Pioneer DEH-80PRS Mobile CD Receiver with 3-Way Active Crossover Network, Auto EQ and Auto Time Ali

• Audiophile grade internal components for the ultimate in sound quality
• 28-bit binary floating-point DSP and 3-way digital network
• App Mode
• Auto EQ (CD-MC20 required)
• Auto Time Alignment

I had been trying to improve the sound quality in my 2007 Xterra for several months, and I finally got there with this head unit. I could talk about its features, compatibility with iOS devices, aesthetics, menus, etc., but I thought it might be more useful to just describe my setup a bit. Besides, its capabilities have been well-covered here and on other sites.

I'm running the HU in 'Network' mode, which means the standard Front, Rear, and Subwoofer RCA outputs on the rear are switched to send High, Mid, and Low frequencies to separate amplifier channels. I'm using two channels of my 4-channel amplifier for High (tweeters in my dash) and the other two channels for Mid (mid-woofers in my front doors). The Low output is going to separate 2-channel amp (bridged) to feed my subwoofer in the rear cargo area. Once installed, I ran the auto EQ and Time Adjustment process with the included microphone (attached to the driver's seat head rest) and the HU figured out crossover points, relative sound levels, equalization, and the necessary delays to insure the audio from each speaker reaches my head at the same time. Really, really impressive stuff. I made a couple of very minor adjustments to tweak the sound to my liking, but the process got me more than nine-tenths of the way there.

My Full System Specs:

Pioneer DEH-80PRS Head Unit (network mode, internal amplifier disabled)

Alpine MRX-F30 Amplifier (4-channels x 50W, driving the dash and door speakers)

Boston Acoustics SR60 Component Speakers (not using the included passive crossovers, tweeters in dash, mid-woofers in front doors)

Rockford Fosgate R125-2 Amplifier (2-channel, bridged for 125W subwoofer output)

Bazooka BT1014 Subwoofer

I hope this review is helpful.

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I decided to upgrade my factory head unit in my 2010 Kia Soul with this unit and the SWI-RC to retain the steering wheel controls. I am running a set of JL Audio C5 6.5" mid woofers, a set of ScanSpeak Illuminator D3004 tweeters, and a JL 12" W0 sub in a Stealthbox, all being powered from a JL audio XD600/6.

First I will say that this is the best head unit under 1k for running an active 2way system that I know of. The DEX-P99RS is Pioneers Stage 4 head unit that most of the features in this unit trickled down from, the awesome big brother of the 80PRS.

This HU allows you to control all your crossover points as well as the slope for each, a 16 band eq per side, time alignment, phase reverse. This can complicate setup for many though. Although I have installed plenty of car audio over the years, and understand all of the tech inside this unit, getting all the features set right isn't as easy as it may seem. So I would suggest that you read up about how to set up an active Sound Quality system before taking the plunge, and decide if you're willing to put in the effort to maximize it's usefulness, otherwise you'll be wasting money on features you won't use.

It does come with an auto EQ microphone which can set up your system for you, but be careful, you may not like the results when it's done, and may need to configure many of the settings yourself to get the best sound to your ears.

This unit also allows you to bypass/turn off the internal power for better SQ, and when running separate amps you won't need it anyway, which is a nice feature.

I am still calibrating my system, but so far Pioneer has a real great HU here, with features that are hard to find, especially at this price point. The menus aren't really hard to use or figure out, but they are a bit basic compared to something like a touchscreen Double DIN headunit, but cool interactive menus aren't why I purchased this unit, it's all about sound quality, and it delivers.

If you value great control over your sound, and prefer SQ over having a dvd player or gps etc, this has to be one of the best HU's for the price.

If you happen to have a Kia Soul, two things. First, I'd suggest the Scosche dash kit rather than the Metra. The Metra kit is a little nicer looking, but the fold down face hits the plastic, so it's a no go. Second, the 80prs is a very tight fit in the kia's dash, just keep this in mind, as you may need USB/RCA cables with small ends on them to fit. I'm using JL audio patch cables, and the usb cables mentioned below.

It only comes with one USB cord that is about 24" long, so because I have the usb right under the radio coming through a hole in the pocket, it leaves alot of slack inside the dash. I decided I didn't really like having all the extra slack sitting in my dash, so I got 2 shorter, about 20cm long right angle cables. The 20cm length just makes it out to the edge of the pocket. If you need the factory length cable, just stick with the one that comes in the box and order another pioneer cable.

**Update**

After living with this unit for awhile, I can still say it's an awesome unit. Pioneer really went a little cheap on the feel of the controls, as it's a bit plastic and cheap feeling, but for users who value the amount of control and system configuration this unit allows, it's still a no-brainer. Pioneer cut corners in all the right places to keep the cost down and they did a good job.

It has simply been dead quiet for me, other than the annoying little beep with every volume change(what can you do though), the internal components in this unit, what you're really paying for, are worth it! I can have the volume at 75% and in between songs or when on pause, you would never know the unit was even powered. There's a clarity and transparency that I don't remember having in any other head unit I've used before, factory or aftermarket.

I also love having 2 usb ports, and an SD card slot, as I'm able to keep almost all of music and audiobooks ready to go, and not have to take them out unless I'm updating the cards.

