Hey guys, thought some of you guys might be interested in this.

I got the Pioneer DEH-P8400MP and installed it myself a week ago. I had gotten a hold of a Mazda OEM DIN pocket, and the whole install went very smoothly. Originally, I had the unit mounted on top of the DIN pocket, the more traditional way. Everything was fine except that with the additional steering wheel remote that Pioneer has, I had to mount the remote in really awkward places on the steering wheel in order for the head unit to recieve the signal, like in the 12 o'clock position. I realized that the front face, the one that slides down and out, is the one that carries the remote control sensor, so I decided to mount the head unit below the DIN pocket, as you see below.

I was then able to utilize the rubber post that screws into the back of the unit to support the rear end. If mounting the head unit on top, the rubber post doesn't line up well with a hole on the inside (there's two...one on top, one on bottom....either way, the DIN pocket fits well).

This actually works out better because the inside display actually slants a little upward, so now I have a better view of the display, as well as better button placement when the head unit is in its "open" position. The steering wheel remote is mounted on the opposite side of the cruise control buttons, and surpisingly, it works great in that position. I love how the Pioneer remotes give so much control over the headunit...the only things I have to physically press the head unit for are to close the face, eject, or change the display.

As for the head unit, it's awesome! The coloring, especially the trim ring, closely matchs the silver plastic console, so it looks like it belongs there (other than the lighting, but that's nitpicking). The pause when playing mp3's is overrated in my opinion, it's not that noticeable. Great audio adjustment options, and even with stock speakers everything sounds great, PARTICULARLY the radio...I don't know what Pioneer does with their tuners, but FM sound quality is top notch! Far better than my previous Alpine head unit!

Up next, I'm installing Infinity Reference 6800cs 5x7/6x8 components and 6002i 6.5" coaxials...actually I'll be doing this tomorrow. Anyways, enjoy the pics!

 

Nice looking headunit, tell us all how the install goes with the speakers!!

 

Looks sweet

How much did it cost you, if it's not a secret?

 

Looking good!

With your setup, you could put some cake mix in the DIN pocket and bake some cakes. Will be done after a 40 min drive

I have the pocket on the bottom and still it gets pretty warm inside (heat rises).

 

you can get that HU from 350 to 500, just depending on if you want a warrantee or not.

 

Congrats! I love that head unit. I have one in my P5 as well. It's just waiting to be mated to all of the Infinity and MTX stuff I have.

You're right about Pioneer though. They've become a lot better and I too like this head unit better than the previous Alpine head unit I had. The Alpine retailed at 400, and the Pioneer at about 500. I got it for 320 though when I worked at Circuit City. Gotta love that store cost discount. Too bad I don't work there anymore.

And I reread your post just now. You're using the exact same Infinity speakers as me too! Great minds think alike.

 

Alright....install with the speakers went smoothly....I installed tweeters inside the sail panels because I do prefer a higher soundstage, but I'm kinda in between on whether I want the tweeter setting to be on 0 or -3db (any opinions?). I've heard that if you were gonna separate the tweeter and the woofer that much, you should put it to -3db (or more, if it allows). Maybe I have to mess with the audio settings, but both tweeter settings don't do it for me all the way...we'll see. The Pioneer has a lot of settings to play with so anything can happen. Other than that, I'm satisfied with the speakers, but they make it blatantly obvious that I'm in need of a subwoofer and amps. I realize that when you upgrade speakers, they're going to really do well with the mids and highs, but very little for the lows. Gotta save up some cash....

I got the deck through a friend who works at a Best Buy, so I ended up paying $350, which included their 4 year extended service plan (it was only $4, so what the hell).

But now for the not so good news...I'm having second thoughts about the deck. Don't get me wrong, it's a great deck with some great features, but since installing the speakers, it's very "driver-side oriented." Meaning I hear more of the speakers closest to me for...obvious reasons. The Alpine I had before had the digital time correction, which I took advantage of, and when researching for car stereo upgrades this time, I thought, "hey, I'm sure most of the high-end units are gonna be great even without." I'm not so sure anymore.....the Alpine was a sub $200 deck, compared with this Pioneer which retails for close to $600 in some places. That and the OEL display I can care less for now....after driving around, I have it in the "closed" position a lot.

So now I'm in a dilemna...I can still return the unit no problem, no hassle....and I'm looking at the Alpine CDA-9815 or last year's CDA-7894 (cuz it has amber lights!). The 9815 would be just a tad more than what I paid for the Pioneer, while the 7894 would be cheaper, but the 9815 has much more "stuff" to tweak (6-channel time correction as opposed to 4, parametric EQ, etc) than the 7894.

*sigh* what is with car audio and the need for something more or different? Anyways, care to weigh in on you thoughts?

 

thats a really good headunit. I have the 740MP which is one step lower than that one. Quatlity and controls are top of the line for pioneer products. I like mine alot. Hope u like urs as much too!