Sony, Kenwood, and Alpine. I decided to choose this one for the superior sound quality, and the ability to adjust the EQ settings which the others limited you from doing.

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Advance Electronics

Year / Model Reviewed:
 Pioneer Premier DEH-230

Summary:
Excellent sounding deck, great build quality, easy to read display, simple to use 3 band EQ control, with front image enhancer gives you excellent control over your audio, without complicated controls or displays. I compared to Alpine and Kenwood decks in the same price range, and over $100 more - the Pioneer sounded better, had more features and power plus a much cleaner design. If you want something with a splashy display and tiny obscure buttons, look elsewhere - if you want something that''s easy to adjust and see while driving, look no further.

Strengths:
Excellent sound quality - MOSFET 50 Watt x 4 Amp is clean and powerful. Great sound control with 3 band EQ, and Front Image Enhancer. Variable loudness control with low, mid, and hi options. Detachable faceplate firmly mounts (no rattles) . Loading/ejecting mechanism is smooth and quiet. 2 year warranty.

Weaknesses:
No ATT button. Clock display has to be turned on manually - after inserting a CD or changing radio stations the display changes to display track number, time etc. but doesn''t go back to display the time automatically.

Similar Products Used:
JVC, Kenwood