Simply put, if you want a system more oriented towards sound quality than features, which this unit has plenty of, but lacks, DD, gps or dvd, this is the only head unit to buy right now. Many brands have just stopped making great SQ head units, because they cost alot more to produce and just don't sell as well as those with all the extra fluff put in. Let's tell Pioneer that we actually care about SQ and we want more units like this and go buy this!

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Accompanied by an rp4-vw11 canbus adapter for my 2012 golf tdi really made install flawless. I use and alpine mrp-f300 for the speakers and an alpine mrp-m500 for the subwoofer and hifonics zxi-6.5c speakers all the way around with a 10" jvc arsenal subwoofer in a .6 cu foot sealed box (very undersized for the sub specs). Sound quality is flawless. Comes with the auto-eq mic so don't buy one! After the install I setup auto eq and time alignment and the sound was great. I only made a few minor tweaks to adjust to my liking and it turned out great. There are very few buttons to use which to me is good(less components to fail) the 3 brown burr d/a converters really step up the performance compared to a like priced alpine head unit. I used monster low noise cables and everything sounds great. There are words to songs I never knew existed. After the auto eq I could hear the separation in the high hats and cymbles that made me feel like I was in the studio. I listen to a little bit of everything and this unit left no compromise for the variety. Whether it was heavy bass notes from dub step/electronica or the vocals from some Aerosmith tracks the head-unit performed. Leaving no cracking, hissing or ear piercing treble notes. It truly took an entry level system (compared to what you can spend on speakers woofers and amps) and brought it to a high end standard.

I would like to bring up one con that everyone will bring up. The beauty cover that goes around the faceplate is fairly thin. This can lead to breaking it if you are rushing. I didn't need it with my setup because how my double-din to single-din adapter works but it may worry some people that will use it.

Overall I'd say that this has been the best 350 dollars I have spent on the car and am happy to own such a wonderful headunit. This blows away a 500 dollar eclipse headunit I used to have and destroys, literally destroy alpine head units I've used in the past. You are most certainly paying very little compared to what you are getting. And by the way, the adjustments aren't very difficult it just takes a little getting used to (took me about 10 min while enjoying some music). Once you have it tuned in, turn it up. Your ears will be in euphoria and you will get goose bumps from how well it sounds.

I would definitely recommend this head unit to anyone. Whether you are an audiophile and need to adjust absolutely everything (me) or you are looking to upgrade, don't settle for less an you will be happy you didn't.

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I've been a consumer of the Pioneer brand in home entertainment and car audio since the early 90s. While I've always been mostly satisfied with their products for reliability and value, I will say that I've seen the sound quality of their car audio lines wax and wane over the years. I upgraded from the DEH-7900BT which always seemed to fall short of my expectations versus previous experience with Pioneer head units. Enter the 80PRS: All I can say is that I'm very impressed with this head unit. The 80PRS comes with an extra microphone for Auto Time Alignment and Auto Equalization. While this is not new in the car audio world, the fact that it works as well as it does in this model is what is impressive. With minimal manual setting changes, I get wonderful clarity and spatial perception out of my Infinity Reference series 6.5s. My car audio now has an immersive quality it was lacking with the 7900BT and I'm very satisfied with the purchase of the 80PRS. The Time Alignment really sold this unit for me as I drive a compact car and space is at a premium. Time Alignment allows you to set the virtual distance of the speakers from the listener by delaying the sound that comes out of the speakers. This allows you to create a listening space that sounds larger than your vehicle. Combine this with Pioneer's automatic adjustment and you can really get some impressive sound in a restrictive space with minimal guess work. The wonderful part is that I can fine tune every aspect of the sound as all the settings are exposed from the interface. With sound dampening (Damplifier Pro), a 12 inch Infinity Reference subwoofer powered by a 300 watt Infinity Reference amp, and all four 6.5 inch full range speakers being Infinity Reference as well, I can say that I've found my sound for a while.

Tip: I recommend soldering your wiring harness for best results.

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I'm an (home) audiophile for 15years, this is by far the most impressive sounding deck I've listened to under $500.

When set up correctly this deck will sound great, if not then...

CRUCIAL TO the SETUP I found is to place the mic at a 45degree angle, facing front and roof of car with headrest REMOVED. I had it set up according to owners manual taping mic on headrest facing forward previously produced a very inaccurate calibration and imaging was off by a notch.

For accurate time alignment just use a measuring tape.

If you're measuring distance for the sub firing backwards in a station wagon like me measure the distance the sound travels and not the point where sub is located. (eg drivers chair -rear window and rear window to sub.

This is because the rear firing sub reflects sound from the back of the car and hence a slight time delay.

There are cheaper decks and they sound great too with high quality DACs being more affordable today, but nothing compares when you have EQ and time calibration.

Illumination: I don't bother using the dimming function as the color calibrated changes significantly when dimmed.

For reference I drive an 05 impreza wagon, $200 kenwood 4 channel amp, rear channels not ext amplified, 6.5" a/d/s sub (not a great sub but I got it free): my setup is very modest as you can see but with the right setup sounds awesome.